Leroy Jones Nominated “Racist of the Year” for Harboring Strumolo-Burke

 

The Essex County Democratic Committee, headed by Chairman Leroy Jones, has a rather large scarlet letter emblazoned on its chest these days. That letter is a big fat “R”.

Sadly, that scarlet R has nothing to do with showing local pride in Rutgers football.

At the time of this writing, it’s been almost 8 months since Belleville Councilwoman and then-Chair of the Belleville Democratic Committee Marie Strumolo-Burke was confirmed by forensic audio analysis, paid for by residents, to have shouted an obscenely racist outburst that was captured on a voicemail recording. Mind you, this woman is a sitting councilperson for a township that has a minority population of over 40%, including a strong presence in her own ward. She was caught red-handed disparaging the very same people who elected her.

For anyone who may have missed Burke’s now-infamous phone call that went public back in March, have a quick listen for yourself first before reading on:

 

 

Now, ordinarily in this day and age, you would think Burke’s career as a politician would come to a screeching halt. More than likely anywhere else on earth, her superiors in the Democratic party – the so-called “Party of the People” – would toss a hook around her neck, and yank her off stage for good for such a vile display of racial hatred becoming public knowledge. Generally when you’re caught doing something this despicable, then continue to lie about it, usually you can count on being shown the door.

No, not in good old Essex County, New Jersey. Despite being known as a cultural melting pot, apparently we do things a little differently around here.

So what does Chairman Leroy Jones of the Essex County Democratic Committee do when Belleville Democratic Chair Marie Strumolo-Burke is accused and subsequently proven to have acted in a racist manner?

Absolutely nothing, for nearly 8 months now.

Wait, I apologize, that’s not entirely true. She was demoted from Chair of the Belleville Democratic Committee, down to Vice-Chair. This slap on the wrist is a truly insulting gesture, as it not only confirms that the Essex Democrats were aware of her behavior and the public outcry, but also demonstrates their complete lack of intestinal fortitude, and any consideration for the people of Belleville. Or the African-American community as a whole, for that matter.

Further, this astounding refusal to politically punish Marie Burke in any significant manner not only reflects poorly on the entire Democratic Party in Essex County, it also seems to have emboldened her to continue other racially-motivated antics in Belleville. The most visible example is her endless harassment and condemnation of the Caribbean Essence Bar and Restaurant, located on Heckel Street, coincidentally just a few houses away from Burke’s own home. The owners of the restaurant, Shirley and Hilbert Sears, are a lovely older couple running what seems to be a perfectly fine establishment and family business, with excellent food by the way. There seems to be no logical reason for Burke to continue going after them with such venom, but for the fact that the Sears happen to be African-American, and they are on her street – something she clearly has a big problem with.

Stories of loud disruptive behavior coming from the bar and/or its patrons are told by Burke and a handful of her neighbors, time and time again. But conveniently, there never seems to be a shred of proof of these stories to substantiate her claims. Considering we live in an age where virtually every smartphone has a perfectly capable video camera for documenting things you claim to witness on such a frequent occasion, this is indeed puzzling. Listening to Burke at council meetings, she would almost have you believe that this educated, soft-spoken older couple are inciting drunken riots on Heckel Street, and choreographing flash mobs devoted solely to synchronized lawn urination.

Quite the imagination.

Meanwhile, a pile of trumped-up charges against the Caribbean Essence Restaurant, allegedly caused by Burke either directly or indirectly, were dismissed during a recent licensing hearing by the Belleville Town Council, minus Burke of course. Ultimately Mr. and Mrs. Sears paid a $50 fine for not having a pregnancy warning notice behind the bar, and everything else was dismissed as having no merit. What a surprise that Burke’s allegations against a local business owned by an African-American couple have no merit when the facts are actually weighed in a fair hearing. Still, supposedly her crusade of harassment against the restaurant continues to this day.

Anyway, back to Chairman Leroy Jones.

This blatant hypocrisy and inaction on the part of Leroy Jones and the Essex Democrats is despite an enormous backlash from the community, Burke being censured by the Mayor of Belleville and her own fellow councilmembers, repeated demands for her resignation, a recall petition being filed, a good amount of media coverage, and even a strongly-worded denouncement from the NAACP.

By the way, despite all their bluster in demanding Burke’s resignation, and vowing to “monitor the situation”, the NAACP has also completely disappeared off the radar on this issue. Coincidence? A sitting politician is *proven* to have made racist remarks, and nothing is done about it, by anyone?

How is it that Al Sharpton himself hasn’t kicked in the door at Town Hall with an army of cameramen yet, and dragged Burke out of her seat by her ankles?

Something stinks in Essex County, and it isn’t the Passaic Valley Sewer Commission. Not this time, anyway.

Democratic Chairman Leroy Jones providing political cover for Strumolo-Burke is baffling, infuriating, and more than a little alarming. The reigning political party in Essex County that is known to condemn racial discrimination, and jumping on all things racist, is both concealing and tolerating one of its leaders displaying blatant racism within its own ranks. Coming from anyone else, the Essex Democrats would have stomped on it relentlessly. If you can’t denounce racism wherever you find it, regardless of where you find it, then you have no credibility.

This entire commentary was simply a preface for a new article published today that was directed to my attention. Nationally-recognized writer and influential conservative black voice Mr. Mychal Massie has awarded Leroy Jones the title of The Daily Rant’s first annual “Racist of the Year for 2014”, mostly for providing safe harbor in his own political party for a proven racist.

And boy, did he nail this issue right on the head.

The Essex County Democratic Committee must remove Marie Strumolo-Burke from office, and hold her accountable for her forensically-confirmed racist remarks, and for her months of dishonesty and repeated denials. Instead, Leroy Jones and the Committee deliberately refuse to take any action to vindicate the residents of Belleville, and to restore the public trust. Until that happens, Jones rightfully deserves the title bestowed upon him by Mychal Massie, and many others who really see what is going on here.

You can read Mr. Massie’s article here:

Leroy Jones – TDR Racist of the Year for 2014

 

Thank you, Mr. Massie. Our own local media has failed to continue pressing this issue forward, and I thank you for helping raise awareness of such duplicity. It’s truly sad that it takes an out-of-state voice to effectively call out the staggering level of hypocrisy in our own county.

Perhaps it will take national media exposure before there is true social justice for Belleville, and for that matter, Essex County, New Jersey.

 

 

For further information: Click the tab in the right sidebar of the site called, “Tags”, and click on the Tag for “Marie Strumolo Burke” to locate other relevant coverage on the NutleyWatch blog.

 

 

 

About Griff 321 Articles
Lee "Griff" Dorry - Founder, watchdog, and public advocate. ♫ They've got strings, but you can see, there are no strings on me. ♫

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