MAYHEM IN MARLBORO

UPDATE!!!

Barry Goldwater at The Voice of Reason has offered a rebuttal to the below account. In fairness to all involved, I recommend reading his post. Simply click the linc.

*****

This just in.
Our sources report that at a recent Marlboro Republican Club meeting, County Chairman Adam Puharic walked in, along with an as yet unidentified woman who had not been to a club meeting in some time. The woman proceeded to criticize the club's president, Captain Shital Rajan and call for his resignation.

Captain Rajan has been identified with the Republicans for Hornik faction, which backed Democrat Jonathan Hornik for mayor over the Republican incumbent, Dr. Robert Kleinberg. Hornik overwhelmingly defeated Kleinberg, sweeping in two Democrats for Council as well. The split in Marlboro, the New Howell, is said to have cost Jeff Cantor the election for freeholder.
Voices in the crowd then criticized the woman for her absence from Republican Club meetings. Others then questioned who Puharic was, to which Puharic replied, "I'm your Monmouth County Republican Chairman who just won one seat!"
This was met with catcalls of, "You mean you just lost one seat!" This was apparently in reference to Jeff Cantor's narrow defeat by Democrat John "Flippy" D'Amico.
Puharic is said to have left the meeting at that time.

ABOUT THOSE LOCALS

As posted last week, here's some information on some of the local races in Monmouth County.

Aberdeen Twp. The Democrats won again, and will continue to hold a monolopy on the council. Republicans came close this year, with a little more work they might have pulled this one off. A slate of Greens was also in the race.

Atlantic Highlands - If awards could be given out for an effective sign campaign, the Atlantic Highlands Republicans would walk away with it. It seems that nearly every home, business or even doctor's office sported a sign! The election went Republican, too, with Frederick Rast elected as mayor over the Democratic incumbent and Louis Fligor reelected to council along with newcomer Jacob Hoffmann. Good work guys.

Hancock Twp. There is no Hancock Township.

Hazlet Twp. In a split vote, Democrats gained a seat on the township committee, bringing the ratio to 4 - 1. Scott Aagre was elected on the Republican ticket, and will be the committee's lone G. O. P. member in '08. Hazlet, once all - Republican, has seen Democratic gains ever since former mayor "Big Paul" Coughlin got banged in the big Operation Bid Rig investigation.

Highlands - As reported last week, Freeholder Anna Little was elected mayor. Her running mate, Councilwoman Nancy Thomas, was reelected.

Holmdel Twp. Another split. Mayor Serena DiMaso was reelected, but her running mate, Jerry Allocco, was defeated by Democrat Janet Berk. DiMaso and Allocco were on opposing slates in the primary, but teamed up for the general election. Sadly, it is reported that some Republicans worked for the democrats, resulting in a close race and Allocco's loss.

Howell Twp. Thankfully, Howell had no local seats up this year. Hopefully local Republicans used the pause to pull together for next year.
Of course, this year, we have Wall and Marlboro.

Keyport - Keyport Republicans went into a tailspin when Mayor John Merla and Councilman Bob Hyer were caught in Operation Bid Rig. They have reason to celebrate this year with the election of the Lincolnesque John Kovacs to the Borough Council. Kovacs is a respected former councilman and will send the message that the adults are back in the house.

Manalapan Twp. As reported last week, Mayor Andrew Lucas and Committeewoman Susan Cohen were reelected by comfortable margins.

Marlboro Twp. An absolute blow-out. Democratic sweep. Mayor Robert Kleinberg was considered one of the all-time political "saves" four years ago in the aftermath of the corruption arrests of former Mayor Matthew Scannapieco and former Councilman Thomas Broderick. This year, Kleinberg seemed to self - destruct, with one gaffe after another. To top it all off, a Republicans for Hornik movement erupted, supporting Kleinberg's Democratic opponent. I thought Manalapan was supposed to be the new Howell! Marlboro's problems likely caused the defeat of freeholder candidate Jeff Cantor. This bears further investigation and we are not finished with this one.

Matawan - Squeaker! Councilman Paul Buccellato is currently one vote behind Democratic Mayor Mary Aufseeser for the mayoralty. He is seeking a recount. Republican Linda Clifton was elected to the council. Once a G. O. P. bastion, Matawan has been Democratic the last few years.

Middletown Twp. Yet another split. Mayor Jerry Scharfenberger was reelected, but his running mate, Tristan Nelsen, fell short to Democrat Sean Byrnes. Hey Middletown G. O. P.: You're the biggest town in the county. Pull it together. We need big numbers from you. One more Dem gets elected and that's the ball game, guys.

Upper Freehold Twp. Reliably Republican, even in the face of a split. Lori Horsnall Mount and Stanley Moslowski Jr. were nominated in the Republican primary. Republican Mayor Stephen Fleischacker opted to go it as an independent, bypassing the primary process. Moslowski then ditched his running mate and teamed up with Fleischacker, leaving Horsnall Mount out in the cold, so to speak. Atfer all was said and done, however, it was Moslowski and Horsnall Mount who won.

Wall Twp. Howellesque. What else can we say? No Democrats filed for the two full - term committee seats. Jeffrey Foster and Clint Hoffman, two Republicans running as independents, defeated longtime G. O. P. committee members Robert Peters and Mary Burne. For the two year unexpired term of John Tobia, Republican Michael Clayton defeated Democrat Sherri West. The 2008 make up of the Wall Township Committee will be 2D - 1R - 2I. It remains to be seen whether the independents will work with Clayton or the Democrats. Wall is an important town and what goes on here can affect the county races.

