THE NEXT CONVENTION

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 Would the withdrawn candidates (Serena DiMaso, Gus Toomey and Robert Kleinberg) come out?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

IT'S FREEHOLDER LITTLE!

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

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

The second ballot reached the following result:

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

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

NEW E-MAIL INITIATIVE

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

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

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

How did they?

Well?

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

But they wouldn't.

He said...

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

Was Niemann sharing information with the DiBella campaign?

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

Well?

LINCOLN DAY

The Annual Monmouth County Replublican Lincoln Day Reception was held last night at Aberdeen's Garden Manor.
Despite predictions of a disaster, Serena DiMaso and Tom Apostle pulled off an outstanding event and are to be commended for it. Although there may have been better attended Lincoln Days in the past, this was far from a washout, and our friends from Howell behaved themselves.
A nice time was had by all.
In spite of reports to the contrary, this correspondent was there. Many GOP dignitaries were in attendance, rubbing elbows with rank & file party members. Congressman Chris Smith was there, with a volunteer circulating his nominating petition for this year's election. Various freeholder candidates were in attendance and working the room. It has been said that they weren't, but they were. Former County Chairman Fred Kniesler and family were with the Upper Freehold contingent, and in addition to Monmouth's Trenton delegation (OK, not all of them.), some legislators from other parts of the state also supported the event. State Senator Tom Kean (R-Union), who hopes to swap the "State" prefix to his title for "U. S." this year, was there, as was Assemblyman Bill Baroni (R-Mercer), an up-and-comer in state politics who has been mentioned as a possible 2009 gubernatorial candidate. Also former Assemblyman Paul DiGaetano (R-Essex), who was a gubernatorial candidate in the 2005 primary. It is said that Sylvester Fernandes, the 2004 standardbearer in the 6th District race against Democrat Rep. Frank Pallone, was there. State Chair Tom Wilson got up and said a few words, as did County Chairman Fred Niemann.
A nice reception last night, now on to Saturday's Title 19 convention!

ANONYMOUS COMMENTS

I should have done this a long time ago. I thought the nastier anonymous comments would have died down by now, but it appears that some people just never get it out of their system.
This blog was set up as a discussion board for Monmouth County Republicans, but it seems that certain individuals, primarily from one town, have pirated these pages for their own malicious fun.
"Colleen" went way over the top.
You are in my house. I make the rules here.
So, you can still post comments, but now you have to register with Blogger. It's easy, some of you have already done so.
I will still delete inappropriate comments. Remember it is not censorship when it is on private property.

LINCOLN DAY ROBO-CALLS

Yesterday Republicans were treated to an unprecedented robo-call encouraging them to attend Lincoln Day.
This is a traditional event for county GOP organizations nationwide.
Are ticket sales down? Or not?
Are you going? If not, why? What is your opinion of the robo-calls?
Let us know your opinion.

"EIGHT GREAT CANDIDATES"

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

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

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

THE RACE FOR COUNTY CHAIRMAN

In all the hubbub generated by the unprecedented turnout of candidates for freeholder, another race has been a-brewin', that for Chairman of the Monmouth County Republican Committee.
County Chairman Fredrick P. Niemann is expected to seek another two-year term, and it appears that he will have competition for the job. Two names are mentioned in an article by Jim Purcell in this week's Courier, Mel Hood of Neptune Township, and former Freeholder Ed Stominski of Eatontown.
Niemann was elected chairman two years ago on a platform of change which included regional directors and by-laws. Neither reform has been enacted and a number of Republicans believe it is time to choose a chairman who will enact such changes. Niemann has also been subject to criticism as to his close ties with Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore, as well as his fundraising record, which includes contributions from Middlesex Democrat Boss John Lynch, Jr., among others.
Hood and Stominski both support the concept of regional directors and by-laws.
The election of a county chairman is not to be taken lightly; it cannot be a popularity contest. If there is to be opposition to Niemann it must be united and issue-oriented. It must not degenerate to personalities. They should unite behind one individual. Committee members must be convinced of the need for a change. If not, Niemann wins by default.
Niemann, if he is to survive, must be prepared to explain his actions on fundraising, as well as the lack of by-laws and regional directors. He needs to explain the connection with Gilmore. He must convince the committee that his reasons for his actions were in the best interests of the GOP as a body. Pointing to a win in spite of the scandals 2005 is not enough, as other factors may explain that. Quality candidates, the Unger factor, etc.
Other names mentioned in connection with June's chairman election are former Wall Mayor Robert McKenna and former County Chairman Frederick Kniesler.
It promises to be interesting.

