36 Comments on “Middletown Dems Have A Candidate For Township Committee”

1. 
   TheDigger said at 10:52 am on July 6th, 2011:

   What’shername and What’shisname.

   What a shame.

2. 
   Renewal said at 2:54 pm on July 6th, 2011:

   The only thing that may not qualify Carol Fowler is the fact that she is a nice lady. Certainly she has contributed more to the township than Republican junk novel purveyor Steff Murray. In any case, it’s not like the Middletown Township Committee is now populated with brain surgeons.

3. 
   Pilgrim said at 5:33 pm on July 6th, 2011:

   Renewal,
   Dr. Scharfenberger, who Art thinks is great (Art’s second favorite Republican) should count for at least one brain surgeon who is sitting on the Middletown Township Committee. Art thinks that Dr. Scharfenberger is so great that in 2008 he wrote two articles condemming Scharfenberger for giving up revenue of $92,000 a year for well over 10 years for a one time injection of $890,000 dollars. Dr. Scharfenberger and crew spent all of it in one year.
   Mr. Fiore never said anything about it then or since then. So he must support it. Art compared it to ‘selling your car to buy food.’ The article that speaks most highly and accurately of Scharfenberger is, “Stupid Is As Stupid Does”. Art should run it again. Although, Art has already done a flip-flop on this once. Two wouldn’t look good.

4. 
   Proud Republican said at 9:46 pm on July 6th, 2011:

   Art – this is too funny. From what I can gather, this woman’s qualifications are that she married a volunteer fireman and memorized Caliendo’s pathetic talking points. The Democrats must have some bench if this is who the top candidate is. Would love to hear her analysis of the new pension and benefit reforms, or if she will accept union money the way the rest of her party does. The good news for the Democrats? She won’t overshadow whatshisname.

5. 
   heyRenewal said at 9:48 pm on July 6th, 2011:

   I’m sure Carol Fowler is a nice lady. She was and still may be a registered Republican. Really must be hard being a Middletown Democrat when you can’t even get a candidate to step up within your own ranks. Did the King do a background check on this one? Doesn’t look like it.

   Steph Murray runs rings around Whatshername.

6. 
   SayHey said at 10:00 pm on July 6th, 2011:

   I love when I see the hopeless King’s crusaders bashing Gerry S. Here’s a little scorecard to help you sleep at night.

   Gerry Scharfenberger has been elected 3 times by the voters of Middletown

   And on the Democratic side….

   Desevo: 0 for 5
   Whatshisname: 0 for 2 and soon to be 0 for 3
   Byrnes: Beaten twice in a row
   Short: Destroyed last time out, soon to be two in a row to match Byrnes

   We can get into the amount of times Borbely and the rest of those clowns ran and lost but I’m getting tired of remembering Democratic losers of the past decade.

   Long live the King!

7. 
   Harlequintet said at 10:17 pm on July 6th, 2011:

   Hey renewal, you may have a point. As a writer and purveyor of outlandish low brow fiction, Ms. Murray is probably the perfect candidate to round out the Middletown five.

8. 
   ArtGallagher said at 10:30 pm on July 6th, 2011:

   I’m sure Carol Fowler is a nice lady. She was and still may be a registered Republican.

   If true, that is just too funny.

   As I wrote on June 29, “Caliendo’s problem is that all of the people who represent Middletown well are Republicans.”

   http://www.moremonmouthmusings.net/2011/06/29/desevo-still-a-candidate/

9. 
   Same s..., different year said at 10:58 pm on July 6th, 2011:

   This is like that movie Groundhog Day – the Democrats do the same stupid stuff year after year and get their butts handed to them year after year. And you know why? Because Middletown is the best run town in the state. Did you dopey Dems see the contract Middletown got with their PBA? A 25% health contribution immediately – unlike your hero Steve “union guy” Sweeney who settled for a whopping 3% contribution. Then there’s the top 100 Money Magazine rating, the low spending per capita, the small workforce, the low debt service, the award winning, innovative programs – I could go on, but I don’t want to use up Art’s web capacity. Must be hard going up against that record year after year.

