WHO WILL BE DIRECTOR FOR 2007?

!!!UPDATE!!!

According to today's (January 3, '07) APP, Director Bill Barham has the votes for another year.

Every year by state law the Board of Chosen Freeholders must select one of its members to serve as Director, and the time will soon be upon us.
Freeholder William C. Barham, the current director, has held the leadership for the past year, having succeeded Thomas J. Powers in the directorship. At the present time, it looks like two freeholders have emerged as contenders for the job. It is said that Barham would like another year at the helm, and Freeholder Lillian G. Burry is said to be actively interested in the directorship. Some GOP activists are said to like Freeholder Robert D. Clifton to be director, and Freeholder Anna C. Little as deputy director; it is unknown at this time whether Rob and Anna are interested. It is also not certain who has the votes to become director. One must be able to count to three. (votes)
What's your opinion? Who do you think will be director? Who would you like to see? Would a second year of Bill Barham bring continuity, or would we be in danger of an "imperial directorship" of one-man rule, as under the late Harry Larrison, Jr? Should it be rotated from year to year like the mayoralty in many towns? If so, who should be the next to step up? Lillian? Rob? Anna?
Let us know.

GERALD R. FORD, JR. 1913 - 2006

APP SCOOPED!!!

UPDATE

Great Op-ed piece today (January 3, '07) by Chairman Adam Puharic. And where is Barbara McMorrow on all this??? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm?????

The staff at the Asbury Park Depress reads the Monmouth County Republican Blog, it's true. We have it on good authority that star reporter Bob "The Bald Avenger" Cullinane himself logs on frequently.
Over a week ago, this blog reported on the impending relocation of the Matawan Motor Vehicle Agency, Rebecca Aaronson, agent, to Hazlet's Airport Plaza Strip Mall, County Democratic Boss Victor Scudiery, owner. Aaronson is also Scudiery's vice chairman.
This past Wednesday, the APP finally reported on the subject. Five days after we ran the story. Today (Dec. 23, '06), they ran another article and an editorial critical of the move.
What were they waiting for?

A COURT GONE OUT OF BOUNDS

Assemblyman Michael Carroll writes about the New Jersey Supreme Court and its serial rewriting of the State Constitution. The Court, which often uses "because we said so" as the legal basis for its decisions, has been compared by some Republicans to the Soviet Politburo.
This is an ongoing problem in this state, and is an issue for all of our legislators to ponder. The State Senate votes to confirm all judicial appointments. With open senate seats in the 11th and 12th districts, GOP committee members should press potential candidates on where they stand on judicial appointments. Senators should not unquestioningly confirm every hack the governor sends down the pipeline.
It is important that the checks and balances of three co-equal branches of government are not disrupted by a rogue branch, in this case the judiciary.

TENANT FOUND FOR VACANT HAZLET STORE!

A vacant furniture store in Hazlet's Airport Plaza will be fallow no more. The state Motor Vehicle Commission, which has maintained an agency on Route 34 in Matawan for over 20 years, will be relocating to the Route 36 location in January.
Defeated former Democratic Freeholder candidate Rebecca Aaronson of Manalapan is the agent at that office.
It was not ascertained at press time whether Airport Plaza landlord and County Democratic Boss Victor Scudiery would receive rent payments for the space, or if he was letting it out of the goodness of his heart.

FREEHOLDERS' MEETING PUNCTUATED BY STANDING O's

At last night's (Nov. 21st) Freeholders' meeting, Freeholder Anna Little, accompanied by her husband Robert, their kids, her mother and her brother, was sworn in to an unexpired term on the board. After Anna took the oath of office, the entire room erupted in a standing ovation. Anna has worked very hard as a freeholder, and her victory was well deserved.
The Asbury Park Depress story is here.
Later, Freeholder Ted Narozanick, a former Englishtown fire chief, was honored by the Bayshore Active Fire Chiefs Association for his many years of service. Ted was also presented with a proclamation from the Monmouth County Library Commission for his work over the decades in building up the Monmouth County Library System. Ted's recognitions were also met with standing ovations.
Ted has served many years in different capacities for this Great County of Monmouth; as he retires from the Board he will be missed. Anna, who only came to the Board this year, has hit the ground running and clearly will have a great future as a freeholder.

ANNA LITTLE TO BE SWORN IN

Freeholder Anna Little will be sworn in on Tuesday at 7:00 PM at the Hall of Records.
Anna is the epitome of the new, youthful Republican leadership in this great county. Despite baldly partisan (And largely futile!) efforts on the part of the Asbury Park Depress to label her otherwise, Freeholder Little has, in a short time, earned a reputation as a no-nonsense reformer.
Please make an effort to attend this meeting and show your support for this outstanding official!

B. McCLURE COMES FORWARD

The perpetrator of the ♥ signs has come clean! Read about it here.
Your comments?

GOP WINS 2 OUT OF 3

Tonight saw the election of Rosemarie Peters as Surrogate and Anna Little as Freeholder. Sadly, after much hard work, Andrew Lucas was narrowly defeated by Democrat Barbara McMorrow. Read the returns here. The new Board of Freeholders will be 4-1 instead of 5-0. Andrew is a great guy and was a good candidate; we wish him well and hope to see him back soon.
Democrats also won in many towns.
What brought this on? Was it the national situation (The war, Foley, etc.), county issues, the Asbury Park 527 Press? What will this mean for the future?

NOW VOTE!

OK, a few more hours and the voting starts. Some of you may have already voted by now. Many of us have been campaigning for the team each in our own way. Phone calls, stuffing and addressing, signs, lit drops; some are candidates.
Phone banking will continue into tomorrow.
After all the hard work, it's now time to vote!

Republicans ♥
BARBARA
McMORROW

Well, not exactly. We haven't found any who do.
Maybe you've seen the signs. They've been spotted in Howell, Wall, Freehold Township and Colts Neck. The disclaimer says they are paid for by "Friends of Barbara McMorrow, B. McClure, Treasurer".
So far, the vast editorial staff here at the Monmouth County Republican Blog has found no reports filed with ELEC from this mysterious committee. Who are they? How much money do they have and where did it come from? And who is B. McClure?
It seems rather typical that the Democrats have a mystery fund. Kind of like Beverly Bova-Scarano's 2002 mystery fund. Are they running two sets of books here?

NO SURPRISE HERE

APP endorses Democrats for freeholders.
And Tommy DeSeno takes on the Press here.