PROVIDE A CAPTION

(This is not Photo Shopped LOL.)

INZERILLO IS IN THE RACE

Gadzooks! Inzerillo? Running for freeholder? Yes, sports fans, Middletown's Leonard Inzerillo has thrown his hat in the ring. Well, the Democratic ring. OK, he hasn't officially thrown it in the ring, but he and Middletown Democratic boss Joseph "King" Caliendo, in an article in this week's Courier, are said to be actively looking into an Inzerillo freeholder candidacy. In the article they cite Inzerillo's narrow 2003 loss to veteran Assemblyman Joseph Azzolina, and talk about how electable he would be this year.
Mr. Inzerillo has some housekeeping to do, however.
It seems in his losing 2003 assembly run with Old Bridge's William Flynn (for Senate) and Aberdeen's Tom Perry, his treasurer was none other than Union County's oompa-loompaesque publisher James Devine, of Handlin-Thompson.org fame. Handlin-Thompson.org was a controversial weBSite set up by Devine to mock the candidacy of now-Assemblywoman Amy Handlin. Devine's site was written up in this very blog back in December.
Anyhoozies, it seems that Mr. Devine filed the 29-day and 11-day pre-election reports with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), but no 20-day post-election report. Why? Well, the 11-day pre-election report shows that Devine closed out the Election Fund of Flynn, Inzerillo and Perry on October 13 (nearly a month before the election) by writing out a check in the amount of $2,473.47 to the Election Fund of Inzerillo and Perry. OK, fine, you say, but Trenton has no record of any such account as the Election Fund of Inzerillo and Perry. So nearly $2,500.00 goes bye-bye. Was it spent on campaign purposes? Probably, but there's no report on file. Were more funds raised for the new account? Again, probably, but it must be none of our business. Was Devine the treasurer or someone else? Maybe a high-school student? Did it go into Devine's personal bank account like donations raised from the Handlin-Thompson.org site?
Looks like Mr. Inzerillo might have some 'splainin' to do.

ANTONUCCI IS IN THE RACE

Hazlet Township Committeewoman Bridget Antonucci has made it official after months of silence. She has announced her intention to run for Freeholder in an e-mail to Women's Federation members, as well as by letter to County Committee members.
Her letter, or more accurately flyer, lists her views favoring term limits for freeholders and why she feels she can win in November.
Antonucci's slogan is "Fresh Face, New Ideas!", and she says, "I'll continue to uphold the honesty, integrity, and passion of the Monmouth County Republican Party."

NOTE: I would advise those posting newspaper articles to post a link from now on. Posting the entire article as a comment takes up a lot of space, especially if more than one article is posted.

SO. WHAT ABOUT CONGRESS?

Monmouth County is divided among three congressional districts: The Fourth, Sixth and Twelfth. All three seats are up for reelection this year.

The Fourth District consists of Allentown, Brielle, Colts Neck, Farmingdale, Freehold Borough, part of Freehold Township, Howell, Manasquan, Millstone, Roosevelt, Sea Girt, Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights, Upper Freehold and Wall. The Fourth has been ably represented since 1981 by Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R), the dean of the New Jersey Congressional delegation. We at the Monmouth County Republican Blog believe that Congressman Smith will seek another two-year term.

The Sixth District includes Aberdeen, Allenhurst, Asbury park, Atlantic Highlands, Avon, Belmar, Bradley Beach, Deal, Hazlet, Highlands, Interlaken, Keansburg, Keyport, Lake Como, Loch Arbour, Long Branch, part of Manalapan, part of Marlboro, Matawan, part of Middletown, Monmouth Beach, Neptune, Neptune City, Ocean, Red Bank, Sea Bright, Union Beach and West Long Branch.
This district is a successor to the old Third District, held for many years by the late Rep. Jim Howard (D); upon Howard's death in 1988, Frank Pallone, his protege, was elected. Howard's original claim to fame was his ability to win in a Republican district; redistricting over the years has left the district strongly Democratic. Today's district snakes its way like a follow-the-dot gone awry through many of Central Jersey's Democratic bastions, from Asbury Park and Long Branch through South Amboy, New Brunswick and Highland Park to Piscataway and Plainfield.

