HOWELL BACK TO NORMAL

Things in Howell had been pretty quiet until recently.
A group of independents, primarily a Republican faction (with some Dems) which opted to bypass the primary process, has held all seats on the Township Council. This group has had the backing of the Howell Democrats for the last few election cycles.
The honeymoon is over.
It appears that there has been a falling out between Mayor Robert Walsh and local Democratic Boss Steve Morlino. Walsh opines that Morlino is miffed that he was not considered for the council vacancy that occured when Walsh was elected mayor. Morlino denies this.
Although this is normally an off year in Howell politics, there will be two unexpired seats up for grabs this November: Walsh's vacancy, and that opened by the resignation of Councilman Michael Howell.
Morlino and the Democrats apparently believe that it is time to run candidates again, as evidenced by this posting on A Better Howell NJ:

With the recent resignation of Council Member Howell from the town council, I am looking for a strong 2nd candidate to round out the Democratic ticket in November. Anyone interested in running should send me a resume by July 15th. We need to make some very necessary changes in the direction Howell is being taken lately. One party (Independents) control is not working. We need to balance out the field. We are seeing the worst managment in Howell in the last 25 years. The I's are a disaster.
E-mail or phone me if you are interested.
Steve

Coupled with the Dems' falling out with the Independents is what appears to be at least a partial rapprochement between members of the Walsh group and the local Republican organization, for example, Mike Howell's support of a candidacy of former Mayor Joe DiBella for freeholder back in February. (DiBella never announced.)
Sooooo... we may be in for a rollicking, swashbuckling ride in Howell this fall. Just a note to the local GOP: Stick together, work together, win together.
Victory in the county could hinge on Howell.

REMEMBER HOWELL?

There was a time that the mere mention of Howell Township on this blog would elicit a "Howellanche" of comments. Indeed, there were those who would even steer a totally unrelated thread to Howell topics. Lately, Howell seems to have dropped off the face of the earth.

Actually, Howell is very much a part of Monmouth County, and with Middletown is key to a victory next month for Lillian Burry and John Curley. As quiet as things have been, there is in fact a local election going on there.

Mayor Joe DiBella has chosen not to run for reelection to another term. As many will remember, he was twice a candidate for freeholder in 2006. That year also saw an unsuccessful effort to recall the mayor. Joe weathered those storms, and we believe he goes out a winner this year.
The local GOP ticket this year is former Planning Board member Russell Bohlin for mayor and Susan O'Brien Wynalek for council. Wynalek replaces Planning Board Chairman Paul "PaulyRXman" Schneider on the ticket, who had withdrawn. They have joined the blogosphere, and can be visited at http://www.russandsueforhowell.blogspot.com/.
The independents are Councilman Robert Walsh for mayor and Susan Schroeder Clark for council.
Once again, there are no Democrats on the ballot for local office. This is the third consecutive local election in which the Howell Dems have not participated.

I'M BAAAAAAAAACK!!!

After being MIA for nearly a month, the Monmouth County Republican Blog is back on line. Between a vacation and coming back to computer malfunctions here at The Blog Cabin, your host has had little opportunity to blog other than the occasional comment on other sites.

During the past month, we had the Monmouth County Republican Convention, where John Curley of Red Bank bested Holmdel's Serena DiMaso in an upset. There was the Jerry Springer Show that has become the race for the Senatorial nomination. Don't forger the ongoing soap opera, As Trenton Turns, starring the Bozo-coiffed Governor Jonathan Stevens Corzine and featuring a magic room called the Attorney General's office, where heavyweights who enter are magically transformed into lightweights. Howell has quieted down (but it's early!), and Mayor Joe DiBella has decided against seeking a second term.

Anyway, sports fans, the Monmouth County Republican Blog is back. It's not going away.

IS HE STRONGER NOW?

Most of you have probably already read about the fact that the Recall Howell Mayor Joseph DiBella movement has fallen short of the required number of signatures to place the recall question on the November ballot.
Over the past several months, some Republicans have speculated that, if DiBella survived the recall effort, he would emerge stronger politically. With the recall question off the ballot, is this the case? Does this help or hurt the local GOP candidates in Howell this November? How about the County?
Let us know your opinion.

