2011 DEMOCRAT CAMPAIGN FUNDING

As has so often been the case this time of year, nothing of substance has yet shown up on this year's Democrat Party candidate ELEC reports. Nothing new either yet to reflect any changes brought about under the new County Dem chairman boss, Vinod Gopal. However, there's always last year's final reports, which are relevant because two of their losing candidates from last year, William Shea (freeholder county commissioner) and Michael Steinhorn (surrogate 2011, county clerk 2012), are on this year's countywide ballot.

Let's first look at Amy Mallet's final report:

Pallone for Congress gave her $1,000.00 contribution on October 21, 2011, and another $1,000.00 on Nov. 1. After that it's the unions.

NJEA Political Action Committee contributed $1,250.00 on the same date. That's the teachers' union folks.

DRIVE Committee contributed $1,000.00 on Nov. 9. DRIVE is an acronym: Democrat Republican Independent Voter Education; it's the political action committee of the Teamsters Union.

1199 SEIU NYS Political Action Fund gave Mallet's campaign $2,000.00 on Nov. 17. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is known for thuggishness, often supplying goons to physically disrupt events. These are bad dudes. The "NYS" stands for New York State. That is a separate state to the north of New Jersey; again we must reiterate, New York is a separate state. This is an out of state campaign contribution.

Now Bill Shea's report:

NJEA Political Action Committee contributed $1,250.00 on Nov. 7. Again, we must reiterate, this is the teachers' union.
Earlier union bucks to Shea can be found here.


And now, Mr. Steinhorn:

Realtors' Political Action Committee on September 30 gave $1,000.00 and another $1,000.00 on October 4.
Steinhorn's report is the only one certified as a final report.


Now, let's look at the Monmouth County Democrats report:

Election Fund of Joseph Cryan (D-Union), the rootinest, tootinest, double-dippinest undersheriff/assemblyman ever to bedazzle New Jersey contributed $10,000.00 to the County Democrats on October 5. Recall that on September 18, he also contributed 1,000.00 smackers to Amy Mallet's campaign account.
In late 2008 it was the Monmouth County Democrat Freeholder County Commissioner majority who looked to Cryan to fill key appointments.

Annette Quijano Election Fund (D-Union), contributed $5,000.00 on Oct. 26. Quijano is a part of the 20th District Legislative delegation along with Joe Cryan and Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak. (below) Quijano replaced former Assemblyman Neil Cohen, the well-known child-porn impressario, currently on parole from South Woods State Prison.

Election Fund of Raymond J. Lesniak (D-Union), contributed $1,000.00 on Oct. 27.

Union County Democratic Committee , Charlotte DeFilippo, chair, forked over $3,000.00 on Oct. 21. Monmouth and Union County Democrats have had a long and cozy relationship. Not sure whether or not that will continue under Gopal, who is Nopal to the GOP.

Union Township Democratic Municipal Committee, Joseph Cryan, chair, contributed $3,500.00 on Nov. 9, another $3,500.00 on Nov. 25, for a total of $7,000.00.

Election Fund of John S. Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), gave $7,500.00 on Oct. 24. Recall that on February 10 he contributed $1,000.00 and another $2,500.00 on September 15 for an aggregate of $11,000.
Democracy in Motion, the mysterious PAC, gave $5,000.00 on Nov. 2.  On July 8 they had contributed $5,000.00; they gave another $10,000.00 on September 15. They first showed up on the Monmouth County scene back in '09. Their chairman is Michael L. Broderick and their treasurer is Christina Montorio. Both are employed by Teamsters Local 469 in Hazlet, Broderick as Business Agent and Montorio as a Port Representative. They appear to be funded by professional firms; CME Engineering is a major player here, although T & M, Birdsall and various law firms have donated. They even got a check from Gary "Billboard" Taffet, former chief of staff to disgraced Gov. James E. McGreevey. Their disbursements go predominantly to Middlesex County Democrats.

Raritan Bay Leadership Fund contributed $7,000.00 on Dec. 1. Their chairman is former Middlesex County Clerk Raniero Travisano of Sayreville and their treasurer New Brunswick attorney David Lonski. Their contributors and recipients are largely the same as Democracy in Motion.

Together We Can gave 2,500.00 on Nov. 2. Their chairman is former Kevin P. McCabe of Sewaren and their treasurer Woodbridge Township attorney James P. Nolan. McCabe is part of the management team of the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters, Edison. Their contributors and recipients are largely the same as Democracy in Motion and the Raritan Bay Leadership Fund, with the addition of contributors Jamie Fox, DOT Commissioner in the McGreevey administration, and disgraced former Senator Robert Torricelli.

Is it because these contributors are extraordinarily civic-minded Americans who have a deep, abiding interest in local pols doing their jobs of serving their constituency? Might it be that these contributors just love participating in the political process?
Is Union County the Democrats' idea of "where Democrats are doing a better job governing than Republicans?"
Is Middlesex County the Democrats' idea of "where Democrats are doing a better job governing than Republicans?"
Well?????

FIVE - O!

FIVE - O!

