Final: Burry and Rich win with a comfortable margin

With all districts and vote by mail ballots counted, Freeholder Director Lillian Burry and Deputy Director Gary Rich have been reelected.

After a major software snafu with the tabulation software that kept election officials up all night, the numbers were reported on County Clerk M. Claire French’s website at 6:13:58 this morning.

147,150 ballots were cast.  Burry 72,050, Rich 72,754, Luttrell 63,922, Grillo 63,102

• Tweet

Turnout will be the key in Monmouth elections

Gary Rich and Lillian Burry

The U.S. Senate race on top of the ballot between Senator Cory Booker and GOP nominee Jeff Bell has generated no excitement and little media attention.

The congressional races in CD 4 and CD 6 are not competitive.

The action, and the money, in the 2014 election cycle in Monmouth County has been in the Freeholder race where Democrats statewide have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a foothold in the county.

Republican incumbents Lillian Burry and Gary Rich have been fighting off a spirited and well funded challenge from Democrats Larry Luttrell and Giuseppe “Joe’ Grillo. When all the money is counted, the Democrats will probably have outspent the Republicans by more than 2-1.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

A-Team disenfranchises hundreds?

Asbury Park ballot applications wrong again

Dan Jacobson

By Dan Jacobson

ASBURY PARK — For weeks, I’ve been blasting the A-Team slate for taking custody and control of hundreds of vote-by-mail/absentee ballots, with their supporters and paid operatives delivering them to voters. The voter then completes the ballot and mails it back for counting — or the A-Team delivery person can even take them back. It’s absurd.

The A-Team led by Mayoral candidate Remond Palmer is on track to deliver 500 of these ballots, known as vote-by-mail [VBM] ballots. That’s the election right there. Of course, this law was originally for invalids or shut-ins who had trouble getting their mail and wanted an absentee ballot. The A-Team is trying to drive hundreds of votes through that loophole.

I’ve consistently said they’re doing it wrong. In fact, we went down this road last year, with the Board of Elections disqualifying 250 ballots the A-Team organization delivered to voters in the 2013 election. A Judge agreed and said the applications for the ballots were flawed and the ballots can’t be counted.

Guess what.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

MY THOUGHTS AND TODAY’S POLITICS

Reflections on Lillian Burry by the person who knows her best

By Capt. Donald L. Burry, USCG (Retired)

Many of you now know that Lillian Burry and I have been married for more than 50 years.  Through the disagreements and pleasant happenings I have learned much about her dedication and commitment to our County.  If I may, I would like to express my observations with respect to Lillian’s political and community activities.  This will take a while and I hope you might have time for my thoughts.

Beginning back in the days of our Matawan Borough life, Lillian started her career in political and social community commitment.  Preserving the 80+ acres around Matawan creek; saving the historical Borrowes Mansion; obtaining Federal funds to purchase and convert the old Central Jersey Bank building into an Improved Borough Hall; spearheading the efforts to stop dumping  and storing waste oil in Burnt Fly Bog and having it declared a Federal contaminated site; establishing a chapter of League of Women voters; elected to the Matawan Borough Council; Appointed to the Monmouth County Planning Board; Appointed to the Monmouth County Library Commission; and other less well known activities were her passions.  I was a sales rep for the Rohm and Haas Company.  My travels afforded her time, in my absence, to raise our daughter and to be politically and community involved.  This was the beginning of Lillian’s political career.  Additionally Lillian became involved in Real Estate sales.  Colts Neck Realty became a new passion.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

DiMaso: Don’t be fooled by silly season rhetoric

By Freeholder Serena DiMaso

This year’s election season doesn’t carry with it the big ticket names for President or even Governor, but in Monmouth County and Holmdel it certainly does.  Freeholder Director Lillian Burry and Deputy Director Gary Rich have worked diligently for the residents of our county.  In Holmdel, our Mayor Pat Impreveduto and Committeeman Greg Buontempo mirror that work ethic and continue to deliver the best quality of life for our beautiful community.