The Twelfth District consists of Eatontown, Englishtown, Fair Haven, part of Freehold Township, Holmdel, Little Silver, part of Manalapan, part of Marlboro, part of Middletown, Oceanport, Rumson, Shrewsbury Borough, Shrewsbury Township and Tinton Falls.
Long represented by Republicans like Jim Courter and Dick Zimmer, the Twelfth is now represented by Democrat Rush Holt. When Zimmer ran (unsuccessfully) for U. S. Senate in 1996, conservative Somerset County Freeholder Michael Pappas (R) was elected to the seat. While many believe Pappas' singing of "Twinkle Twinkle Kenneth Starr" on the House floor did him in, others believe it was a group of "moderate" Republicans working against him; indeed, liberal Republican lobbyist Hazel Gluck was open in her denunciation of Pappas. It is said that the moderates had hoped that in defeating Pappas, a Democrat would only last for one term in that district and then a moderate could then reclaim the seat. If that was in fact the plan, it backfired badly, as Holt is in his fourth term!

So, has anybody out there heard any names thrown about? I'm sure that Chris Smith will run for reelection, but what about the other districts?
Who wants to run against Pallone? Will it be an unknown like Sylvester Fernandes? Will it be Fernandes? A big name? Monmouth, Middlesex or Union? Will Pallone run unopposed?
How about in the Twelfth? That district runs all the way out to the Delaware River, folks. Parts of five counties. Anyone know who's running there? Is Bill Spadea going for it again? Buster Soaries? An unknown? Who? Will Holt run unopposed?
Let us know your opinion on the congressional races. And you people from the other counties can chime right in, too; these districts overlap some serious territory.

LITTLE IS IN THE RACE

Describing herself as "a Little person from a Little town", Highlands Borough Councilwoman Anna C. Little spoke at the Affilliated Republican Club of Monmouth County's Freeholder Candidate's Night at Ft. Monmouth's Gibbs Hall last night.
Other speakers were Howell Mayor Joseph DiBella, former Wall Mayor Robert McKenna and Spring Lake Councilman Brian Reilly.
With copies of her resume placed on each table, Little impressed many there with the brevity of her speech.
She is an attorney at law, practicing in her hometown of Highlands. She is multi-lingual. A lifelong resident of Monmouth County and a Middletown South graduate, Little is said to have the support of the Two-Rivers Republican group and is making headway as an alternative to the DiBella/Peters choice. (It has been said that Peters is out for the time being.)
Little is in her second term on the Highlands Council, having served since 2003. She expects to have letters out to the County Committee early this week.

REILLY IS IN THE RACE

Spring Lake Borough Councilman Brian Reilly spoke at the Affilliated Republican Club of Monmouth County's Freeholder Candidates Night at Ft. Monmouth's Gibbs Hall last night.
As he did not have resumes at the dinner and has not sent out letters yet, not much is known about him county wide. If I am able to get a copy of his letter, assuming there is one, I'll update this post.
Other speakers were Howell Mayor Joseph DiBella, former Wall Mayor Robert McKenna and Highlands Councilwoman Anna Little.

De SENO IS IN THE RACE

Thomas De Seno, an attorney practicing in Asbury Park and a resident of the Ramtown section of Howell Township, has notified Chairman Niemann and Republican Committee members of his intention to run for Freeholder. His letter emphasizes as his strongest qualification:

"As a Republican, are you tired of the treatment our Party receives from the Asbury Park Press? Since Gannett purchased the paper and appointed two Camden County men to run it, they have attacked Republicans. They pick a different Republican each year to attack incessantly. Coincidently [?], Camden County money has flowed into Monmouth Democrat coffers ever since. Republicans have made Monmouth the best run county for two decades, yet the Asbury Park Press writes about Republican leadership as a problem. They want us out of power, and this year showed their left-wing radicalism by endorsing a Green Party candidate for Freeholder.
"For four years I have written a weekly column in the triCity News called "Justified Right" in which I defend your conservative and Republican ideals, as well as slap the Asbury Park Press every time they're unfair to us. I have a proven record of standing up to them and will do so as your Freeholder, as I, like you, am proudly Republican. Let's push back!"

