Rain Men
Local 105 members brave the elements to further PBA Election Day impact
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
At 6 p.m. on Election Day, State Corrections Local 105 Pres-
ident Brian Renshaw and First Vice President Sean Sprich led
members out in a cold, gusting downpour to knock on doors in
Tinton Falls. Two more hours until the polls closed. Two more
hours to make sure people voted. Never mind that the rain
soaked through Renshaw’s hoodie in less than two minutes.
Through rain, on feet and in dark of night, this last get-out-
the-vote effort capped the great lengths of the PBA’s political
action that contributed to Victory 2017. Renshaw had spent
the earlier part of the day canvassing in Phillipsburg in Warren
County. Sprich had been with a group of Local 105 members
in predominantly Republican Sussex County pining for a few
more votes for Phil Murphy.
Executive Vice President Bill Sullivan couldn’t make the final
push in Monmouth County because he was still with members
in Hazlet knocking door-to-door. The rest of nearly 200 Lo-
cal 105 members making the rounds on Election Day also hit
Bridgeport, Broad Street in Newark, Perth Amboy, Hackensack,
Metuchen, Parsippany and Ocean Township, among other lo-
cations. Practically one end of the state to the other in a one-
for-all, all-for-one blitz that found that the PBA not only has a
voice, but that people are listening.
“We were telling people that we are public workers and why
Phil Murphy is important to our future,” Renshaw related right
before he bundled up to head out into the rain. “We told them
we couldn’t continue with another eight years of what we have
been dealing with, and a lot of people already understood.”
One of those people was a Tinton Falls resident who came
out in the rain to shake hands with Renshaw and Sprich. He
assured them he had already voted. A few doors later, a resident
refused to open the door, shouting out, “Get away…(something
that rhymes with brasspipe).”
But Local 105 members would not be deterred. Second
Vice-President Todd McConnell and Sergeant-at-Arms Robert
Sheppard worked the 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift on Election Day,
then quickly transitioned to the get-out-the-vote detail.
“As union members, we have to lead from the front,” Shep-
pard reasoned. “This is what we have collectively decided is the
best for our livelihood.”
Added McConnell: “This is what’s right for the state of New
Jersey. And for the well-being of my family and cops in New Jer-
sey.”
State Corrections Local 105 President Brian Renshaw (center) and First Vice
President Sean Sprich ventured out in the rain on Election Day to get out
the vote for Phil Murphy.
When the last door had been knocked on, the Local 105
political action team did a quick-change into dry clothes and
capped the day by attending the Victory 2017 rally for Murphy
at the Asbury Park Convention Center. When the governor-elect
came out to make his acceptance speech, Local 105 held a posi-
tion right up front just to Murphy’s left.
“The culmination of everything we have been doing,”
Sprich exclaimed. Apparently, they plan to be there for the next
eight years. d
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Local 105 members attended the victory celebration for Murphy at the
Asbury Park Convention Center.
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■ NOVEMBER 2017 35