FIVE - O!

FIVE - O!

That's what the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders will be come January when Freeholder-elect Gary Rich takes his seat. He will replace the last Democrat Freeholder, Amy Mallet, who along with running mate Bill Shea was soundly defeated. Surrogate Rosemarie Peters was reelected by about a 22,000 vote margin.
The 2012 Board will initially consist of Robert Clifton, Lillian Burry (just reelected), John Curley, Thomas Arnone and Gary Rich. Rob Clifton will then leave the Freeholder Board to take his seat in the State Assembly, as Amy Handlin did in 2006.
By State Law, the Monmouth County Republican Committee must convene and select a replacement freeholder.
Our teams swept all the Monmouth Legislative districts, too.

11th District:
Senator Jen Beck - WON
Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande - WON
Assemblywoman mart Pat Angelini - WON

12th District:
Senator Elect Sam Thompson - WON
Assemblyman Ronald dancer - WON
Assemblyman Elect Rob Clifton - WON

13th District:
Senator Joe Kyrillos - WON
Assemblywoman Amy Handlin - WON
Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon - WON

30th District:
Senator Bob Singer - WON
Assemblyman Elect Sean Kean - WON
Assemblyman dave Rible - WON

SOVIET FLIPPY?

Now, we're not exactly saying that County Commissioner (neé Freeholder) John D'Amico (a/k/a "Flippy") is a communist (well, kinda sorta), but the Honest Abe Research Foundation has uncovered an article in The Great Soviet Encyclopedia which sure sounds like him! Interestingly, it's the article on counties.
Here's the text:

COUNTY. (1) In the feudal period, a hereditary feudal possession headed by a count.
(2) An administrative-territorial unit in several bourgeois countries. In the USA, 47 states are divided into counties (a total of more than 3,000 counties). Counties are governed by elected county councils. In Great Britain there are administrative counties and county boroughs. The administration of counties is directed by elected councils, including so-called aldermen, who are co-opted by the council. The administration of counties also includes representatives of the central government -- for example, the lord lieutenant and sheriff. The Australian Commonwealth, some Canadian provinces, and New Zealand also have counties.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, Third Edition, Volume 7, Alexander M. Prokhorov, Editor in Chief, Moscow, 1970 (English translation by Macmillan & Co.)

Now it sounds like the Soviets were kind of talking out of their ass, but isn't that Flippy to a "T"? Maybe we should be calling him County Commissar instead of County Commissioner!
Speaking of Flippy, about a month ago we wrote a post about how the Freeholders, on a strict party-line vote, passed a resolution "recommending substitution of the term 'Commissioner' for the term 'Freeholder' in Statutes pertaining to County Government". At the time, we called for its speedy repeal by the new Board.
The new Board has recently repealed the resolution, albeit again on a party line vote, with Republicans John Curley, Rob Clifton and Lillian Burry voting in favor of repeal, and Democrats Flippy and Amy "Fat Children" Mallet voting against.
Here's the text:


RESOLUTION RESCINDING RESOLUTION NO 09-1230 RECOMMENDING SUBSTITUTION OF THE TERM "COMMISSIONER" FOR THE TERM "FREEHOLDER" IN STATUTES PERTAINING TO COUNTY GOVERNMENT

WHEREAS, in the judgment of the Board of Chosen Freeholders of the County of Monmouth, it is advisable and in the best interest of the County to rescind Resolution 09-1230 which recommended the substitution of the term "Commissioner" for the term "Freeholder" in statutes pertaining to County Government; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Chosen Freeholders of the County of Monmouth that Resolution 09-1230 be and same is hereby rescinded in its entirety.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution shall be sent to Governor Jon S. Corzine, Governor-Elect Christopher J. Christie, the President of the New Jersey State Senate, the Speaker of the New Jersey Assembly, all State Legislators representing legislative districts in Monmouth County, the New Jersey Association of Counties, and the Boards of Chosen Freeholders of all of the Counties in New Jersey.

Short and sweet.
So, hopefully this quixotic endeavor at PC crap is over and done with. The Republican majority did the right thing in repealing last month's resolution. It shows what a clueless whack job D'Amico is and what a blind follower Amy Mallet is.
They should be repealed when their terms come up.

MALLET HIT

"It seems all the Trenton Democrats need to do in Monmouth County is say, "jump,' and our Democratic freeholders respond, "how high?' "
...Freeholder Lillian G. Burry

County Commissioner (neé freeholder) Amy "Hammerhead" Mallet (Biden with boobs) just pulled a live one. In the Asbury Park Press she and Director Barbara "Figurehead" McMorrow came out for housing Gloucester County juveniles at the Monmouth County Youth Detention Center. The article, written by cub reporter Bob Jordan, states that the county could recoup some of the center's operating costs this way. Nowhere in the article did it say whether Jordan had interviewed Sheriff Kim Guadagno, who operates the YDC, or Freeholder Lillian Burry, who oversees it as part of her freeholder assignment.