McKENNA IS IN THE RACE

Former Wall Township Mayor Robert F. McKenna has written a letter to Chairman Fredrick Niemann and County GOP Committee members. I was provided with a copy today. Rather than paraphrase it, I believe this one is best left in Mr. McKenna's own words.


AN OPEN LETTER TO CHAIRMAN FRED NIEMANN AND THE MONMOUTH COUNTY COMMITTEE

Dear Chairman Niemann,

Two years ago you came to me seeking my input on your running for County Chairman. I shared with you the many concerns I had about the then current state of the GOP and its future, a future that was not looking particularly bright and the need for substantive change. When you asked for my help and support I willingly gave it. I co-founded "Monmouth GOP for Change", along with a group of dedicated Republicans, whose only motive was the betterment of the GOP. Many new practices and procedures were proposed to achieve this goal. I, and others, put our reputations and political necks on the line to get you elected in order to achieve this much needed reformation. When you won I immediately stepped back, didn't ask for anything, didn't want anything. Just like the citizen-soldier militias of old I went out, fought the battle, won and then went home.

When I attended the Finance Gala in August 2004 at Navesink, the air was so thick with hope and enthusiasm that one could cut it with a knife. It was as if a window had been thrown open and the sunshine let in. My hands helped open that window and I have watched it slowly close shut ever since. I made personal representations to my fellow County Committee members, one of which was that all of our practices would be transparent. I can either ignore what I said to so many back then or I can fulfill that obligation, which after what has just happened, I am compelled to do.

11/17/05... I e-mailed you expressing my concerns regarding the Freeholder vacancy process. I touched on this in my 11/29/05 letter to the County Committee. My concern was that this process was already a done deal and that there were two chosen ones, Joe DiBella and Rose Marie Peters.

11/17/05... you wrote "Bob, don't listen to all the rumors. I'll give you the straight up", and then forwarded my e-mail to Dan Gallic for a response.

11/18/05... Mr. Gallic wrote; "no decision has been made, if Fred is going to back anybody full throttle it will come after serious deliberations with many parties, you are one of those parties. Suffice it to say that if you are not "in the know", then there is no "know" to be in".

11/18/05... I replied to Mr. Gallic and copied you. I reiterated my concerns but ended my e-mail, "at this point I will not take any overt or proactive actions until I meet with Fred".

11/20/05... You called me and during this conversation you told me that you had committed to Joe DiBella "some time ago". You will recall that I asked how could you do that when didn't even know who the other candidates would be? I told you that I wanted to meet with you to discuss this matter.

11/22/05... Joe DiBella called me to ask for my support for Freeholder and I told him I wanted HIS support, thus the necessity of my 11/29/05 letter to the committee.

1/11/06... After waiting 2 months I again e-mailed you and Bill; "I intend to play a very active and overt role in the future of the Monmouth GOP and the pending Freeholder vacancy and I think that it would be in our collective best interest to meet ASAP to discuss same. I am available any time morning, noon or night. I look forward to hearing from you."

1/13/06... Reply e-mail from Mr. Barham; "received your e-mail, will talk to you soon." Never spoke with him.

1/14/06... At 5:36 P.M. I received your reply to my 1/11 e-mail; "Karen will set up".

1/16/06... I found out that you had a meeting of countywide officials and constitutional officers, 20+ people, that was held the PRIOR Saturday morning, 1/14/06, in Freehold to interview and meet all of the Freeholder candidates. A MEETING TO WHICH I WAS NOT INVITED.

As a direct result of this, I met with you on 1/18/06 at your office. The fact that I was not invited, not informed, not able to participate as a Freeholder candidate in that meeting is clearly, as I told you personally, at best incompetence and ineptitude on someone's part and at worst I was intentionally not invited. I know you said it was not done intentionally, but frankly I don't know what to believe anymore. You had no problem finding time to come to me when you needed my help and support; Bill Barham had no problem finding time when he came to my office asking for my help and support the first time he ran for Freeholder.

