Joe Kyrillos: Like No Other

By Charles Measley

Charles Measley and Joe Kyrillos

I first met Sen. Joe Kyrillos in 2010 when I was a sophomore in college. Over the next few years I gained insight into Joe’s character and I learned just how great of a person he really is. Sen. Joe Kyrillos, like no other State Senator here in New Jersey, goes out of his way to make himself available to the people of his district. There had been countless times where I would send him an email late in the evening and within a few minutes I would receive a personal reply back from him.

Politically I am a very conservative person and while I do not agree with all of Sen. Joe Kyrillos’ views, there is much that I respect and admire about him. He always has his door open to hear all the opinions and all the facts on issues of the day, and from there he makes the best decision –not just for the people of this district –but for the people of the state of New Jersey.

The reason I decided to write this is because this morning on Facebook I saw something that really highlights Sen. Joe Kyrillos character. Eleven years ago today, my friend’s son had open heart surgery. One way or another Sen. Joe Kyrillos found out about this little boy’s surgery. Sen. Joe then wrote this little boy a hand written letter telling him to stay strong and that everything would be okay. Shortly after the surgery Sen. Joe Kyrillos personally called this little boy to make sure that everything was going well.

It is these qualities and characteristics that make Sen. Joe Kyrillos truly like no other State Senator here in New Jersey. Because he is a man of character and commitment I am voting for Sen. Joe Kyrillos in the Republican primary being heldTuesday, June 4th!

Editors note: A copy of Kyrillos’ letter to Kyle can be read below the fold:

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O’Scanlon Endorsed By NRA PAC

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon has been endorsed by the NRA Political Victory Fund for the June 4th Republican primary in the 13th legislative district.

In an email to their members in the 13th district, NRA-PV said,

“Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon is rated “A” by the NRA-PVF and has been a proven Second Amendment supporter throughout his tenure in the state legislature.  He has been vocal in his support of your Second Amendment rights and has stood strong against anti-gun lawmakers pushing their radical agenda in Trenton.  Declan O’Scanlon has stood by gun owners in New Jersey by consistently voting against onerous gun proposals, including sweeping ammunition bans, magazine capacity restrictions, one-gun-a-month limitation, and more.

On Election Day, remember your gun rights are at stake and Vote Freedom First by voting to reelect Declan O’Scanlon for Assemblyman in District 13.”

O’Scanlon welcomed the endorsement as a confirmation of his conservative credentials by “one of the most effective advocacy groups in the nation.”

“This is confirmation that my opponents have be lying about my record and confirmation that my opponents have no integrity,”O’Scanlon said, “The NRA knows enough to say away from my opponents,

“As the only candidate endorsed by the NRA-PV in the district, I enthusiastically endorse Senator Joe Kyrillos and Assemblywoman Amy Handlin.”

Barbara Gonzalez, co-founder of the Bayshore Tea Party Group which is supporting O’Scanlon’s opponents in the primary did not respond to a request for comment.

UPDATE

Gonzalez responded to MMM late last evening, declining to comment. “Nope….your blog has become trashy.  Just….nope,” she wrote.

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Why I am voting against Leigh-Ann Bellew on June 4

By Art Gallagher

Yesterday I was interviewed by The Star Ledger and went on the record saying that I would be voting for Joe Kyrillos for State Senate in the 13th Legislative District Republican primary on June 4th.   Consistent with my slogan of being fair and biased, it is appropriate that I tell you, my readers and the reason my opinion matters to The Star Ledger, that MMM is now part of the story and that I have made a decision that can’t help but color my coverage of the rest of the campaign.

MMM is part of the LD 13 story, instead of just covering the story, because we’ve provided the bulk of the media coverage of the primary campaign to date and because Kyrillos’ challenger, Leigh-Ann Bellew, attacked this site in a press release, according to The Star Ledger.

On many important issues, Life and The Right to Bear Arms in particular, I am in more philosophical agreement with Bellew than I am with Kyrillos.   Despite my philosophical differences with Kyrillos, the choice between him and Bellew has become a very easy one.  Kyrillos is a very good State Senator.  Bellew is a deeply flawed candidate.  She never should have exposed herself, her family, and friends who care about her deeply to the rigors and vetting of this campaign.

