Senator Barbara Buono is on Blue Jersey and The Daily Kos (with links to MMM, my advertisers thank you Senator) pleading with Democrats to support and volunteer for Frank Pallone.
Joe Vas , John Lynch and Jim McGreevey were not available.
With one week to go, who would you rather have in your corner? Chris Christie or Barbara Buono?
Frank Pallone Jr.Asking @MLB World Series teams to ban chewing tobacco. It hurts more than players when so many young ppl watch & are influenced by players.
Need more evidence that the Asbury Park Press’s election coverage is irrelevant? Go to CNN’s My elections page enter your your zip code and see which site is most prominently featured in their news feed.
CI conducts occasional surveys of Trenton insiders. This morning they released a survey which included questions on the ARC tunnel, the likelihood of Governor Christie running for President or Vice President in 2012, the likelihood of Governor Christie’s reform “tool kit” being passed before January 1, the outcomes of the congressional races in Districts 6 and 12, the Senate race is NJ’s 14th legislative district and the Bergen County Executive race. The survey results can be viewed here.
The vast majority(83%) of the bi-partisan expert panel do not expect Governor Christie to be on the 2012. 55% expect Jon Runyon to defeat John Adler in CD-3, and 81% expect Rush Holt to successfully fight off Scott Sipprelle’s challenge in CD-12.
This is the first election that the CI insiders have predicted. We’ll know next week how “expert” they really are.
Senator Jennifer Beck, Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande will be making a presentation on Governor Christie’s Tool Kit tomorrow, Tuesday, October 26th at 8 p.m. at Greenbriar Retirement Community in Marlboro.
This is the third such presentation the 12th District Legislators have given on the Tool Kit, which consists of more than 30 initiatives to cut waste and streamline government in order to control the tax burden in New Jersey.
We are a mere NINE DAYS away from a “shock-the-pundits” victory.The “experts” said it could never happen. The NY Times poll originally gave us a 1% probability of victory. The powers-that-be gerrymandered NJ-12 so that it would be safe for the incumbent for as long as he cared to run for re-election. But, then, something happened. That something was you! Finish strong, and complete what you set out to do. The future begins on November 3.
Trenton
This weekend Team Sipprelle took our message of economic opportunity to the streets of Trenton. Long taken for granted by Democrats and ignored by Republicans, the people of our capital city were delighted to see that we care about their community and that we have a commitment to rebuild. We cannot solve America’s problems without tackling our most difficult problems at their core.
There is Nothing Wrong with America
I met a whole new collection of American heroes this week:
A survivor of five concentration camps who came to America and immediately enlisted to serve in the Korean War
A minister who extends his gospel beyond his church to preach fiscal responsibility and self-empowerment to his parishioners
A husband and wife team of doctors who volunteer their time to provide high-quality medical care in a charity health clinic
A Mercer County businessman who runs a thriving manufacturing company, covers full healthcare for his employees, and has never had a layoff
There is nothing wrong with America, but there is something wrong with our government. It has become out-of-touch and disconnected from your values and your concerns.
More Mud from Mr. Holt
Please forgive me for not dedicating any more time and space to refute Mr. Holt’s increasingly bizarre and mean–spirited barrage of smears and personal attacks directed at me. Once his advisors and consultants move on, I expect that he will find the quiet time to wrestle with his conscience.
October 31 Blitz in East Brunswick
Please mark Sunday, October 31 on your calendar for Team Sipprelle to rally and canvass with the residents of East Brunswick. We need as many volunteers as possible, so plan your road trip. Stand tall with us for this final weekend. Details shortly.
Join Us on Victory Night!
Team Sipprelle will gather at the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village (on Route 1) on Election Night, starting at 7pm. If you are a challenger or working GOTV, please come on over after 8pm.
If You Can Donate…
…In these last few critical weeks to help us counter Mr. Holt’s full-throttle media volley of distortions and deceptions, please click here:
In response to Vin Gopal’s article on MoreMonmouthMusings, I believe this email below will set the record straight.
Often times the majority is criticized by the Democrats in Middletown for not listening to Sean’s ideas despite the fact that they are not usually economically or practically feasible. The notion that Sean’s voice is never heard is nonsense and we do implement his ideas when practical. We obviously took his direction to use the automated system to announce the Recycling program “not too close” to the announcement of changes to our leave and brush pickup.
While we all can agree that the lateness of the call to some residents was not intended due to a computer glitch, there was never a second call done to apologize for it. If Mr. Gopal would like to question the integrity of the Tea Party, I suggest he get the facts straight before he does so.
I stand with the Tea Party in working to retire Frank Pallone and Rush Holt from Congress and take great offense to anyone questioning their motives. It is no surprise to me that Mr. Gopal would write this type of letter after he has been an active fundraiser for Mr. Byrnes and has even hosted an event that he advertised in his newspaper earlier this year honoring special guest Frank Pallone.
At some point, maybe not so close on the heels of this announcement, we should also do that for the recycling pickup. You may have done it already, but we will probably need to push this pretty hard to get the word out and start getting compliance.
In speaking with Tony Mercantante yesterday, I have decided to broadcast a “Reverse 911” call this evening to notify residents of DPW’s upcoming brush collection. An email will also be sent to residents with registered email addresses. The message is below:
This is a recorded message from the Middletown Township Public Works Department. The Fall Brush Collection will begin on Monday, August 30th in Zones F and H. To obtain a complete brush collection schedule, please visit www.middletownnj.org/collectionor call the Brush Collection Hotline at 732-615-XXXX. Again please visit www.middletownnj.org/collection or call 732-615-XXXX for the current brush collection schedule and updates. Thank you and have a nice weekend.
As you can see, I am also setting up (with the help of Todd Costello and Jim Dudek) a brush collection hotline that will feature an audible version of the full brush collection schedule. This hotline, which will remain in effect for all future collections, will also give the caller the option of pressing “0” to speak with a live operator (during business hours). Our standard postcards are in the process of being mailed to each resident, but may not reach every resident prior to their collection start date. I wanted to make you aware of this notice in case you are questioned by residents.
Thank you,
Ted
__________________________________________________
Joseph E. “Ted” Maloney, PE, PP, CME, CPWM
Because he wants his friend Sean Byrnes to be reelected to the Middletown Township Committee, and because he wants to create a distraction among the Tea Party members during this crucial last week of the election.
The wonderful thing about Integrity is that is isn’t shaken when its questioned. It is strengthened by being questioned. If you ever see someone get upset by their integrity being questioned, it is a sure sign that he or she has an integrity issue. Someone with their intergrity intact simply answers the question when it is asked.
So, as a member of the Tea Party Movement in Monmouth County, and a visible supporter of Gerry Scharfenberger, I am happy to answer the questions Vin raises.
I am not a spokesperson for any Tea Party group. The official spokespeople know they are welcome to submit their own material for the front page or simply comment.
I, and I think the Tea Party groups, support Gerry Scharfenberger for another term on the Middletown Township Committee, not only because of the R after his name, not even primarily because of the R after his name. I support Gerry because he has done an excellent job leading Middletown. I support him because he is one the hardest working most conscientious elected officials I know.
The Tea Party groups have not blindly supported Gerry because he’s an R. They’ve held his feet to the fire over the budget and operations of Middletown. He has answered their questions and earned their support.
Vin raises five issues as reasons not to support Gerry. 1) This year’s municipal budget which accounts for the majority of the property tax increase, 2) the recycling robocalls, 3) the arts center, 4) the municipal pool, and the sewage authority.
The most important concern is the budget. Gerry has explained this years difficult budget well. Taxes had to be increased because of a loss of state funding ( I refuse to call it aid), an almost $1 million unpredictable increase in the cost of snow removal last winter, unexpected retirements that cause big payouts in unused vacation and sick time, and a decline in revenue from recycling.
Had Gerry asked me, I would have advised him to wait on the recycling robo calls until after the election. My reasoning would have been political, not governmental. The moment I received the robo call while sitting at my desk at 9PM, I knew it would be criticised politically.
From a governmental point of view, there should probably be robo calls the day before every recyling pickup until the majority of people’s behavior changes and recycling increases. Robo calls are cheap. The reaction the recent ones prove they get attention. An increase in recycling will be good for the townships budget and good for the environment. Gerry should keep making those calls….after the election…and before 8PM.
The art center and the pool are silly issues to use against Gerry. They were both in the works either before or very early in his tenure on the township committee. I agree the art center was too expensive and is under utilized. Now that it is there, we need to maximise its use and keep the costs down. The pool should be sold.
The sewage authority is a patronage pit, as are countless authorities throughout New Jersey. Gerry didn’t create the pit and Sean Byrnes will not clean it up. Governor Christie has started the process of cleaning up the cess pool of New Jersey’s waste and abuse in all levels of government, including authorities. Gerry Scharfenberger is the Governor’s partner in the clean up.
Even though the sewage authority is a patronage pit, my sewer bills are lower in Middletown than they are in the other Monmouth County towns where I own property.
Even though my Middletown taxes went up, they are lower, as a percentage of property value, than the other towns in Monmouth County where I pay property taxes.
Yes, I am a partisan Republican, like Vin is a partisan Democrat. Yet, I have used this blog prominently over the years to criticise Republicans, including Gerry. I admire Vin telling us he didn’t vote for Ellen Karcher or Jon Corzine. I understand why he’s not telling us which Democrats he’s not voting for this year, however his questioning of the Tea Party’s integrity would have more weight if he was honest about which Democrats he’s not voting for this year and if he went public about that before the election. I don’t expect him too, but like he said, if we’re going to lay the cards on the table…..
Even though I am a partisan Republican, as a taxpayer I appreciate divided government. Early in is tenure, I had hoped Sean Byrnes was the kind of Democrat I could support in a minority position. He has not proven himself to be that. He hasn’t added value to the governance of Middletown. He has used his minority status to try to create partisan wedges rather than to improve the service and costs of Middletown government.
That the government employees unions contributed $74,000 to Byrnes Freeholder race last year tells me all I need to know. When the Governor’s tool kit gets passed, Middletown will be able to run government even more efficiently than it does now. If Byrnes is beholden to the unions, he will not be as aggressive as need be in reducing the costs of government.
That Byrnes, as a member of the Township Committee, voted on an appointment of a community member he was involved in litigation with as a private attorney, raises sufficient questions about his judgement to disqualify him for another term.
Under Republican leadership, Middletown has the one of the lowest, if not the lowest, costs of municpal government per capita than any other town in New Jersey. The number of municipal employees has decreased by almost 25% over the last 10 years, 10% this year.
As I have asked many many times, name a town in New Jersey where Democrats are doing a better job than Republicans are doing in Middletown. Let me amend the question for this year; name an municipality with a population and land mass the size of Middletown where the municipal government has done a better job in the last six years than Middletown’s municipal government has done in the last six years with Gerry Scharfenberger’s leadership.
Vin’s a good friend to Byrnes. I’m proud to call him my friend too, and I am proud to be able to be friends with my political adversaries. We need more of that kind of relating as we fix our broken state.
To my Tea Party friends, don’t be distracted by Vin’s volley. We have too much work to do this week.
