Bennett’s Victory

Former Senate President John Bennett is the Chairman of the Monmouth County Republican Organization.

Besting State Committeewoman Christine Hanlon by only 3 votes of the 615 cast an elated and magnanimous Bennett congratulated Hanlon on a hard fought race and announced that she was welcome to fill whatever role she liked on his team.

Bennett profusely thanked the Western Monmouth committee members and invited Manalapan Municipal Chairman Steve McEnry to nominate Mayor Susan Cohen as Vice Chair.  Cohen was elected by acclamation.

In what was described as a record turn out, over 700 Republicans, including guests, crowded into the Colts Neck High School auditorium.

Freeholder Lillian Burry placed Bennett’s name into nomination and launched into the theme of the evening’s speeches by attacking the Hanlon campaign for negative campaigning.    A more conciliatory Senator Jennifer Beck nominated Hanlon with an acknowledgment of negative campaigning on both sides and an impassioned called to build on the successes of the last four years by voting for Christine.

A handful of members of the Bayshore Tea Party Group attempted to nominate one of their own for Chair.  Outgoing Chairman Joe Oxley shut them down as they continued to shout from their seats.

Bennett, who gave his speech without a microphone, continued the theme of attacking the negative campaigning and attacked Hanlon for refusing to give up county legal work.  During her speech, Hanlon called the negatives and two way street and was booed by Bennett supporters when she called the conflict of interest charge unfair.

If there was an undecided vote in the auditorium prior to the speeches, Bennett probably won them over with a better delivery than Hanlon’s.

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Gopal Wins

UPDATED 11:10 pm

Vin Gopal is the new Chairman of the Monmouth County Democrats.

Gopal won 73% of the Democratic County Committee votes with 434 votes to Marlboro Council President Frank LaRocca’s 169 votes.

Sources told MMM that when word that John Bennett had won the Monmouth GOP Chairmanship reached the Shore Casino in Atlantic Highlands, the Democratic crowd erupted in celebration.

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Bennett Wins

John Bennett

John Bennett is the new Chairman of the Monmouth County Republican Organization.

Update at 11.

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Kyrillos campaign’s statement on Dwek

“Senator Kyrillos has built a sterling reputation throughout his career, and this is a shameless oppo dump from the Menendez political machine. The fact of the matter is that Senator Kyrillos never did anything to help this man at any time.  And furthermore, the second it was clear that this man was a con man, Senator Kyrillos, unlike others, immediately gave his campaign contribution to charity and documented that with the Election Law Enforcement Commission.”

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We must move forward together

By Christine G. Hanlon

This evening, the Monmouth County Republican Committee will come together to reorganize our Party and vote for a new County Chair. I humbly ask for the support of the county committee members from all across this wonderful county. I will work hard every day to make sure that Monmouth County, through Republican governance at every level, remains a beautiful and affordable place to live.

We must head into this election season with strength, unity and the resolve to work our hardest to elect a new President to the White House, Joe Kyrillos to the United States Senate, Chris Smith and Anna Little to the United States Congress, and to re-elect County Clerk M. Claire French, and Freeholders John Curley and Serena DiMaso. The stakes have never been higher. We must continue on our current path so that we can begin to restore America’s greatness, reduce the size of government, reign in spending, repeal Obamacare and get America back on the path of individualism.

I am confident that our best days are ahead of us. If I am elected Chair, I promise to work my hardest with you and for you to continue the great progress we have made in recent years. Most importantly, as your Chair, I will continue to work to build bridges and unify our Party so that we will emerge from this process stronger than ever!

I am so grateful for all of the strong support I have received, along with the endorsements of dozens of local elected officials, municipal chairs and the following state and county officials from Monmouth County.

• Senator Joe Kyrillos
• Senator Jennifer Beck
• Assembly Republican Conference Leader Dave Rible
• Assembly Republican Deputy Conference Leader Mary Pat Angelini
• Assemblywoman Amy Handlin
• Assemblyman Rob Clifton
• Sheriff Shaun Golden
• Surrogate Rosemarie Peters
• Freeholder Deputy Director Tom Arnone
• Freeholder Gary Rich
• Freeholder Serena DiMaso

I look forward to working with all Monmouth Republicans toward a bright future for Monmouth County, New Jersey and the United States of America!

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Oxley Righted The Ship

Photo credit: Scarcini, Hollenbeck

When Joe Oxley was elected Monmouth County Chairman in June of 2008, by acclamation and with no opposition, he took over a party that had gone through six tumultuous years that left it in debt, fractured and on the verge of losing control of Monmouth County’s government for the first time in two decades.

Four years later, the Monmouth GOP holds all seats on the Freeholder Board, all Constitutional offices, all Legislative seats in the county and the vast majority of municipal offices throughout the county.  New Jersey has a Republican Governor who would not have been elected if not for the voter turnout in Monmouth County.

One year prior to taking on the Chairmanship, Oxley made the politically shocking and personally risky decision not to seek a fourth term as Monmouth County Sheriff.   Oxley had excelled as Sheriff.  He made a national name for himself and for the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Department.  He was one of, if not the most, respected and popular elected officials in Monmouth County.  He was risking his career to lay the ground work for taking over the Monmouth GOP Chairmanship a year later in order to save the imploding  party from itself.