SOME ELEC STUFF

This was originally part of the previous post. We separated it because we believe this issue to be important enough for its own post. HA

We found other things while surfing ELEC. One is that the Aberdeen, Hazlet and Middletown Democrats' reports all seem to be in the same handwriting, although they each have different treasurers. Weird I know. Also, of the ten Bayshore towns, six have not filed ELEC reports for their Democratic County Committee in years. They are Hazlet, Highlands, Holmdel, Keansburg, Keyport and Matawan. So a whole "cottage industry" of fundraising and spending could be going on, below ELEC's radar. In fact it is; sometimes it appears:

• Hazlet: On Oct. 24, 2005 we have a $2,600.00 contribution from a "Democratic Club of Hazlet" to the local Dem campaign. No ELEC reports filed by this club, so we don't know how much money it has, or where it came from.
• Keyport: On Oct. 14, 2005 the "Keyport Democratic Club" gave $5,000.00 to the local Democratic campaign. No ELEC report for that club, either.
• Matawan: This one was a little involved to find, but we found it while looking for payments to Courier. The 2005 Democratic campaign closed out its accounts by contributing to a future 2008 local campaign. OK, it's legal, and there are ELEC reports for the '08 account. There aren't ELEC reports to be found for "Matawan Democrats", which received $500.00 from the 2008 campaign fund.
• Middletown: There appears to be a "Middletown Democratic Social Club", with an address in Long Branch, which shows up on the Middletown Democratic Executive Committee's fourth quarter 2005 ELEC report with a $1,200.00 contribution on October 5. There are no ELEC reports for the Middletown Democratic Social Club.

Compliance with ELEC is very important. It appears however that the Monmouth County Democrats honor this mainly in the breach and otherwise take a very cavalier attitude. This was a survey of ten towns; certainly this behavior will show up elsewhere in the county; we'll be looking, too.

As part of his Ethical Roadmap, Monmouth County Republican Chairman Adam Puharic has established a Compliance Commission for the purpose of providing reference to local GOP organizations for compliance with Campaign Finance Laws. The Democrats ridicule this; they do so at their peril as they are frequently out of compliance.

This is not going away, Vic.

DO PAPERS USUALLY DO THIS? AND SOME ELEC STUFF

On Monday we received a communication addressing a situation in Matawan. The writer alleged that for the second year in a row, Courier has appeared in driveways in Matawan, shortly before Election Day and featuring articles favorable to the local Democrats. The writer went on to say that the local Democrats should report this on their ELEC reports as an in-kind contribution.
Back in January, the Monmouth County Republican Blog reported that the Flynn - DaSaro losing 13th District Legislative Campaign was given an in - kind donation of $2,100.00 from Courier. This was promptly refuted by Courier publisher and sometime - Democrat Jim Purcell; the bill was finally paid to Courier.
While we knew that Courier doesn't do in - kinds (Purcell said!), we thought this did bear some research, and so we directed the Honest Abe Research Foundation to look into this. They went through the Democrats' 2005 ELEC reports of every Bayshore town, including Matawan, and found some interesting stuff.

• Aberdeen: On Oct. 19 and Oct 21, 2005, the local Democratic Executive Committee made two payments of $960.00 each, totaling $1,920.00, to Courier for "Distribution". This was reported by the executive committee as an expenditure made on behalf of the Aberdeen Democratic campaign; the campaign failed to report this as an in - kind from the executive committee.
• Atlantic Highlands: Nothing spectacular. The Dems buy advertisement in Courier, that's about it.
• Hazlet: On a 48 - hour Report dated November 3, 2005, the Hazlet Democratic campaign reported paying $1,940.00 to Courier for "Ads and Paper Delivery". While they did file the 48 - hour report, the Hazlet Dems failed to file their 20 - Day Post - Election financial report. Their 11- day Pre - Election report closes with a balance of $6,230.00 and no expenditures whatsoever reported. While we know about the $1,940.00 paid to Courier, we don't know what they spent the other $4,290.00 on, or if they raised and spent more!
• Highlands: Only 48 - hour reports filed listing contributions to the local Democratic campaign. No expenditures listed.
• Holmdel: No Dem advertisements in Courier. No distribution or delivery of the paper.
• Keansburg: Non - partisan elections.
• Keyport: No advertisements by local Democrats or distribution reported. There was a $2,500.00 contribution from some Raritan Bay Leadership Fund, a New Brunswick - based PAC (Lynch?).
• Matawan: No record of any payments by local Democrats to Courier.
• Middletown: Their ELEC reports show many advertising bills in Courier, and Middletown Democrat boss Joe "King" Caliendo does advertise heavily in that paper. They do not, however, make mention of paying for paper delivery.
• Union Beach: No campaign reports found. Nothing. (Did any Democrats even run there in '05?) Sworn statement filed for Dem County Committee.

Jim Purcell is a frequent visitor to this Blog and we hope he will explain this newspaper delivery matter.

LOOKING FOR TIPS? THE DEMS SHOULD LOOK FOR A CLUE!

A report in the Sunday Asbury Park Press is very telling with regards to the county Democrats. After bad publicity on their County Organization's failure to file ELEC reports, and then the Lenny Inzerillo matter and his withdrawal, you'd think they'd get a clue!
Nope.
Democratic freeholder candidate J. Gregory Gibadlo, who is looking for tips, filed a report with ELEC stating that he plans to raise and spend no more than $3,500.00 for his race. In a countywide race.
Right.
More is raised in a town election; sometimes single contributions exceed $3,500.00!
Speaking of town elections, Highlands GOP council candidate Art Gallagher has blogged that the Highlands Democrats filed no ELEC reports for the October 10th reporting.
Let's look now at Democratic surrogate candidate Beverly Bova-Scarano, who has accepted contributions from convicted former Senate President John Lynch, Jr. Our candidate, Rosemarie Peters, points out the discovery of a mysterious 2002 campaign account, for which no ELEC reports were filed whatsoever!
Really.
These people sure are in disarray. Or are they? Some Republicans have alleged that the Democrats are keeping two sets of books. One for public viewing and a secret account? Imagine that.
Stay tuned. This is not going away.

SO WHAT'S UP IN HOWELL?

