HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Joe Oxley has been the County Chairman for nearly a month and has been getting good reviews pretty much across the board. Some readers may wonder how we, the Monmouth County Republican Party, got to where we are today.

Here's how.

Our great party has a long history in power in the county. We dominated on both the county and local levels, where even Asbury Park and Long Branch were once G. O. P. strongholds. Democrats were not able to make inroads until the 1960's, when they elected James Howard to Congress, Paul Kiernan as Sheriff and Eugene Bedell as Freeholder. Kiernan's son, Paul Kiernan, Jr., would nearly oust longtime G. O. P. leader J. Russell Woolley as County Clerk. While Bedell was ousted after one term, Howard and Kiernan would hold office for many years; Howard until his death in 1988. Otherwise, the Republican grip would remain solid until the 1970's.

Woolley's successor as county chairman, County Clerk Benjamin H. Danskin, would be faced with an unprecedented existential challenge to the Republican Party on all levels: The Watergate scandal. While no Monmouth Republicans were involved in Watergate, multitudes were swept from office during the 1973, 1974 and 1975 elections, including Danskin himself as County Clerk. Three freeholders (Axel B. "Junie" Carlson, Jr., Albert "Buddy" Allen and veteran Director Joseph C. Irwin.) would lose their seats, throwing control of the Board to the Democrats for the first time since the 1930's.

Danskin and his successor, former Upper Freehold Township Mayor Frederick C. Kniesler, had their work cut out for them through much of the 70's and 80's. While control of the Board of Freeholders would swing back and forth during this period, the Democrats were never able to keep the majority for more than two years and the G. O. P remained a dominant force, growing stronger into the 80's.

During the Danskin and Kniesler chairmanships, the organization was united and factionalism was nearly nonexistant due to their leadership styles. Their persuasive qualities led to respect; this is the sign of a true leader.

Kniesler did not seek reelection in 1986 and was succeeded by former Assemblyman William F. Dowd, who was chairman for a very long time. Dowd's first freeholder election was lost to Democrats John "Flippy" D'Amico and John "Well Done" Villapiano, but subsequently he presided over 17 years of county level wins.

In the beginning, Dowd's leadership style followed the Danskin/Kniesler model, but he soon proved to be different. Dowd's leadership style was more flambuoyant for one, and he was not afraid to choose up sides in local disputes. Once you do that, resentment festers and factions develop. Still, factions remained confined to the local level; the county level remained largely unified.

This would begin to unravel.

In 1995 Dowd announced that he would not support Sheriff William M. Lanzaro for a sixth term due to potential problems with the sheriff's personal finances. This would result in the first major contested primary for county office in many years. Lanzaro was defeated by Joseph W. Oxley, who would go on to serve four terms as sheriff himself and is our current county chairman.


In 2003, reacting to negative reporting about Sen. John O. Bennett in the Asbury Park Press, Dowd announced that the Monmouth County G. O. P. would not support Bennett for another term. Still, Dowd did not replace Bennett on the county organization line or back his primary opponent. This resulted in Bennett's loss to Ellen Kärcher, and the loss of Assemblymembers Clare Farragher and Michael Arnone to Democrats Robert Morgan and Michael Panter.

Also in 2003 Dowd took sides in the raging dispute between the Middletown Township Committee and the developers of the proposed Town Center, drawing the ire of yet another state legislator, Assemblyman Joseph Azzolina, who's family was looking to develop the property. This move would also raise a local Middletown issue to a county issue. Dowd would later go on to threaten to withdraw organization support for Azzolina if he chose to run for reelection in 2005.

And the band played on...

All this time Dowd was neglecting the operations of the Monmouth County Republican Committee. Fundraising was lackluster, there was little or no party building, and political decisions relating to the County were delegated to Freeholder Director Harry Larrison, Jr., and we all know how that worked out.

In 2004, Dowd decided that Freeholder Edward Stominski had to go, and in a small gathering in a gracious drawing room overlooking the wide and lazy Navesink, Stominski was denied organization backing in favor of Robert Clifton, resulting in yet another countywide primary, in which Clifton would defeat Stominski and go on to be elected freeholder.