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O’Scanlon On Offense

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon said the Bayshore Tea Party Group backed challenge of the 13th Legislative District incumbents and the Monmouth GOP county-wide incumbents, is inspired by nothing more than the need for attention and the desire for relevance on the part of the challenging candidates and of Barbara Gonzalez, co-founder of BTPG.  O’Scanlon flat out challenged the group’s integrity.

O’Scanlon made his charge directly to the faces of the challenging candidates who showed up last night, Leigh-Ann Bellew for Senate, Edna Walsh and Steve Boracchia running for Assembly, BTPG co-founder Barbara Gonzalez, along with approximately 30 other Republican primary voters at a Meet the Candidates Night hosted by the Two Rivers Republican of Fair Haven.

O’Scanlon was representing himself and his running mates, Senator Joe Kyrillos and Assemblywoman Amy Handlin at the gathering.  Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Sheriff Shaun Golden spoke on behalf of themselves and Freeholder Deputy Director Serena DiMaso.  All three men defended the conservative records of the incumbents and called out the challengers for running against the wrong candidates, dividing the party, and distorting their records to the Republican primary voters.

O’Scanlon went after the challengers aggressively on the content of their campaign, without personal attacks.

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Kyrillos Camp: Bellew is silly, foolish. Questions his opponents conservatism

State Senator Joe Kyrillos’ campaign responded to Leigh-Ann Bellew’s recent press release denouncing Kyrillos’ condemnation of the IRS’s targeting conservative groups as hypocritical, by calling the release, and his challenger, silly and foolish.

The Senator’s spokesman, Niles Barnhart, issued the following statement to MMM:

It is a silly press release from a silly candidate who told people she was a lawyer, yet never went to law school, and tells people she is a conservative, yet court records show she took out 20 credit cards running up nearly $140,000 in debt and then filed for bankruptcy.

 Senator Kyrillos believes the IRS abuse is outrageous. He is preparing a resolution in the Legislature that urges the appointment of an independent counsel to get to the bottom of this unfair attack on Tea Party and conservative organizations.

Barnhart said that Kyrillos would not be responding “every time Bellew issues a foolish press release.

MMM did not call Bellew or her campaign for a response, because they haven’t returned our last 11 phone calls.

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Bellew, Gonzalez, Boracchia Attack LD 13 Incumbents, Blogs

By Art Gallagher

Bayshore Tea Party Group co-founder Barbara Gonzalez pinning Sen. Joe Kyrillos during happier times.

After over three weeks of media silence, the Bellew for Senate campaign issued a scathing 920 word press release this afternoon accusing State Senator Joe Kyrillos and Assembly members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon of hypocrisy, liberalism, slander, ducking debates and being mean.

Also blasted by Bellew Jersey, was “an organized army of cronies (that) have waged a campaign of personal attacks and character assassination on members of the Tea Party.”

“They have used surrogates in a legion of non-journalistic blogs and Internet attack machines to call the Tea Party “nut jobs.” To the Tea Party, this closely resembles Obama campaign style tactics of personal destruction. In fact, it mirrors what the IRS is now in trouble for doing – trying to silence their critics. Conservatives know this destroys any credibility Joe Kyrillos, Declan O’Scanlan, and Amy Handlin and their liberal Republican establishment team could possibly claim to have in support of the patriots fighting for limited government.”

The release, which was sent out by and paid for by Bellew for State Senate, quotes Senate Candidate Leigh-Ann Bellew, Bayshore Tea Party Group co-founder Barbara Gonzalez, and Assembly Candidate Steven Boracchia.   Assembly Candidate Edna Walsh was mentioned but not quoted in the statement which can be read in its entirety here.

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Kryillos Confident, Working It Hard

Sen. Joe Kyrillos and Mayor Fred Rast greeting voters in Atlantic Highlands. Photo by Art Gallagher. Click for larger view.

State Senator Joe Kyrillos said he won the U.S. Senate primary without the Bayshore Tea Party support, “by the largest margin in half a century,” and that he is confident that 13th legislative district Republicans will nominate him for another term in the June 4th primary election.

