POLITICS NJ.com

With all that's going on in New Jersey's volatile political scene, you'd think that the once-vaunted PoliticsNJ.com would be on top of it all.
Not.
Beginning in mid summer, their chief writer, Bill Albers, seemed to disappear off the face of the earth. Albers had been picked but a few months before to replace the departing Steve Kornacki. After Albers' disappearance, it just got weird. The site was not updated, then they went to a "Best of Kornacki" theme. Now, they're running Kornacki posts on the presidential race from PoliticsNH.com. New Hampshire? In New Jersey?
With all the corruption busts as well as a pivotal U. S. Senate race at hand here in New Jersey, you'd think that they would pull together and get back to business. Otherwise, if you're interested in what's happening, log on here; if it's not on my blog, check out some of the great blogs that I have linked.

TOWNSEND TERMINATED

Convicted felon and former Neptune Township construction official Patsy Townsend, currently doing six months at the federal correction facility at Fort Dix, has been terminated from his remaining municipal positions in a 5 - 0 vote of the Township Committee. He was still director of code and construction and was HazMat coordinator in the Neptune Office of Emergency Management.
Read more in today's Asbury Park Press.
And this is interesting in the Independent.

THE DEADLINE HAS PASSED

As of yesterday, September 20, the deadline for replacing candidates on the ballot has passed. The window has closed. That means that if your candidate has withdrawn from the race, and your organization hasn't named a replacement by yesterday, you've got a blank spot on the ballot going into November.
The Democratic Party, who "don't need no steenkin' deadlines", just as they don't need no steenkin' reports, believes otherwise. It is well-known what they did in the 2002 campaign when disgraced U. S. Senator Robert "The Torch" Torricelli withdrew after the deadline and the State Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Deborah "I Am The Law" Poritz allowed them to replace Torricelli with the old Frank Raleigh Lautenberg. There are rumors of the Dems trying the same this year if Bob Meanendez' limp campaign continues to lag. And, in a variation on a theme, County Democratic boss Victor Scudiery is trying to get his man on the Democratic Ticket in Matawan. That case is expected to go before Superior Court Judge Alexander Lehrer this afternoon. If Lehrer rules against the Democrats, they will be minus one candidate. When we hear more news, we will update.

UPDATE

Judge "Hollywood" Al Lehrer has decided in favor of the Monmouth County Dems in the Matawan case - Michael Cannon will appear on the local ballot this November.

WESTLAKE'S GOING, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

Convicted tax cheat and Monmouth County Tax Board President John E. Westlake will be resigning from office as of Friday, according to the Asbury Park Press. If he fails to resign, the State Attorney General's office is prepared to file the necessary briefs to have him removed.

As Westlake is a Democratic appointee, it is not the place of this blog to say that he never should have been on the board in the first place, but that would still have been an excellent idea, regardless of any Republicans that may have liked him. He will finally be off the board, another board member will become President (Maybe Wayne Pomanowski?), and the Democrats will get another bite at the apple regarding the appointment.

Since the Democrats do not control many appointments in Monmouth County, we here at the Monmouth County Republican Blog are going to be nice and make a suggestion to County Democratic boss Victor Scudiery: Think it through, Vic. Don't screw this one up. You may have let it go by in the past and not objected to Westlake's reappointment. So you have nothing to complain about there. Fine, that's water under the bridge. Go forward. Nominate a good person to the post.

The Monmouth County Republican Blog recommends that the State Legislature look closely at this matter. It should not have had to come to Westlake being asked to resign. Upon conviction, he should have forfeited his office. Period. Amend the law so this doesn't happen in the future.

UPDATE

It's official. He's gone.

LYNCH PINCHED

"Our team is not done. Put this on the billboard: 97 and 0, and counting."
...Leslie Weiser, Special FBI Agent in Charge of the Newark Office.

Middlesex County Democratic Boss John A. Lynch, Jr. pleaded guilty in Federal Court yesterday to accepting $25,000.00 in bribes and failing to declare $150,000.00 on his federal taxes. He could get up to 41 months in prison.

Lynch's PAC, New Directions Through Responsible Leadership, funded many Democratic campaigns throughout New Jersey, including here in Monmouth County.

In a very related matter, Lynch associate John E. Westlake, a Democratic member of the Monmouth County Tax Board, pleaded guilty to failing to declare $350,000.00 on his federal taxes.

And two more corrupt politicians bite the dust. Sentencing will be December 19th. Merry Christmas.

DEM BOSS PLAYING THE SWITCHEROO GAME IN MATAWAN

The Independent reports that County Democratic Boss Victor V. Scudiery is attempting to force Michael Cannon onto the local Democratic ticket in Matawan, replacing candidate Robert Bunion. Cannon, a former Republican councilman who fell away from the GOP and found himself a home with the Democrats, had lived out of Matawan for nearly a year after resigning from council.
This has raised questions about Cannon's residency.
Not to worry, says Scudiery, who in true Democratic tradition is looking to have a court make an exception to the law, along the lines of disgraced former U. S. Senator Bob "The Torch" Torricelli being replaced in 2002 with the old Frank Raleigh Lautenberg.
Local GOP Chair Paul Buccellato believes that the law should be followed regarding Cannon's residency. County Clerk M. Claire French has indicated that unless the courts rule otherwise, her office will abide by the law.
Control of Matawan's council is at stake this year. Democrats have held three out of six council seats since January 1, with Democratic Mayor Mary Aufseeser voting to break a tie, giving the Democrats effective control.
The diminutive borough, where Republicans hold the registration edge over Democrats, would not even be on the map with the county Dems, but with the proposed redevelopment of the Matawan Aberdeen train station area, the county and state Democrats are very interested. It is said that Scudiery himself even owns property in the area to be redeveloped.