Many loyal Republicans saw this as the final straw. A movement was begun to unseat Dowd. This was unprecedented in a county with a tradition of uncontested chairman's elections. Several current and former officeholders were approached, including Dr. Mike Arnone of Red Bank. All the A-List people demurred. Finally, the little - known Fred Niemann of Wall agreed to run and went on to soundly defeat Dowd. Fred would eventually turn on many of those who supported him and ally himself with the same factions (And by then there were factions!) Dowd was allied with, even following through on Dowd's proposal to deny party backing to Joe Azzolina.
Niemann also oversaw the creation of the controversial PACs, which generated bad publicity to our party while failing to address the anemic fundraising of the past several years. The PACs were among the issues believed to convince Niemann that he should not run for chairman again.
Niemann's successor as chairman was Adam Puharic, like Niemann another unknown. Adam came in on a positive note, promising unity. He presented himself as a master fundraiser and public relations person. Many had hope for the party under Puharic's leadership.
Things were about to get really weird.
The mercurial chairman instituted a screening process designed to unseat Freeholder Anna Little. He publicly criticized the Board of Chosen Freeholders, once on the county pay - to- play policy and again on the transfer of an employee. His bouncing from job to job became the butt of jokes, as did his proposal that Rudy Giuliani move to New Jersey to run for U. S. Senate. Fundraising did not improve, to the point that the rent for Republican Headquarters was several months past due. The self - proclaimed PR whiz became a walking PR nightmare. In the end it was found that Adam Puharic was an unsuccessful Township Committee candidate who went on to serve as a Municipal Chairman who's only local race ended in defeat for his candidates. He opted not to run this year, resulting in the unanimous election of Joe Oxley as chairman.
Oxley is a known quantity; the former sheriff has previously served as Middletown mayor and committeeman as well as a municipal prosecutor. Once again an A - List person occupies the chair.

"OXLEY - CLEAN"

Well, after two years, I finally get to use that slogan. Former Sheriff Joseph W. Oxley was unanimously elected Monmouth County Republican Chairman last night. No shenanigans were evident.

This is the first unanimous chairman's election since 2002, when William F. Dowd was elected to his final term. Dowd would go on to be unseated in 2004 by Frederick P. Niemann. In 2006, Niemann opted not to run again; Adam N. Puharic would succeed him, defeating James Giannell for the post.

Make no mistake. Joe has his work cut out for him.

Factions should hopefully not be an issue, as Joe is a known quantity in the party and appears to be sincerely above the petty sniping that has bedeviled our great party for the last few years. A strong leader can work with people regardless of differences. It is a good sign that he has received rave reviews from across our diverse party.

Organization and fundraising will be major issues on Chairman Oxley's plate. The Democrats are one seat away from controlling the Board of Chosen Freeholders. And a look at local candidate filings this year shows the Democrats contesting Colts Neck (again!), Freehold Township, Rumson and even Brielle. The blue tide must be beaten back on both the local and county levels or it's Bergen County with beaches. The Dems are playing for keeps here and we ignore that at our peril.

Fundraising must be closely looked at. We must outraise the Democrats or we're done. (See Bergen County with beaches, above.) While we mustn't sink to the Democrats' level here, we must also be sure not to cripple our own fundraising ability. Important here is retiring the Party's $30,000.00 debt. The $6,000.00 that Puharic claims to have spent on his credit card needs to be looked into as well, and resolved appropriately. If it was for authorized party expenses, then he may deserve to be reimbursed, otherwise he may have to eat it.

Finally, communication is key to politics. Previous chairmen have blasted G. O. P. bloggers. Joe may want to reverse that and establish a Chairman's Blog. This can be used to post online messages and increase the visibility of our great party and its candidates. I would link him here if he did.

Best of luck to our new Chairman!!!

CANDIDATE WEBSITES

With the Primary over and done with, the Candidate Websites have been updated once again.
John McCain, our presumptive presidential nominee, remains at the head of the list, followed by Dick Zimmer for U. S. Senate. Two out of three Monmouth County congressional campaigns are linked, Rep. Chris Smith in the Fourth District and Alan Bateman of Holmdel in the Thirteenth. Except for a page at the Affiliated Republican Club of Monmouth County website, we have no information on Judge Bob McLeod's Sixth District campaign site, or if he has one yet. If anyone has any info on his website, please post it and I will link it; if there isn't one yet I strongly recommend that he get one. Either way, I'll link it.
Also no info on whether the 2008 Freeholder campaign will run its own website.

