Monmouth Dems still looking to fill their dance card

Their nominating convention is on Saturday, but the Monmouth County Democrats are still searching for candidates to run for the legislature and sheriff.  Today’s “soft deadline” for candidates to come forward could be extended beyond the convention.  Chairman Vin Gopal’s quest to be the first county party to officially annoint Senator Barbara Buono with the gubernatorial nomination will end up being a self-inflicted wound if he doesn’t have a full slate to announce on Saturday afternoon.

With the official deadline for candidates to file their petitions not until April 1 and with Buono the only serious candidate for governor (there are two other announced candidates, former Glen Ridge Governor Carl Bergmanson and union carpenter Willie Araujo of Edison), Gopal’s decision to hold his convention a month earlier than normal looks silly.

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Freeholders Promoting Jersey Shore Tourism

By Monmouth County Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arone

It is now February and the question on Monmouth County residents’ minds is what is The Board of Chosen Freeholders doing to help restore the shore since undergoing the wrath of Super Storm Sandy. Let me begin by saying that the Board’s primary goal at this time is to get the word out to as many people as humanly possible that the Jersey Shore is thriving and up and running. How is this being accomplished? To mention just a few things, for starters our  Department of Tourism is pulling out all the stops in one enormous effort to ensure that we can expect to see not only the usual visitors that frequent the shore communities in Monmouth County  but engage and encourage new visitors to see what Monmouth County has to offer.

For instance last month a Tourism Representative attended the Philadelphia Inquirer Travel Show in Valley Forge PA.  There were over 200 vendors present at the show. Attendance at the show which was held Saturday-Sunday January 26^th and 27th was estimated to be well over 2,000 people. The Monmouth County presence was aimed at letting people know we are still the place you want to be. This past week our Department of Tourism was present for the Atlantic City Boat Show at the Atlantic City Convention Center.  Attendance at this 5-day show was estimated to be over 3,000 people. A concerted effort was made by our stellar tourism team to make sure that everyone present was made fully aware that Jersey Shore is flourishing and Open for Business.

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Holt wants Lautenberg’s seat in the Senate

Congressman Rush Holt D-NJ12 told PolitickerNJ that he’s interested in becoming a U.S. Senator, but stopped short of announcing his 2014 candidacy for the 2014 Democratic nomination.

“There’s no point in being coy,” Holt said. “I’ve made no secret in previous  years that I would consider the Senate at the right time. But an expression of  interest should not be taken as a campaign announcement.”

Holt represented much of Monmouth County from 1999 through January of this year the congressional map resulting from the 2010 census took effect.

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Lautenberg will not seek another term

New Jersey’s senior U.S. Senator, Frank Lautenberg, will not seek reelection when his term expires in 2014.

The Star Ledger broke the story with a statement from the senator:

“I am not announcing the end of anything. I am announcing the beginning of a two-year mission to pass new gun safety laws, protect children from toxic chemicals and create more opportunities for working families in New Jersey,” Lautenberg told The Star-Ledger. “While I may not be seeking re-election, there is plenty of work to do before the end of this term and I’m going to keep fighting as hard as ever for the people of New Jersey in the U.S. Senate.”

Lautenberg will be 91 when his term expires.  Recent independent poll have indicated that New Jersey voters favor Newark Mayor Cory Booker heading to the Senate.

Congressman Frank Pallone is said to be ready to challenge Booker for the Democratic nomination in 2014.   State Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver have also indicated interest in the Democratic nomination.

Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik said he will not be a candidate.

TV and radio personality Geraldo Rivera is the only Republican who has publically expressed an interest in competing for the Senate seat.  State Senators Tom Kean, JR,  and Joe Kyrillos have been mentioned as possible candidates, as has Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, Lt. Governor Kim Guadango, and bio-tech executive/Navy Intelligence Officer John Crowley.  New Jersey has not had a Republican in the U.S. Senate since 1974.