Yesterday, Burry and Freeholder Rob Clifton came out swinging in the Press. Apparently McMorrow came out swinging, too, you see apparently Mallet never told McMorrow that she was going to the Press. Publicly McMorrow joined the Democratic spin, although she admitted, "I have a concern that adding more juveniles may mean that we have to do capital improvements to the facility. I have not discussed this idea with anyone in Gloucester County." Clifton noted, "Gloucester took action on March 4, so somebody here must have been talking to them."

Gloucester County is led by Democratic-State Senate Majority Leader-3rd District Senator-Freeholder Director-Ironworker Union Boss-Stephen Sweeney-Billygoat-Legs. Mallet received a large $14,400.00 contribution, dated October 24th, 2003 from the Gloucester County Democratic machine. (Read more about Mallet's out of county sponsors here and here! Also here!)

There had been speculation as to why the Democrats were so adamantly opposed to closing the YDC. Some had speculated that it was due to support for the Democrats by public employee unions representing YDC workers. This flew in the face of the Democrats' treatment of county workers at large, and the Honest Abe Research Foundation was unable to find a compelling link. The liberal truth was revealed at the March 26th freeholders meeting, where "Flippy" D'Amico stated that to move the inmates to Middlesex County's more modern facility would inconvenience the inmates' families and their ministers.

Additional inmates would potentially require additional staffing at the YDC, which would cut into any revenue that might come from Gloucester. More importantly, it may require expensive construction projects, which would probably far exceed any revenue. But hey, the Democrats are heavily funded by construction trade unions, so that is probably their point. That and helping Billygoat-Legs Sweeney save the Gloucester County taxpayers money.

The Democratic freeholders are but puppets of the Trenton Democrats and their uber-bosses based in Union, Gloucester and Camden Counties. This has been predicted for years. They are obviously completely unfazed by criticism of their wheeling. It's just what they do. They must be stopped before they screw up the county even worse than they have.

VERY SILENT GLENN APPOINTED

Yet another losing Democratic county commissioner candidate was rewarded with a patronage job Thursday night when, in a 3-2 vote, Very Silent Glenn Mason was appointed as the county's Emergency Management Coordinator. He joins Silent Steve Schueler (Assistant County Counsel) and Rebecca Aaronson (MVC Agent) on the public dole. Read Art Gallagher's post here and the Asbury Park Press article here. Appointing a political crony to an Emergency Management post in a post-9/11 environment is like a platonic version of the Jim McGreevey - Golan Cipel fiasco. In a possible violation of the Open Public Meetings Act, Republican Freeholders Lillian Burry and Rob Clifton have been kept out of the loop and in the dark on appointments and other issues.
This is yet another example of the flip-flopping and hypocrisy that has been rampant in the less than 90 days that the Democrats have held the Board. In fact, at the same meeting we had the Democratic flip-flop on Amy "Hammerhead" Mallet's risky scheme to gut the County's open space tax. When they saw the public outcry, they backed off. Still, Michael Harmon, of the Board of Recreation Commissioners, discovered that fund moneys were proposed to be diverted from capital to operating expenses. According to Burry, "They changed their minds because it was a bad idea and because of the outcry against it."
Sheriff Kim Guadagno spoke about proposed layoffs of county employees and how it would affect her department's ability to serve the public, and was, in a Union County moment, actually gaveled down by Figurehead Director Barbara McMorrow for having the nerve to exceed the 5 minute limit on speaking. Reduced staffing at the County Jail will result in mushrooming overtime costs. It could also have other, more physical results. It really could.
Her predecessor as sheriff, County Chairman Joe Oxley, also blasted the Democrats, "The fact that you're about to hire Amy Mallet's running mate and still plan to lay off people from the Sheriff's Office is a disgrace".
The Sheriff also blasted County Commissioner John "Flippy" D'Amico (The Prime Minister) for interfering in the labor situation with her officers; Flippy was later blasted for the same thing by former Howell Mayor Joe DiBella, who dubbed Flippy, "Stone Cold" for his wooden, uncaring detachment at meetings. DiBella also pointed out that members of the public who exceeded the meeting room capacity were denied access to the Hall of Records itself, and forced to stand out in the cold. (That also sounds like Union County.)
Speaking of Flippy, and proving that the Inspector General issue isn't dead, the Board appointed by a party-line vote, former Freeholder Director Tom Powers, former Prosecutor and Judge "Hollywood Al" Lehrer and former state Chief Justice James Zazzali as the Ethics Review Committee, to determine that being bad is, well, bad. They will also advise the Board as to whether they should create and staff a new department of Inspector General.
This fiasco was just one meeting. These idiots have the whole rest of the year to screw things up royally. So, let's pack the house at every meeting. It's far from boring. That ZZZ isn't someone snoring, it could be the county's future bond rating.
November can't come soon enough!