So far, it's been a quiet county campaign this year. As the Democratic candidates hone their skills at writing ELEC reports and concession speeches, Surrogate candidate Rosemarie Peters, Freeholder Anna C. Little and Freeholder candidate Andrew Lucas are working hard, meeting people and not taking victory for granted. Indeed, Anna has built a solid reputation as a no-nonsense reformer.
Something weird has been going on in, you guessed it, Howell.
A few weeks ago, we saw the withdrawal of the entire Democratic ticket in the township. This leaves in the field the Republican ticket of Deputy Mayor Pete Tobasco, Mauro Raccuglia and Ed Skibicki; and an Independent ticket led by Councilman Bob Walsh.
What's weird is that this is the second consecutive year that the Democrats have not run a ticket in Howell. Now, that would normally be the Democrats' problem, but the word "deal" has been thrown about here. Some have alleged that the Democrats never intended to field a slate in Howell, and that they would back the Independents.
Now, the Independent group in Howell appears at least in part to have originated as a faction within the local GOP that chose to skip the primary process and go right to the General Election. Indeed, a number of its supporters remain committed Republicans on the county level, attending such functions as Lincoln Day and The Affiliated. That would make a deal with the Dems less likely.
Why is this even relevant in a county blog? Howell is Monmouth County's largest municipality in land area, and is second only to Middletown in population and registered voters. It is an important town for county candidates to carry. We might win without Howell, but it sure helps to have it in our column.
So does the current situation help us or hurt us on the county level? Is the withdrawal en masse of the Democratic ticket part of a deal with the Independents, or just another in a series of Democratic fumbles in Monmouth County? Does it hurt the county Democrats not to have local candidates?
Your comments, please.

100,000 HITS!

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Thank you for your continued support!

O'GRADY SENTENCED

Former Middletown Mayor Raymond O'Grady was sentenced today to 43 months in federal prison. That's 3 years and 7 months.
This is a good thing, let this be an example to all public officials who may be tempted by corruption; at the same time we must have compassion for his family and all the other innocents affected by this case.

THE THIRD POLITICAL PARTY

There is a third political party here in Monmouth County: The Gannett. Their daily newspaper, The Asbury Park Press, ran a series of articles in Sunday's edition obviously timed to influence the upcoming election for freeholders. Gannett has an agenda, and that is to be a player on New Jersey's political stage. Influencing this election would clearly be a way to achieve their agenda.
The Press has been critical of the freeholders' 3 - 2 vote reappointment of Neptune City's Malcolm V. Carton back in August as County Counsel. Now, while the vast editorial staff here at the Monmouth County Republican Blog may have voted differently had they been on the board, it appears that the Press just doesn't like the gruff Carton and bases its opinions thusly. Lost in all this is the fact that Freeholder Anna C. Little voted against Carton's reappointment! Her running - mate, Andrew F. Lucas, isn't even on the board yet, making this issue moot as to this election.
Still, the Press attempts to drive the news, not just report it.
It is important in a free society to have a press vigilant to governmental abuse. But when that press goes beyond vigilance and slants its reporting to suit an agenda, just how free are we?
The Press has attempted to use the Carton reappointment as an issue to influence this year's election even though no freeholder running this year or next voted favorably on the reappointment.
In past articles, they attempted to paint rank & file county workers as political hacks, publishing names, salaries and overtime for all to see.
Their biased reporting in 2005 prompted a fact-laden response from then - Freeholder Director Thomas J. Powers.
As stated above, a free press protects us from government abuse. Operative word here being free. Sadly the Press (with a capital P), which as part of the Gannett empire holds a near monopoly on daily print media in Monmouth County, has been likened to a schoolyard bully. If you give the bully your lunch money in September, expect to give it up every day until June unless you fight back.
Our freeholders, beginning with Director Powers and continuing under Director Bill Barham, are fighting back. They are fighting back by doing what they believe to be right, and by not being cowed by the print media.
What can we do as Republican activists? County Chairman Adam Puharic said it very well in this week's Wireside Chat: Stick together.

And a stovepipe hat-tip to Bayshore Journalista for the "third political party" idea.

POLITICS NJ.com

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

TOWNSEND TERMINATED

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

THE DEADLINE HAS PASSED

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

UPDATE

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

WESTLAKE'S GOING, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

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

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

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

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

UPDATE

It's official. He's gone.

LYNCH PINCHED

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

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

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

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

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

DEM BOSS PLAYING THE SWITCHEROO GAME IN MATAWAN

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

NEVER FORGET!

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

THE SEASON OFFICIALLY BEGINS!

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

FREEHOLDER MARCUS DALY

A Man Ahead of His Time.

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

GIBADLO IS IN THE RACE

Monmouth County Democrats tonight chose J. Greg Gibadlo of Middletown Township as the replacement on their freeholder ticket for the dearly withdrawn Leonard Inzerillo, who went away. Gibadlo is considered close to Middletown Democratic Party boss Joe "King" Caliendo, a very influential man in Monmouth County Democratic politics. The Dems apparently feel that Gibadlo is their best shot against popular Republican Freeholder Anna C. Little.
The vast editorial staff here at the Monmouth County Republican Blog have it on good authority that the Dems' selection has been approved by George Norcross, Joe Cryan, Ray Lesniak and the Bozo-coiffed Gov. Jon Corzine.

ANSWER TO FREEHOLDER TRIVIA

Monmouth County Freeholder Charles I. Smith, Sr. (1903 - 1978), of Upper Freehold, was elected to the Board in the 1960 election. His running-mate, who was reelected, was incumbent Freeholder Earl L. Woolley, who had served on the Board since 1949.
Charles I. Smith lived on the family farm on Route 526 between Allentown and Imlaystown.
Freeholder Smith was initially named as Freeholder in Charge of Public Welfare, but later would serve as Freeholder in Charge of Highways. An important act during Freeholder Smith's five - year tenure was the creation of the award - winning Monmouth County Park System.
He resigned from the Board effective February 1, 1966, and was replaced later that month with a 39 - year - old committeeman from Neptune Township named Harry Larrison, Jr., who would go on to serve nearly 39 years as a freeholder.
Charles I. Smith would later be appointed as County Road Supervisor; he was held in high regard by County Highway Department staff. He died in 1978.

MALCOLM CARTON REAPPOINTED

Veteran County Counsel Malcolm Carton was reappointed to his position last night by a 3 - 2 vote of the Board of Chosen Freeholders. Freeholders Robert Clifton and Anna C. Little provided the dissenting votes.

According to the Asbury Park Press, Clifton and Little said they both voted against Carton's appointment because they supported change for the county counsel position."There is a new freeholder board and I felt it would have been a great time to bring change,'' Clifton said.

This recalls another 3 - 2 vote in 1988 where Carton was reappointed on the votes of Freeholder Director Harry Larrison, Jr. and Democratic Freeholders John D'Amico and John Villapiano, with Republican Freeholders Tom Powers and Ted Narozanick dissenting.