10. 
    heyMoneyHoney said at 11:16 pm on July 6th, 2011:

    From #50 to #89 and sinking fast. Not sure if clueless politicians and methadone clinics will raise our score again, but the magazine does cite:

    “One thing that makes Middletown stand out is its strong sense of community. Volunteers are everywhere, from the fire department to recreational leagues…”

    Sounds like its the Carol Fowlers and people like her and not appointed Republican hacks that make Middletown appealing- you’re just riding the wave, honey.

11. 
    Pilgrim said at 11:36 pm on July 6th, 2011:

    Art,
    If you are willing to give a link to a June, 2011 article, how about a link to May, 2008 for “Monetization of Middletown” and “Stupid Is As Stupid Does” so ProudRepublican and Same S….Different Year can comment on your analysis of what a Republican majority can do when it comes to fiscal mismangement; and how Republicans give the taxpayer the ‘same s….every year’. Art, give yourself a chance to flip back.
    If you have to choose between the two, pick “Stupid Is As Stupid Does”. If you ask him nicely, I’m sure Peter Carton will let you out of his pocket to post this again.

12. 
    Pilgrim said at 11:58 pm on July 6th, 2011:

    ProudRepublican,
    It would be great to hear Fiore’s analysis of pension and benefit reform along with his explanation of why he has been unsucessful with township health care reform that he promised two years ago.
    SayHey,
    Bashing Gerry? He doesn’t need bashing from Democrats. His wounds are mostly self inflicted, and Art “Republican” Gallagher did a masterful job of bashing Gerry “Stupid Is as Stupid Does” Scharfenberger back in 2008.

13. 
    ArtGallagher said at 5:40 am on July 7th, 2011:

    Pilgram,

    The posts you cite are still out there for all to see. I leave all of my archives posted, on this site and the old one because they get a good deal of traffic.

    Here’s a question for you, since your so smart; Why are you bringing them up now? Why didn’t you bring them up, print them out and use them last year when Gerry was on the ballot? If you had, Gerry might have won by only 2000 instead of the 3000 votes that he won by.

    I stand by those posts. Selling the cell tower leases was not a good decision. However, no one is perfect and Gerry’s record overall is outstanding.

    Let me ask you this Pilgram; Can you name one town the size of Middletown that is run by Democrats that is run better than Middletown is? Hehe. I’ll post links to the posts you mentioned if you post links to all of the posts where I asked that question and no one had an answer.

    As for Fiore’s thoughts on the pension and benefit reform….listen to the first LaRossa and Gallagher radio show and weep.

14. 
    DopeyDem said at 6:29 am on July 7th, 2011:

    Show me a town where the police are paying 25% of their health insurance today aside from Middletown. I’d say the Mayor and Committee have done much more on benefits than the clowns in Trenton.

15. 
    Pilgrim said at 12:29 pm on July 7th, 2011:

    Art,
    Saying that “selling the cell tower leases was not a good decision” by Gerry Scharfenberger is not standing by your posts in 2008. “Not a good decision” is passive; not as strong as “Stupid Is As Stupid Does”. It is a ‘flip’ without the ‘flop’. To go on and say “no one is perfect” does not make a $890,000 spending error and cutting off a $92,000 a year (eventually will grow to more than $920,000) revenue stream sound financial judgement and decision making for the taxpayers of Middletown. Gerry and the Republican majority are obligated to put “taxpayers first” not personal political career (Trenton job) and party (Peter Carton) interests first.
    Your challenge to find a town that is the size of Middletown that is better run by Democrats is nonsense and an obvious poor attempt at deflection. This issue is about how Middletown is led and run. Public service shouldn’t be reduced to a reality show competition about the best run town.
    Your offer of ‘you post yours and I’ll post mine’ is childish. If Dr. Gerry “Stupid Is As Stupid Does” Scharfenberger is so outstanding then he should be able to handle your opinion of this use of taxpayer dollars. Maybe Fiore would care to comment on the financial soundness of the 2007 and 2008 Republican majority decision. Art, get out of the pocket and repost.

16. 
    TheDigger said at 1:09 pm on July 7th, 2011:

    From the 2010 Voter Database from Monmouth County – She is an enrolled Republican – don’t they have any Democrats willing to run as a democrat?

