There are clear and convincing connections between the circulator of nominating petitions for two phantom candidates running in the 4th district and South Jersey Democratic insiders.
Angela McGeehan collected more than one-third of the signatures on petitions to get the two independents running under the “Conservatives South Jersey” banner: Giuseppe Costanzo and Maureen Dukes-Penrose. The two are the beneficiaries of an attack mailer sent by a shadowy new political organization, Jersey Freedom, which told Republicans to vote for the independent candidate instead.
The 36-year-old McGeehan, a registered Democrat, is the daughter of Frank J. Cianci, the longtime Washington Township Democratic municipal chairman and ardent supporter of the Democratic nominee for State Senate in the 4th district, Paul Moriarty (D-Washington Township).
She was hired last year as an administrative employee of the Washington Township Board of Education, working in the office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB).
McGeehan also spent six years working in the Gloucester County Clerk’s office.
Her husband, Robert McGeehan, holds a state job and was named to the Monroe Township Municipal Alliance Commission earlier this year by the new Democratic mayor. One of his social media accounts connects him to several prominent Democrats, including Monroe Township school board member Cody Miller, the Democratic candidate for State Assembly in the 4th, and the Monroe Township Democratic Club.
Most of the signatures collected by McGeehan came from registered Democrats, including her husband, even though the candidates are running as conservatives.
One of the phantom candidates, Dukes-Penrose, told the New Jersey Globe on Friday that State Sen. Fred Madden (D-Washington Township), a former Gloucester County Democratic Chairman, encouraged her to run as an independent. Madden denied any involvement.
“I’ve never heard of this woman,” Madden said. I have no idea what she’s talking about,” he told the New Jersey Globe.
McGeehan did not respond to telephone and text messages seeking comment.
Frank Cianci was the Washington Township GOP municipal chairman in 2004 when he resigned three weeks before the election to head up “Republicans for Moriarty” against GOP nominee Jeff Morris. He later switched parties and became the local Democratic chairman.
In 2006, Washington Township Republicans alleged that Cianci, by then a Democrat, interfered in their primary by helping off-the-line candidates circulate petitions.
Two Republicans who Jersey Freedom targeted, State Sen. Vince Polistina (R-Egg Harbor Township) in the 2nd district and former Washington Township Councilman Christopher Del Borrello, who is running against Moriarty for Senate in the 4th, have asked Attorney General Matt Platkin and U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger to investigate the use of phantom candidates and the use of the tenebrous political group formed last month.
“Our office does not confirm or deny the existence of particular investigations. We are committed to ensuring fair elections, protecting the integrity of the process, and preserving the rights of all New Jerseyans, a spokesperson for Platkin told the New Jersey Globe on Sunday. “As we have said in the past, we will continue to hold accountable those who seek to disrupt this integral process that is a cornerstone of our democracy.”
Jersey Freedom used a Jamaica, Queens post office box.
Costanzo, 61, had allowed his voter registration to expire in recent years and re-upped in time to run for the Senate. Dukes-Penrose is a registered Democrat.
Both have declined to discuss their campaigns – Dukes-Penrose appeared stumped when asked why she was running – and neither has raised money nor created any digital footprint of their candidacies.
Independent candidates needed fifty signatures to get on the ballot; Costanzo and Dukes-Penrose filed 91.
There is no evidence that South Jersey Democrats recruited Costanzo and Penrose, and the dark money group is not illegal: they filed for tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service and, under New Jersey’s new Election Transparency Act approved earlier this year, are not required to disclose their donors to the Election Law Enforcement Commission until October 27. 48-hour reports are no longer rquired under the new law — 72-hour reports begin on October 25 and 24-hour reports on October 31 — which could leave a full picture of the funders in the dark until late November.
As a result of Jersey Freedom’s mailer in the 2nd district, also suggesting that conservatives vote for Libertarian Shawn Peck instead of State Sen. Vince Polistina (R-Egg Harbor Township), Peck announced Friday that he was dropping out of the race and endorsing Polistina.
Editor’s note: an earlier version of this story stated that McGeehan worked for the Gloucester Township Board of Education. She works for the Washington Township Board of Education.