Other attorney appointments went to Rick DeNoia of Little Silver, the Hanlon & Niemann Law Firm and Democratic Red Bank Mayor Ed McKenna's firm. Little and Narozanick both voted no on Niemann's firm, and Little also voted no on McKenna.

FREEHOLDER TRIVIA

Okay, something lighthearted here, and at the same time an opportunity to test your knowledge of your Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Our party has had majorities on the Board for most of the past century, and many fine men and women have served and currently serve, providing good Republican government to this great county.
Manalapan Township Committeeman Andrew F. Lucas is one of our candidates this year, along with Freeholder Anna C. Little.
Andrew is a farmer, and would be the only farmer on the 2007 Board.

Trivia question:
Who was the most recent farmer to serve on the Board, and when did he serve?

Join us for a grand re-opening of the Monmouth County Republican Headquarters

A "Wireside Chat" from Chairman Adam Puharic

Dear fellow Republicans:
When I received the honor to serve as your chairman, I assembled an administration with three specific objectives to lead us towards victory in November:

1. Professionalize the fundraising and raise the bar on ethics in politics.

2. Establish a board of directors to help steer the party towards a better future.

3. Unify the party and build within it a spirit of service and dedication to Republicanism

I am happy to report that our Director of Operations Michael Borg, and our Administrative Manager Heather Bachman have been working feverishly to recreate our Monmouth County GOP headquarters as a resource center for volunteers, and a classroom where candidates and chairs can receive useful information on running winning campaigns.

I am proud to invite you to our grand re-opening of Monmouth County Republican Headquarters on Saturday, August 26th at 10am. Assemblyman Bill Baroni will conduct an educational lecture breakfast session at 11am on the topic of campaign election law compliance. Every Saturday, we will host an educational lecture breakfast on topics relevant to party workers and loyalists.

If you ever wanted to be involved in GOP politics, or to learn more from the experts who know how to win elections – this is your opportunity.
To participate, please call Heather Bachman at (732) 431-6664. I look forward to seeing you there.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Adam Puharic, ChairmanMonmouth County Republican Party
www.MonmouthRepublican.org
info@MonmouthRepublican.org
732.431.6664

FARBER IS O - U - T!

Embattled state Attorney General Zulima V. Farber, an ally of Hudson County Democratic boss and appointed U. S. Senator Robert Menendez, resigned last evening effective August 31.
Farber is just part of a long string of embarassments coming out of the Democratic administration in Trenton.
Former Gov. James "Machiavelli" McGreevey, an embarassment himself, appointed Peter Harvey as Attorney General, replacing David Samson. Harvey was most notable for his apparent obliviousness to the whirl of political corruption around him and instead concentrated on such things as holding a hip-hop voter registration summit. Harvey served through the administrations of McGreevey and Richard Codey.
When the bozo-coiffed Gov. Jon Corzine took office, many Jerseyans were hopeful that he would appoint a bona-fide crimefighter to the office, in the mold of an Elliot Ness or Rudy Giuliani. Instead we got serial traffic scofflaw Farber.
Farber is a woman who is most at home going against the grain, and she soon became notable for her opposition to mandatory penalties for political corruption.
This past May, a man who sounds like a nursery-rhyme character, Hamlet Goore, whose name sounds like a nursery rhyme character, another serial traffic scofflaw who happens to be Farber's live-in boyfriend, was stopped by local police. The rest is well-known history.
The result of that motor vehicle stop was an investigation which found Farber guilty of three state ethics violations, leading to her resignation yesterday.
On September 1, First Assistant Attorney General Anne Milgram will take over as acting AG. Corzine says he will act fast to name a permanent replacement. Don't act fast, Governor. Don't act half - fast. Act smart. Don't screw it up a second time.

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.

COUNTY HAS ROLE TO PLAY IN CONSOLIDATING SERVICES

Op-ed Column by Freeholder Anna C. Little

Asbury Park Press

August 6, 2006

For years, the governor's office has blamed New Jersey's skyrocketing property taxes on local government. I am pleased Gov. Corzine is taking ownership of the remedy because, clearly, the state is the only authority with the ability to bring about widespread change in our tax system.
However, some of his proposals show that the Democrats in Trenton still don't get it. They seem to believe that big government is the answer to society's ills.
READ MORE HERE...

LENNY SINGS THE BLUES

"The internal dispute in the county Democratic Party likely will do little to improve its chances of breaking the more-than-20-year grip Republicans have held on the freeholder board." ...The Asbury Park Press.

UPDATE!

Today's (August 4th) Asbury Park Press reports that Inzerillo has filed his reports with ELEC. Now Lenny and Vic can stop fighting, sing Kumbaya, and go on to November and give a nice gracious concession speech.

In a severe blow to their hopes to gain a toehold on the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Monmouth County Democrats, led by County Chairman Victor Scudiery, have withdrawn their support for candidate Leonard Inzerillo.
Inzerillo, a losing 13th District Assembly candidate in 2003, was criticized in this blog (here and here) for a lack of reports filed with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC).
Lack of ELEC reporting appears to be a habit with the Democrats; some have even called it policy.
An angry Chairman Scudiery has called for Inzerillo's withdrawal from the race; Inzerillo has refused, accusing Scudiery of bossism.
The Monmouth County Democratic Party. The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight. Whatever. One would think that with the blogging explosion here in Monmouth County these people would be monitoring this blog, Seward's and others like ours. It's called opposition research.
As I've said many times before (Everybody, together. With feeling.):

IT'S NOT GOING AWAY, LENNY!

MONMOUTH COUNTY REPUBLICAN HEADQUARTERS MAKES CALL TO ARMS!

A Message From Chairman Adam Puharic:

Fellow Republicans:

Now that our Monmouth County Republican Headquarters is open, it is time to put your Republican spirit into action. Hence, we are calling on all of you to show your support by volunteering to our location at 16 West Main Street in Freehold.
This coming week, we have both phone calls and letters that need to go out at the fastest pace possible. Thanks to our new Administrative Manager, Heather Bachman, we are open from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM and are ready to enter some evening hours to coincide with your schedules.
If you want this Republican ticket to be successful in November, now is the time to act! We will not be successful without your help.
To sign up for a shift, contact Heather Bachman at 732-431-6664 or by email at info@monmouthrepublican.org. Together, we can provide wins for all our candidates and victory for the Republican Party.

Adam Puharic, Chairman
Monmouth County Republican Party
www.MonmouthRepublican.org
info@MonmouthRepublican.org
732.431.6664

UH - OH

Today's Asbury Park Press reports that the Bozo-coiffed Governor Jon Corzine wants to study New Jersey Hospitals. This is the guy who tried to tax hospital beds $50.00 per day.