FRANCO IS STILL DEAD; THE CHAIRMAN IS STILL FRED

Less than two weeks out from the June 13 County Committee reorganization, and we cannot stress this enough: Fred Niemann may be down, but he's still not out. He is still the chairman until that meeting.
The behind the scenes machinations going on would be familiar to anyone who has participated in the last two county conventions, where an assortment of dark-horse candidates, stalking-horse candidates and outright red-herring candidates were in the races.
Several candidates were suspected of being nothing more than a part of an elaborate divide and conquer scheme aimed at securing the freeholder nomination for Howell Mayor Joe DiBella.
These schemes were ultimately unsuccessful, and owing to the closeness of both the February and April Convention votes, some have pondered that, without the divisive schemes and outlandish shenanigans of some of DiBella's supporters, he may have been a freeholder today.
Today finds us with several names in and out of the race for County Chairman. Sheriff Joe Oxley, the perceived frontrunner, opted not to run, leaving Red Bank's James Giannell in the apparent lead. Former Freeholder Ed Stominski and Neptune Township's Mel Hood have apparently formed a slate. Other names mentioned have included Little Silver Councilman Declan O'Scanlon, lobbyist and former DiBella campaign manager Brian Nelson, Howard Dean contributor Madeline Ferraro, and newcomers Adam Puharic of Aberdeen and Elias Abilheira of Millstone.
Several leaders said to be allied with the Niemann-Gallic group are reported to be casting about for a candidate, but so far have not found the candidate they seek.
If you are on the County Committee, or will be elected in the Primary on June 6, please pay attention to this race. It is very important. Read and listen to what the candidates say, and look at their records to get an idea of what they will do. Beware of stalking-horses. And be on the lookout for shenanigans.
The future of our party depends upon it.

TIME TO LOOK TO NOVEMBER

With Joe DiBella's concession to Andrew Lucas, it's time to look to November and work hard to ensure a Republican victory. The opponents now are the Democrats and we must unite to defeat them.
The choice is clear. We have the youthful, energetic team of Andrew Lucas and Anna Little, proven public servants ready to serve the people. The Democrats have the tired slate of Barbara McMorrow and Leonard Inzerillo, proven politicians ready to serve the bosses and special interests. Anna has already turned down PAC money and Andrew has also sworn off such fundraising. McMorrow and Inzerillo both have fundraising connections to Union County interests, and the vast editorial staff here at the Monmouth County Republican Blog are all very concerned about Monmouth County being run like Union County. For information on how Union County is run, please click here.
Furthermore, Inzerillo's treasurer in his losing 2003 campaign against former Assemblyman Joe Azzolina was the controversial, oompaloompaesque Union County publisher James Devine, of Handlin-Thompson.org infamy.
It is important to get the word out. Our candidates will win on the issues everytime!

But Abe, But Abe, What About June?

What about it?
Let's keep the reorganization separate from the Freeholder campaign. They are two separate issues. As Republicans, we should all look to elect our Freeholder candidates. They have been chosen, fair and square. The team will remain the same regardless of the chairman's election.
It appears that Chairman Fred Niemann will have some competition this June. Those who have declared so far are former Freeholder Ed Stominski and Neptune Township Republican Club President Mel Hood. Others may or may not enter the race as June approaches.
The reorganization should be decided on issues, not personalities, and whatever the outcome, whoever wins and whoever you backed, it's important to stay united with victory in November as our goal.

2006 REPUBLICAN SLATE

Manalapan's Lucas Nominated; Visibly Angry DiBella May Challenge Result.

UPDATE: The freeholder result is now up in the air. Declared a "tie" by Gallic.

UPDATED UPDATE: DiBella concedes to Lucas and won't run, so says the APP.

The following were nominated at this morning's Republican County Convention:

U. S. SENATE: Thomas Kean

4th DISTRICT CONGRESS: Rep. Chris Smith

6th DISTRICT CONGRESS: Leigh-Ann Bellew

12th DISTRICT CONGRESS: Joseph Sinagra

SURROGATE: Rosemarie Peters

FREEHOLDER, 3 Yrs.: Andrew Lucas

FREEHOLDER, 1Yr.: Anna Little

Nominations were done by acclamation for all positions but Surrogate and the 3-year freeholder slot. Peters beat Little Silver's Rick DeNoia for the Surrogate nod.
For freeholder the choice was to select one out of a field of five men: Lucas, Joseph DiBella of Howell, Robert Kleinberg of Marlboro, Brian Reilly of Spring Lake and Terence Wall of Holmdel.
Reilly and Kleinberg were defeated in the first round of balloting and threw their support to Lucas. Then Wall announced his withdrawal from the second ballot and endorsed Lucas. Lucas went on to win over DiBella by one vote.
DiBella is said to be contemplating a challenge to the result.

