Gonzalez: “It’s very likely” that the Bayshore Tea Party Group will field a primary slate

Bayshore Tea Party Group co-founder Barbara Gonzalez said that the group has six candidates collecting signatures in preparation of filing for the Republican primary.

Three of the candidates are collecting signatures to run for the State Legislature in the 13th District against Senator Joe Kyrillos and Assembly Members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon.  Two are preparing to challenge Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Freeholder Director Serena DiMaso, and one is preparing to run against Sheriff Shaun Golden.

Gonzalez would not name the candidates, claiming that they have decided not to announce they are running until their petitions are completed and filed.  “April 1st will be here before you know it,” she said.

When told that a source told MMM that the group’s primary challenge had “fizzled out,” Gonzalez said, “You better get better sources!”

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State Committee Seats To Be Contested At Monmouth GOP Convention

Incumbent Christine Hanlon is being challenged by Eileen Kean of Neptune Township for a two year term on the New Jersey Republican State Committee.

The Committee is comprised on one male and one female from each New Jersey county.  The members are elected by Republican voters in the June primary.  Primary challenges are rare with the members typically being chosen by the County Committee.

Hanlon and her fellow State Committee Member John Bennett squared off in the race to replace Joe Oxley as Monmouth Republican Chairman last June.  Bennett prevailed by 3 votes out of 615 cast.  Since then, Hanlon has been the consummate team player.  She is an attorney with Archer & Greiner’s Shrewsbury office, serves as the Deputy Municipal Attorney of Tinton Falls, the Atlantic Highlands Prosecutor and a Commissioner of the Monmouth County Board of Elections.

Kean, the sister of Assemblyman Sean Kean, is a lobbyist with Komjathy and Stewart. She is president of the Neptune Township Republican Club.

Bennett, who is treasurer of the State Committee, is not seeking a new term.

Middletown Municipal GOP Chairman Peter Carton and Howell Municipal Republican Chairman John Costigan are facing off to fill Bennett’s seat.

The nominations will be decided by ballot during the Monmouth Republican Convention, Saturday morning March 23 at Colts Neck High School.

Bayshore Tea Party Group co-founder Bob Gordon told MoreMonmouthMusings he is considering a run for the committeeman seat in the June 4 primary.

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Bayshore Tea Party Wants Bennett To Change The By-Laws

Still won’t reveal their primary candidates names

Bayshore Tea Party co-founder Bob Gordon told MoreMonmouthMusings that he would recommend that the groups’s candidates for the Legislature from the 13th district, sheriff and freeholder not file as candidates in the June 4 Republican primary if GOP Chairman John Bennett would allow the candidates onto the March 23 County Convention ballot without having to submit the signatures required under the new by-laws to challenge incumbents.  He would not guarantee that the so far unnamed challengers would abide by the results of the convention and not file for the primary if they lose in Colts Neck on the 23rd. “That would be up to the candidates,” he said.

Gordan said that county committee members inclined to support the Tea Party challengers are reluctant to sign convention petitions for fear that they will be challenged in the next committee election in 2014.

The deadline to submit petitions for the convention ballot passed last week.  Primary petitions are due on April 1.

Neither Gordon nor fellow co-founder Barbara Gonzalez would name the potential challengers.  Gordon said that there is a full slate of candidates to take on Senator Joe Kyrillos and Assembly Members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon in the 13th district. On the county level, Sheriff Shaun Golden faces a challenge while Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Director Serena DiMaso may only have one challenger, if the candidates file.

Posted: March 12th, 2013 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 2013 Election, Amy Handlin, Barbara Gonzalez, Bayshore Tea Party Group, Declan O'Scanlon, Joe Kyrillos, John Bennett, Monmouth County Republican Committee, Monmouth GOP, Shaun Golden | Tags: Amy Handlin, Barbara Gonzalez, Bayshore Tea Party Group, Bob Gordon, Declan O'Scanlon, Joe Kyrillos, John Bennett, Monmouth GOP, Monmouth Republicans, Serena DiMaso, Shaun Golden, Tom Arnone | 14 Comments »

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Bayshore Tea Party Preparing Primary Slate for LD 13, County Offices

The Bayshore Tea Party Group is preparing a primary slate to challenge 13th district legislators, Senator Joe Kyrillos and Assembly Members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon, and county office holders, Sheriff Shaun Golden and Freeholders Tom Arnone and Serena DiMaso, according to the group’s co-founder Barbara Gonzalez.

Gonzalez told MoreMonmouthMusings that the group has six candidates who are clearing their potential candidacies with their families and employers.  She wouldn’t name any of the candidates but expects to make a formal announcement next week.  If the slate declares, they will bypass the Monmouth GOP convention on March 23 and file to run in the June 4 Republican primary.

Gonzalez said that former Highlands Mayor Anna Little, who twice ran and won in Congressional primaries with the group’s backing, is not one of the candidates.

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Bayshore Tea Party Considering Incumbent Challenges

By Art Gallagher

The Bayshore Tea Party Group has started the process of evaluating incumbent Republican office holders with an eye towards possible nominating challenges, according to the group’s co-founder Barbara Gonzalez.