According to the article, "Corzine said he wants to form a hospital study commission similar to the one used by the federal government when deciding whether to close military bases."

Uh - oh.

Corzine's comparing apples and Brazil nuts here. A military base is a facility opened by and operated by the government. If it is determined to be obsolete by the government, it is then closed by the government. Hospitals, with some exceptions, are private institutions established to provide services on basis of need in a given area. Key word here is need. Need is why there isn't a Wharton Tract Hospital. While hospitals do receive state aid, our American system of medicine remains in the private sector. Much as Corzine and his hand-picked U. S. Senator Robert Menendez may wish otherwise, New Jersey is not a province of Canada yet.

The article also states, "The New Jersey Hospital Association says that 40 percent of the state's hospitals lost money last year and the average hospital earned a 1 percent profit."

Interesting. It would be very interesting to see how the influx of illegal aliens to New Jersey has contributed to that. The Press article does not mention that. California has lost at least 60 hospitals because of the financial impact of uninsured illegal aliens and their anchor babies. While here in New Jersey state aid goes toward treating the uninsured, the Press article was otherwise short on numbers. We certainly have enough native-born uninsured without importing more.

Closing a hospital may make sense to a roomful of bean counters like Corzine, until one of those bean counters finds he now has to travel 15 more miles to bring his grandmother to the ER. Maybe those bean counters need to concentrate more on making hospitals profitable.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with setting priorities on the distribution of state aid. That's actually a good thing. But we know all too often what happens when the long, hairy arm of government reaches into places where it doesn't belong.

I smell trouble here. This bears some watching.

TIMES SQUARE ON THE TOWN SQUARE, or ARCH STREET COMES TO MAIN STREET

By Times Square I don't mean the Times Square of today. No Disney or anything like that. What I mean is the pre - Giuliani Times Square. Strip clubs, X - rated theatres, brothels. A place you wouldn't bring the kids.
Arch Street was Philadelphia's answer to Times Square.
Although New York and Philly have cleaned up their erstwhile "red-light" districts, look out, it's here.
No, you won't see streetwalkers strolling Freehold or Red Bank. It's a lot more subtle than that. A look in The Asbury Park Press classified Business & Service Directory under "Massage" will reveal that much more than "therapy" is offered. The Saturday July 22 issue advertises "AAA NUDE 24/7"; a bit further down the page a "shemale" is advertised. "DOM Avail" can also be found. While I'm sure many of the other advertisers are legitimate, the ones referenced above would appear to refer to some type of prostitution.
Let's take another look at the page. Seven advertise as "Asian", another two as "Oriental". Another advertises as "Ukrainian Massage", while yet another under the heading "East European" promotes their "Russian, Ukrainian, Latvian Staff".
How is nationality relevant?
Well, normally it isn't. Let's take a look, however, at the world of prostitution. It's no longer limited to the fresh-faced Midwestern girls leaving the cheerleading squad and farm life behind, coming to New York and hooking up with a right-out-of-Hollywood-type pimp, usually black, wearing a loud suit, wide-brimmed hat with an arching plume and driving a loaded pink Cadillac. Nor is it any longer under the kindly eye of a matronly "madam".
Often what you have today are international rings luring unsuspecting young women with the promise of a life of opportunity in the United States. Unfortunately, they are forced into a life of slavery, often as prostitutes or domestics. Some women or children are forced to work in sweat shops. Many of these women come from Eastern Europe or the Far East.
This is called human trafficking.
Many of these international rings use the profits to fund other illegal activity; some may even fund terrorism.
What to do? Well, obviously, if there's any doubt about a business, don't patronize it. Report suspicious activity to the police. If you'd like a massage, stick to reputable practitioners; many of these can be found at your gym, or referred by a chiropractor's office.
In our area, Congressman Chris Smith, a champion of human rights in the spirit of Lincoln himself, has been a national leader in the fight against human trafficking.

EMINENT DOMAIN DEBATE TURNS UGLIER

UPDATE -- July 22

The Halper family has left the property.

--

"(Clara) Halper expressed frustration with Judge James P. Hurley, whom she said called for the Halpers to leave peacefully today to reduce the chances of someone being harmed. Sheriff's officers will be on hand today to enforce the eviction order, if necessary.
'Do I take that as a threat when he says someone is going to get hurt?" she said. "Can you imagine a judge telling you this?'" ...From The Asbury Park Press.

Now, whether Hurley actually said that or not is utterly beside the point. The fact remains that it is a wonder that with all the eminent domain abuse nationwide that nobody (That I'm aware of.) has been hurt or killed. When I try to put myself in the shoes of the homeowner facing loss of their property, sometimes after being in a family for generations, for the purpose of a developer making money, I can't even fathom the horror they must be going through. When I try to put myself in the shoes of the developers, politicians and judges who steal people's homes and property, I would think that they would have to spend their lives looking over their shoulder and sleeping with one eye open. The Monmouth County Republican Blog in no way shape or form advocates turning to violence in this or any other issue. There are legitimate groups like The Castle Coalition which were formed to protect private property.

Eminent domain was set up for very limited purposes; for public uses. The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution states: "...nor to be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." That's public use, not some ethereal public so-called benefit as the eminent domain skells say.

The Founders worded this very carefully. Public use specifically meant roads, bridges, parks and public buildings. It did not mean taking a farmer's land and modest home so a wealthy planter could build a plantation, no matter how well-connected the planter. The Founders specifically wanted to protect the private property owner from siezure by government for the benefit of some lord or baron, as was a problem under the British regime.

Here in Monmouth County, the City of Long Branch under the administration of Mayor Adam Schneider (D) is the number 1 poster child for eminent domain abuse, but the issue has reared its ugly head in other towns as well. That list can grow much longer when you include such below-the-radar abuses as using the threat of eminent domain to force an owner to negotiate. With such a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads, many owners feel they have no choice but to sell.

Thirteen months after the U. S. Supreme Court's diabolical Kelo decision, some states have enacted reforms; New Jersey's reforms so far have languished in the Legislature.

Many bills have been introduced; Monmouth County's Assembly members Jen Beck and Sean Kean are among the leaders in eminent domain reform in New Jersey. Former State Senator and Assemblyman Joe Azzolina has also weighed in on this.

