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.

THE CAMDEN COUNTY CONNECTION

"The same party bosses who are running Trenton are heavily funding the Monmouth County Democrats. Voters have to ask who's going to be beholden to the Trenton Democrats."
Chairman Adam N. Puharic


As we observed in the last post, Monmouth County Democrats are being funded - heavily - by the Camden County Machine.
Today's Asbury Park Press reports a $37,000.00 contribution from Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D - Camden), a lieutenant in the Norcross political machine. Another $37,000.00 came from the Election fund of Assemblyman Louis D. Greenwald (D - Camden), another known Norcross associate, and $37,000.00 from the Bozo - coiffed Gov. Jonathan Stevens Corzine.
$37,000.00 is the max.
Another $10,000.00 came from the Election Fund of Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D - Middlesex), who represents Jim McGreevey's old district.
This shows a compelling connection between the Monmouth County Democrats (Where wheeling isn't wheeling) and the major Jersey political bosses.
I will add that it shows just a touch of hypocrisy on the part of the Press, which purports to be all for good government and reform. While they may have endorsed our Republican candidates for Senate and Assembly, the building blocks of political power in New Jersey are the counties. It is the county party organizations which control patronage - not only in the county, but also many state positions like tax boards and judgeships go through county chairmen.
To put the Monmouth County Democratic Party (Where wheeling isn't wheeling.) in power would also empower the likes of Norcross in Monmouth County, and add another jewel to his crown. (He's targeting Atlantic County, too.)
So, rather than good government, by endorsing the Democrats, the Press is endorsing the Norcross machine and all the baggage that comes with it. But then, this is the paper that ran stories about prostitution busts at an Ocean Township "massage" parlor, while allowing the same establishment's classified ad to run in the same issue that the story ran in.

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.

MONMOUTH BUSTEDMAN

UPDATE!
According to Art Gallagher, it appears that Rasta is Alan Moretti, 27, of Rumson. There may be others involved as well.
I think Alan needs a lawyer.
Many have wanted to (figuratively) Taser® this clown.
Monmouth RastaMan.
This blogger first appeared on the Monmouth County scene around the time of the 2006 County Chairman's election as a supporter of Adam Puharic's candidacy. Originally posting as "Donny D" and using a photo of former Governor Donald DiFrancesco as an icon, after the chairman's election he began posting as Monmouth RastaMan, a "lifelong Monmouth County Democrat who tells it as it is". He then began using a series of photos, changing them periodically.
Rasta's blog began pretty benignly, posing as a disheartened Democrat coming over to the G. O. P. His criticisms at the time were along the lines of criticizing Freeholder Anna Little for not resigning as a Highlands Councilmember soon enough.
After the 2006 election, Rasta amped up his criticisms of Freeholder Little, to the point of libel. Many other dedicated longtime Republicans were targeted; Rasta also went after Courier Publisher James Purcell. It was at about this time that I removed the link to his weBSite.
Purcell retained the services of attorney Tommy DeSeno, who aggressively pursued the case. Through DeSeno's tenacious hard work, Monmouth RastaMan is now Monmouth BustedMan. Found out. Purcell promises to reveal Rasta's identity in a press release later today. When we have the information we will post it here.
I expect this to have a cascading effect. Many will probably want a piece of the Rasta. He offended many people, many of them private citizens. Time will tell where this leads.
Also unknown is whether this extends beyond the civil realm into the criminal realm.
As more info is officially made public, I will post it.

ADAM PLUGS THE MONMOUTH COUNTY REPUBLICAN BLOG!

Hats off to the Monmouth County Republican Blogger Honest Abe for this fair reporting on Club Monmouth's own John D'Amico:
-- http://gop-of-mc.blogspot.com/ --

FORMER FREEHOLDER FLIPPY D'FLOPPA

(the rest of Adam's wireside chat is a re-print of yesterday's Former Freeholder Flippy D'Floppa post.)

Could the County Chairman be coming around on the blogs? Last month he plugged More Monmouth Musings.

Thanks for the plug, Adam!

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!!!

D'Amico Brings 'Club Monmouth' to the Parole Board

-- Tenure at Parole Board One of hiring Political Cronies --

"I am not here with any political agenda. What I've stressed with the board is that we are here to render a public service. We're not here to do favors. We're not here to forward partisan agendas.”
- John D'Amico in August 2003
(David Kinney, "Chairman Sets Stage For Parole Reforms,” The Star Ledger, August 7, 2003)

Freehold, NJ – The Monmouth County Republican Committee issued the following statement today:

"This summer John D'Amico and the Monmouth County Democrats mailed an attack campaign flyer criticizing the Freeholders' appointment of John Tobia, saying that ‘they'll put an end to the cronyism',” said Monmouth County Republican Spokesman John Raue. "A look at D'Amico's record at the state parole board shows that he in fact brought and retained political cronies with him from Monmouth County to the state parole board.”

"D'Amico said that he had no political agenda when he became NJ Parole Board Chairman, but the first appointment made by Governor McGreevey during D'Amico's tenure at the parole board tells a different story,” said Monmouth County Republican spokesman John Raue.

"Clearly the chairman of the state parole board has great influence over the appointments in his office, so lets look at the first appointment, that occurred by the governor, under D'Amico's tenure at the NJ Parole Board.”

In November 2003, D'Amico's former boss's wife, Veleria N. Lawson, became the first new parole board member hired under the D'Amico Parole Board. "Gov. McGreevey nominated Monmouth County school social worker Veleria N. Lawson to the state Parole Board yesterday. Lawson, a Democrat and the wife of Superior Court Judge Lawrence M. Lawson, would earn $104,118 in the full-time position.” (Sandy McClure, "Governor Selects Judge's Wife For Seat On N.J. Parole Board,” The Asbury Park Press, November 20, 2003)

"It is amazing that out of the hundreds of people who were qualified for this appointment it just so happens that D'Amico's ex-boss's wife got the appointment,” said GOP spokesman John Raue.

To make matters worse, during D'Amico's tenure, he retained Mike Dowling as Executive Director of the parole board. Dowling was the failed Democratic Sheriff candidate in Monmouth County immediately prior to his appointment to this lucrative position.

"D'Amico could have sent a clear signal for reform, and wiped the slate clean of cronies and politically motivated hires. Instead, he chose to maintain the system of perks and preferential treatment that was similar to the ‘Club Monmouth' abuses reported by the press.”

"Clearly John D'Amico's definition of not having a ‘political agenda' is overseeing the appointment of his ex-boss's wife for a political patronage position,” said spokesman John Raue. "These are just two examples of cronyism under D'Amico's leadership at the state parole board.”

"Once again the ‘good old boys' mentality is at work with John D'Amico while he claims he does not have ‘any political agenda',” concluded GOP spokesman John Raue.

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!

IT'S TIME...

As a "railsplitter", I obviously know about hatchets. Including the fact that there are times that they should be buried.

That time is long past for the hatchet to be buried between County Chairman Adam Puharic and Freeholder Anna Little. That battle serves no productive purpose at all.

Whatever its origin, there is no reason for it now. While Adam may have originally sided with the supporters of curmudgeonly County Counsel Malcolm Carton against Little (Who voted against Carton's reappointment.), the fact is now that much of Little's agenda has picked up support or has been enacted. Truth be told, freeholder candidate Jeff Cantor has endorsed Little's proposal for term limits and rotating the Directorship, and both Cantor and Freeholder Rob Clifton this week came out and bashed Carton, with Puharic's blessing. So it seems that issue is now moot.

Further, Puharic has rightly signed off on Little's candidacy for Mayor of the Borough of Highlands, recognizing the vote of the local committee members. That's a start. She, as a candidate, is a fact of life. If elected, she will remain a fact of life as a local elected official, as well as a former freeholder.

The ugliness that took place earlier this year can and should be put behind us. Our great Party is bigger than any one person, and has room for more than one person.

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.

200,000

Sometime this evening, the Monmouth County Republican Blog passed 200,000 hits. This blog exists to inform its readers and to promote the Republican Party in Monmouth County. It derives its existence from its readers.
Thank you all for your continued support.

SIX YEARS

It seems like only yesterday. Whatever we were doing that day, a Tuesday like today, was interrupted by news reports of an airplane striking one of the World Trade Center towers, followed by the second tower, the Pentagon and a field in western Pennsylvania. Everything after that happened so fast then that it's hard to believe that more than half a decade has gone by.


The War on Terror is far from over, yet we still have the shrill calls to bring the troops home. In other words, surrender.



We are the United States of America. We do not Surrender!



The War on Terror must be won, and it must be won decisively. There will be no cease-fire, there will be no armistice. No Kumbayah. Even if there was, time and again has shown that many Middle Eastern nations simply cannot be trusted with treaties and the like.



No, the enemy must be totally vanquished, vanquished to the point that their survivors know the futility of ever taking up arms against the United States again. If they cannot be made to love us, they must be made to fear us.