“We’re very angry at Republicans,” Gonzalez said in a phone interview with MoreMonmouthMusings, “but we’re not going to primary someone just for the sake of it. We have committees meeting to evaluate office holders’ records and postions.  Many conservatives, not just the Tea Party feel we have no representation.”

Under the Party By-Laws passed by Monmouth GOP Chairman John Bennett last September, there is a new process by which incumbents on the County and State level can be challenged at nominating conventions.  Gonzalez, who is also a member of the Monmouth GOP Board of Directors due to a provision in the new By-Laws, would not rule out challenges at the convention or in a primary should convention challenges fail.

The Monmouth GOP convention is scheduled for March 23, 8:30 A.M. at Colts Neck High School.

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Poltical Animals and other musings

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.

The Bergen Record ran a piece by their Washington Correspondent Herb Jackson, GOP Senate candidate Joe Kyrillos open to tax hikes.

By early afternoon, Kyrillos issued a press release stating 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 Politickernj picked 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.

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Bayshore Tea Party Promises Primaries

Monmouth GOP Chairman John O. Bennett III invited Bayshore Tea Party Group Co-Founder Barbara Gonzalez to speak at the GOP Unity Breakfast last Saturday.

Gonzalez and fellow co-founder Robert Gordon responded on Monday by issuing a statement to say something that Gonzalez forgot to say to the Unity gathering on Saturday:  Every Republican can expect a primary if they don’t do what the Tea Party wants them to do.

Here’s the statement:

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Bayshore Tea Party Group Co-founder Speaks Out About Monmouth GOP Convention, Publishes The Candidate Speech He Didn’t Get To Deliver

The following is a statement from Robert Gordon, Co-founder of the Bayshore Tea Party Group, which includes the speech he would have delivered to the Monmouth GOP Convention last week had him nomination been accepted.

Given the points Gordon makes, MMM asked him why he is not challenging the Chairman’s election.  He said the had thought about it but concluded that such action would not be productive.

On Tuesday evening, June 12, 2012, we attempted to get my name entered into nomination for chairman of the Monmouth County Republican committee. That attempt failed for a variety of reasons. First, I was told by Joe Oxley, the current chairman, that we were discourteous in not notifying him of our intention at least two weeks in advance. What transpired after our exchange with Mr. Oxley, was unfortunate, but predictable because of the absence of bylaws or the adherence to Robert’s Rules of Order. I did offer my apology to Mr. Oxley, however I was dismayed by Mr Oxley’s adamant aversion of rules and the resulting response from the floor when my nomination was denied without explanation. It is unfortunate that a simple matter of producing County committee bylaws was not undertaken at a much earlier time, thereby short-circuiting any issues of this type. It was not our intention to embarrass Mr. Oxley or anyone else in this organization.

My considering running for this office came about as a result of several issues. First was the failure to produce bylaws in compliance with Title 19. Our first priority should be to comply with this requirement. Second was the nature of the campaign for chairman being contested by Christine Hanlon and John Bennett. For two weeks my mail box was filled with what in my opinion was negative campaign material. I felt that I should be receiving materials that clearly define what each of these candidates intended to do in strengthening the Republican Party, and this particular County committee. This clearly was not the case. I felt the need for an expanded responsibility for each of the members of this committee in communicating with the public in their respective districts. We represent those people and that representation requires us to convey information from the County committee to the public, and convey the public’s concerns to that same committee. I believe that we should expand this responsibility, and ask our committee members to become more active in the processes of local and state government. We must be the conduit that enhances the flow of information to our constituents and ask them to contact their local and state representatives on all of the issues that will have a bearing on the quality of life in their neighborhoods. We must be diligent in monitoring the activities of our local and state representatives. We must be confident that they are acting in a manner that is consistent with the qualities of good government and conforming to the principles which got them elected. We should not discourage the participation in our local committees as has been the case in this last election.

I am a conservative. I believe in smaller government, fiscal responsibility and adherence to the Constitution of the United States and the state of New Jersey. My speech, a copy of which follows, outlines my sincere wish for unity and a return to the conservative principles of Ronald Reagan. I have stated some items of concern where Republican representatives have not been consistent in sticking with conservative principles. This should concern us all.

John Bennett was elected chairman in a very closely contested election. I congratulate him on his victory. We wish to offer whatever help is necessary to ensure the restoration of unity in this party and the return to conservative principles, so necessary to restoring the quality of life that we have come to expect in New Jersey.

THE FOLLOWING IS THE NOMINATION SPEECH THAT I HAD PREPARED FOR THE EVENING OF JUNE 12TH, 2012:

  Read the rest of this entry »

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Bayshore Tea Party’s Write In Campaign For Monmouth GOP Chair

Bayshore Tea Party Group Founder Barbara Gonzalez is asking her members who are also members of the Monmouth County Republican Committee to vote for her fellow group founder, Bob Gordon as Monmouth GOP Chair:

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Rand Paul Endorses Romney

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul endorsed Mitt Romney for President yesterday, less than 24 hours after his father, Texas Congressman Ron Paul sent out an email to supporters acknowledging that he does not have enough delegates to win the GOP nomination.

The Bayshore Tea Party Group and the Monouth County Tea Party Coalition are calling for the elder Paul to disown his son.

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