MCRC Republican Chairman's Convention Location Update

THURSDAY JUNE 5, 2008
MCRC Republican Chairman's Convention Location Update

Please be advised that the location for the Monmouth County Republican Committee's County Chairman's convention location has changed!

The convention will now be held at the Colts Neck High School,
at the corner of Five Points Road & Rt. 537, Colts Neck.

The convention will begin at 7:00 p.m. Sharp! on Tuesday, June 10th

Check in to begin at 6:30.

If you have any questions please call Kathleen at 732-431-6664.

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Monmouth County Republican Party

www.MonmouthRepublican.org

info@MonmouthRepublican.org

732.431.6664

2008 CHAIRMAN'S ELECTION

WEDNESDAY May 28, 2008
MCRC County Chairman Convention

The convention for the next Monmouth County Republican Chairman will be held on

June 10, 2008 at the Lincroft Inn

700 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft

7:00 p.m.

For more information contact Kathleen at 732-431-6664

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Monmouth County Republican Party

www.MonmouthRepublican.org

info@MonmouthRepublican.org

732.431.6664

STABILITY NEEDED

With the confirmed withdrawal of Adam Puharic from consideration for a second term as County Republican Chairman, the Monmouth County GOP finds itself faced with the prospect of electing yet another new chairman. Events have moved rapidly in the two weeks since it was revealed that Adam's house was for sale. Since then he has gone from running for reelection to withdrawal.
What now?
Several names have been thrown about; a front - runner would appear to be former Sheriff Joe Oxley of Middletown, if he wants it. Oxley is respected and well - liked, and his appeal cuts across factions. And last month, Tommy DeSeno at Justified Right wrote a strong post on what we should expect of a unifying County Chairman.
Stability is needed. Our great party is weakened if we continue to change chairmen every two years. Still, it is also weakened if the chairman is a polarizing or divisive force. It is then important to choose a strong and unifying leader, one with the people skills to deal with this diverse organization we call the Monmouth County Republican Party. A leader who will have an honest and forthright, yet aggressive fundraising apparatus. We must outraise the Democrats if we are to retain control of our great County, but we must not stoop to their levels. A leader who will recognize that difference of opinion is not out of line. We're all Republicans, aren't we? Differing points of view within our party should be met with an open mind, not Rastaman.
Within the next few weeks, a candidate or candidates will emerge. County committee members will be contacted for support. (This one cannot be put through a screening committee.) Inform yourselves and make your choice wisely.

INTERESTING POST

Sen. Barry Goldwater at Voice of Reason has an interesting post on Long Branch, the erstwhile vacation spot of presidents (Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, and Woodrow Wilson) that has now become a major battlefield in the war against eminent domain abuse.

PUHARIC MOVING

A day or so ago we received a tip that County Chairman Adam Puharic put his house up for sale. So we went to work and found that he had in fact listed his house with Weichert Realtors in Aberdeen. He's asking $369,400.00.
At this point we don't know where he's relocating to, or whether it's even in Monmouth County or not. We also don't know why he didn't list his house with the Danskin Agency.

I'M BAAAAAAAAACK!!!

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

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

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

ESTABROOK NOT RUNNING

PolitickerNJ.com reports that Anne Evans Estabrook is dropping out of the race for U. S. Senate for health reasons. She had suffered a mini-stroke on Monday.
This leaves State Sen. "Jersey Joe" Pennacchio and Prof. Murray Sabrin as the only declared names in the field, with Pennacchio the clear front-runner.
Pennacchio is a conservative and, like former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler, would probably find fierce opposition from the "moderate" establishment wing of the party. The name of Ambassador Clifford Sobel has been floated.
We wish Anne Estabrook a full and speedy recovery.

HOLLYWOOD AL NOT RUNNING

The Asbury Park Press reports that retired Superior Court Judge "Hollywood Al" Lehrer will not be a Democratic candidate for freeholder this year. Lehrer, a former county prosecutor, was most recently noted for lobbying the Board of Chosen Freeholders to reappoint curmudgeonly County Counsel Malcolm Carton.

CONDOLENCES

Our condolences go out to former County Chairman Bill Dowd on the loss of his brother, Hector P. Dowd.

