Republican Club Members Trying To Boot Sitting Councilwoman From Organization

While Township Councilwoman Fran Siddons is on the Township Council dais tonight, her GOP counterparts will be meeting to remove her from the local Republican Club.

The executive board of the Regular Republican Organization of Berkeley Township is slated to hold a meeting to discuss ethics charges against Siddons at 7 p.m. at the home of Berkeley Township Board of Education member Noriko Kowalewski, according to an April 3 letter sent to Siddons by club president Tony De Paola.

"Kindly inform me as to whether or not you will be attending this meeting," De Paola said in the letter.

Siddons - who is the club's membership secretary - wanted to run for another term for the Ward 4 seat. But after a screening committee interview Siddons described as the nomination went to Sophia Gingrich, who currently holds a seat on the Berkeley school board.

Kowalewski, also a Republican club member, compiled the charges against Siddons.

"Fran Siddons has spoken out in public and has put in writing for the public to read against her fellow Republican club members," Kowalewski wrote to the executive board. "She has caused very negative blogs and accusations to form against her Republican mayor, council and fellow republican club members who are on the school board. A violation of trust has been committed."

De Paola's letter said two club members claim Siddons has violated three sections of the club's "Misconduct and Unethical Behavior" bylaws.

• Kowalewski said in the letter to the executive board that Siddons spoke "negatively" in a March 18 Berkeley Patch article against Gingrich and board member Steven Pellecchia and criticized their school board decisions.

• Siddons "speaks out against her fellow Republican controlled council and mayor" and said she regretted her yes vote on the Ashbritt contract.

• Kowalewski also said Siddons spoke out against the Republican Club's screening committee.

• Club member Terry Restaino said in a one-paragraph letter to De Paola that Siddons should be supporting the club's candidates.

"Therefore, I am requesting you to call a meeting of the Executive Board of Trustees to review Article 10 of our current bylaws and action be taken," Restaino said in the letter.

Siddons says the club members are violating the First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution.

"They are attempting to suppress my freedom of speech," Siddons said in response. "They want to make it a crime that I have filed as a candidate in the Republican primary against their hand-picked organization line candidate."

Siddons said she has "every right" to run in the Republican primary under state law.

"They are trying to intimidate me and other people in town to reframe from exercising my right to run in the Republican Primary unless they grant me their permission," she said "This is an obvious effort to undermine the open primary laws of our state."

There is no provision in the club's bylaws that she has to support the club's candidates, Siddons said. "The only obligation I have under the Constitution and the bylaws of the club is that I support the Republican candidates in the general election."

What's behind all this?

It started when Siddons attended the Jan. 28 Berkeley Board of Education meeting. She went to the microphone during the public session and suggested   that the board consider sharing administrative positions with the Central Regional school district and eventually merging the two bus fleets through attrition.

That didn't sit well with some. Especially those who want to keep tight control over jobs in the Berkeley school district. So they went to work.

Berkeley bus drivers, probably terrified they would lose their jobs, showed up at the Feb. Township Council meeting. They were accompanied by Gingrich and Berkeley Board of Ed member Steven Pellecchia.

They blasted Siddons for her shared services suggestions. Siddons later called the meeting "a lynch mob."

Siddons attended the February meeting of the Central Regional Board of Education and made the exact same suggestions about shared services. She was warmly received.

Siddons said she was "viciously attacked" at the club's screening committee on March 2.

"Up to the bloody end," she said. "The way I was treated was a total disgrace."

Siddons said she already knew she would not receive the screening committee's endorsement even before the meeting, because of her stance on key issues, including township finances and shared services.

Siddons cast the lone no on the 2012 municipal budget because it increased the municipal tax levy. She had pledged when she first ran for Township Council to opppose any municipal tax increases.

She decided not to run for a second term after the screening committee session, but later reconsidered and filed to run for the Ward 2 seat.

Siddons has said she received an "overwhelming" number of e-mails, calls and letters since then asking her to reconsider and run again.