A hunger for leadership  and stability caused the various factions of the party to lay down their arms to acclaim Oxley the Chair without opposition.   Leadership, stability and winning is what they got, whether the faction leaders liked it or not.  Most often they didn’t as Oxley frustrated almost every party leader, ally or foe, during his two terms with an unorthodox but extremely effective leadership style that had nothing to do with building his personal popularity but everything to do with bringing leadership, stability and victory back to the party.  One could easily make an argument that he sacrificed much of his personal popularity for the good of the party. 

During his Chairmanship, Oxley earned his living as a municipal attorney.  He wasn’t greedy.  He didn’t abuse his political power for personal gain.  The level of work he took on was modest.  He and his new law partners lead the way in reducing legal fees on the county and municipal levels.

As Oxley moves on to the next phase of his professional life he still faces risks resulting from his 2007 decision to give up an office, Sheriff, that was securely his for as long as he wanted it, in order to provide a greater service to the county that he loves.   The obviously politically timed release of Solomon Dwek’s 2006 allegations against Oxley, allegations that had been released two years ago, albeit with less detail, will make Oxley’s confirmation as a Superior Court Judge more difficult.

As the Monmouth County Republican Party concludes a heated campaign to choose Oxley’s successor tonight, we should first lay down our arms, as we did in asking him for leadership in 2008, and thank him profoundly for a job well done.

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Little Files FEC Reports For Senate Campaign

Still No Reports For Her House Race

Friends of Anna Little filed an undated quarterly report for the period covering January 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012 which disclosed contributions and expenditures for Little’s campaign for U.S. Senate.   The report was marked received by the Secretary of the Senate on June 5, 2012, coincidently the same day that Little won the GOP primary for the House of Representatives in New Jersey’s 6th district.   The report can be found here.

According to the report, Little raised $161,151.95 and spent $147,371.46 during the 15 month quarter while running for U.S. Senate.  The time bending campaign had $13,834.49 cash on hand on March 31.

Little has no records on file with the FEC for her campaign to unseat Congressman Frank Pallone.  Her previous campaign committee, Anna C. Little for Congress Inc, filed a termination report with the FEC on April 2, 2012, 9 days after she received the Middlesex County GOP’s endorsement for the 6th district nomination.

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Dwek smeared Oxley, Kyrillos and Handlin

Swarmy swindler Solomon Dwek  told federal investigators in 2006 that Joe Oxley, Joe Kyrillos and Amy Handlin were in his pocket, according to a Star Ledger report posted on NJ.com Monday night.

Dwek’s claims became public in an FBI report prepared in August of 2006 that was recently released after former Hudson County Assemblyman Louis Manzo unsuccessfully sued the U. S Attorney’s office to recover $100,000 in legal fees that resulted from his July 2009 Operation Bid Rig arrest.   Manzo had been indicted twice in the Bid Rig III scandal but all charges against him were eventually dismissed, according to Bob Ingle and Michael Symons writing in their just released biography of Chris Christie.

Dwek alleged that Oxley, while Monmouth County Sheriff, tipped him off about upcoming foreclosures two weeks before the information became public, thereby giving Dwek an advantage in purchasing the properties before the foreclosure auctions.  The FBI’s subsequent investigation of Oxley found no wrong doing.

Oxley is the Monmouth County GOP Chairman until Tuesday evening.  He has been nominated by Governor Chris Christie to be a Superior Court Judge.    Christie was U.S. Attorney during the investigation of Oxley.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Guadagno Disavows Bennett Mailer

Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno says she did not authorize the use of her photo in mailer that John Bennett sent to Monmouth Republican County Committee members seeking support for his candidacy for County Chair.

“I did not authorize the use of my picture,” Guadagno said in an email to a supporter of Bennett’s opponent for County Chair, Christine Hanlon,  which was shared with MMM with the Lt. Governor’s permission, “In fact, I did not even know about the use of this picture unti you brought it to my attention.”

Brain Nelson said that he did not authorize the use of his picture either.

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20 Prominent Democrats Endorse LaRocca for Monmouth Democratic Chair

Twenty prominent Democrats, including former State Democratic Chairman, Assemblyman Joe Cryan, Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik, Red Bank Mayor Pat Menna, and Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider have endorsed Marlboro Council President Frank LaRocca for Monmouth County Democratic Chairman.

In their endorsement letter the Democratic leaders said that LaRocca has the qualities necessary to be a successful Chairman “in abundance”

1. Unmatched history of fundraising at the local level having raised over $500,000 in three election cycles for municipal elections.
2. Commitment to ALL Monmouth County Democrats. Frank has hosted fundraisers, provided headshots and lawn signs, and offered strategic advice for all candidates up and down the ballot.
3. Proven winner, having won 8 or 9 seats in Marlboro, including 2 of 3 Republican seats during the Christie campaign.
4. Energized and empowered an over 1,200 member youth council creating a culture of community and civic responsibility in Monmouth County teens.
5. Accomplished and respected professional, recognised as being a Top 100 lawyer in New Jersey by his peers five (5) years in a row.

The endorsement letter can be downloaded here.

The Monmouth County Democrats will elect a new Chairman Tuesday evening, 6PM to 9PM, at the Shore Casino in Atlantic Highlands.  The candidates are LaRocca and Long Branch businessman/publisher Vin Gopal.

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