ON THE CUTTING OF COUNTY EXPENSES

Monmouth County's Democratic County Commissioners (neé Freeholders) claim to want to cut waste in government. That's debateable, but we'll reserve that battle for another day.
I believe their reduction of board member salaries is an excellent start.
In the spirit of reduction, I would like to help them, and I offer this proposal. Monmouth County has an "at-large" board, meaning that they each represent the county as a whole, as opposed to individual towns or districts. As such, having five is redundant. Indeed, it is arbitrary, as Mercer, a smaller county, has seven. So it has nothing to do with population.
I propose a three-member board. This would result in an instant 40% reduction in board salaries, not to mention less secretaries, printing agendas, etc.
But Abe, but Abe, you say, who would be let go? I've already figured that out, campers. In a bi-partisan way, of course.
Director Barbara McMorrow gets to stay. She runs by herself, and to eliminate her position would disrupt the election cycle of board members. So she stays.
The other four members run two at a time, so one of each pair would have to go. Amy "Hammerhead" Mallet goes. She's the "most recent hire", she got in by the skin of her shark teeth, and doesn't appear to offer anything to the organization. So she goes.
Rob Clifton is the senior member of the board. If seniority counts, he stays. That leaves John D'Amico, affectionately known as "Flippy". Although he served before, that was way back in the 80's, and he's been out of touch since then. He didn't have an original idea then, and nothing seems to have changed since then. Like Amy Mallet, Flippy squeaked in back in '07. So he, too gets laid off.
That leaves two Republicans and one Democrat. How 'bout that. We're back!
The above is a work of satire.

SITYS

"You heard it right: If you want to work in Monmouth County, you have to ask Union County first."
...Freeholder Robert D. Clifton

SITYS. See, I Told You So.
Readers of this blog will know that for the last few years I have been writing about the Monmouth County Democrats' connections with Camden and Union Counties.
It's come full circle.
In my last post I revealed how County Commissioner-elect Amy Mallet, a George Norcross acolyte, had received a contribution of thousands of dollars from a Camden County assemblyman. Now it comes out that they have asked Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D-Union), a wheeling supporter of theirs, to help them in filling at least four top appointments in county government.
Let's take a look at the county. Back in the days of Director Harry Larrison, positions were filled based upon party loyalty, as well as personal fealty to Harry. Often a job would go to members of a local governing body so as to augment their pension. We had people like Ray O'Grady (Middletown Township Committee), Tom Broderick (Marlboro Township Committee), and Tony Palughi (Long Branch City Council), as well as others. County Commissioner John "Flippy" D'Amico voted for Palughi based on a blank application.
Since the Bid Rig days, with new Republican freeholders, the county has attempted to get away from that. Department heads are now chosen based on their resumé. Often people who have worked their way up from entry level are now promoted from within, as in the HIghway and Bridge departments.
Recently, the Republican freeholders were criticized for turning over hiring authority to County Administrator Robert Czech. Democrats, with the assistance of the Asbury Park Press, accused them of attempting to "burrow in" GOP loyalists. It now looks as if the freeholders were more interested in preserving the reforms of the past four years and protect the Monmouth County taxpayer from outside Democratic interests.

As Freeholder Clifton said: "That tells us that not only are the Democrats eager to begin instituting an expensive and outdated patronage system here in Monmouth County, it appears they are looking in to burrow in these loyalists with civil service titles as quickly as possible."

Get ready for a long, bumpy ride, campers. This could get ugly. Fast.

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.

FLIPPY AND SILENT STEVE

Today's Asbury Park Press editorial endorsing Democratic candidates John "Flippy" D'Amico and Silent Steve Schueler for Freeholders is true to form. Blast the Republican candidates for the past actions of the late Harry Larrison and his cronies, and praise the Democrats as reformers. Don't forget to throw curmudgeonly County Counsel Malcolm Carton into the mix.
A look at the Democrats' ELEC reports shows, as in past years, a bevy of attorneys and labor unions as contributors. And remember, like Alice in Wonderland, the Democratic Party is a place where wheeling is not wheeling.
They have even "beLittled" Jeff Cantor with, "Cantor, who has the least experience and seems to have the weakest grasp of the issues among the candidates, doesn't appear ready to step up to the freeholder board yet." Come on. That's just like their "we're dubious" comment about Freeholder Anna Little last year. Cantor has basically followed Little's lead on reform issues.
Their bringing up Carton in particular falls flat. Rob Clifton alreday has voted no on Carton's appointment, and Cantor has vehemently said that he should go. On the other hand, Flippy has hedged on Carton, and Silent Steve has been, well, silent. This blog has reported that D'Amico back in 1988 not only voted for Carton's appointment, he sponsored the resolution. You read it here first. And we have it on good authority that D'Amico and Carton maintain contact to this day, with Flippy even a visitor to the curmudgeonly counsel's palustrine palace.
Flippy is the epitomé of Club Monmouth.
Although the Press' endorsements of Republican legislators was widely praised among G. O. P. activists, their freeholder endorsement falls flat. To read it, one would deduce that they had first made the decision to back Flippy and Silent Steve, then come up with reasons for it later.
The Press is in the business of selling newspapers. If they don't do that, they're out of business. Fair enough. But at least if you're going to make an endorsement, use facts and make it convincing.

