Mayoral and Council Candidates Pledge Solutions, Not Grand Standing
Ira Goldberg, Sui Allex and John Dwyer
Marlboro, NJ- Ira Goldberg, the Republican candidate for mayor in Marlboro Township issues his congratulations to Middletown Mayor Stephanie Murray and the Middletown’s Township Committee for taking decisive action to bring accountability and fairness to their Township’s Property Tax Assessments in the wake of the Asbury Park Press investigation that shed a scandalous light on the state-mandated Assessment Demonstration Program, the controversial new method of setting property values in Monmouth County.
“While Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik has been political grandstanding in the face of a scandal by calling for the ADP to be suspended without offering a replacement, my friends in Middletown have enacted a solution to inequitable tax assessments and put their own credibility on the line,” Goldberg said, “By firing Realty Data Systems, and bringing the home inspection and data collection functions in house, Middletown has offered a solution to the problem. That is leadership.”
Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal is having a bad day year.
The Dems have put their eggs in the LD 11 basket this year, hoping to pick off one or two of New Jersey’s only all female legislative delegation in Assemblywomen Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande.
Vin made sure that his county candidates for Clerk and Freeholder are residents of the 11th, in hopes that a hometown turnout boost for the county candidates, who are hardly campaigning elsewhere in the county, might help Eric Houghtaling of Neptune and Joann Downey of Freehold over the finish line.
Only in the 11th will you find a typical election year showing of road and lawn signs. Houghtaling and Downey are advertising on ESPN and even FoxNews.
Gopal has historically been able to count on an assist from the Asbury Park Press. Not this year and not where he needs it most.
In endorsing Angelini and Casagrande, APP called them “among the strongest legislators in New Jersey.”
Hornik Campaign: Republicans Don’t Know How Municipal Government Works, Blames Board Of Ed, John Dwyer For Tax Increases
Graphic via PositivelyMarlboro.com, the Marlboro Republican candidates’ website
Invoking Abraham Lincoln’s ‘You can fool all of the people’ quote and Congressman Frank Pallone’s promise of affordable healthcare, the Republican “PositivelyMarlboro” team of Ira Goldberg for Mayor and Council candidates John Dwyer and Sui Allex charged that their incumbent Democrat opponents, Mayor Jonathan Hornik and Councilwoman Randi Marder have been deceiving the public regarding their record of taxing and spending. The Republicans noted that Hornik’s own property tax assessment went down in 2015 and that Marder’s assessment is lower now than it was in 2011.
In a press release and postings on their website and on facebook on Friday, the Republicans said that Hornik and his “obedient” and rubber stamp” Township Council are employing election year budgetary gimmicks and deceitful campaign language in an attempt to convince voters that they’ve been fiscally responsible and that others—the Board of Education and the County Tax Board—are responsible for the growing tax burden.
The Republicans disputed Hornik’s recent claim that the new property tax assessment program has “effectively has eliminated the avenue to appeal a tax assessment.”
Highlands Councilwoman Tara Ryan. photo via facebook
The Monmouth County Democratic Party has endorsed incumbent Councilwoman Tara Ryan-Killeen for reelection in the non-partisan municipal election in Highlands on November 3.
In a sponsored advertisement on facebook, Chairman Vin Gopal’s organization lists every nominated Democratic candidate in Monmouth County on the County, State and Municipal levels, plus Ryan-Killeen in the non-partisan election in Highlands. The Democrats did not endorse any candidates in the only other non-partisan election this November, in Tinton Falls, which is uncontested.
Incumbent Councilman Kevin Redmond, who ran with Ryan-Killeen as a Democrat when they ran in 2012, did not receive the endorsement of Gopal’s organization. Highlands changed to non-partisan municipal elections in 2014.
Redmond and Ryan-Killeen appear to be running together, as the share a facebook page, lawn signs and have issued a joint mailer. However, they have different slogans on the ballot.
Red Bank GOP Council Candidates Mark Taylor and Mike Whelan.
Red Bank Republican candidates for borough council, Michael Whelan and Mark Taylor, issued a statement criticizing their opponent, Councilman Michael Dupont, and the rest of the Democrats on the council for giving John Morrongielo, the private investor who owns the Locust Landing affordable housing development, a $75,000 break on fees due under the developer’s PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement and municipal services agreement after 16 of the 40 affordable rental units were damaged by Superstorm Sandy.
Dupont laughed uproariously yesterday when he heard the Republicans claims and said that they were “outlandish”and “inaccurate.”
