Eck Preparing To Challenge Holt In CD 12

Dr. Alieta Eck

Dr. Alieta Eck is laying the groundwork to run against 12 District Congressman Rush Holt.  She expects to make a formal announcement of her candidacy after the first of the year.  She was a candidate in the Special Senate Primary to replace the late Senator Frank Lautenberg this summer, losing to former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan.  Lonegan went on to lose to then Newark Mayor Cory Booker by 11%.

Eck told MMM this afternoon that she is setting up meetings with the Republican County Chairs of the distirct (Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset and Union) and the National Republian Congressional Committee. She hopes to avoid having to defend her nominating petitions come April.  She also hopes to be unopposed for the GOP nomination.  Eck said she is being advised by GOP consultant David Millner and former Congressman Mike Pappas.  Holt unseated Pappas in 1998.

[Aside: NRCC is selling Bush/Cheney 00 tee shirts for $25 if you’re looking for stocking stuffers] (sarcasm off)

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Menendez is engaged to be married

Alicia Mucci, photo via facebook

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez is engaged to be married to a former bartender he met at a political fundraiser, according to multiple media reports.

Menendez, 59, popped the question to Alicia Mucci, 45 of Paramus, yesterday afternoon in the Capitol Rotunda before heading to the White House for the annual congressional holiday ball and then out to dinner with friends.

Mucci is the widow of restaurateur Robert Mucci who died in May of 2012.   Menedez is a divorced father of two, including a daughter named Alicia.  The happy couple has been dating for over a year, according to the senator’s spokeswoman.

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Ellis Island Will Host Christie’s Inaugural Celebration

Historic Ellis Island will be the site of Governor Chris Christie’s second Inaugural Celebration, according to an announcement from the Inaugural Committee.

photo by Art Gallagher. click for larger view

Woodbridge, NJ – Governor Christie’s 2014 Inaugural Committee today announced that the Grand Hall at historic Ellis Island in Jersey City will be the host venue for the Celebration of the Inauguration of Governor Chris Christie and Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno.

The Inaugural Celebration will take place the evening of January 21, 2014, following the traditions of a morning Inaugural service and formal noon Swearing-In Ceremony for the Governor and Lt. Governor. More details on the full schedule of Inauguration Day activities will be announced in the coming days.

In addition, www.Inaugural2014.org has been established as the Inaugural Committee’s website. The site now allows for contributions to be made and will be updated to provide the public the latest information on all Inauguration Day activities, including ticketing information for the evening reception. Space will be limited and tickets are expected to sell out quickly.

New Jersey law limits all contributions to the Inaugural Committee to $500. All proceeds from the event will go to charity.

Today, Ellis Island stands as a symbol of the hope, freedom, and promise of opportunity afforded by our state and our nation and continues to be a powerful connection for millions of Americans to their family history. Estimates suggest that nearly half of all Americans can trace their lineage to at least one ancestor who was one of the more than 12 million individuals who passed through Ellis Island during its operation as a federal immigration station. Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty are part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument shared by New Jersey and New York.

 

The symbolism of Ellis Island for the celebration is important.  For 2016, the message is a reminder that the governor won the Hispanic vote in his landslide reelection. It’s a reminder that President Obama has not gotten anything done on immigration reform, and that Christie is the guy who gets thing done.

Happening just two weeks before the Super Bowl which will be played in the Meadowlands, the choice of Ellis Island for what will undoubtedly be a high profile media event, will add to the New Jersey/New York bragging rights debate.

Is Ellis Island in New York or New Jersey?  Both.  Under a 1998 U.S. Supreme Court decision, the original three acre site belongs to New York, but the surrounding 24 acres that was land-filled belongs to New Jersey.  Some structures on the island are in both States.

The price to attend the party is also symbolic.  At $500 per pop, it is not likely that the tired, poor and huddled masses will be attending.

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School Closings

The National Weather Service says there’s a storm coming that could dump 3-6 inches of snow on Monmouth County.

NJ 101.5 has a list of schools that are closed throughout New Jersey.

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Legal Assistance Available For Sandy Survivors

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Superstorm Sandy Fraud Task Force and Volunteer Lawyers for Justice will host a joint legal clinic today, 9am – 12:30pm, at the Bayshore Activity Center, (Seabrook-Wilson House), 719 Port Monmouth Road in Port Monmouth.

The Superstorm Sandy Fraud Task Force is comprised of representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office, the Department of Consumer Affairs, the FBI, IRS, NJ Division of Taxation, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies.  Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) provides comprehensive legal services to economically-disadvantaged adults, children, and families in New Jersey through volunteer attorneys recruited and trained by VLJ.  Programs include free legal counsel and advice, educational seminars on various legal matters, and direct representation for at-risk individuals facing critical civil legal issues.

Anyone in need of legal assistance due to issues that have arisen as a result of Superstorm Sandy is encourage to attend today’s clinic or to call the Superstorm Sandy Fraud Task Force at (855) SANDY-39 of VLJ at (855) 301-2525.

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Happy Sunday

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Forget trying to beat Booker, the NJ GOP should plan for the next gubernatorial election

photo via facebook

U.S. Senator Cory Booker is going to be elected to his own full term next November.

None of the Republicans said to be considering a challenge to Booker can beat him.