Today, as we go about our daily chores, let us remember both the victims of the atrocities that befell us six years ago today (It seems that there are less than "six degrees of separation" between many Monmouth County residents and the victims of 9/11/01.) and the troops fighting in faraway lands to protect us.

THE DEMOCRATS, THE CLUB (Monmouth, that is!), AND REFORM

As expected, the Monmouth County Democrats are falling all over themselves trying to package themselves as reformers in Monmouth County. They are hoping that voters, weary of the excesses of Bid Rig, will punish the current freeholders and candidates for the sins of their predecessors (One of whom, Harry Larrison, Jr., has been dead for nearly three years!). Our County Republican Party has countered that Democratic candidate and former Freeholder John D'Amico is not only not a reformer, he's a founding member of Club Monmouth!

The County G. O. P. correctly points out that D'Amico frequently took advantage of a perk extended by the Monmouth County Park System granting current and former freeholders advance tee times at the county golf courses, a policy since abolished. I have reported that D'Amico not only provided a needed vote back in the 80s for the appointment of curmudgeonly County Counsel Malcolm Carton, he was the prime sponsor of the resolution! It was also during D'Amico's tenure that John E. Westlake, now a convicted felon, was appointed as Clerk of the Board.

What else have the Dems done?

Well, we all remember County Dem Boss Victor Scudiery's assertion that those arrested in Bid Rig were "entrapped". The Democrats do have a way of circling the wagons, don't they. And when G. O. P. County Chairman Adam Puharic introduced An Ethical Roadmap for Monmouth County Republicans, Democratic leaders poo-pooed it before finally caving in a month later and passing their own watered-down copy. And most recently we had Scudiery again, this time writing a letter to the court begging for leniency in the sentencing of convicted felon and former Western Monmouth Utilities Authority Executive Director Frank G. Abate, in which Scudiery describes Abate as "honorable and dedicated"!

You can't make this stuff up, campers.

Vote Democratic for integrity? Are you kidding?! These guys just don't get it. Look at how they run things in Trenton. Or look at the Monmouth Dems' mentors and benefactors and how they run Union County and ask yourself:

Do we want this in Freehold? Well, do we?

THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION FIASCO IV

The illegal immigration issue continues to dominate the news. As I wrote in a previous post, they are not living in the shadows, they are in our face. Not only was there the Newark massacre, we recently had a Mexican woman finally deported after spending a year holed up in a Chicago church. Locally, men still "shape up" at "muster zones" in Freehold, Keyport, Manasquan and other Monmouth County towns. Even trendy Red Bank has them lining the streets around the train station. In a hip way, of course.

Citizens continue to demand enforcement of Federal immigration laws.

Sheriff candidate Kim Guadagno has called for the implementation of "Section 287 (g)" policies in the Monmouth County Jail to ascertain the immigration status of prisoners prior to their release.

Attorney General Anne Milgram has issued a directive calling upon New Jersey law enforcement to "inquire about the arrestee's citizenship, nationality and immigration status" when arresting perpetrators of indictable offenses or for DUI. Milgram's directive has come under criticism because it appears to exempt other offenses such as routine motor vehicle violations as well as disorderly persons and quality of life offenses.

Many of us, when filling out a job application, have had to to answer whether we are a U. S. Citizen or if an immigrant, authorized to work in the United States. If job applicants have to do it, it should be a no brainer that law enforcement professionals be authorized to ascertain the immigration status of all offenders at the time of arrest, and if the offender is illegally in the U. S., to refer them to ICE or other Federal authorities.

The Feds should then deport the offender as swiftly as is appropriate.

