I didn’t make the Highlands council meeting last night as I was dining in Princeton with Poltical Animals star Sigourney Weaver.
Not really. Weaver was leaving the Blue Point Grill as my party was entering. And we had the same waitress. Still it was cool. Other than politicians and pundits this was my closest celebrity encounter since Bette Midler walked in on me in a Fort Lauderdale Airport mens room.
Political Animals is a fun watch.
Weaver plays a former first lady, Elaine Barrish, who ran for president, lost the Democratic primary, divorced her philandering husband and became Secretary of State for the president who beat her in the primary. In the most recent episode, Barrish tells the president that she is going to run against him again, but not before she councils him to do something more heroic than killing Bin Laden and her ex-husband ex-president punches out the vice president in the oval office.
While all of that high drama is going on, Barrish’s “bad son,” a gay piano player who was outed while growing up in the White House, is in the hospital recovering from a drug overdose and her “good son” is joining the mile high club with a reporter who buried the overdose story while the good son’s fiancee is smoking pot with Barrish’s mother.
Must see TV.
I heard the Highlands council did not vote to put the flood mitigation plan on the November ballot as a non-binding referendum and that Councilman Chris Francy did not deny that he kept the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers off his property when they wanted to study an alternate plan of flood mitigation. When asked about that during the public portion of the meeting, I’m told that Francy said, “that article on the Internet was not really an article, but a blogger’s opinion.”
Whatever. They’ve done the right thing so far. I hope the governing body doesn’t drop the issue now.
The political animals in the NJ GOP were crazier today than the TV show.
By early afternoon, Kyrillos issued a press releasestating that he doesn’t favor raising taxes. He wants to lower tax rates and close loopholes.
12th District GOP congressional candidate Eric Beck, the guy running against Rush Holt, issued two press releases. The first one was announcing that he disagrees with Kyrillos on taxes. The second one was announcing that Huffington Post and Politickernjpicked up the first one. Beck’s campaign manager, Chris Pordon, who got his start in politics working for Kryillos, has been breaking his back trying to get free media for Beck. He got some today, including this mention on MMM for which he’s been dogging me.
Anna Little has not issued a press release throwing Kyrillos under the bus. Michele Bachman endorsed Little and the Bayshore Tea Party is having a bake sale fundraiser for her. Really. What’s next, a car wash? No bikinis. Please.
In Bergen County, Republican County Executive Kathleen Donovan is suing the Republican controlled Freeholder Board to prevent them from dissolving the Bergen County Police.
Kyrillos announced that he will release three years of tax returns at a press conference tomorrow. Senator Bob Menendez responded that he will release five years of tax returns at a press conference next week.
Not a bad day for the Democrats given all the Republican self inflicted wounds.
Highlands resident Derek Gordon street kayaking after this afternoon's storm. Photo credit: Brian Cobb
The center of town, which is both residential and business, is at a lower elevation than the shore line. During a storm, water comes from the Sandy Hook Bay/Shrewsbury River and storm water comes rushing down to the below sea level downtown from “the hill,” the highest elevation on the east coast of the United States which includes parts of Highlands and the Monmouth Hills section of Middletown. During a big storm at high tide and a full moon, downtown Highlands looks like Venice without the charm and romance.
Councilman Chris Francy convinced the rest of the governing body to have T&M Associates, the borough’s engineers, design a flood mitigation system that includes new pumps and pipes to get the water out of town and back into the bay/river. The project is said to be “shovel ready” and will cost roughly $4 million dollars. The governing body is applying to FEMA to cover $2.2 million of the cost. Congressman Frank Pallone is on board to advocate for the project with FEMA. At a town hall meeting on Monday night, Francy, Pallone and Mayor Frank Nolan said that Highlands is currently number three on FEMA’s list of such projects in New Jersey but that only two will be approved. Pallone is working to get Highlands bumped up on the list and secure the funding. That might be good for Highlands and bad for a community along the Passaic River.
The governing body is set to vote on a resolution tonight that will put the project on the ballot in November as a non-binding referendum. The referendum would ask the voters consent to fund the entire project without FEMA money.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker said that it is his race, not his Meet the Press gaffe honesty that is keeping the leaders of the Democratic Party from having he speak in prime time during the Democratic National Convention in September.
He has no speaking role at the Democratic National Convention next month in Charlotte, N.C., but that’s understandable, according to Booker:
“The polite way to say why I didn’t have expectations is that I’m an African-American, northeastern Democrat in a safe state. Maybe if I was a Latino from Nevada or San Antonio.”
State Senator Joe Kyrillos sent a staffer to hand deliver a debate challenge to U.S. Senator Bob Menendez this morning. Menendez wouldn’t take the Kyrillos’ letter.
Here is the text of the letter:
Dear Senator Menendez:
One of us will be the next United States Senator from New Jersey. We will be tasked with finding a solution to the rising unemployment and exploding deficits and debt that are wrecking havoc on our country. The ongoing fiscal crisis has largely been caused by Washington’s inability to create certainty for the economy and the demands of powerful special interests and unions and the politicians who do their bidding. We will have to make tough choices to return America to prosperity and stability. I am willing to make these tough choices. New Jerseyans would benefit from knowing your position.
New Jeseryans need to know our positions on these important issues before, not after, the election. That’s why I have released a comprehensive jobs plan. When you publish press statements you carefully avoid such specifics. And by drastically limiting your exposure to the press and the public, you are avoiding being pinned down in live questioning. But these are new times. New Jerseyans want leaders, not politicians. Difficult times require a leader who is able to get results.
We owe New Jerseyans a serious conversation about fixing our country, so I hope you will join me in a series of 5 debates across the Garden State that cover separate topics. I suggest a debate on each of these topics – jobs and the economy, taxes, spending, education and government ethics. We must also ensure maximum viewership of our debates so that the voters can make an informed decision come November.
I am committed to working with you to ensure that all New Jerseyans know where we stand on the issues that matter most to them. I await your call at my campaign headquarters at (732) 957-1580. I look forward to hearing from you and I look forward to vigorous debates of these critical issues.
Sincerely,
Senator Joe Kyrillos
It would be one thing if the junior U.S. Senator was a popular incumbent not wanting to give his opponent exposure, but despite 6 years in the Senate and 7 terms in Congress, 60% of New Jersey voters still do not know who Menendez is. Obviously, Menendez is hoping to continue to go unnoticed in November and ride back to Washington on Barack Obama’s coattails.
Monmouth County Republican Chairman John Bennett & Middlesex County Republican Chairman Samuel Thompson
cordially invite you to join them for An Evening with Anna LittleFeaturing Nationally Recognized Political Commentator, Author, and True Patriot
~ Christine O’Donnell ~
Please Join Us at Lakeside Manor Tuesday, August 14th From 6:00 PM – 8:00PM 410 Route 36 Hazlet, New Jersey 07730
Patriot Ticket $250
Co-Host Sponsorship $2,500
Other Sponsorships Available – Please Call for Details
~ RSVP TODAY – Space is Limited ~
Call 732-658-5461
Please Mail Event Contribution Checks To: Friends of Anna Little P.O. Box 382, Highlands, NJ 07732
Please Include: Employer and Occupation in the memo line (Information Required by Federal/State Law – if self employed list ‘self’ and industry ie: Attorney)
~Thank You to Our Host Committee ~
Municipal Chair of Old Bridge, Anita Greenburg, Assemblyman Rob Clifton, President of Affiliated Republican Club Wayne Pomanowski & Mayor Fred Rast of Atlantic Highlands
Governor Chris Christie will deliver the keynote address at the Republican National Convention. The story, first reported by Save Jersey last week, was released to the national media this morning.
Christie told USA Today:
“I’ll try to tell some very direct and hard truths to people in the country about the trouble that we’re in and the fact that fixing those problems is not going to be easy for any of them,” Christie told USA Today in an interview announcing his speech. He said he will describe his experiences in New Jersey as evidence that “the American people are ready to confront those problems head-on and endure some sacrifice.”
New Jersey’s other political rock star, Newark Mayor Cory Booker is still in Obama’s doghouse. Despite the president’s personal assurance to Booker that his “Meet the Press” commentary calling Obama’s anti-Romney ads “nauseating” was “small potatoes,” the mayor will not have a headlining role at the Democratic National Convention.
I didn’t make the Highlands council meeting last night as I was dining in Princeton with Poltical Animals star Sigourney Weaver.