UPDATE

Today's Press (Oct. 29th) endorses the Democrats for Sheriff and County Clerk, namely Jack Hill and Amod Choudhary, respectively. This makes for a complete Democratic endorsement on the county level.
The Press continues to dwell on a supposed Republican connection to a dead man, Harry Larrison, Jr., while ignoring documented Democratic connections to live people like George Norcross III of Camden County, Raymond Lesniak of Union County and others, as well as all the labor bucks rolling in.

FORMER FREEHOLDER FLIPPY D'FLOPPA

As the county campaign heats up, we find more and more that former Freeholder John D'Amico, Jr., far from being the reformer that he cracks himself up to be, was in thick and heavy with "the boys".

And on top of that, he's proving to be quite a flip-flopper. And this guy was a judge? And in charge of paroling offenders?

We already knew about his support for curmudgeonly County Counsel Malcolm Carton. You read that here first. Now Freeholder Rob Clifton has released documents showing that D'Amico twice voted for the appointment of Anthony J. Palughi as Director of Central Motor Pool Operations even though Palughi's job application was blank, save for "his name, his phone number, his address and his contact if he got hurt." Clifton points out that D'Amico voted to appoint Palughi twice.

As for Carton, in this year's campaign alone the chamaeleonic D'Amico flip-flopped from, "If we're elected, we're going to review that position and all the open positions that come up", to "It's time for Malcolm to retire. I'm not going to vote for him."

He lamely flip-flopped on the freeholders' dinner meetings of yore, which he gleefully participated in back in the 80's.

"I had dinner. I'm sorry."

Oh. I guess sorry makes it right. You had dinner all right John. On the taxpayers' dime!

It's clear that D'Amico was weak as a minority freeholder back in the 80's. How was he as a majority freeholder? You know, when the Democrats were in control.

Two matters come to mind. The first had to do with the appointment of Robert J. Collins as County Administrator. Collins had served as Administrator during the Democrats' control during the 70's, and the Democrats wanted to bring him back when they retook the majority in the 80's. In the interim Collins had worked in both public and private sector jobs. The Democratic freeholder majority voted to buy back Collins' lost pension time at county expense; normally an employee would have to do this at his or her own expense. That controversial resolution passed on a strictly party line vote, with Republicans Harry Larrison and Tom Powers both voting no.

The second matter that comes to mind is the appointment of John E. Westlake as Clerk of the Board, a position now held by the genial Jim Gray of Manalapan. Westlake would go on to both serve time on the Monmouth County Tax Board and to serve time for tax evasion.

So, D'Amico is no reformer. Not only is he known for cronyism as a freeholder, it would appear that he continued that behavior as State Parole Board Chairman.

Put John D'Amico back on the Board of Chosen Freeholders? You've gotta be kidding!!!

SIGNS, SIGNS, EVERYWHERE!

We have gotten well into the time of year that campaigns are in full gear. That means signs, campers.

Our Monmouth County G. O. P. has always had a very efficient sign team, and this year is no exception. All over the county one may see the multicolored "Guadagno, French, Clifton, Cantor" signs on lawns and roadsides. (If you haven't gotten yours, call Republican Headquarters at 732-431-6664 and get one!)

Signs for our legislative teams are also appearing in their respective districts; the locals are getting theirs up in the towns. (If you think Howell is quiet, it's because they have no seats up this year. See Manalapan.)

The Democrats have been a tad slow on the uptake this year when it comes to signs. One month out from the general election, we have not seen any Democratic county signs. Their locals are up, as are the legislative candidates, but no county. [UPDATE! 10/10/07: Earlier today one lonely "Hill, Choudhary, D'Amico, Scheuler" sign was spotted on Crine Road in Colts Neck. All by its lonesome.] This does not mean that they have no campaign, however. We have it on reliable authority that their sheriff candidate, Jack Hill, sent out a mailer recently. This piece aroused the ire of postal workers due to its large size and slick texture; a darker side to it was the fact that several postmen received paper cuts from the Hill piece.