NEVER FORGET!

The five-year anniversary of the atrocities committed on September 11, 2001 is upon us. As we each in our own way honor the memory of those murdered on that day, let us also ponder where we stand as a nation, relative to the Islamist threat.
Since that day, no terrorist attacks have been committed on American soil. Many credit President George Walker Bush's prosecution of the War on Terror; a number of terrorist plots have been nipped in the bud. Others say it is mere coincidence. Osama bin Laden himself has said that he simply has not ordered another attack yet, but many dismiss that as mere spin.
Today, after five years, we have some quisling politicians, mainly on the left, who would have us effectively surrender. They are very quick to point out American "malfeasance", whether at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib or elsewhere. Many are starkly silent about the atrocities committed by the terrorists themselves. This is the same mentality that led to the withdrawal of our troops from Somalia after the "Black Hawk Down" incident, rather than finish the job. That specific withdrawal emboldened bin Laden; he has admitted as much. It is the same mentality that, in an earlier era, said "better red than dead".
While such quisling politicians as Rush Holt, Frank Pallone and Bob Meanendez may call for a troop withdrawal from Iraq, make no mistake. They would subsequently withdraw troops from Afghanistan too. Our nation under such head-in-the-sand "leaders" would then fight the War on Terror here in our own backyards as a law enforcement issue. How many would die cannot be predicted.
I make no apology for the partisan bent of this post. This is a partisan blog. That some have chosen to deviate from the goal is the real partisanship in this issue. President Bush has said that this war will take a long time and be fought on many fronts. To withdraw now and say "uncle" would be a slap to the memory of those who lost their lives five years ago, and those killed in action. It must be fought to the end, until Islamofascist terrorism is no longer a threat to this world.
If not us, who?

THE SEASON OFFICIALLY BEGINS!

Labor Day has been and gone, the kids are back to school or soon to go, and that means another Election season is upon us! The parties have their tickets nominated.
Our Republican Team of Rosemarie Peters for Surrogate, Andrew Lucas and Freeholder Anna Little will be working hard this fall and are ready for whatever the Dems finally figure out to bring on. The Republicans have been campaigning hard and had a good response at the Monmouth County Fair and other summer venues.
The Democrats have been more or less playing defense and catch-up because one of their Freeholder candidates, Lenny Inzerillo, went away. They have replaced him with J. Gregory Gibadlo, who is looking for tips. Their other candidate, former Freehold Borough Councilwoman Barbara McMorrow, has been keeping a low profile, but will probably start showing her face soon, once she and JGG find out what the issues are.
Time to make the calls, walk with the Candidates, do the lit drops, put up signs and work hard to elect our team.
Happy campaigning!

FREEHOLDER MARCUS DALY

A Man Ahead of His Time.

Monmouth County Freeholder Marcus Daly (1908 - 1969), of the Lincroft section of Middletown, served on the Board from 1963 until his untimely death at 61 of cancer in 1969.
Freeholder Daly can truly be said to have been one of the giants of the Board.
On January 2, 1963, Marcus Daly was appointed to the one-year unexpired term of Freeholder Earl L. Woolley, who had resigned for health reasons.
Freeholder Daly's too-short life was one of accomplishment and service to his fellow man. He was a graduate of Georgetown University and received his Master's Degree in political science from Columbia University. He attended three law schools, including The Hague Academy of International Law, in The Netherlands.
During the Eisenhower Administration, Marcus Daly served as Director of the Inter-Governmental Committee for European Migrations in Geneva, Switzerland.
Freeholder Daly served on the Monmouth College (Now University) Board of Trustees, and held honorary degrees from that institution as well as St. Peter's College in Jersey City.
A devout Catholic, Marcus Daly had the honor of being appointed to Papal Knighthood.
He owned an investment insurance business, and was president of the Skelly Brewing Co.
In 1964, Freeholder Daly was nominated to run for the seat of Rep. James C. Auchincloss (R -3rd), who was retiring. In the ensuing Democratic landslide that year, in which President Lyndon Baines Johnson defeated Sen. Barry Morris Goldwater, Marcus Daly was defeated by his Democratic opponent James J. Howard by less than 2,000 votes.
Freeholder Daly continued his work on the Board of Chosen Freeholders, where he was Freeholder in Charge of Public Welfare (Now Human Services). A conservative, Marcus Daly held the highly controversial position that welfare benefits should be denied to unwed mothers. Although the Freeholder was forced to back down from that policy, elements of his views have since become enacted in welfare reform laws. At the dawn of the "War on Poverty", the humanitarian Freeholder Daly foresaw the future problem of the welfare system rewarding out-of-wedlock births, and he wished to nip that in the bud.
In 1968, Freeholder Daly was diagnosed with cancer. After a long stay in the hospital, Marcus Daly passed away on July 25, 1969.
His successor on the Board, another Middletown native, was Ernest G. Kavalek, who would serve until January 1, 1979.