“We’re working hard,” Kyrillos said of himself and his running mates, “probably harder than we need to, but it is energizing and gratifying to meet with so many constituents.”

Kyrillos left the Golden, Arnone and DiMaso Armed Forces Day ‘friend raiser’ yesterday to hit the streets of Atlantic Highlands with Mayor Fred Rast.

Rast was a supporter of Bayshore Tea Party backed candidates in previous GOP primaries.  “Not this time,” said Rast as he and Kyrillos greeted residents at garage sales along Highland Ave.

Kyrillos said he saw no evidence that the BTPG backed challengers were making an impact on the campaign trail.

The challengers cancelled their door to door efforts today due to the weather.  Instead they made phone calls and had a picnic at Assembly candidate Edna Walsh’s house.

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Praise for Kyrillos, Prayers for Bellew

By Thomas Stokes, Middletown

With the June 4^th primary rapidly approaching, I wanted to share why I’m supporting Republican Joe Kyrillos for State Senate.

I began working for Conservative candidates in High School when Barry Goldwater ran for President.  In college, I founded the first Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) chapter at NYU.  I served as a Municipal Chairman of the NY State Conservative Party and worked hard to elect Ronald Reagan (Chair, Taxpayers For Reagan) before moving to New Jersey many years ago.

Joe and I have been good friends for a number of years. I have been proud to support him in every election.  Now, he’s facing a new primary opponent – and what I have discovered about his opponent is alarming, and is something that should also concern you. By the way, contrary to claims she’s an attorney, Joe’s opponent never even went to law school, let alone pass a bar exam.

Leigh-Ann Bellew claims she is a champion of fiscal responsibility. Unfortunately, it’s just not true. Three years ago, she racked up almost $140,000 in credit card debt on 20 different credit cards – including payment to a vacation timeshare company in Las Vegas – and didn’t pay the bills. Instead, she filed for bankruptcy.  How can we trust her to be the conservative leader we need when she can’t even be responsible for her own finances?

To make matters worse, the Monmouth County Democrat Chairman has now confirmed reports that Ms. Bellew’s campaign has sought funding and other assistance from the Democrats in this primary!

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Bellew Campaign Seeks Help From Monmouth County Democrats

Monmouth Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal

We couldn’t make this up

Monmouth County Democrat Chairman Vin Gopal told MMM that a representative of the Bellew for Senate campaign reached out to him for financial support and help in generating publicity for the Bayshore Tea Party backed slate of candidates in the 13th Legislative District Republican Primary.  “We need help getting the truth out,” Gopal said the operative pleaded.

The campaign operative, who Gopal said is close to Bellew but not so involved with BTPG, said the campaign was having difficulty raising money, recruiting volunteers and getting positive press.

“I turned him down,” said Gopal, “this is a primary between two Conservative Republican tickets.  It’s not our fight.

“Kyrillos may have run as a moderate in the U.S. Senate campaign last year,” Gopal added,” but based upon his voting record in the legislature, he is a Conservative as far as I am concerned. He’s voted against abortion rights, marriage equality rights and the millionaires tax.

“I’m glad to see the Republicans spending money fighting with each other instead of coming after us.”

MMM called Bellew, her campaign manager Dwayne Horner, and BTPG co-founder Barbara Gonzalez for comment.  None have returned the call.

UPDATE

Gonzalez did not return our call, but she banned MMM publisher Art Gallagher from the BTPG’s facebook page.  Eariler today, Gonzalez accused Gallagher of censoring BTPG members’ comments on this site.  That hasn’t happened.

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Debate Challenge: Kyrillos vs Bellew

Bayshore Tea Party Group co-founder Barbara Gonzalez pinning Sen. Joe Kyrillos

MMM has challenged State Senator Joe Kyrillos to accept Leigh-Ann Bellew’s debate challenge if Bellew produces documentation of the law degree and undergraduate degree she told us she earned.  MMM publisher Art Gallagher offered to moderate the debate.

Kyrillos laughed at the idea, but has not agreed.  He didn’t decline either.

Gallagher called Bellew for Senate campaign manager Dwayne Horner to issue the challenge. Horner has yet to call back.  A Bayshore Tea Party member who asked not to be named agreed to extend to the challenge to Bellew.

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