ROMNEY ENDORSES McCAIN

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will endorse Sen. John McCain today in his drive for the Republican Party's presidential nomination, according to reports on The Rush Limbaugh Show. It is also reported that Romney will release his delegates to support McCain so as to give the Arizona Senator enough votes to clinch the nomination.
No word yet on what effect this will have on reported efforts by the New Jersey Romney campaign to field a slate of delegates in the June primary, but it may be like the Japanese soldiers found years after World War II who were unaware that the war was over and they had lost.
Also no word yet on what effect, if any, this news will have on the Draft Joe Kyrillos for U. S. Senate movement. (UPDATE: Joe Kyrillos will not be running for the U. S. Senate. The Draft Kyrillos.com site has been taken down, although the blog is still up.)

WHAT IS THE GOVERNOR THINKING???

So what is up with the Bozo-coiffed Governor Jonathan Stevens Corzine? Why does he do the things he does? He's a Wall Street financial whiz, isn't he, who brought his sharp business acumen to Trenton to fix the mess that New Jersey is in, isn't he?

Not quite.

Under Corzine, New Jersey has lurched leftward, enacting many "progressive" policies while needed reforms go unaddressed and corruption goes unenforced. The governor is agenda driven.
His latest scheme, the so-called "asset monetization" plan, is nothing more than a plan to finance more left-wing policies. By radically increasing tolls, Corzine not only closes a deficit (See if it ever does close.), he funds all sorts of projects like embryonic stem cell research (Which, incidentally, was defeated by the voters.).

Probe With Steel

Why does Corzine propose so many things, only to withdraw them in the face of opposition? Does he have that bad of a tin ear? The answer may be found in a quote attributed to the Georgian statesman Ioseb Besarionis Jugashvili, better known as Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin: "Probe with steel. If you find mush, keep probing. If you find steel, back off."

In other words, see just how far you can go. The Governor is seeing just how far he can go. Take for example the arrests of former Atlantic County Freeholder Seth Grossman and former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan. I think it's pretty much agreed by now that it originated in the Governor's office. Public reaction was the key. If there was public support for the arrests, i. e., if people saw Lonegan and Grossman as troublemakers, hooligans, you can bet that there would be more arrests. Since public reaction was negative, the Administration backed off.

Same holds true for the toll plan. Corzine throws out some extreme ideas like selling the highways to a private corporation or charging tolls on heretofore free highways, like Route 440. This serves two purposes. One is that if there's no opposition, he gets a new toll road in the state, with all the patronage that comes with, not to mention the possibility of future expansion to other routes like 287. If there is opposition, he takes it off the table, which he did. He still gains, because he has now shifted the debate from abolition of tolls altogether to limiting tolls to existing highways.

In closing, let's take one more look at his plans for the toll roads. The Governor plans to set up a non-profit corporation to administer the roads. This part of his proposal is cloaked in secrecy. Make no mistake, if you think the existing Turnpike Authority and its predecessors are loaded with waste, cronyism, rascallism and patronage, just you wait until Corzine's double-top-secret superauthority gets up and running. It will not be subject to the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), so it will operate in deep shadows. We all know what happens here in New Jersey when that happens.

What is to be done? Stay tuned, dear reader. Stay tuned.

!PUHARIC PUSHES KYRILLOS FOR U. S. SENATE!

Say what?

Chairman Adam Puharic is pushingMonmouth County State Sen. Joe Kyrillos for U. S. Senate, PolitickerNJ.com reports. Kyrillos would ostensibly be competing for the nomination against Anne Estabrook, "Jersey Joe" Pennacchio and Murray Sabrin, who are already in the race.
Puharic serves on Estabrook's exploratory committee; Estabrook is also from Monmouth County.
And this guy's not divisive?

Read the Draft Kyrillos Blog here.

THEN THERE WERE THREE

This just in:
It was just reported on the Rush Limbaugh Show that Willard Milton Romney has officially withdrawn from the Republican presidential race. This leaves John Sidney McCain III, Michael Dale Huckabee and Ronald Ernest Paul to compete for the nomination.
It is not certain at blog time what is to become of Romney's delegates, nor is it certain what Adam Puharic, Joe Kyrillos and the rest of the Monmouth County Romney people will do.