    (SSN DELETED) A REP M
    FOWLER CAROL R F (House No. deleted) PARKVIEW TER LINCROFT NJ 07738 (date of birth deleted)

17. 
    Pilgrim said at 3:36 pm on July 7th, 2011:

    TheDigger,
    It looks like she is a Republican who is so tired of Republican mismanagement in Middletown that she has decided to run against the candidates that her former party is running. Simply put she must be really tired of Republican policies at the local level. Must not like the lact of character that the Republican characters running Middletown offer.

18. 
    NiceTry said at 3:55 pm on July 7th, 2011:

    Nice try Pilgrim. That old tired story of Republican mutiny just doesn’t cut it. Nobody in the Republican party even knows who she is so I doubt she’ll be missed.

    You keep on slamming Scharfenberger but yet again you fail to recognize that he was elected, re-elected and re-elected again. His record must not be that bad to win 3 times.

    Here’s a question for you. If Ms. Fowler was so disenchanted with the Middletown Republicans and was one, why didn’t she reach out and make her feelings known? We both know the answer. That answer is that someone convinced her and made her feel good. On the surface, being the wife of a bunch of fire chiefs and ex-fire chiefs isn’t enough to warrant a spot on the committee.

19. 
    GettheShovel said at 4:25 pm on July 7th, 2011:

    I believe she said she registered to vote in a Republican primary- good for her- she decided to cast a strategic vote. I actually think it hurts the Repub cause more for the reasons already stated. It shows she is not a party loyalist- but a citizen who votes outside of party when necessary.

    What does reaching out and making your feelings known mean in Middletown? It is similar to making your “feelings” known at a Christie town hall meeting- and we all know how effective that is.

    Seems to me Ms. Fowler made the ultimate statement about her “feelings” by submitting her name to the Middletown Dems as a candidate. I can’t imagine any action a citizen can take that speaks louder than that.

    You really reveal your disdain for women who raise families in Middletown with your comments. Does writing trash fiction put you in a higher intellectual sphere? Are patronage appointments a mark of anything but a monetary contribution to the winning side?

    Anyone who has read anything put out by the TC members can see that their main talent is an uncanny ability to lengthen their arms to pat their own backs. If this is what “experience” gets us, time to bring in a rookie.

    Since you guys are busy”digging” into the politics of Ms. Fowler’s family members, and since you saw fit to publish her address, you should make sure you are neat and tidy when you rummage through her trash. Don’t forget we recycle paper here in Middletown- bring it into Kane’s Lane when you are done “digging”.

20. 
    TheDigger said at 5:02 pm on July 7th, 2011:

    To GettheShovel:

    I suggest you stop “shoveling it”.

    No one was “digging” into the politics of Whatshername’s family members. And only the street was listed, not the house number.

    When one runs for office, it is legitimate to make sure that the candidate is registered to vote.

    Did she vote in this year’s GOP primary? When did she change her registration to Democrat? Stay tuned.

21. 
    Weneedaforkliftnow said at 5:31 pm on July 7th, 2011:

    Stay tuned for ANY excuse by Republicans to distract the voters from the real issues we face.

22. 
    BayshoreResident said at 5:44 pm on July 7th, 2011:

    As someone who has known Carol Fowler for many years, I’m sad to see these comments as they are not representative of an educated professional who has dedicated her life to family and community. I’m looking forward to voting for her and I think many of you anonymous critics will be won over in the months ahead.

23. 
    Bayshoreresident too said at 6:31 pm on July 7th, 2011:

    Don’t count on it. I for one will be voting for Fiore and Murray. I’m sure this is a nice lady who has good intentions unlike her running mate whatshisname. For anyone who knows the Republican candidates they are young professionals who are raising young families and also have the best interests in Middletown in mind. I’ve seen it first hand in North Middletown.

    And oh by the way, if you think this is an attack on a candidate, you should see what the Democrats on Mouthpiece Mike’s website say about the Republican candidates. Those people are vile compared to what was said about this woman’s voting record.

