BELMAR COUNCIL COVERS FOR MAYOR’S ACTIONS

Dirty Doherty

By JIM BEAN

With regard to the “a proposal, a helicopter and a conspiracy theory” story, the public needs to understand that Mayor Doherty used his official capacity to grant a favor to a friend “of many years.” This favor was paid for by us, the taxpayer. It involved using multiple employees’ time, police resources, a green acres park, and the risk of liability in which the town shouldered the insurance. This risk is why the NJDOT believes landing a helicopter somewhere other than at an approved heliport is considered a sufficiently dangerous operation that requires special approval.

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How to beat the traffic in Belmar

Hopefully the rain will let up this weekend and residents and tourists alike can enjoy our beautiful Monmouth County beaches. The only downside of a trip to the beach is traffic and parking.  Belmar Mayor “Lawless Matt” Doherty has a solution to that problem.  Land a helicopter on borough property at Silver Lake!

On July 7 a friend of the mayor’s who just happened to donate $2500 to Dirty Doherty’s campaign coffers chartered a helicopter to fly him and his very recently betrothed fiancée away for a romantic getaway .  Our friends at Common Sense for Belmar have been all over the story.

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Court Orders Belmar To Hold A Referendum On “Matt’s Law”

Belmar Mayor “Lawless Matt” Doherty had a bad couple of days in Court last week.

After hearings on Thursday and Friday, Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Katie A. Gummer  Ordered that a referendum on Matt’s Law,   the Pay to Play ordinance that Doherty and the  Belmar Council passed earlier this year that would allow the mayor to hide the identity of donors to his campaign for Monmouth County Freeholder, be held in the Borough on September 27, 2016.

Judge Gummer reiterated her earlier ruling that Belmar’s current Pay to Play ordinance which requires the disclosure of all donations and requires Belmar officials who accept donations from borough venders, developers and liquor licensees to recuse themselves from decisions involving those donors’ applications and business with the town is “the law of the land.”

Matt’s Law “is suspended and has never been in effect,” Judge Gummer said from the bench on Thursday.

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Pulling the curtain on Lawless Matt Doherty’s Trickery

First in a series

By Art Gallagher

Belmar Mayor “Lawless Matt” Doherty’s first order of business after winning the Democrat primary for Monmouth County freeholder was to promote his record of not raising taxes in the borough.  He’s attempting to put his fiscal credentials up against Republican Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Freeholder Director Serena DiMaso who, along with their colleagues on the Board, cut county taxes $4.5 million this year and have kept spending flat since 2008.

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Ex-Birdsall exec, ex-Belmar engineer, gets 3 years in $1M pay-to-play scheme

TRENTON — A former executive at what was once among the state’s most politically connected engineering firms was sentenced to state prison Friday for his role in a scheme to skirt New Jersey’s campaign contribution laws. Thomas Rospos, 64, the former executive vice president at Birdsall Services Group, was given a three-year sentence by Superior Court… Read the rest of this entry »

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Judge: Doherty violated Belmar voters’ civil rights

Lawless Matt Doherty addressed Belmar residents while Governor Chris Christie practiced his Trump sidekick routine

Lawless Matt Doherty, the mayor of Belmar, violated the civil rights of his borough’s voters last year with a “invalid and misleading” ballot explanatory statement regarding the $4.1 million bonding referendum for a beach pavilion, according to a ruling by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Katie Gummer last week.

The ballot statement was not discussed and approved in public at a Council meeting, as is required. Rather, Belmar submitted the ballot question and statement to Monmouth County Clerk Christine Hanlon without any input from the public or from the citizens who challenged the bonding ordinance.

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“Lawless Matt” Doherty defies Court, Pay to Play Ordinance

Defy– openly resist or refuse to obey

Mayor “Lawless Matt” Doherty speaks during the Two Year Hurricane Sandy Anniversary while Governor Christie practices his Trump sidekick pose(Governor’s Office/Tim Larsen)

In his latest campaign finance disclosure with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Belmar Mayor “Lawless Matt” Doherty did not disclose the names of donors who gave his campaign $300 or less, as required by Belmar’s Ethics and Pay to Play Law.

Before he stopped talking to MoreMonmouthMusings, shortly after he declared his candidacy for Monmouth County Freeholder in January, Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty told us that his borough’s pay to play ordinance was unenforceable.  Never-the-less, he pushed the Borough Council to pass a new ordinance that would allow him to take donations from people and entities who have business with or are regulated by the Borough and not to disclose donations less than $300.

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Judge: Belmar’s new pay to pay ordinance, “Matt’s Law” is not law

Doherty’s lawyer asks Court for a gag order

Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty

Freehold-Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Katie Gummer ruled Wednesday that the new pay to pay ordinance in Belmar, dubbed “Matt’s Law” in honor of Mayor Matt Doherty who the measure would  immediately benefit, is not law, has never been law and will not become law unless approved by Belmar voters in a referendum or unless the Court rules otherwise in coming weeks as a suit regarding a protest petition filed under the Falkner Act is further litigated.

For now, Doherty, who is running for Monmouth County Freeholder, and all candidates for office in Belmar are bound by the pay to play ordinances, passed in 2004 and amended in 2005 and 2011 (the current ordinance), that restrict campaign contributions from Belmar vendors, developers, liquor license holders and professionals to $300 and/or require that the office holders to recuse themselves from matters regarding the contributors that come before them.

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Belmar won’t disclose where FEMA money is, Resident sues for records

Where is the $5.4 million that Matt Doherty claimed FEMA gave Belmar for Taylor Pavilion?

Gov Chris Christie and his favorite mayor, Matt Doherty of Belmar, on the boardwalk celebrating Sandy recovery.

The ongoing controversy over the rebuilding of the beach pavilions in Belmar has resulted in yet another law suit filed against the Borough by an activist resident calling for fiscal responsibility and transparency.

Joy DeSanctis filed suit last week against Belmar and Borough Clerk April Claudio in her capacity as Custodian of Records.  DeSanctis is not seeking money, other than her legal fees.  Rather, she is asking the Court to Order Belmar and Claudio to comply with the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) and provide copies of all correspondence between Belmar and FEMA regarding Superstorm Sandy Funds and correspondence regarding the construction of the pavilions between October 29, 2012 and February 5, 2016, the date that DeSanctis filed her OPRA request.

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Petition filed to repeal “Matt’s Law”; Belmar’s loosened pay to play ordinance

Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty

The Committee of Petitioners to repeal Belmar’s recently passed Ethics Ordinance that would allow Borough elected officials seeking higher office to accept campaign contributions from town vendors, developers, professionals and liquor licensees and accept anonymous contributions under $300 submitted 326 signatures to Borough Clerk April Claudio today, according to Committee Member Katrina Clapsis.

Claudio confirmed the receipt of the petition.

Dubbed “Matt’s Law” by locals because the timing of the Ordinance’s introduction and passage coincided with Mayor Matt Doherty’s announcement that he is running for Monmouth County Freeholder, the measure is now subject to repeal by the Borough Council or a referendum within 40-90 days of the signatures being certified by Claudio. 61 more signatures than need to force a repeal or referendum were submitted, according to Clapsis.

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