Democratic 13th District Senate candidate Leonard "ELEC" Inzerillo got his signs out in the Bayshore this weekend; this appears to have been done separately from his Assembly candidate running mates as they do not appear on his signs. It does not appear that Union County's goose-stepping, Oompa-loompaesque publisher James J. Devine is involved in the 13th District campaign this year.

Last year there were the "Republicans ♥ Barbara McMorrow" signs, this year we have the "Republicans for Hornik" (Democratic Mayoral candidate Jon Hornik) signs in Marlboro. These appear to be the result of a party split (Brought to our attention by Barry Goldwater at The Voice of Reason.) in the Marlboro G. O. P. relating to Mayor Robert Kleinberg. So far we have no names, but it appears to be actual Republicans who had a falling out with the mayor. It is our understanding that this group includes some long time party members. Hornik's father, the late Mayor Saul G. Hornik, was a longtime Republican who then switched parties in his first term. The signs do not list a treasurer's name, just paid for by Republicans for Hornik.
Note to Republicans for Hornik: The time to oppose a Republican candidate/official is in the Primary. The Primary, people. Don't promote the Democrats.
Im Marlboro, who is paying for something is always important to know, and it'll be interesting to see just who is funding this operation. If anyone has any info on this, let us know.

Finally, we are told that Mayor Andrew Lucas of Manalapan (Who should have been elected Freeholder last year!) tied the knot this past Saturday. We wish the Lucases much happiness in their marriage!

CANTOR NOT FOR CARTON

"Judging from his history, he's been extremely insubordinate and quite frankly I don't know what value he brings to the county."
...Freeholder Candidate Jeff Cantor, speaking of curmudgeonly County Counsel Malcolm Carton.


In what the Asbury Park Press calls a "schism" among county Republican leaders, Freeholder candidate Jeff Cantor has joined Freeholders Rob Clifton and Anna Little in distancing himself from curmudgeonly County Counsel Malcolm V. Carton. I don't so much see it as a schism as the new generation of G. O. P. leaders asserting themselves.

Cantor, who is showing himself to be a real stand-up-guy, has previously supported Little's call for term limits and rotation of the Freeholder Directorship.

Democratic candidate and former Freeholder John D'Amico, a longtime supporter of Carton, hedged, "He's got two years to go on his appointment. If we're elected, we're going to review that position and all the open positions that come up."

Of course.

D'Amico sponsored the resolution back in 1988 appointing Carton. You read it here first. Over a year ago. Nice to see that the Press reads the Monmouth County Republican Blog.


Interestingly, it appears that an April prediction on this blog is coming true. Malcolm is an issue in this year's campaign, but not in the conventional sense. That being that the belligerant barrister presents a conundrum as an issue, in that he would appear to have more support from D'Amico and the Democrats than from the Republicans. That support may work both ways.


Although Carton has, as D'Amico said, two years to go on his appointment, as I've said before, he should leave. Now.


Read more at More Monmouth Musings and Monmouth Bull Moose.

CATCH 22?

NOTE: I was fully prepared to go through the campaign without criticizing the County Chairman. The priority right now should be to elect our great G. O. P. Team. However, things have gotten pretty weird lately and it needs to be addressed.

Chairman Adam Puharic's recent e-mail initiative on pay-to-play reform has been criticized by many Republicans. Adam brings up some very valid points, but he has been criticized for the amateurish timing of his proposal, which has made our Freeholders look foolish and has handed unnecessary ammunition to the Asbury Park Press as well as to the Democrats.
An interesting by-product of this has been the attack on Freeholder Rob Clifton by an obscure blog known for its slavish devotion to the Puharic company line. Monmouth RastaMan writes,

"Out (sic) take is this: Cifton might as well just resign and hand over the freeholder job to D'Amico. From the looks of it, one must wonder if he is going to make it til' (sic) the end of the summer. ...Maybe it's (sic) simple. He is just looking for an excuse not to win."

