Borough secretary denies managing political campaigns

Published Date Written by Daniel Walmer

Chris Courogen, Middletown borough secretary and director of communications, denied rumors that he is acting as a campaign manager for Middletown Borough Council incumbents and performing campaign work on borough time.

“I am not their campaign manager and I am not their spokesperson,'' said Courogen. "I am not directly affiliated with any candidate’s campaign.”

Courogen Communications, a company associated with Courogen, registered a website for Middletown Citizens for Responsible Government, a pro-council political action committee, sparking rumors that Courogen is aiding the campaigns of incumbents and candidates supportive of the current council. But Courogen said any services he may have provided to campaigns have been outside of borough time and without borough equipment.

Courogen specifically addressed a Facebook post from Diana McGlone, a member of citizens' group Middletown Residents United, regarding the group’s invitation of incumbent councilors to its candidates’ forums. McGlone said that “invitations were sent to them and their campaign manager,” implying Courogen’s role in their campaigns.

Courogen, however, had responded to McGlone’s invitation by stating that his official e-mail is to be only used for borough business and telling McGlone that she must communicate with council members directly if she wanted to reach them for political purposes.

“Ms. McGlone’s comments regarding me as having a role as a campaign manager are patently false,” he said. “Her use on Facebook of just a small portion of the e-mail that she improperly sent to my official borough e-mail address for political purposes is just another incident in her long history of lying and misinforming.”

McGlone responded by questioning why Courogen was focused on her posts in the first place.
“I think it’s great that Mr. Courogen likes to read and hear what I have to say,” she said. “[But] Mr. Courogen needs to focus on conducting borough business and not be concerned with a Facebook posting.”

Courogen also denied rumors that he had yard signs for a candidate printed and sent to the borough building.

“I can assure you that no borough resources were involved in any way, shape or form for yard signs for any candidates,” he said.