One theory given as to why reform has been held up is that with Democratic majorities in both houses of the State Legislature, policies are weighted towards the cities, which are largely under the control of Democratic bosses. A number of these cities have redevelopment programs with just the kind of eminent domain abuse that needs to be reformed. Delaying enactment of reforms only buys time for these projects and the players involved.

The Halper family farm in Piscataway Township, may actually be considered a legitimate use of the eminent domain process as the township wants the land for open space, however the issue runs a lot deeper than that. This is the very property which became embroiled in the "Machiavelli" scandal, which involved none other than former Governor James Edward Hyde McGreevey himself. It might not be a bad idea for Piscataway to just drop it.

THE SHUTDOWN OF NEW JERSEY'S GOVERNMENT WAS A FAILURE OF POLITICS OVER PUBLIC SERVICE

A Recent Column By Chairman Adam Puharic

The headlines of this past Thursday told about New Jersey lawmakers reaching a “deal” or a “compromise” on the stalled and bloated budget. But those terms are not appropriate. This was a sham and a travesty. Democrats in Trenton shut down our government to fight over which of our taxes they would raise.
As the new Monmouth County Republican Chairman, I am stunned by the uniform response by fellow residents of every political stripe. Outrage. May I remind the Democrats in the legislature that they were elected to represent the best interests of the people, not to play a child’s game of “winner-take-all.” Was it ever in our interests to shut down revenue generating casinos and parks?
With all of the political grandstanding and rhetorical ramblings of this past week, the Governor and Democratically-controlled legislature are hoping you the taxpayer won’t notice that 800 pound elephant in the room – that cutting spending is the real answer.
They are wrong. Monmouth County residents know a bad deal when they see it. This is the biggest budget in state history and New Jerseyans will be paying more in taxes than ever before. Governor Corzine is not balancing a budget, he is increasing spending by almost $3 billion, and paying for it with over $2 billion in new taxes. This includes $1.1 billion in a sales tax hike that impacts lower income workers most severely. Politicians laugh off the estimated $275 dollars this will cost every family, but for my household this represents one week’s worth of groceries. Clearly, our children deserve those resources more than the dual pensioned political class in Trenton.
We have been told to accept this tax hike because it will lower our property taxes. I thought the millionaires tax enacted by Democrats would do that. Instead, every day 115 New Jerseyans leave our state for the lower taxes and sensible governing of the so-called “red states.” What the Governor and his legislature fail to realize is that with this “freedom flight,” New Jersey continues to lose ground on economic opportunity, new job creation, and improving standards of living. There is a truism that Democrats in Trenton don’t want to tell you. New taxes never created a job, never helped a young family to invest, or save for their children’s college.
There was another way, a better way. The Assembly Republicans, with leadership from many of our outstanding Monmouth County legislators proposed $2.2 billion in real budget cuts. They made the hard decisions that we elected them to make, including calling for an end to dual pensions, and deep cuts from the over 1,200 politically appointed positions in non-essential roles. Hats off to Senators Palaia and Kyrillos, and Assemblymen and women Steve Corodemus, Sean Kean, Sam Thompson, Amy Handlin, and Jennifer Beck for voting NO on this abomination of a budget bill.
At the county level, our Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders responded to New Jersey’s budgeting woes by keeping the taxpayer squarely in their priorities, and holding the line on spending. The Freeholders slashed a proposed $18 million increase in county spending by more than half without sacrificing jobs or services. County government is being streamlined to improve efficiency and stem future increases. Republican leadership recognizes that you can manage spending, growth and change without punishing our overburdened taxpayers.
When you run a household, and you decide to irresponsibly increase your spending, you can not automatically turn to your employer and demand a raise. This is a recipe for the unemployment line, and a pink slip. In fact, a pink slip would be the right idea for a Governor who used Republican principles of self-reliance, entrepreneurship, and investment to improve his own life, but magically transforms into a tax and tax again politician when given the opportunity to govern. New Jersey deserves better.
Thankfully, in Monmouth County we have leaders and public servants in the Monmouth County Republican legislative delegation, a great Board of Republican Freeholders, and competent, outstanding Republican candidates on all levels of office who understand this. It is more important than ever that we come together and elect Rosemarie Peters, Andrew Lucas and Freeholder Anna Little this November.

THE VOTES ON THE STATE BUDGET

From the Asbury Park Press

Senate
Democrats

Yes: Adler, Bryant, Buono, Codey, Coniglio, Doria, Gill, Girgenti, James, Kenny, Lesniak, Madden, Rice, Sacco, Sarlo, Scutari, Smith, Sweeney, Turner, Vitale, Weinberg
No: Kärcher
** Sen. Ellen Kärcher said she later switched her vote to yes. That change is not yet recorded in the Legislature's computer system.
Read all about Kärcher's explanation here.
---

Republicans

Yes: Gormley, Martin
No: Allen, Asselta, Bark, Bucco, Cardinale, Ciesla, Connors, Inverso, Kavanaugh, Kean, Kyrillos, Lance, Littell, McNamara, Palaia, Singer
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Assembly
Democrats

Yes: Barnes, Burzichelli, Caraballo, Chivukula, Cohen, Conaway, Conners, Cruz-Perez, Cryan, Diegnan, Egan, Epps, Fisher, Giblin, Gordon, Green, Greenstein, Greenwald, Gusciora, Hackett, Johnson, Lampitt, Manzo, McKeon, Oliver, Payne, Pou, Prieto, Quigley, Roberts, Scalera, Schaer, Sires, Stack, Stanley, Steele, Truitt, Vainieri Huttle, Vas, Voss, Watson Coleman, Whelan, Wisniewski
No: Albano, Mayer, Moriarty, Panter, Stender, Van Drew

---

Republicans

Yes: Blee
No: Baroni, Bateman, Beck, Biondi, Bodine, Bramnick, Carroll, Connors, Corodemus, Dancer, DeCroce, Doherty, Gregg, Handlin, Holzapfel, Karrow, Kean, Malone, McHose, Merkt, Munoz, O'Toole, Pennacchio, Rooney, Rumpf, Russo, Thompson, Vandervalk, Wolfe
Not voting: Chatzidakis

SETTLEMENT AGREED ON, STRIKE CALLED OFF, TAXES TO GO UP

"This is the budgetary equivalent of a game of three-card monte."...Sen. Robert Littell (R-Sussex)

"How ludicrous is it that in this theater of the absurd, we're raising the sales tax to provide direct property tax relief while cutting rebates at the same time."...Sen. Joseph Kyrillos Jr. (R-Monmouth)

"The public is denied the opportunity to see what's going on while it's going on. Instead of having government under glass, we have government under a rock."...Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R-Morris)