24. 
    Proud Republican said at 7:20 pm on July 7th, 2011:

    Art – I’ll say it again, this is so funny it is surreal. To Pilgrim – you seem fixated on Art’s disagreement with Sharfenberger over the cell tower. What is the big deal? There is no right answer – it is a judgment call. Convincing arguments could be made for both positions. That’s the problem with you pathetic, desperate Democrats – you scrounge for any little crumb to exploit and fail miserably doing it. You can never dispute the facts of how well this town is run and can never give an example of a town run better. You know why? Because true Republican policies work and are proven every day. Democrat policies work if you are in a union, on welfare, or need a subsidized house. Unfortunately, they are disastrous for the taxpayers. Can’t wait to see the trash that ends up in your campaign literature this year. God knows, there will be a lot of space left over after you put down the candidates’ credentials.

25. 
    CommonSense said at 9:03 am on July 8th, 2011:

    I have to agree with what Bayshoreresident too said.

    Fiore and Murray are young parents raising families here in Middletown and the last thing they want is for that to go away. They have the best intentions at heart and at mind to make Middletown the place you want your family to be and grow. Middletown will be very lucky to have Fiore and Murray up on the dais representing the taxpayers of Middletown.

26. 
    Pilgrim said at 5:11 pm on July 8th, 2011:

    Cudos many times over to GettheShovel — well, well said.

    Common Sense,
    All families are equal when it comes to how they are represented by elected officials. Because Murray and Fiore are ‘young professionals and raising families’ in Middletown it doesn’t mean that they are more vested in Middletown, or less vested, or have better hearts and intentions than anyone else living in or running for office in Middletown. Your perspective is an assumption an opinion not fact. It just means that they ‘are young professionals raising families’ in Middletown. It doesn’t follow that these attributes will make them the best people to make Middletown the best place for all families. Good policy for all residents, not good intentions that lean toward “young professionals who are raising young families” is what Middletown requires. How does good intentions and being a professional with a young family help the unemployed or those struggling to cope with climbing taxes year after year that are driven by local Republican policies at all that reward wealthy wants and ignore middle class needs?

    Bayshoreresident too,
    Have you seen first hand how a Republican township committee majority for over 30 years has failed to solve, let alone address, the flooding problem for residents on the ‘wetside’ of town. Partick Short had that addressed and it has been all but ignored since he wasn’t re-elected. Our local government needs representative balance that looks out for all the families living in Middletown.

27. 
    Pilgrim said at 5:52 pm on July 8th, 2011:

    ProudRepublican
    Its not about “Art’s disagreement with Scharfenberger” its about Art’s clear and to the point analysis of the financial mismanagement that bordered on (borders on) breaking the law when the Middletown Republican majority sold off the cell tower leases for short term financial gain and long term financial damage to the Middletown taxpayer. One could make an arguement that Scharfenberger (Poster Child for the Republican Party in Middletown) created an annual situation where the township taxpayer needs to raise 982,000 a year to make up for this stupid purposeful decision. Art recently said that he stands by his analysis — it still is “Stupid Is As Stupid Does”. What Art didn’t address is the short term political gain that this sale of a public asset generated — it temporarily kept taxes down. Although, the long term political gain could be damaging. Art, may have a point about bringing it up during an election campaign. His article is public record; it should be reposted. As he said, last year would have been best. Although, it may have some value this year as an example of Republican financial mismangement in the interests of political gain at the expense of the taxpayer.
    To some extent you are right it is a judgement call — an example of very poor local Republican “Stupid Is As Stupid Does” judgement. Your hubris seems to work for me ProudRepublican, please keep posting.

28. 
    Proud Republican said at 7:10 pm on July 8th, 2011:

    As I thought Pilgrim, you go around and around trying to cling to your one issue and still cannot dispute any of the facts about Middletown. After 30 years of Republican control Middletown was named one of the top places to live in the country, has one of the lowest spending per capita, smallest workforces, AA bond rating, great park system, over 5000 acres of open space and a high quality of life. The year before the Republicans took over the APP headline about the Democrat controlled committee read “A House in Disorder.” As for your flooding you can thank your idol Frankie “do nothing” Pallone. If anything, this committee will do more to provide relief with limited funds than that boob has done in decades. And Pat Short? Isn’t he the guy who falsified petitions? Or lied about the committee doubling their salary? Or sent an obscene e-mail to the committee? You guys have quite a crew in Democrat land.