In a statement issued to the media, Governor Chris Christie said, “Frank Lautenberg and I have had our differences through the years, but I’ve always respected him for his tenacity, devotion to the people of New Jersey and his love for and commitment to public service. I will always be grateful for his doggedness in fighting with me and the delegation to ensure congressional passage of an aid package after Hurricane Sandy that is delivering necessary assistance to our residents. I wish him the best in his retirement.”

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Lucas Farm Purchase Stalled in Manalapan

Manalapan Township Committeeman Andrew Lucas’ $1.152 million sale of the development rights to a farm in owns in the Township was not approved by his colleagues on the committee this evening.  The motion to approve the Township’s $187,000 contribution to the the purchased failed on a 2-2 vote.

Committeeman Ryan Green first moved to table the purchase due to incomplete documentation.  Committeeman Jordan Maskowitz voted with Green to table the purchase.   Mayor Susan Cohen and Committeeman Donald Holland voted against tabling.   Cohen and Holland then voted to approve the purchase. Green and Maskowitz voted no.  Lucas the fifth member of the committee recused himself from voting on the purchase of his own property.

Green told MMM that Lucas left the dais when the matter came up and left the building.  Lucas did not return for the remainder of the Township Committee meeting.

Green said he has not decided how he would vote when and if the documentation for the sale is completed.

Monmouth County’s portion of the purchase is on the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting of the Board of Chosen Freeholders.  The Freeholders will not proceed without Manalapan’s portion of the purchase being approved, according to Freeholder Director Tom Arnone.

Lucas, Manalapan’s former mayor and a former GOP candidate for freeholder, purchased the farm which had been slated for development in March of 2010 for an undisclosed amount. Soon thereafter he started the process of selling the development rights, for $1.152 million, through funding through the State, County and Township. Lucas participated on Township Committee discussions of his application.

The purchase approved by the Freeholder Board in May of 2011 was held up by an ethics complaint filed by former Manalapan Mayor George Spodak.  The State Agriculture Development Committee conditioned its funding on an satisfactory ethics review of the transaction.  Local Finance Board Chairman Thomas Neff wrote Lucas in September of last year to inform him that his application had been approved because he consulted with the Manalapan Township Attorney about his application.  Neff’s letter also said that the Board would use Lucas’s case to provide clear guidance to future office holders to recuse themselves from applications that they have an interest in.

Arnone and Freeholder John Curley have announced that they oppose the purchase of the Lucas farm.  Freeholder Lillian Burry supports the purchase. Deputy Director Serena DiMaso and Freeholder Gary Rich have not announced how they would vote on the purchase should it make it out of Manalapan.

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Let your voice be heard on New Jersey’s “Sociological Strip Search” bill

As we reported on Monday , the Assembly Education Committee approved a bill , A2421, that amends a 2001 law regarding surveys that schools can have students participate in.  The law as written and passed in 2001 requires that parents give their written consent prior to surveys being administered. The bill that amends the current law requires only parental notification. 

The proponents of the bill want to allow schools to employ a scamming tactic referred to as “negative consent.”  That’s the technique that telemarketers use when they offer you a product or service for “free” for 30 days.  If you don’t take affirmative action to cancel the “free trial” your credit card is charged monthly until you catch up with the scammers and cancel.

The current law allows students to be surveyed about the following topics, if their parents consent in writing:

(1) political affiliations;

(2) mental and psychological problems potentially embarrassing to the student or the student’s family;

(3) sexual behavior and attitudes;

(4) illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating and demeaning behavior;

(5) critical appraisals of other individuals with whom a respondent has a close family relationship;

(6) legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers;

(7) income, other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under a program; or

(8) social security number.