OPERATION BID RIG

The Asbury Park Press' 15 - part series on the FBI's big Operation Bid Rig corruption investigation concluded on Sunday, although both yesterday's and today's Press carried related articles so is it actually a 17 - part series? What does this all mean for our great Republican candidates this November?
It shouldn't mean anything.
Let's get real, though. Both the Democratic Party and the Press will attempt to exploit this issue to the fullest extent. Although Bid Rig is regarded as a Republican scandal, a load of Democrats were involved too. However, the Democrats will ignore that as they gush about how reform - minded they are. Reform - minded enough that County Democratic Boss Victor Scudiery wrote a letter of reference for former Western Monmouth Utilities Authority Director and convicted felon Frank Abate, describing Abate as "honorable and dedicated." In spite of Scudiery's reference, Abate got the max, 51 months. This is the same Vic Scudiery who asserted in 2005 that those arrested in Bid Rig were "set up."
Still, the Democrats will try to beat our candidates over the head with this, in spite of the fact that no Republican freeholder currently serving was involved in the corruption; candidate Jeff Cantor in fact was involved with the clean up of Marlboro. Additionally, although a number of those involved were county employees, much of the corruption involved their local towns, not county government.
Let's look at the Press. Opinions abound about that paper. Democrats assail it for being too Republican and Republicans are convinced that it is a Democratic house organ. It is said to be run by two Camden County men. At the very least, their agenda is to sell papers first. As the sentencing of a number of Bid Rig figures is scheduled for October, the Press will give it major coverage and it will dominate the news cycle.
It will be in October, but it won't be a surprise.
Freeholder Rob Clifton and Jeff Cantor both have solid credentials as reformers. They can easily overcome anything the Democrats or the media throw at them as long as they stick to their guns and remain proactive. It is also important that party leaders don't run a defensive campaign. Both candidates have strong records and need not play defense at all, especially since they were not part of Harry Larrison's crowd.

PUHARIC LEAVES FEDERAL JOB

Chairman Adam Puharic has officially resigned his position with the Department of Homeland Security. This has been rumored for several weeks, and was confirmed in an e-mail recently sent out from Republican Headquarters. The Asbury Park Press picked up on his e-mail and ran an article today.

Puharic has maintained that he was always in compliance with the federal Hatch Act, and research by the investigative arm of the Monmouth County Republican Blog appears to bear that out. Still, his compliance has hampered his fundraising activities and that may be detrimental to our great party.

Adam says that he has no job lined up at this time, and that he will live off his investments for the time being. This would provide him with plenty of time to address the needs of the party and I hope that will be a good thing and not a repetition of the amateurish and ham-fisted activities during the candidate selection process earlier this year. I hope that the investments that he speaks of are sufficient to provide for his family, as that comes first, before politics.

SOME PEOPLE WOULD RATHER SWITCH

On Sunday Art Gallagher at More Monmouth Musings linked to a post on corruption by Red Jersey's Eric Sedler. It's an interesting post, but we found an interesting sub topic that is very relevant here in Monmouth County, and that is the subject of Republicans becoming Democrats. He mentions a longtime Burlington County legislator, Assemblyman Francis Bodine, who has switched from Republican to Democrat, as well as some local leaders in Gloucester County. I wonder if George Norcross was involved in any of that.
While we haven't had any legislators switch here in Monmouth County (Ocean County did, some years ago when Assemblyman Jorge Rod crossed over to the Dem side.), we have seen it happen locally, enough that it may be a concern.
Different people have different reasons for changing parties. Some may do so because of a local party split, some may find that their philosophy no longer matches their party, yet others switch for purely opportunistic reasons.
Back in the 80's, then-Marlboro Mayor Saul Hornik became a Democrat in his first term. Rep. Frank Pallone is a former Republican; he never held office as a Republican, but he had a conservative reputation in the State Senate, only becoming the ultra-lib we know today after his election to the U. S. House. Another one to turn during the 80's was former Ocean Township Mayor Richard English. Son of Republican Councilman Ed English of Asbury Park, Richard English was an ally locally of (now) Sen. Joe Palaia. Richard English became a Democrat to run for freeholder; he lost.
Others who have switched include Beverly Bova-Scarano of Middletown, Marc LeVine of Freehold Borough, Michael Cannon of Matawan, Courier publisher Jim Purcell, former Red Bank Mayor Ed McKenna and others.
This spring, there was anticipation that Freeholder Anna Little would become a Democrat and run on their line; this proved to be as much wishful thinking on the Democrats' part as it was rumor mongering among some Republicans. She remains a Republican.
The Democrats, too, have had some of their own become Republicans, and we don't hold it against them. The late Joe Pepe served as Democratic mayor of Neptune Township before becoming a Republican, and Wall G. O. P. Chairman Bob McKenna was originally elected to the Township Committee back in the 80's as a Democrat.
As to the Republicans who become Democrats, is this a problem? Why is this taking place, is there a pattern? Are we hemorrhaging party members to the Democrats, or is this just a normal crossing over that takes place at times? Should we be trying to keep these people on the ranch, or say good riddance and don't let the screen door hit them on the way out? Probably both, as each case is different.

12th DISTRICT DEMS' TANGLED WEB

Team Kärcher Not Such Great Reformers After All

Barry Goldwater at the Voice of Reason has an excellent post today on the George Norcross influence in the 12th Legislative District.

I recommend reading it.