"This was all about Democrats behaving badly.''...Assemblyman Kevin O'Toole (R-Essex)

Just as a union will call a strike for higher wages, the Bozo-coifed Gov. Jon Corzine had called a strike for higher taxes. The budget was approved early this morning, and the strike called off.
The disagreement among Democrats was not whether to raise taxes, but on which taxes to raise.
And raise them they did. A Republican proposal which would have cut spending by over $2.2 billion (With a B) was never even given serious consideration. Instead, Democrats raised taxes by $1.5 billion (With a B), and even made sure to throw in some pork for loyal supporters.
Sounding more like a union activist than the leader of state government, Corzine had declared his solidarity with public employee unions. This was totally expected, as Carla Katz, President of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1034, is Corzine's former girlfriend; she had her mortgage paid off by Corzine. Local 1034 surprisingly went on to endorse Corzine.
He was just rewarding his supporters.
In addition to the casinos, Corzine's government shut-down even affected flood victims along the Delaware River.
So, the shutdown has ended, the state will be reopened by Monday and everything will be back to normal.
Till next year.

PROLIFERATION OF POLITICAL BLOGGERS

Monmouth County has experienced a proliferation of political blogs. Both parties are represented, but so far we Republicans seem to be ahead on this.

Some blogs have flourished, while others seem to have fallen by the wayside.

The Monmouth County Republican Blog has been active for over a year. Lew Alcindor started Right Inside Monmouth Politics in November 2005, but has only been intermittently active. In January of this year, William H. Seward started More Monmouth Musings, and has been very active posting since then. Two blogs were set up by someone posting as Ronald Reagan, believed to be the nom de blog of Dan Gallic, the shadowy former executive director of the Monmouth GOP. Both blogs went dormant but one has been reactivated; it has been a repository of namecalling and hopeless negativism and will not be linked here.

Some folks running for office have started blogs under their own names. Freeholder Anna Little began a blog back in February; sadly she has not kept it up. I hope Anna reactivates her blog for the campaign and posts pertinent Freeholder information. (Hint hint hint!) I'd like to see Surrogate Candidate Rosemarie Peters and Freeholder Candidate Andrew Lucas get into the blogging act, too. On the local level, so far we have Borough Council Candidates Art Gallagher from Highlands and Charles Cocuzza in Union Beach.

Some journalists have blogs, too, and often post on political subjects. Jackie Corley, formerly of Courier, would have to be considered the pioneer in this category, with Bayshore Journalista and Jersey Blog Beat. Courier publisher and sometime Democrat Jim Purcell has The Inside Clamdigger, where he posts on news up in the Bayshore; he also posts on Airborne issues. Courier probably has more blogs per capita than the other Monmouth papers; there's Matt McGrath with Matter of Fact; other Courier bloggers with varying degrees of political content include Doug Irvin (Who recently left the paper.), Rich Kohler and Mike Kenny. Of these blogs, the only one officially affiliated with Courier is Matter of Fact. Over in Howell we have Kathy Baratta, who is administrator at HowellNJ.com. She covers Manalapan for the News Transcript, but the blog is not affiliated with the paper. The Asbury Park Press has recently launched its own family of bloggers, including Bob Ingle, Editorial Page Editor Randy Bergmann, editorial writers Clare McDowell and Larry Benjamin, and columnist Rev. Michael Riley.

The Democrats have begun to get into the act too. A few months ago the Monmouth County Democratic Blog was started by Old Hickory, but that seems to have gone dormant. Middletown Democratic Boss Joseph "King" Caliendo has started Democrats Calling, and the Democrats also have Donkeys Rule! on their blogroll. Assemblyman Michael Panter (D-12) has a blog, as did Bill Flynn and Mike DaSaro, the unsuccessful Democratic candidates in the 13th District last year. It is generally believed that so far the Democrats lag behind the Republicans in blogging.

If I missed anyone's blog (preferably of a political nature), please leave a comment with the blog's address. I will add the Republican ones to my sidebar links.

A MOM ON A MISSION

Those of you who live in the 6th Congressional District have probably already received a mailing or phone call from the Leigh-Ann Bellew for Congress campaign.
Leigh-Ann is running against entrenched Democrat incumbent politician Frank Pallone, and has hit the ground running. This will be a tough campaign, and it will not be won by sitting around watching TV. Leigh-Ann knows that you can't be "Pallone Lite" and expect to win; she's right on the issues. She believes in the issues she stands for; you'll know that if elected, she won't be a RINO or DIRC.
The House of Representatives was intended to be a citizen-legislature. Unlike Pallone, Leigh-Ann Bellew is not a career politician, and will be a citizen-legislator for the 6th District.
If you live in the 6th District and Leigh-Ann's campaign reaches out to you, lend a hand. If you haven't heard from her yet, why not reach out at 732-692-6443.

MERLA A DEMOCRAT

Embattled Keyport Mayor John Merla is now a Democrat, according to a June 8 Courier article, as well as a report in this week's Independent.
Merla, elected as a Republican, was nabbed in the FBI's "Operation Bid Rig" and faces eight counts of corruption charges. He maintains his innocence and intends to go to trial and fight the charges. He had previously beaten charges brought by then County Prosecutor John Kaye in the early 90's by going to trial.
Once considered a rising young star in our party, Merla was a candidate for Harry Larrison's open freeholder seat in December 2004, opposing Bill Barham, who was elected. Merla and others would be arrested the following February.
Some who supported Merla now say they would have supported Barham had they known of Merla's alleged corruption.
Merla had declared himself an independent last year; this year he becomes a Democrat. We wish him well in his new home.