Monmouth RastaMan has been a Puharic ally from the beginning; he/she/they first appeared on Current Times, Brett Palat's blog, over a year ago supporting Puharic's election as County Chairman, and since then has continued to support Adam and his policies. By attacking Clifton, RastaMan ironically now joins Courier publisher Jim Purcell, who has consistently opposed Clifton on other issues; Purcell has also been on the receiving end of some of RastaMan's more vicious diatribes.
It's almost as if RastaMan would attack Clifton no matter what stand he took on this issue, which would be consistent with theories during the candidate selection process that Clifton was targeted just as Freeholder Anna Little was.
Why, in a year with control of the Freeholder Board on the line, would two incumbent freeholders be targeted by their own party leadership?
That's a good question. A number of theories came out during the process as to why Adam was after Anna; one of those had to do with her "NO" vote on the reappointment of curmudgeonly County Counsel Malcolm V. Carton. Rob also voted against the sarcastic solicitor, and would thus be vulnerable to being similarly targeted.
But why would he be targeted during a general election? A Democrat could get in.
Exactly. With Clifton's running mate Jeff Cantor an unknown quantity and Rob himself a NO vote, factions loyal to the bombastic barrister may actually feel more comfortable with Democrat John D'Amico, a known Carton supporter, who when on the Board, moved Carton's nomination as counsel. D'Amico actually sponsored the resolution.
Other theories exist that, for various alleged reasons, deals were made to throw the election to the Democrats. Or the whole gooey mess could be just very amateurish politics.
Make no mistake, if the Democrats get in this year, it's control of the County, and it'll be very hard for the G. O. P. to get back in the driver's seat, if at all. Can you say Bergen County with beaches?
Regardless of what our party leadership may or may not do, whether you like Adam or not, it is imperative to get behind our candidates like never before. This is expected to be a tough election, and the candidates will need our help. With a county chairman bumbling from crisis, or worse, actively working for defeat, our candidates may not be able to depend upon the leadership for help. It then is important for the rank and file to step up to the plate, to "cowboy up" as it were, and work to ensure that the Democrats don't get in this fall.

BRIDGES

You can build them or you can burn them. In our great Republican Party, with our Big Tent and Politics of Inclusion, Freeholder Rob Clifton has shown his willingness to build bridges. County Chairman Adam Puharic, however, is still playing with matches.
Clifton was reported in the Asbury Park Press as saying that he would welcome having Little as a running mate "if that's what the party chooses."
He was quickly rebuked by Puharic.
Many Republicans are hoping Clifton's leadership can help bring about an end to the battle between Puharic and Little. It is hoped that the awarding of the County Organization line will go to Clifton and Little, and that Republicans can go into November's election united against the Democrats.
Little opted not to participate in Puharic's steering process due to a "hold harmless" clause in the candidates' questionnaire that would absolve the County Organization of any liability for leaks in the background checking process. Basically the candidates would be participating at their own risk.It also appears that Puharic intentionally structured the screening process from the beginning so as to deny Little the line. It is uncertain why, but it appears that Puharic objected to Little's organization of volunteers and supporters in the 2006 campaign. Another theory is that Little, a conservative, drew the ire of the party's "country club" faction, or that her vote against curmudgeonly County Counsel Malcolm V. Carton may have triggered a vendetta. Clifton also voted against Carton.
In a related matter, prospective freeholder candidate J. David Hiers has filed for reelection to the Ocean Township Committee, a move viewed as hedging his bets.
Hopefully, Clifton's move will prompt other Republicans to call for a Clifton - Little ticket, and that the prospective candidates Hiers, Brian Reilly and Jeff Cantor will withdraw their names from consideration in the interest of party unity.
Read Seward's take here, Goldwater's here.

PUHARIC SHOULD RESIGN

Back in June, the Monmouth County Republican Blog did not support Adam Puharic for County Chairman; we believed James Giannell would be a better choice. That having been said, once Puharic was elected we congratulated him and gave him every benefit of the doubt. Although there were lurid tales leaking out of Aberdeen about his raging temper and despotic nature, we took him at his word when he wrote:

"I made many hard decisions, and numerous mistakes. One of those mistakes cost me an important friendship. I chose to use my power as Chairman to punish dissent, instead of healing, bringing people together, and fostering debate without resentment. I learned a powerful lesson – one that I hope the future Chairman will use to success: Power is finite. Once you use it, you immediately begin to lose it. But influence is forever. If you harness your influence, you can see the right ideas come to light, whether they are yours or not."

We believed him when he said he had learned his lesson.
Apparently he had not.

"Remember Admiral Nelson. In the year 1800, the British Admiral Horatio Nelson won the important battle of Trafalgar, which led to British dominance for almost one hundred years. Before the battle he wrote, 'A commander can do no wrong if he turns his guns toward the enemy and fires away.' The next chairman must not waste one word on Republicans. It is time to focus on beating democrats."

Rich Kohler of Hazlet, who blogs at The Middle Road, commented here expressing concern about a Puharic chairmanship last June:

"Although all the talk of uniting the Party against the Democrats sounds inspirational, I can’t shake a nagging suspicion that it’s just rhetorical code for a “no dissension” approach to leadership, and that the real losers are the people who thought they were voting for change by electing Puharic."

"My wife, who is new to the County Committee, clarified her apprehension (which she characterized as minor and potential) as such: 'By vilifying dissension, the leadership creates a kill-the-messenger atmosphere and the balance of power ends up teetering unproductively between “disruptive” naysayers and self-interested “public” servants.'"

At the time, we downplayed Rich's concerns. How prophetic he sounds now!
Today we are faced with a bad situation that didn't have to happen at all. Two incumbent freeholders are up for reelection, Robert Clifton and Anna Little. By all accounts, both have performed well on the Board, and are interested in running again. Normally, they would be accorded the courtesy of an acclamation vote at the convention.
Puharic decided to pursue a vendetta against Freeholder Little because of differences of opinion during last year's campaign. (Clifton, too, may be in Puharic's crosshairs.) He devised a screening process which specifically targeted Freeholder Little by requiring her to be the only incumbent to screen. When called on this, he changed the process and required all incumbents to screen; this was merely cover for his original scheme.
The situation deteriorated and now has made the newspapers. This has embarassed the Party; the Party is not Puharic, it is the sum of its membership.
Puharic even went so far as to hold a meeting with Freeholder Little with two men present assuming intimidating poses. The freeholder reported that Puharic said that they were to protect her from his temper. Protect her from his temper? This is an outrage to every good Republican– over 550 of us who attended Lincoln Day Monday night -- was he implying that he might physically strike her? That he needed the two men there to restrain him? Is this the type of individual who we want leading our great Party?
In less than a year, this chairman has become an embarassment to our great organization. His utter and amateurish lack of political instinct is apparent, and not only in the way he has handled the Little candidacy. His strident opposition to the 12th District State Senate candidacy of Joseph Locricchio against Jennifer Beck has given Locricchio more free publicity and exposure than Joe could hope to get on his own. Jen Beck, please take note. And every time Adam bashes the blogs, my hit counter goes off the charts!
A few weeks ago I would have said that he still had a way out and save face by revising the process and working this out with Freeholder Little.
That window has closed.
While it is normally not healthy for a political party to frequently change chairmen, it would be absolutely malignant for Adam Puharic to remain at the helm of the Monmouth County Republican Committee. On Wednesday, I posted a comment on More Monmouth Musings calling for Puharic's resignation. Today, the Asbury Park Press has joined me. I'm not known as a fan of that paper, but they're right on this one.
Finally, a note to all the great Republican candidates. Take a good, hard look at what is going on here. Where Anna Little finds herself, so might you. Be prepared to take steps to prevent this type of fiasco from happening again.

UPDATE

February 24th

Two things. First, I was going to pose the question whether anybody knew what the get-together at Republican Headquarters on Wednesday and Thursday evenings was about. Never mind. I believe I have my answer. Today I received a comment from a veteran Republican who wished not to be published. This individual's complaint was that they had received a mailing from the County Republican Organization which was the same as Chairman Puharic's diatribe against Freeholder Little.
Your contributions at work.

Second. Back in late December, William H Seward ran a post on More Monmouth Musings entitled 2007 Predictions. In it, he predicted that Howell Mayor Joe DiBella would screen for freeholder. Mayor DiBella posted the following comment stating that he had no interest in running; he also voiced his opinion on the attacks against Freeholder Little.

Joe_DiBella said...
Interesting predictions. Bit you absolutely have at least one wrong. I will certainly not seek the nomination for Freeholder under any condition. I am very happy with my position as Mayor. I think Drew would be an exceptional candidate and there are many other good people available as well, Bob McKenna to name another. Plus, with the non sense that some are trying to pin on Ms. Little, which is disgusting, I frankly have no taste for such politics.Saturday, January 06, 2007 3:22:00 PM

Thank you for standing up and speaking your mind, Mr. Mayor.