So let us have the sun shine in once again: You and Mr. Barham both want Mr. DiBella for your own reasons, Marie Muhler does not run again, Ms. Peters gets the Surrogate slot and everybody gets what they want...EXCEPT the Monmouth County taxpayers. It's hard to tell an agenda without a score card, yet there should be only one: That which is best for Monmouth County taxpayers; fiscal prudence, accountability, transparency, nothing else. When we think that way and act that way, the Monmouth GOP wins by default.

To my fellow County Committee members, this is not how I envisioned starting my campaign when I wrote you in November, but reform and change are needed now, it should have started last year, and if we don't do it, the voters will do it for us in November. I waited and I tried, but given all of the above, I'm not waiting anymore.

I look forward to sharing with you much more positive and substantive thoughts in the next few weeks. Working together, we can do it.

Very Truly Yours,

Bob

Robert F. McKenna

KING GEORGE III AND THE KNIGHTS OF THE NORTHERN CROSS

Oh, well, it would've been nice to nail both Lynch and Norcross.
Today's Asbury Park Press contains some interesting information. On the Front Page is an article where U. S. Attorney Christopher Christie criticizes the State Attorney General's Office for "bequeathing him a botched probe of the Palmyra tapes case."
This investigation involved Camden County Democratic powerbroker George E. Norcross III.
The criticism covers the AG's office under more than one administration. This is a chilling revelation, as it reveals the power that Norcross wields. The question arises, was this the work of several Attorneys General of both parties, acting serially to protect Norcross? Or should one look further down the chain of command; are there lower-level people, people who are supposedly non-political and stay on regardless of administration, but who are protecting Norcross? Is there an issue here of incompetence or corruption?

Today's editorial is related. State Attorney General nominee Zulima Farber was approved Monday by an 8-2 vote by the State Senate Judiciary Committee, with Republican Senators Gerald Cardinale (Bergen) and Joseph Kyrillos (Monmouth-Middlesex) voting no. She is expected to sail through confirmation in the full Senate next Monday.
The editorial points out her toxic driving record, that she is a lightweight in criminal prosecutions, and that her chief claim to fame is the fact that she is a Democratic partisan hack. The Press recommends that Bozo-coiffed Governor Corzine withdraw her nomination, and failing that, that the Senate not confirm the appointment.
This is related to the Norcross case because we as citizens of New Jersey depend upon the Attorney General's Office to be a strong link in the law-enforcement chain. This has not been the case, and apparently has not been for many years; Peter Harvey being the poster child for incompetent AG's. It should not have to fall upon the United States Justice Department to prosecute every corruption case that comes along, but it does because the State Attorney General's and County Prosecutors' offices have been weak links.
Former Monmouth County Prosecutor John Kaye was criticized for being soft on political corruption; indeed he was the subject of similar criticism to that of the AG's office. Corzine's predecessor, Gov. Dick Codey did the right thing by appointing Luis Valentin as Monmouth County prosecutor. Valentin came from the U. S. Attorney's office and presumably would not work at cross-purposes with the Feds.
Wouldn't it make sense for Corzine to do the same as Codey and nominate a competent person to the AG's post instead of a hack, another "See No Evil"? Oh yeah, that's right, Corzine is Norcross' boy.

A time line of the case can be found here.

PROVIDE CAPTION

I couldn't resist.

LOCAL LINKS

Today I updated my sidebar, organizing it by topic. I have added links for some local Republican organization websites. My source for that is the Monmouth County Republican Organization website's "Municipalities" links. There were only six towns listed with GOP websites. (I did not include where an actual municipality's website was listed - just the party.)
That's not many, people.
So, if anybody out there knows of a local GOP website that I don't already have, please post the URL in the "comments." I will verify the site, then add it to the links.
Hat-tip to William H. Seward for the idea.

NOTE: I will not allow any "bleedover" from the last thread. If you have anything to say about Joe DiBella, Howell or related items, post it on the previous thread. The Howell GOP website has already been linked. If I see Howell stuff here, I will delete it.

DiBELLA IS IN THE RACE

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

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