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

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

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

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

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

UNION COUNTY BUCKS COMING IN

Is Union County the Democrats' idea of "where Democrats are doing a better job governing than Republicans?"
Well?
We've been monitoring the Monmouth County Democrats ELEC Reports and sure enough, they are getting some big bucks wheeled in from their Union County bosses.* The Democrats have been very coy with their filings, with separate filings for County Commissioner (neé Freeholder) candidates Amy Mallet and Bill Shea and Surrogate Candidate Michael Steinhorn, as well as a joint Mallet-Shea account. They try to hide behind sworn statements for the candidates and run the show out of the Monmouth County Democrats account. Most of these are from the Monmouth County Democrats account, except for that from Joseph Cryan, who contributed directly to Friends of Freeholder Mallet.
The Dems are obviously utterly unfazed by criticism of their wheeling. It's just what they do.
Checking the 48 hour reports, we find big bucks from two out of three 20th District (Union County) legislators. On October 26 the Assemblywoman Annette Quijano Election Fund contributed $5,000.00. Two days later, on October 28, the Election Fund of Senator Raymond J. Lesniak contributed $10,000.00. The third representative from that district, rootin' tootin' double-dippin' Undersheriff/Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, made his $1,000.00 contribution directly to Amy Mallet's campaign on September 18. Quijano's predecessor, child-porn impressario Neil Cohen has contributed to legislative races in the past.
Union County's neighbor to the north, Essex, has also shown its generosity through the largess of Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver (D-34). On April 12 the Committee to Elect Sheila Oliver gave $1,000.00 and on July 7 she ponied up another $500.00.
Between Union and Monmouth Counties lies Middlesex, always fertile ground for wheeled bucks. On July 8 the mysterious Sayreville-based Democracy in Motion PAC contributed $5,000.00; they gave another $10,000.00 on September 15. This contributor first appeared here in 2009. Also from Sayreville is 19th District Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski; on February 10 the Election Fund of John S. Wisniewski contributed $1,000.00 and another $2,500.00 on September 15.
This is what has surfaced so far. Certainly more will come to light after the election. Meanwhile, we will be delving into their Big Labor contributions.

*Of course, with the Democrats, down is up and up is down and wheeling isn't wheeling, so I guess the money isn't really wheeled. Or something.

PETERS IS IN THE RACE

This announcement was e-mailed to Monmouth County Republicans:

Dear Monmouth County Republican,
Today I issued the following statement to announce my candidacy for Monmouth County Surrogate. I wanted to share it with you and ask for your support. If you are interested in helping my campaign in anyway, please email me at rdp@rosemariepeters.com. I hope to see you soon.
Sincerely yours,
Rosemarie

MIDDLETOWN COMMITTEEWOMAN ROSEMARIE PETERS ANNOUNCES RUN FOR MONMOUTH COUNTY SURROGATE

Middletown, NJ – Committeewoman and former Mayor Rosemarie D. Peters, the longest-serving member of the governing body in Monmouth County’s most populous municipality, today announced that she will be seeking the Republican nomination for Monmouth County Surrogate.
“Given my legal background and many years of public service, I believe I can best serve the residents of Monmouth County as Surrogate,” said Peters. “If elected, I intend to focus all of my attention on the tasks of the office. I will be a full-time Surrogate, which I believe the residents of Monmouth County deserve.”First elected in 1988 and re-elected five times since, Peters is completing her 18th year on the Middletown governing body. She has served four years as Mayor, three as Deputy Mayor, and has been a member of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment. She is currently chair of the Township’s Open Space Preservation Committee, which she initiated, and is president of the Middletown Township Cultural and Arts Council, which she founded.Peters has been a member of the executive board and the Legislative Review Committee of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities. She was formerly a member of the Monmouth County Environmental Council, a board member of the Monmouth County Mental Health Association, and former president of the Middletown Township League of Women Voters. Peters has a Juris Doctor degree from the Rutgers School of Law-Newark, a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Thomas A. Edison State College, and an Associates in Art degree from Brookdale Community College. She has been married for over 40 years to Thomas Peters, and has two grown children and two grandchildren.

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PAID FOR BY ROSEMARIE PETERS FOR SURROGATE, JOAN A. SMITH, TREAS., PO BOX 725, LINCROFT, NJ 07738.

IS SHE IS OR IS SHE AIN'T A CANDIDATE?

Recently Monmouth County Republican Committee members received a telephone message supporting the candidacy of Middletown Deputy Mayor Rosemarie D. Peters for the vacancy to occur on the Board of Freeholders as a result of the election of Amy Handlin to the State Assembly. OK, all well and good. When a vacancy occurs people want to fill it. Mrs. Peters has as much a right as anybody else to throw her name in there.
Only she hasn't thrown her name in.
Yesterday (11/15) committee members received a call from Mrs. Peters herself saying that she hadn't authorized the calls, that she was flattered that the calls were made, and that she would make a decision soon as to just whether or not she's running.
OK...
So, what would prompt someone to make calls on behalf of an alleged candidate without first checking with that person first? It all seems very strange.
When a vacancy due to a resignation or death occurs on the Board of Chosen Freeholders, the County Executive Committee of the resigned or deceased member's party is convened by its chairman for the purpose of electing an interim replacement. This most recently happened in December 2004 with the resignation of the late Harry W. Larrison, Jr.; Freeholder William C. Barham bested the now-indicted Keyport Mayor John Merla for the spot at that time. Freeholder Handlin has indicated that she would resign from the Board if elected to the Assembly.
A Middletown candidate would seem a logical replacement as Freeholder Handlin is a Middletown resident, but it's more complicated than that. Although Middletown has recently been a reliable GOP stronghold and is the largest municipality in Monmouth County, it no longer comprises as large a percentage of the county, due to growth in other townships, particularly in Western Monmouth County. Howell, in particular has seen quite a lot of growth, as has Marlboro. And being from a huge town is not everything, as Bill Barham is from Monmouth Beach, a smaller borough on the shore. Further, some Republicans may want to blunt the countywide power of former Middletown Mayor Peter Carton, who is the longtime GOP chairman in that township.
At this point I am not aware of any other people declaring themselves candidates for Amy's seat, but it's still early. There will be more. And as I learn their names, I will update.