This has been but a sampling of some notable local races in Monmouth County.

LUCAS & LITTLE WIN!

No, sports fans, you're not reading a draft from last year's election. Mayor Andrew Lucas of Manalapan was reelected to the Township Committee along with his running mate Susan Cohen, overcoming both an independent candidate and a local party split to defeat two Democratic opponents. And in Highlands, Freeholder Anna Little handily won election as that borough's next mayor, defeating a Democrat, an independent and a write-in candidate backed by Middletown Republican Judith Stanley-Coleman. Earth to Judy: While Highlands may be somewhat surrounded by Middletown (Sandy Hook is part of Middletown.), it is not a part of Middletown, having seceded many decades ago. Butt out.
Election night was, all in all, not too shabby for Monmouth County Republicans.

Stick a fork in him. He's "Well Done."

That's right. Assemblyman Sean Kean coasted to victory over former assemblyman, former freeholder and all-around supporter of curmudgeonly County Counsel Malcolm Carton, John "Well Done" Villapiano; Dave Rible and Mary Pat Angelini defeated the other two Democratic johns in the 11th District.

Back to the Christmas tree farm, Ellen!

Jen BECK! romped to victory over incumbent Democratic Senator Ellen Kärcher. Kärcher was rocked by ethical questions about her Camden County connections and her property's farmland assessment. Desperate, she went viciously negative against BECK! and that was all she wrote. Democratic assemblyman Mike Panter will pant no more in Trenton; he and his running mate Amy Mallet having been bested by Declan O'Scanlon and the underestimated Caroline Casagrande. The 12th District thus returns after a brief hiatus to the G. O. P. column.

13th an easy GOP win.

In the 13th District, Sen. Joe Kyrillos soundly defeated Democrat Lenny "ELEC" Inzerillo for another term representing that district. Inzerillo's campaign was known for the pink placards pasted to his posters promoting pandering points. (Like that? I wish I thought of it before the election!) Assembly members Amy Handlin and Sam Thompson crushed Democrats Pat Walsh and Robert Brown, keeping the 13th solidly Republican.

Had Enough?

The voters in the 30th District clearly spoke that they had had enough of the Trenton Democrats and their games and defeated the Democratic ticket of Steven Morlino for senate and Jeffrey Williamson and Sharon Atkinson for assembly. Sen. Bob Singer and Assemblymen Ron Dancer and Joe Malone soundly defeated the Democrats. The 30th, like all districts representing Monmouth County in Trenton, will be solidly Republican.

County to remain under GOP control; Silent Steve silenced

In the county races, we won at least three out of four, with Jeff Cantor's race up in the air. Kim Guadagno was elected Sheriff over Democrat Jack Hill. She will become the first woman to hold the Sheriff's office in Monmouth County. In 2008, all Monmouth County Constitutional officers will be women.
County Clerk Claire French roared to victory over Amod Choudhary of Colts Neck for another five year term. Claire has run the Clerk's office in a modern and professional manner, and will continue to do so.
On the freeholder level, things were closer. Freeholder Rob Clifton was high vote getter. For the second seat, John "Flippy" D'Amico (A supporter of curmudgeonly County Counsel Malcolm Carton from way back.) right now holds a razor-thin edge over Jeff Cantor. This should be decided once provisional ballots are counted; Jeff's a good guy and hopefully he can pull it off. "Silent Steve" Schueler was low man and will definitely not be a freeholder. Shows what silence can do.
As we get more information, it will be posted. We'll probably also talk about the towns, too.

?

Art Gallagher at More Monmouth Musings has a very informative post on the Public Questions that all should read before voting; likewise Teddy Roosevelt at Monmouth Bull Moose.

DEMS GONE WILD

In the last week or so the highly funded Democratic legislative candidates have really amped it up. The volume, that is.

It's shrill.

In the 11th District, they are airing a radio commercial blasting Dave Rible and Mary Pat Angelini. In it they say that Rible is accepting contributions from developers and Angelini awards no-bid contracts. Barry Goldwater, the Voice of Reason, refers to a shrill e-mail from ex-NFL player Phil Villapiano supporting his brother, Malcolm Carton supporter and former assemblyman and freeholder John "Well Done" Villapiano.

In 12, incumbent Senator Ellen Kärcher (D - Monmouth/Camden), has brought the rhetoric to new levels of cattiness with her Rastaesque attacks on her opponent, Assemblywoman Jen Beck, where she digs into the long-ago driving record of a then-twentysomething Beck. Kärcher also attempts to defend her farmland assessment.
On the assembly level, the Democrats appear to have distanced themselves from Kärcher, and are attempting to run as pseudo-Republicans. Assemblyman Michael Panter is airing commercials with himself as a corruption fighter. Earth to Mike: Your bosses in Trenton, Camden and Newark will never allow any worthwhile legislation to see the light of day. Amy Mallet is trying to portray herself as a born-again conservative. Her latest commercial piece calls for cuts in state government. Amy, get real. Your bosses will make sure that you vote to send our tax dollars to the cities. For more in-depth reading on the 12th, see The Voice of Reason. Barry's writings are informative and very well researched.

The 13th District has been pretty quiet, with the Democratic legislative candidates looking more like they are running for Middletown Township Committee. Lately, however, Senate candidate Leonard "ELEC" Inzerillo has had some stickers affixed to his signs. A recent late-night sojourn through the Bayshore has revealed at least two: "Control Traffic" and "Lower Tuition". The tuition stickers were all located around the Brookdale Community College area.
Huh? What's up with that, Lenny? Got a plan? Weird.
This has been an update on the zany madcap Democratic legislative campaigns.