CHAIRMAN PUHARIC'S IRESIDE PAP

Standing strong against the voices attempting to destroy our party
02/20/2007


Dear fellow Republicans:
Tonight, I received word from the Asbury Park Press that Anna Little has decided not to seek our great Republican Party endorsement, and instead is considering to run off the line in a primary or has even hinted at switching parties. Switching parties? This is an outrage to every good Republican – over 550 of us who attended Lincoln Day last night -- that she would betray our hard work, use the election victory we all worked towards together, and throw all of it away for her personal glory.[OK. Switching parties? Adam, you sound like your RastaMan friend here.]
As a result, I will honor her request and I remove her for consideration as a Freeholder candidate in 2007. Despite her attempts to undermine her running mates, Monmouth County Republicans like Claire French, Joe Kyrillos, Sean Kean, and Jennifer Beck will prevail in the fall.[Undermine? Oh Adam, do explain.]
In her comments, she will claim that the candidate agreement our party asked candidates to sign is the sole reason she is leaving our party – but nothing could be further from the truth. She did not have to sign it, and I told her this. [The only "agreement" that amounts to a hill of beans is the Oath of Office. You know, the one that says "under the authority of the PEOPLE." Not under the authority of the Party. Not under the authority of Puharic.] From the beginning, Anna Little and her supporters have attempted to divide our party by embarrassing fellow Republicans in the Asbury Park Press.[Oh, I guess you must mean that pesky vote against curmudgeonly County Counsel Malcolm Carton. How dare she!] Only Anna Little and the renegade candidate attempting to undermine Jennifer Beck’s run at Ellen Karcher have made an issue of the candidate selection process. [Undermine? It's called a primary. The law allows it. So, is Rudy Giuliani "undermining" Mitt Romney's run at the White House?] For them, it was an excuse to embarrass our party, and to undermine our leadership. [Adam, you are an embarassment to our party.] They have failed, and in their failure they are now joined as a campaign ticket against all Monmouth County Republicans. [Say what?]
Truth be told, Anna Little was not living up to her promises when she ran for office. She has proven ineffective in reforming county government, [Careful here, Adam. Either county government is reforming or it's not. If it's not, then you've just attacked all the Republican freeholders.] and instead attacks her fellow Republican Freeholders. She has not lived up to her responsibility as a party leader. Instead of being an active part of the 2006 campaign, Anna’s supporters organized into a counter-organization known as “Anna’s Army.” They met independently of the true campaign, making decisions counter-productive to her great running mates Andrew Lucas and Rosemarie Peters. [And she won, Adam. Sounds like "Anna's Army" was pretty effective after all. Would that Andrew had an organization like that. He might have been a freeholder today.] They made independent campaign expenditures without consulting their running mates. [Each of the three candidates had their own campaign account and treasurer. Oh, and did I mention that Anna won.]
And last night, Anna’s supporters attempted a quiet boycott of Lincoln Day in a poor attempt at protest. [Lincoln Day was a nice event. Freeholder Little was there herself. But attendance has been going down for several years. Because a few people may have had other committments, it doesn't constitute a boycott. But, once again, Adam, we find you and the libelous blogger Rasta on the same page. One wonders. Are you him? Do you know who it is? Are they working at your behest? No, you don't have to answer now. It means so much more when you're sworn under oath.] Instead this backfired, with over 500 Republicans of good cheer replacing them without much effort. This party is moving on. We have moved past the angry scowls and negative spin of an agenda-driven cabal. [Cabal? Be careful with those conspiracy theories.]
On March 3, our screening committee will convene to select two Freeholder candidates [TWO?? I thought the screening committee was supposed to select two for each position, meaning that all four should all go right to the convention. Wow. I wonder which two he means here. Adam, are you targeting Rob Clifton now? Rob, watch this guy.] among a qualified pool of four great Republicans, including Freeholder Robert Clifton, Ocean Twp. Councilman David Hiers, Marlboro Council President Jeff Kantor, and Spring Lake Councilman Brian Reilly. Freeholder Clifton has publicly supported this process, along with all of the Assembly and Senate candidates. [How 'bout the Sheriff?] They deserve our support and our unity.
The voices of dissention have made their voices heard. It is time for the voices of party unity to speak. I am writing to ask for your support to work together, and stand strong in the face of shrill voices [The shrillest voice in this debate is your own, Adam. Unless you're hearing some voices that the rest of us can't.] that would destroy our party. I need your help.
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THE RACE FOR FREEHOLDER

Four people have filed letters of intent with Chairman Adam Puharic for this year's freeholder race. They are:

• Robert D. Clifton - Incumbent freeholder, former Mayor of Matawan. Clifton is completing his first three - year term on the board.
• Anna C. Little - Incumbent Freeholder, former Highlands Borough Councilwoman. She is completing the one - year unexpired term of Amy H. Handlin, who resigned from the Board after taking a seat in the State Assembly.
• J. David Hiers - Ocean Township Committeeman, former fire chief. Hiers had thrown his hat in the ring last year, but later withdrew and endorsed the candidacy of Howell Mayor Joseph DiBella.
• Brian J. Reilly - Spring Lake Borough Councilman. Reilly also ran last year; after being defeated on the first ballot at the April 8th Convention he endorsed Andrew Lucas, who got the nomination.
• A possible fifth candidate may file with Puharic today. UPDATE! Will Seward says it might be Freehold Township Committeeman Anthony Ammiano, who served as Mayor for 2006. UPDATED UPDATE!!! It's Marlboro Township Committeeman Jeff Cantor.

The Steering Committee will meet on Saturday, February 17th and select two candidates for each open position; those names will then be voted on at the County Convention on Saturday March 24th.
Candidates are expected to undergo background checks, for which they are asked to pay up to $1,000. There was talk that it would be up to $2,000, but the amount has been clarified in today's (2/2/07) Asbury Park Press by Chairman Puharic.