LAST WEEK'S CHAIRMAN'S ELECTION

It has been a week since Adam Puharic has been elected as our County Chairman, and there have been many theories as to how or why.
In a nutshell, he got more votes.
Why?
Well, a number of reasons. First, let's look at the field of candidates. For starters, you had no organized, united opposition to former chairman Fred Niemann like you had against Niemann's predecessor Bill Dowd in 2004 with Monmouth GOP for Change. Instead, you had a pretty large field of possible candidates, which seemed to change on a daily basis. This group represented a wide array of views within our party. Two early entries were former Freeholder Ed Stominski and Neptune Planning Board member Mel Hood. Stominski and Hood teamed up as a slate.
A possible consensus candidate emerged in Sheriff Joe Oxley, only to withdraw from the race. Oxley's withdrawal brought Red Bank GOP Chairman Jim Giannell into the race. Giannell has a reputation for grass-roots organization and coalition building.
Towards late May, former Undersheriff Adam Puharic was mentioned as a possible candidate; he soon declared as a candidate, as did Millstone Township Committeeman Elias Abliheira. Abilheira would withdraw and endorse Puharic.
Giannell and Puharic would soon emerge as the front-runners in the race.
How did Puharic come from behind for such a resounding victory?
Again, there was no organized opposition to Niemann's chairmanship; when Niemann bowed out a major issue was removed from the race. A major obstacle to Giannell consolidating support was Stominski's candidacy, as both men drew support from the same base.
Philosophy was not a factor here as it was in Bergen County, where you had Reagan conservatives versus Whitman-type RINO's. Giannell and Puharic are both well-known as conservatives.
Many Republicans had concerns that Puharic would be a continuation of the Niemann regime, with Dan Gallic, PACs, etc. Puharic assured committee people that he was his own man, and most believed that. He was not a part of the inner circle of "bunker boys."
Finally, let's take a look at the recent choices made by the County Committee: Freeholder Anna Little and Freeholder Candidate Andrew Lucas. Both were "come-from-behind" candidates, and more importantly, both are from the youth of our party. After years of a continually aging leadership, Monmouth County Republicans have been turning to the youth for the future of our party. Anna Little is 38, Andrew Lucas is 28 and Adam Puharic is 35. Puharic's election continues that trend.
(The trend towards youth is actually a return to past practices. Harry Larrison was 39 when he first went on the Board of Freeholders, Ted Narozanick was 27 when elected to the Englishtown Borough Council and about 37 when he first came into county government.)
It is no secret that this blog supported Jim Giannell; however the committee has spoken. Adam is the Chairman, and it is important for our entire party that he do a great job. We wish him the best of luck in leading our party.

THAT MATAWAN TRAIN STATION, and Related Pay-to Play

The Monmouth County Republican Blog usually avoids delving into local issues, but this one is pretty big and promises to get bigger.
The controversial Matawan/Aberdeen Train Station Redevelopment project has been dogged with delays and accusations of "pay-to-play."
Courier publisher Jim Purcell has done a lot of hard work on this matter and has editorialized on it.
Purcell in turn, has received criticism for his coverage of the issue from this blog as well as More Monmouth Musings.
The criticism is not based on the idea that Purcell is covering the matter; it should be covered. It is based on the fact that related issues up in that part of the county have not been covered.
Let's not give the Democrats a pass here.
The Aberdeen Republicans' website says, "In 2003, (The Aberdeen Democrats) accepted contributions of $4,000 from JPI, developer of Jefferson apartments, now Versailles, and $5,000 from Kara Homes, developer of Aspen Woods on Route 34 and Aberdeen Forge in Freneau."
An article in the Independent back in December exposes a 2001 contribution of $5,000.00 from "Dean Development Co. Inc., a Monroe Township development firm linked to Silver Oak Properties."
Silver Oak is the developer chosen by Aberdeen for the redevelopment project.
The vast editorial staff here at the Monmouth County Republican Blog researched this at ELEC and found it all to be true.

Dean Development, Monroe Twp., contributed $5,000.00 to the Monmouth County Democrats on October 25, 2001. On November 6, 2001, $5,000.00 was contributed by the Monmouth County Democrats to the Aberdeen Democratic Campaign 2001.

Two years later we have the JPI Good Government Fund, Austin, TX, contributing $4,000.00 to the Monmouth County Democrats on October 20, 2003.That same day, Kara Services Co. LLC, East Brunswick, contributed $5,000.00 to the Monmouth County Democrats. On October 27, The Monmouth County Democrats contributed $9,000.00 to Aberdeen Democratic Campaign 2003.

Is it because these developers are extraordinarily civic-minded Americans who have a deep, abiding interest in township committees doing their jobs of serving their constituency? Might it be that these developers just love participating in the political process?
Naaaaaah, looks more like they're "power-washing" the money.
Here at the Monmouth County Republican Blog, we are known to look up an occasional ELEC report, when one is actually filed. We will continue to do this.
We encourage all the papers to cover this and similar issues.

CHAIRMAN ADAM N. PUHARIC

Adam N. Puharic of Aberdeen Township was elected Chairman of the Monmouth County Republican Committee tonight by a resounding margin over James Giannell of Red Bank and Edward Stominski of Eatontown.
Former Holmdel Mayor Mollie Giamanco was elected vice chairman.
While this blog had been critical of Puharic and some of his alliances, that stops here and now.
Chairman Puharic was elected fair and square, by the same County Committee that chose Anna Little and Andrew Lucas.
Our new chairman must be given the opportunity to do a good job; we must now look to November and beating the Democrats.
Remember the Democrats?
In a show of unity Giannell joined Puharic on the dais after the winner was announced; Puharic asked Giannell for his help in fine-tuning the convention process. It is time now for us all to unite as a team and work for victory this fall!

DiBELLA ALL OVER AGAIN?

William H. Seward at More Monmouth Musings has a great post today on the County Chairman's race.



In it, he lists some information about the candidates: James Giannell of Red Bank, Ed Stominski of Eatontown, Elias Abilheira of Millstone and Adam Puharic of Aberdeen. He points out that it would appear that Puharic is the candidate of the current party leadership, Fred Niemann, Dan Gallic, Norine Kelly, etc.



Will points out an item of serious concern:



"Additionally, the return address on Adam's mailing is 16 West Main Street, Freehold, NJ. Once again, the party apparatus and resources are favoring one candidate over others."



Now, this by itself would appear conclusive that "they're at it again", but there's more. The vast editorial staff here at the Monmouth County Republican Blog has received complaints from committee persons about e-mails sent to them from Adam Puharic on behalf of his campaign for chairman. What the committee members are wondering is, "How did the Puharic campaign get my e-mail address?"



How indeed?



This is an echo of an incident back in February where committee persons were spammed with e-mails from the campaign of Joe DiBella for freeholder.



Most people's concerns are that the party leadership is once again allowing the use of Republican Headquarters resources for their handpicked people.

Seward closes that Puharic "has a bright future, so long as he chooses his friends carefully." Very true. Right now, it looks like Adam has gotten in with a bad crowd.



Committee persons should consider the candidates very carefully. The individual that they choose will be entrusted with the leadership of our party for at least the next two years. It is important to show up Tuesday and let your voice be heard.



The election for chairman will be June 13th at 7:30 P.M. at Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, New Jersey in the Navesink Room located inside the Warner Student Life Building, 2nd Floor. If there is a change, we will post it.