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Highlands Florist Re-Opens For Valentine’s Day

In the Garden, a floral and plant studio founded by former Highlands Councilwoman Nancy Burton in 2005, took on five feet of water during the Superstorm Sandy surge.   Burton and her new partners, Jenna Morris and Eileen Ricco are re-opening their restored shop at 69 Waterwitch Ave, Highlands today for the Valentine’s Day rush.

Don’t forget your sweetheart today and don’t buy him or her a stuffed animal.  Call Nancy, Jenna and Eileen at 732-291-0311 or visit their website to have your gift delivered or ready for pick up.

They deliver from Highlands south as far as Asbury Park and west as far as Colts Neck.

Set your DVR’s for 5pm ABC Eyewitness news. In The Garden is being featured in a segment!

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Monmouth Poll: Christie looks like a lock for reelection

A Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press Poll released this morning echoed the recent Quinnipiac and Rutgers-Eagleton Polls.  Over 70% of New Jersey voters approve of Governor Chris Christie’s performance and over 60% favor his reelection.  Christie is trouncing presumptive Democratic gubernatorial nominee Senator Barbara Buono by more than 40 points.

78% of voters haven’t heard enough of Buono to form an opinion about her.  Polling Director Patrick Murray said the race is likely to narrow to a 20% gap in favor of Christie and the Democratic challenger becomes better known.

“There is a long history that shows horse race polling has little predictive value this far out from an election. This is especially true when there is a popular incumbent and a largely unknown challenger. The important number here is that 6-in-10 voters support Gov. Christie’s re-election,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. “This suggests that the race should close in on a 20 point margin as the campaign progresses and Buono becomes better known. The question remains whether the challenger can peel off Christie supporters to shrink that gap even more.”

Murray says that jobs, property taxes, schools, storm recovery and gun control are very important issues to the New Jersey electorate.   Minimum wage is an important issue with most voters supporting an increase.  However, Christie’s conditional veto of a minimum wage increase has not hurt his support with most voters.

According to Murray’s analysis, Buono has the potential to motivate 7% of the electorate to switch from voting for Christie to voting for her. If she gets all of them, Christie still wins with over 50% of the vote.

Monmouth polling staff attempted to identify voters who could potentially be motivated to switch support from the incumbent because of this issue. This group includes voters who: feel Gov. Christie deserves re-election, are dissatisfied with his veto, say they will vote to support a minimum wage ballot measure, and report that the issue is very important to their vote for governor. Analysis shows that this group comprises about 7% of the total electorate. Hypothetically, if Sen. Buono were able to convince all of these voters to abandon their support for Christie, his re-election support would remain above the 50% mark.

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Atlantic City Conservative Attorney Will Challenge Christie In GOP Primary

Atlantic City Attorney Seth Grossman will kick off his campaign to deny Chris Christie the GOP nomination for governor this morning outside the Revel Casino and in Newark across from Red Bull Stadium this afternoon.

The former Atlantic County freeholder and Atlantic City councilman who was arrested with Steve Lonegan for trespassing outside of one of Governor Jon Corzine’s Town Hall meetings in 2008 wants the State to refuse to pay bonds that were not approved by the voters and to cap public pensions at $50,000 per year per retiree. He says New Jersey is in the same mess it was in three years ago when Christie took office, but now its a bi-partisan mess, not just a Democratic mess now.

Grossman told MMM that he has raised $5,000 for his endeavor thus far.  He hopes to raise $15,000 by the end of this week to open an office.  If he can raise another $45,000 by the end of February, he hopes to hire a campaign manager and appeal to national conservatives to who are upset with how Christie embraced President Obama after Superstorm Sandy for the rest of the $388,000 he will need to qualify for State matching funds for the primary.

In a Rutgers-Eagleton poll released this morning, 64% of New Jersey voters, including 87% of Republicans, say that Christie deserves to be reelected.  The Governor has raised well over $2 million for his reelection campaign and will not take State matching funds for the primary.  Christie will not be in New Jersey for Grossman’s announcement.  He is in California for a fundraising tour including an event at the home of facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

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