McCAIN!

Arizona Senator John McCain took all of New Jersey's 52 Republican National Convention delegates in yesterday's Superduper Tuesday Presidential Primary.


Although still short of the delegates needed to win the Presidential nomination, nationally McCain has opened up a lead over his nearest challenger, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, that some see as nearly insurmountable.


Nationally, McCain is seen as being backed by the moderate or "country club" Republican establishment, while Romney is backed by our party's conservative wing. It's more complicated than that, however, especially here in New Jersey. McCain, while not the most conservative in the Senate, is far from a liberal. And Romney, regarded as a moderate as Massachusetts governor, was criticized early in the campaign for apparent "flip - flops" on social issues. Indeed, here in Jersey, the establishment had been divided between candidates, with State G. O. P. Chairman Tom Wilson and former D. O. T. Commissioner and current lobbyist Hazel Gluck endorsing McCain, and State Sen. Joe Kyrillos (R - Monmouth) and Monmouth County G. O. P. Chairman Adam Puharic (A Kyrillos protege) backing McCain. Kyrillos served as New Jersey chairman for the Romney campaign; McCain's campaign was led by State Sen. Bill Baroni (R - Mercer).

Here in Monmouth County, McCain also carried the day. Kyrillos and Puharic just could not deliver the vote for Romney. In addition to McCain having powerful support from State Sen. Sean Kean and Assemblyman Dave Rible, among others, Puharic was criticized for allowing only the Romney campaign access to the County G. O. P. e-mail list. Too, the fact that former rogue blogger Alan Moretti, a/k/a Monmouth Rastaman, also ran a Romney support blog may have hurt the former Massachusetts governor here in Monmouth.

The next few months will reveal who gets our great party's nomination to fill the shoes of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan. Our party must come together behind its nominee, lest those big shoes go unfilled and the "vacancy" sign goes up outside the Lincoln Bedroom and the "do not disturb" sign goes up outside the Oval Office.

The next few months will also reveal whether Puharic is weakened by the Romney loss in Monmouth County.

SPEAKING OF APOLOGIES

The Trentonian ran a powerful editorial yesterday addressing the recent Democrat - led apology for slavery and that party's own sordid history in race relations.
Read it.

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY PREFERENCES

Art Gallagher of More Monmouth Musings has a post today about the upcoming February 5th Presidential Primary.
In it he points out the trouble a-brewin' over Adam Puharic's allowing only the Mitt Romney campaign the exclusive use of County G. O. P. resources like the mass e-mail system.
For those with announcements and information from the Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Ron Paul or Fred Thompson campaigns, click on my link to Art's post for Art's contact information.
For those seeking information on the Presidential candidates, I have links to all six of their websites on my sideboard. I also have links to the Anne Estabrook and Murray Sabrin U. S. Senatorial campaigns, and will post a link to Jersey Joe Pennacchio's senate campaign once his website is up.

OVID TUZENEU DAY

Art Gallagher of More Monmouth Musings has a great idea:

"We could use some of the old Tuzeneu spirit. The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders should declare February 4, the day that Corzine comes to Monmouth County, Ovid Tuzeneu Day and everyone should bring a toy axe to Marlboro High School to protest Corzine's crazy plan."

I hope the freeholders make such a proclamation. I also hope talk show host Jim Gearhart of New Jersey 101.5 picks up on the idea; there could be an Ovid Tuzeneu Day for all of the Bozo-coiffed Gov. Corzine's remaining appearances!
Notwithstanding, I'll start this show. Corzine's Town Hall Meeting will be from 7 to 9 PM at Marlboro High School, 95 North Main St. in Marlboro. Note: North Main St. is Route 79! (Nice try, Gov.) The high school is just south of Route 520. Even if you didn't make the RSVP to get into the meeting, a large outside gathering will be good for our cause.

Try to bring a toy axe. If you can't get one, cut one out of cardboard. No real axes, please! Let's make Corzine never forget Monmouth County. Let's have Ovid Tuzeneu's trusty axe be Old Monmouth's version of torches and pitchforks.
Participants be warn! Corzine has shown that he has no qualms about playing hardball here. You could get arrested. Hopefully there will be no problems. Remember, the police are not the problem here.

OVID LIVES!!!