FREEHOLDER CANDIDATES

William H. Seward of More Monmouth Musings reports the following candidates for Freeholder:

Robert Kleinberg, Mayor of Marlboro

Joseph DiBella, Mayor of Howell

Terence Wall, Holmdel Township Committee and Keansburg Borough Manager

Andrew Lucas, Manalapan Township Committee

Brian Reilly, Spring Lake Councilman

J. David Hiers, Ocean Township Committee

Thomas DeSeno of Howell is said to be running but has yet to formally declare.

Seven candidates for the full term, four of which (Kleinberg, DiBella[!], Reilly and DeSeno) had their names in for the unexpired term won by Freeholder Anna Little. Wall, Lucas and Hiers are newcomers to the county level.
Kleinberg has cut a reputation as a no-nonsense reformer in Marlboro. DiBella and Wall can both be considered controversial each in his own way in their respective towns, but certainly don't shy away from it. Wall has received good grades for his work as Keansburg Borough manager. Lucas, a farmer, serves on the governing body in Manalapan. Hiers is considered close to Freeholder Director Bill Barham, and like Barham is a volunteer firefighter. DeSeno gave a powerful speech at the February convention, and Reilly has so far been relatively low-key.
I hope to hear from these candidates because I'd like to do a candidate's blog here; so far only Terence Wall has responded.

BLOGGING CANDIDATES?

Okay, folks. Kaiser Sose has proposed a very interesting concept.

"Abe - can you get the candidates all here with real names? that would be really FASCINATING. I bet they may agree to a positive issue based dialogue - No?"

This is very interesting. If we can get all the freeholder candidates here, real names, for an informal discussion on the issues. I haven't heard from Republican HQ as to who submitted papers to Chairman Fred Niemann, but I know Marlboro's Dr. Robert Kleinberg and Holmdel's Terence Wall are in it. Other names I've heard thrown around are Ocean's Dave Hier as well as Spring Lake's Brian Reilly and Howell's Joe DiBella for round two.
So, once it's official just who the candidates are, we can do this, if we get response from the candidates.
Rules? I'd like to keep it pretty informal, but I will not tolerate another "Jerry Springer Show", whether from Howell or not. So, no name-calling. Also, if I believe that someone is not who they say they are, they're out. The thread will only be open to candidates.
It's easy to register with Blogger, and you don't have to start your own blog unless you want to. Let us know your opinion on this, and I hope to hear from all the candidates.

THE NEXT CONVENTION

Here we go again. There will be another convention for Monmouth County Republicans. To be held in March or April, this will be the regular annual Convention to select a slate of candidates for the organization's backing.
The slate will include:
U. S. Senate. State Sen. Tom Kean (R-Union) is expected to have no opposition going into the primary, and should receive a unanimous vote.
U. S. House. Veteran Rep. Christopher Smith (R-4th), Monmouth County's only Republican Congressman, is also expected to be unopposed for the nomination in the 4th District. In the 6th District, Sheriff Joe Oxley is being mentioned as a possible opponent for Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone. Some would like Tom DeSeno of Howell to move to Asbury Park and run. And Middlesex's Sylvester Fernandes, who ran in 2004, has also been mentioned. As of today, we haven't heard whether Bill Spadea or anyone else plans another go at Democratic Rep. Rush Holt in the 12th District.
Surrogate. The incumbent, Marie Muhler of Wall, formerly Marlboro, has been said to be considering retirement. Possible replacements are Middletown's Rosemarie Peters and Little Silver's Rick DeNoia.
Freeholder. Weren't we just here? Freeholder Anna Little will have to screen before the spring convention to get the endorsement to run in the fall. It is hoped that the "Bill Barham clause" is invoked, and she is given an acclamation endorsement. Some Republicans were concerned when blogger "Ronald Reagan", rumored to be Chairman Fred Niemann or Dan Gallic, who is not the executive director, intimated at a convention challenge or primary contest against Little by an as yet unnamed person. That paragraph was removed after criticism. And don't forget Freeholder Ted Narozanick. He has said that he would not seek another term, but would he change his mind? If he retires, who would be the candidate(s)? Would we see the same group (Joe DiBella, Bob McKenna, Tom DeSeno and Bridget Antonucci) that ran in the Title 19 Convention screen for Ted's seat? Would the withdrawn candidates (Serena DiMaso, Gus Toomey and Robert Kleinberg) come out? Would it be Rosemarie Peters? Or somebody entirely new? Time will tell. It should soon show up in your mailbox. You may be robo-called. Or someone might get hold of the Republican Headquarters e-mail list.
So, be alert, Republicans. And don't forget to log on here.