It’s not that Booker is invincible, as was widely thought prior to the Special Senate Election last October.  He is beatable.  Steve Lonegan exposed the fallacies of the Booker myth and Patrick Murray documented that Booker’s support is shallow.   Had Washington Republicans not followed Senator Ted Cruz’s lead to shut down the government in October and had State Comptroller Matt Boxer released his audit of Newark’s City Government which exposed millions of wasted taxpayer money and management practices that encourage fraud in September instead of this week, Lonegan might have pulled off the upset that Booker deserved.

There’s nothing wrong with 4 of the 5 Republicans reported to be looking to challenge Booker.  Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, Senator Minority Leader Tom Kean JR, Senator Mike Doherty or Assemblyman Jay Webber would all serve New Jersey well in the U.S. Senate.

That Darryl Isherwood included Assemblyman Chris Brown is his list of 5 Republican of potential candidates to challenge Booker is more of a reflection of Isherwood’s sense of humor than it is of Brown’s viability as a candidate for any office in the future.  After blaming his Assembly running mate John Amodeo’s 39 vote loss on Governor Christie, Brown will be lottery winner lucky if he is even re-nominated for his Assembly seat in 2015.  “What will Brown do after politics?” MMM asked a senior Republican strategist after the gaffe.  “We’ll find out soon,” the strategist said with a laugh.

(Correction:  As a commenter pointed out, Isherwood was referring to a different Assemblyman Chris Brown (the LD 8 Brown) than the one who blamed Christie for his running mate’s loss.  My mistake makes my overall point.  MMM readers are more informed than the average voter.  How many knew there was even one Chris Brown in the Assembly prior to the LD 2 Brown’s gaffe?  There isn’t a member of the legislature with the statewide name ID to compete with Booker~ Art)

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“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” ~ Nelson Mandela

Rest in Peace

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Walsh To Challenge Freeholder Incumbents

Howell Councilman Bob Walsh, second from left, and Freeholder Gary Rich, right, are set to compete for a 2014 GOP nomination. Andrew Lucas, left, then a Manalapan Committeeman and Wall Township Committeeman George Newberry, between Walsh and Rich. Photo from 2011 Freeholder nomination race. Photo credit Rhoda Chodosh

Freeholder Lillian Burry: “They (her opponents) should say what they would do better. Their negative attacks make them look like asses.  They are asses!”

The By-Laws instituted by Monmouth Republican Chairman John Bennett as the fulfillment of one of his major campaign promises in 2012 will likely result in one of his most ardent supporters, Freeholder Lillian Burry, being challenged at the 2014 Monmouth Republican Nominating Convention in March.

Howell Councilman Bob Walsh said he will seek a nomination for freeholder when the Republican County Committee convenes next spring.  Incumbents Burry and Freeholder Gary Rich both said they will seek the nominations for new terms…Burry’s 4th, Rich’s 2nd…and that they are prepared to fight back Walsh’s challenge.

“Tell him to wait his turn,” Burry said of Walsh’s challenge.  “I’m running and I support Gary Rich for another term.”

“I’ve heard the name mentioned as a candidate,” Rich said of Walsh, “but I haven’t heard from him. It is interesting that he would challenge an incumbent like Lillian Burry who has such an exemplary record serving the taxpayers of Monmouth County.  Lillian and I both work very hard to improve the county.”

“Freeholders are not elected for life,” Walsh, a former Howell mayor elected as an Independent, said, “my record speaks for itself.  Lillian and Gary are both vulnerable. The Democrats are looking to take them out are excited about running against them.  I am more electable than either of them and I would be a better freeholder than either of them.”

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Christie-Kean Rift Was Over Differing Strategies

Governor Chris Christie’s post-election attempt to replace Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr with Senator Kevin O’Toole was not a matter of Christie doing Senate President Steve Sweeney’s bidding, as has been widely perceived, but the culmination of a months long battle over differing strategies over how to wage the legislative campaign.

That Christie was unable to persuade Senate Republicans to dump Kean as their leader in favor of O’Toole was viewed by the media and political observers as a shocking act of defiance of the governor by the caucus viewed as obedient followers.  But insiders say the united Republican front portrayed to the public masked an ongoing dispute between Kean’s and Christie’s political teams that resulted in Christie’s landslide reelection yielding no pick up of seats in the Senate.

Early on in the campaign, the Christie campaign concluded winning a majority in the State Senate, picking up 5 seats, was unlikely given the legislative map and the resources that South Jersey Democrats and their Independent Expenditure supporters were known to be deploying to defend their turf.  Team Christie devised a strategy of winning a “functional majority,” by winning three Senate seats…District 14 (Middlesex and Mercer Counties)  where former Senator Peter Inverso came out of retirement in an attempt to unseat Democrat Linda Greenstein, District 18 (Middlesex County), gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono’s district where East Brunswick Mayor David Stahl switched parties to run as a Republican against Assemblyman Peter Barnes, and District 38 (Bergen County) where businessman/educator Fernando Alonso was out to defeat Democratic Senator Bob Gordon…and courting policy friendly Democrats…Senators Brian Stack and Sandra Cunningham of Hudson County…to deliver the 20th and 21st votes for a majority when needed during Christie’s second term.

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