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One of the most powerful House RepublicansRodney Frelinghuysen (NJ), the new chair of the House Appropriations Committeegot a constituent in trouble by writing a letter to her employer that called out her progressive activism.

The employeeSaily Avelenda of West Caldwell, whos active in the progressive NJ 11th for Change groupended up resigning from her job as senior vice president and assistant general counsel at Lakeland Bank, according to a report from WNYC.

Frelinghuysens letter, sent on campaign letterhead to bank board member and Frelinghuysen donor Joseph ODowd, appears to be correspondence he sent to other contributors as well.

[L]ets be clear that there are organized forcesboth national and localwho are already hard at work to put a stop to the agenda of limited government, economic growth and stronger national security, Frelinghuysens letter reads. As you may have seen in the front page of the New York Times, the Democrat political organizations, the DCCC run by Nancy Pelosi, has targeted my district for Democrat takeover. Democrats have chosen to targets districts like ours because we sit in prime media markets and their protesters are highly organized.

But at the bottom, in blue pen, Frelinghuysen wrote by hand: P.S. One of the ringleaders works in your bank!

Attached to the letter was a news clip featuring a quote from Avelenda. A Google search indicates she was quoted in a February WNYC report headlined, New Jersey Citizens Group Creates a Super PAC. Avelenda is identified as being with NJ 11th for Change in the story, and is quoted as saying, Part of what our goal is is to educate, to ensure they are aware of the individual that sits in that seat today So that when they go make a choice they have all the information they need to make a choice.

Avelendas boss confronted her about Frelinghuysens letter. She told WNYC that she had to write a statement to my CEO, and at my level as an assistant general counsel and a senior vice president, at this employer it was not something that I expected I thought my Congressman put them in a situation, and put me in a really bad situation as the constituent, and used his name, used his position and used his stationery to try to punish me.

Avelenda wasnt fired, but she told WNYC that Frelinghuysens letter and the blowback it created contributed to her decision to resign.

In a statement published Monday morning on NJ 11th for Changes Facebook page, the groups writes, We are outraged and alarmed by Representative Frelinghuysens intimidating action against an ordinary constituent.

It continues:

Frelinghuysens campaign sent WNYC a statement saying that the Congressman wrote a brief and innocuous note at the bottom of a personal letter in regard to information that had been reported in the media. He was in no way involved in any of the banks business and is unaware of any of the particulars about this employees status with the bank.

Lakeland Bank isnt commenting, according to WNYC.

Frelinghuysen, who was first elected in 1995, has voted in lockstep with President Trump and hasnt held a town hall since 2013. Though he won reelection in his suburban New York City district by 19 points last year, hes become a target for Democrats this cycle.

In February, the Bergen County Record reported that Frelinghuysen hauled in a personal record of more than $500,000 in the first quarter of this year.

The effort comes as Democrats in Washington have already made Frelinghuysen the target of automated phone calls, voters in his district have held regular protests at his office and a group ran a bus trip to Washington to pressure him to oppose President Donald Trumps policies and hold a public town hall meeting, the Record reports. New data that used past election results to score the partisan leanings of congressional districts show that Frelinghuysens 11th District, which covers parts of Essex, Morris, Passaic and Sussex counties, and Rep. Leonard Lances 7th District are about as competitive as the 5th District, where Democrat Josh Gottheimer defeated seven-term Republican Rep. Scott Garrett in November.

Frelinghuysens decision to call out a constituent for her progressive political activism comes while Trump and other House Republicans repeatedly complain, without evidence, about paid protesters who are publicly resisting their agenda.

See more here:
House Republican writes letter to constituent's employer complaining about her progressive activism - ThinkProgress