IT'S FREEHOLDER LITTLE!

Freeholder Anna C. Little was sworn in by County Clerk M. Claire French several minutes ago as the newest member of the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
Freeholder Little was elected on the second ballot at the Monmouth County GOP Title 19 Convention held at the Battleground Country Club in Manalapan. This convention was held under state statute to fill the vacancy of Assemblywoman Amy Handlin, who resigned from the Freeholder Board last month. It is not known whether the County GOP paid for the convention, or the candidates each chipped in.
Using voting cards with a very familiar icon, committee members voted their choice for the slot. Little had the lead early on, and only built upon that with the second ballot, besting Howell Mayor Joseph DiBella and former Wall Mayor Robert McKenna. Hazlet Committeewoman Bridget Monahan Antonucci and Howell resident Thomas DeSeno were eliminated in the first round of balloting.
The first ballot tallies were:

Little........192
DiBella.......142
McKenna........61
DeSeno.........32
Antonucci......10

The second ballot reached the following result:

Little.........207
DiBella........149
McKenna.........56

It is important now for all Monmouth County Republicans to unite behind our Freeholder for the November General Election.

NEW E-MAIL INITIATIVE

"Please know your list will be held in total confidence and given to no one."

So said Chairman Fred Niemann in his January announcement of a new initiative, billed as "the first of its kind in New Jersey".

It is now February and several County Committee members have complained of being spammed by unsolicited e-mails from info@joedibella.com. What the committee members are wondering is, "How did the DiBella campaign get my e-mail address?"

How did they?

Well?

Some of the recipients of this spam are also on the County GOP e-mail list and are looking for answers. Are these e-mail addresses listed in some magic phone book that only DiBella campaign manager Brian Nelson has? Did some wizard give them the addresses? Some have alleged that (gasp!) Chairman Niemann and Executive Director Dan Gallic provided the addresses to the DiBella campaign.

But they wouldn't.

He said...

Niemann's January "initiative" was to ask those on the GOP e-mail list "to share your buddy list with us." In spite of his assurances of confidentiality, one has to question the sincerity of those assurances when they receive spam from DiBella.

Was Niemann sharing information with the DiBella campaign?

If so, is this same information available to DeSeno, Little, Kleinberg, McKenna or Antonucci?

Well?

"EIGHT GREAT CANDIDATES"

An article by Andrea Alexander in yesterday's Asbury Park Press described who Chairman Fred Niemann referred to as "eight great candidates." They are in alphabetical order:

Hazlet Township Committeewoman Bridget Antonucci.
Howell resident and Asbury Park attorney Thomas DeSeno.
Howell Township Mayor Joseph DiBella.
Marlboro Township Mayor Robert Kleinberg.
Highlands Councilwoman Anna Little.
Former Wall Township Mayor Robert McKenna.
Spring Lake Councilman Brian Reilly.
Former Aberdeen Township Committeeman Gus Toomey.

The Monmouth County Republican Blog has done individual articles on all but Kleinberg and Toomey. The reason for the omission is that those two have either not sent out letters to the Committee, or if they did their letters have not yet reached the vast editorial staff here at The Monmouth County Republican Blog. When we receive something from Toomey or Kleinberg we will post it.

DiBELLA IS IN THE RACE

Republican Committee members in several towns today have reported receiving a letter from Howell Township Mayor Joseph M. DiBella asking that they support his candidacy for the Board of Chosen Freeholders. DiBella is seeking the seat expected to become vacant on Tuesday when Assemblywoman Amy H. Handlin's resignation takes effect.
I'm told DiBella's letter includes biographical information and his qualifications to serve as a freeholder. His resume is enclosed. When I can get a copy of the letter, I'll post it. I will do this for any candidate if I can get a copy of their letter.