29. 
    stupidhurtsagain said at 9:42 pm on July 8th, 2011:

    Proud Republican aka Scharfy,
    We’ve heard your defense ad nauseum.
    Try talking to the people in this town and maybe you’d learn something.
    People living by a methadone clinic would question having a high quality of life.
    How much have we bonded now? Must be about 75 mil. How much have our municipal taxes gone up in the last 6 years? Over 35%! Thanks to the county, we have wonderful parks, but no thanks to you.
    By the time the new survey comes out Middletown will not on the list. Everything you quoted is not why Middletown was even on this list. Volunteerism from people like Carol Fowler is why we still made any list.
    Aren’t you the guy who claimed he was only an Adjunct prof. and didn’t earn a salary as Mayor? Kept his appointed position quiet till after the election. You’re in no position to throw any stones.

30. 
    Proud Republican said at 12:01 am on July 9th, 2011:

    Ha – thanks for the compliment. Hilarious watching the frustration of the Democrats unfold on this blog. Still waiting for one of you angry Dems to dispute anything posted about Middletown. I do have to commend you Democrats on one thing – at least you had the good sense to take your drug deals to another town. The people of Middletown appreciate your consideration.

31. 
    Bayshoreresidenttoo said at 7:50 am on July 9th, 2011:

    Pilgrim,

    Pat Short takes way too many pats on the back for the flooding on the wet side. I have spoken to Mr. Maloney who has told me everything that has been done in the past few years to alleviate flooding in certain areas.

    And as for the difference between Fiore, Murray and the two Democrats, I think results mean more than rhetoric. North Middletown has come a long way in the past 3 years and that’s with committee support. Unions are paying much more towards health insurance (more than the state I understand from the posts above). And most importantly, the budget conforms with the Governor’s property tax cap and is millions less than last year. That’s leadership that we shouldn’t ignore.

32. 
    stupidhurtsagain said at 9:17 am on July 9th, 2011:

    The budget conforms to the property tax cap because we robbed Peter to pay Paul.
    We took 2.5 mil from the turf field bond and put it towards our debt.
    We bonded 5 mil to pay for tax re assessments.
    We restructured old bonds and borrowed more to pay down debt.
    We took 500K from the library.
    Don’t forget last year, we had a mayor who completely ignored our financial problems saying they do the budget through osmosis.

33. 
    Stop the Crack Users said at 10:14 am on July 9th, 2011:

    I have two questions for the Democrats of Middletown – if the Republicans are so terrible, why are they elected year after year and if Middletown is in such terrible shape, why do the people who live here think it is such a great place to live? Maybe a third question – why are all the worst towns in New Jersey run by Democrats?

34. 
    kathy said at 2:39 pm on July 9th, 2011:

    Stop the crack users, that’s a good question, but the answer is simple; people tend to vote party lines. They’re not informed, and if something doesn’t personally affect them they’re apathetic with the process. The Republicans run this town and control the message.
    As far as the worst towns: that again is voting party lines.
    See the same is true for either party. When you don’t have a system of checks and balances, it’s not healthy.
    We’ve run up a lot of debt in Middletown because of poor planning.
    We’ve had huge legal fees because of poor planning and mismanagement.
    We continue to bond because we have to remain within the 2% cap.
    Looks good, but doesn’t tell the whole picture.
    Middletown is a big town. Really too big for a weak Mayoral form of government.
    The Republicans refuse to have a finance committee or televise meetings.
    The reasons for that are pretty clear. They just don’t want people to know what’s going on or lose their control.

35. 
    Stop the Crack Users said at 5:55 pm on July 9th, 2011:

    I agree Kathy, so what you are saying is that when Republicans vote the party line they get good solid leadership and when the Democrats vote the party line they get the leadership that ends up being the worst run towns in the state – am I reading you right? And as for your bonding statement, I would like to look into what is the real story and not just the Democrat accusations that I’ve heard year after year after year.. I’ll let you know what I find out – should be easy enough to check into.

36. 
    kathy said at 8:20 pm on July 9th, 2011:

    Stopthecrackusers, Now, you know that’s not true. There are lots of well run towns by both parties.
    Don’t get distracted by comparing Middletown to other towns. They’re all unique and I don’t believe either party has bragging rights on good governance.
    I’ll say it again, 30 years of one party rule is not healthy no matter which party is in power.
    Can you tell I’m and unaffiliated voter?
    I vote for the person not the political party, and I’m not pleased with those running our town.