On September 10, 2014, Dupont introduced Resolution 14-242 which granted temporary relief from paying annual service charges to Locust Landing for 2013 and 2014 and provided that the Land Taxes paid on the property be applied to the service charges due under the PILOT agreement.
Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik and Councilwoman Randi Marder at a campaign event last month. photo via facebook
Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik called for the immediate suspension of the controversial tax assessment program, Assessment Demonstration Pilot Program(ADP), in a press release issued Tuesday evening.
Responding to an “investigate report” in the Asbury Park Pressthat alleges cronyism, nepotism and ethics violations on the part of Monmouth County Tax Administrator Matt Clark, former Tax Commissioner Daniel Kelly and the companies that won the contracts to provide the inspections and appraisals of all Monmouth County properties that are assessed through ADP, Hornik said, “I am heartened by the recent call by the Asbury Park Press for an investigation of the Monmouth County Tax Assessment Demonstration Pilot Program,” said Mayor Hornik. “I have been a vocal critic of this program since its inception, and I expressed, in no uncertain terms, that the program did not fairly and accurately reflect market value, that it inappropriately interfered with local tax assessors and that it had a disproportionate adverse effect on residential and senior citizen property taxpayers.”
Hornik joins Freeholder John Curley in calling for ADP to be suspended and investigated.
Tinton Falls, NJ—Tinton Falls Mayor Gerald M. Turning announced today that he will be voting for Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon and Freeholder John P. Curly on November 3rd. Turning urged all Tinton Falls and Monmouth County voters to do the same.
“I can personally attest to Christine’s abilities given my experience working with her while she served the people of Tinton Falls with distinction as the Deputy Director of Law,” said Turning. “Christine’s keen intellect, strong work ethic and unshakeable integrity served Tinton Falls very well.”
“Christine has already brought new energy and enthusiasm to the job that serves Monmouth County very well,” continued Turning. “I am looking forward to seeing what she accomplishes for the people of Monmouth County during her full term of office.”
Bakke Says Politico “Reporter” is Democratic Mouth Piece
“A mouth for the moth lover”
Press Release
East Brunswick, NJ- Synnove Bakke, a Republican candidate for New Jersey Assembly from Middlesex County responded to a recent hit piece on her by Politico-New Jersey reporter Matt Friedman with the following statement:
“The Columbia School of Journalism should demand it’s diploma back from Matt Friedman,” Bakke said. “He is not reporting, but rather is regurgitating opposition research paid for by Trenton Democrats and my opponent Nancy Pinkin. The PC nonsense that Friedman is posting on Poltico-NJ is worthy of a partisan blog, not a journalistic news site and I am shocked Assemblywoman Pinkin would condone this nonsense.”
“Friendman’s recent garbage never would have gotten past the editors of his former employers, the Star Ledger and PolitickerNJ, and that says a lot”, Bakke continued. “I’m not the only Republican he’s gone after. Friedman has been reporting Democratic opposition research as if it was original reporting for weeks.”
“I have issued 33,000 tweets in the two years I have had that twitter account. That the Trenton Democrats paid someone to go through my tweets and come up with three politically incorrect entries is a sign that my true message is resonating with the voters of the 18th Legislative District.”
Democratic Councilman Michael DuPont Remains Confident He Will Be Reelected
Vin Gopal: “GOP Will Take Control of Red Bank”
Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal told The Two River Times that the Republican Party will win control of the Red Bank municipal government in this November’s election.
Gopal, who launched a campaign of personal destruction against Red Bank GOP Chairman Sean DiSomma in 2013 when he issued a false press release asserting that DiSomma, then a candidate for council, had a warrant for his arrest in Texas over an unpaid traffic violation, whines incessantly to TRT reporter John Burton over the video that led to the resignation of Art Murphy from the borough council. Murphy, the Council President at the time of his resignation last week, also resigned his candidacy for reelection.
Gopal apparently has more of a problem with the fact that Murphy was caught vulgarly belittling his constituents than with the former Council President’s actions. Regardless of whether or not the Republicans released the video, which they deny, they did not fabricate charges, as Gopal did in 2013 against DiSomma.
50% of New Jersey voters think our State’s problems are solvable, but that our politicians are not willing to stick their necks out to get our State moving in the right direction. That’s the take away from the FDU Public Mind Poll released this morning which indicates that Governor Chris Christie approval rating is upside down, 30%-55% and that the State Legislature’s approval rating is negative 24%-44%.
28% of the 792 self identified registered voters survey by FDU from June 15-21 said that New Jersey is moving in the right direction. 57% said we are on the wrong track.
Poll results that this should indicate that change is coming in November. Don’t count on that happening, unless Christie shocks the world and announces that he is not running for president.