In a possibly related event, according to the Tri-Town News, a group of three Howell residents, called “The Committee to Recall Joseph M. DiBella from the Office of Mayor of the Township of Howell”, has filed a notice of intent to file a petition for recall with Township Clerk Bruce Davis. This may or may not doom DiBella's candidacy. According to the article, the recall group does not list its reasons for wanting to recall their mayor. I will caution the reader that the filing of an intent to petition for recall does not mean that there definitely will be a recall, it does not mean that the target of the proposed recall has done anything wrong and it does not mean that, should a recall election take place, that it will necessarily be successful.
If the County G. O. P. Committee chooses DiBella as a freeholder to fill the vacancy, he would assume his County office long before any recall election is to take place; indeed, possibly before the committee can even get its petitions filed with Davis. DiBella would then probably resign from his township post and render any recall efforts moot.
At this point, I would say it does not help him.

HOWELL

This site has many readers from Howell Township. Many are very opinionated, and I have also let my opinion be known from time to time on Howell politics. This thread is for Howell and Howell Republicans.
Howell Township is Monmouth County's largest municipality in terms of land area, and is second only to Middletown in population. If you find yourself between Colts Neck and Lakewood, or between Freehold and Wall, then you have found yourself in Howell.
Howell is a diverse town, with lush green farmland in the northern sections of Adelphia and Ardena along the Route 524 corridor, strip malls and suburban subdivisions along the Route 9 corridor and some Pinelands.
Such a large and growing community is very important to winning countywide elections.
Howell traditionally has been competitive politically, with Republican leanings in recent years. The trend in the past was cyclical, with control of the Township Committee swinging back and forth every few years. This cycle has been "disrupted" since the new form of government was adopted in 1990, but Howell still swings locally.
The Howell G. O. P. has produced many fine leaders over the years. Among them are Toby Roe, Dave Shaw, Jerry Levine, Larry Butterworth, Marie Cuddy, Aaron Smith, Mary Alice Kelly and Marion Masnick. Danny Massa, who later became a Democrat, also dabbled in journalism with The Booster News. Levine was elected in 1979 on a ballot with Township Clerk Bruce Davis using a "Batman and Robin" theme. Levine later went on to marry Sally Fox, who was also on the Committee. Davis is still Township Clerk.
Until the late 80's the local organization was able to hold together. It was at that time that bitter primary battles began to occur, starting with the G. O. P. leadership withdrawing backing from Mayor Marion Masnick and Committeeman Wayne Stewart in their reelection bid. When Masnick and Stewart won the primary anyway, some leaders refused to back the nominees, resulting in the election of Democrats. It has been said that some well-known Republicans were spotted putting up Democrat signs that year. The vicious primary became the order of the day for several years.
A change in government to the Council-Manager form in 1992 required the entire 5 member governing body to run at once that year; the team led by Harvey Morrell for Mayor was nominated in the primary and was elected that year. Subsequently during the 90's Howell went Democratic.
By the 2000's the local organization was in pretty good shape, and a Republican majority was elected; in 2004 Mayor Joseph DiBella was elected.
In 2005 a rift was apparent again when Robert Walsh ran as an independent against Wayne Lucey for DiBella's unexpired council term; Walsh won.
It is important for Howell Republicans to stay united and avoid any petty bickering if they wish to avoid any more local losses; the County G. O. P. at large also depends upon good pluralities in Howell. Fighting serves only the Democrats. If Howell is to have a freeholder or other higher official, the local organization must be united and not give people the impression that "Jerry Springer Show" type behavior will be brought into the Hall of Records or the State House.

AND THE NAMES START ROLLING IN

Some people are starting to express interest in the Freeholder vacancy expected when Amy Handlin resigns.
We have already heard from Rosemarie Peters; will she or won't she? A member of the Republican Committee reported to me that she had received a 2-page letter today from former Wall Township Mayor Robert McKenna. McKenna, who was active in the movement to replace former County GOP Chairman William F. Dowd, mentions hearing from Holmdel Township Committeewoman Serena DiMaso. And today I got an anonymous comment posted on this blog stating that former Aberdeen Township Committeeman Gus Toomey was throwing his hat in the ring. "Uncle Freddy" mentioned in the previous post some names from around the county such as Upper Freehold Township Mayor Salvatore Decidue, Hazlet Township Committeewoman Bridget Antonucci and Howell Township Mayor Joe DiBella. So far, nothing official from the last four, but that can change.
There is also an opening expected when veteran Freeholder Ted Narozanick is expected to not seek another term on the board.