Any one who knows me, knows how often I tell the story of why I chose Holmdel and Monmouth County. BUT,  in case you haven’t heard, here’s the short version, we wanted a place we could raise our children and they could raise their children. We wanted a community that boasted the best school systems, park systems and quality of life in all of New Jersey.  We found it.  It’s all right here in Holmdel Township, Monmouth County. Why?  Because of the leadership of the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders and the Holmdel Township Committee.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Lying Larry Luttrell Blames Lillian Burry For Operation Bid Rig

Democratic Freeholder Candidates recount their arrests, Threaten Blogger

By Art Gallagher

Democratic Freeholder Candidates Giuseppe “Joe” Grillo and Lawrence Luttrell talked about their arrests at the Lincroft Village Green candidates forum

Monmouth County Democratic Freeholder Candidate Lawrence W. Luttrell continued his assault on Freeholder Director Lillian Burry’s character tonight at a candidates forum in Middletown.

“There have been 10 indictments since Lillian Burry has been in office,” Luttrell declared at a League of Women Voters moderated debate sponsored by the Lincroft Village Green Association at the Lincroft Elementary School.  “Monmouth County has a corruption problem, ” he said.

Luttrell rattled off 10 names, starting with former Freeholder Harry Larrison and six other Operation Bid Rig defendants who were arrested in February of 2005.

“Those people were gone before I got there,” Burry angrily shot back at Luttrell.

Burry was first elected to the Freeholder Board in November of 2005, nine months after the Operation Bid Rig arrests.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

The hardest thing about being in politics is the politics

By Freeholder Deputy Director Gary Rich

Gary Rich, Deputy Director, Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders

The hardest thing about being in politics is the politics. Truthfully, it’s not something I have much of a tolerance for. I’m an ideas man. I see a problem and I want to fix it. I like logic and honesty, which may sound like an odd thing to have to say, but you’d be surprised how many people these days seem to lack both completely or just don’t have the time for them. What I don’t have time for is games—they serve no one and they have no place in serving the public.

People today are looking for real leadership—maybe in part because it seems to be so sorely lacking from so many politicians or would-be politicians at all levels of our government. The people we serve need substance. Not empty accusations. Not grandstanding for the sake of show. Not whining about problems without offering solutions. And not making up facts when the mood strikes.

The truth is, in Monmouth County we’re providing that leadership. We’re making the tough decisions. We’re partnering with our municipalities to fix problems. And we’re getting things done.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

FDU Poll: 36% of NJ voters approve of Obama, 42% will vote for Booker

photo via facebook

The political landscape in New Jersey is ripe for a historic shift this November. But a shift in New Jersey’s representation in Washington is not likely to happen because the New Jersey Republican Party is wholly unprepared for the opportunity.  The nincompoops who lead the NJGOP gave up on the U.S. Senate race in January.  They gave up on picking up seats in the Congressional Delegation in 2012 when the new congressional map was drawn.

According to a Fairleigh Dickinson Univeristy Public Mind Poll released this morning, President Barack Obama’s approval rating among New Jersey registered voters is a dismal 36%.  49%, including 21% of Democrats and 45% of Independents, disapprove of the President’s job performance.  Senator Cory Booker is 8 points below the magic number of 50% that an incumbent needs to be comfortable in a reelection race.  Those are the kind of numbers any opposition party/candidate would pray for 8 weeks before an election.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Geraldo Rivera to headline Monmouth GOP Fundraiser

Photo courtesy of Geraldo.com. Used with permission

Had the late Senator Frank Lautenberg lived to complete his term, Geraldo Rivera might have been the Republican nominee to be New Jersey’s junior member of the United States Senate. Cory Booker would still be mayor of Newark and the two celebrities would have been engaged now in an expensive high profile race with national implications.

In early 2013, Rivera was very publicly exploring the possibility of running for Launtenberg’s seat.  Booker had just declined to challenge Governor Chris Christie’s reelection bid and announced that he would run for Lautenberg’s seat.  Booker’s announcement came before the ailing Lautenberg’s announcement that he would not seek another term.

Lautenberg’s June 2013 death and Christie’s call for an October Special Election to fill the seat scuttled the plans of the television and radio personality/journalist to enter politics on a national level.  He was not able to rearrange his life or gain support of his family in the short time required to compete in an August GOP primary.

What might have been a high profile exciting battle between Rivera and Booker this fall is now reduced to bragging rights as to which man will raise more money for his respective Party in Monmouth County.   Monmouth County Republican Chairman Shaun Golden will announce this afternoon that Rivera is the keynote speaker at the GOP Fundraising Gala on October 15 at the Navesink Country Club.  Rivera’s office and Golden both confirmed that Geraldo is coming.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

2016ers jockey even before congressional elections

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet