Monmouth Democrats Will Choose Their Candidates Saturday

By Art Gallagher

The Monmouth County Democratic Organization will hold a “mini-convention” tomorrow at the Carpenters Union Hall in Red Bank for the purpose of nominating county and state legislative candidates for the June primary election.

One reader asked me today, “How come the Democrats are so good at keeping a lid on who their potential candidates are and everyone knows who the Republican players are?”

The answer is two fold: 1) The Democrats have been having a difficult time recruiting candidates.  They don’t have a deep bench of elected officials on the municipal level in Monmouth County. 2) Unlike the GOP that has incumbent legislators we knew were going to run regardless of how the new map was drawn, the Democrats have only had since Sunday to determine who lives in what district and if any of the districts are competitive.

Based upon numerous conversations with Monmouth Democrats who will never talk to me again if I name them, the contenders for the various nominations are as follows:

Surrogate:  Little Silver Councilman Daniel O’Hern, Jr is the most prominent name mentioned.  O’Hern is the son of the former State Supreme Court Justice.  He is the Red Bank Borough Attorney and former Middletown Township Committeeman Sean Byrnes law partner.

Freehold Township Attorney Ray Santiago’s name has been mentioned for Surrogate, as has Lake Como Councilman Brian Wilton. Wilton’s name has also been mentioned for Freeholder.

Freeholder:  Incumbent Freeholder Amy Mallet will be nominated.  William Shea of Howell, a 32 year old State Trooper who is retiring on June 1st has emerged as the front runner to be Mallet’s running mate.

11th Legislative District:  Many Democrats think this district, which includes Neptune Township, Asbury Park, Long Branch and Red Bank, is competitive.  This is where the action has been for Democrats this week as potential candidates lobby delegates for the chance to challenge Senator Jennifer Beck and Assemblywomen Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande in the general election.

For Senate, former Assemblyman Michael Panter is in the running. Amy Quinn of Asbury Park, the County Vice-Chair and municipal chair is gathering support, as is Asbury Park Mayor Ed Johnson.

Red Bank Councilman Michael Dupont and Freehold Borough Councilman Jay Sims are also in the mix for Senate.

For Assembly, Kevin McMillan, Randy Bishop and Jason Jones, all of Neptune Township are in the mix, as is Red Bank Councilwoman Sharon Lee and Santiago of Freehold Township.  Vin Gopal of Long Branch is considering a bid.

12th Legislative District: As busy as the Democrats are the the 11th is as quiet as they are the the 12th.  As of this writing, the Monmouth Dems might let the Ocean and Middlesex Democrats nominate the candidates for this district.

13th Legislative District.  No one wants to run against Joe Kyrillos for Senate, but some Democrats are trying to coax former Judge, Senator, Freeholder and Parole Board Chairman John D’Amico of Oceanport to come out of retirement one more time.

For Assembly in the 13th, former Hazlet Mayor Kevin Lavan and Atlantic Highlands Councilman Roy Dellosso are the likely nominees to challenge GOP incumbents Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon.

The 30th Legislative District is the only slate that is settled for the Democrats.  Steve Morlino of Howell Township will be making yet another run against Senator Robert Singer. Rabbi Howard Kleinhendler, who ran against Chris Smith for Congress last year will run for Assembly.  Point Pleasant Borough Councilman Shaun O’Rourke will complete the Assembly ticket in the 30th.

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Lessons From The Freeholder Selection Process

Dispatches From San Juan

First the candidate pushed by the party bosses didn’t win.  Of course I am not sure which candidate was being pushed by the party bosses because different candidates where pushed by different bosses.  Actually the lesson is, there are no more “Bosses”. The process was fair and relatively democratic without some of the histrionics that took place when the process of candidate selection was first opened up.  Yes the chairman had a candidate he preferred as did certain elected officials.  Guess what.  They are allowed to voice an opinion. Just because they do does not mean their candidate is being pushed down our throat.  So there you have it.  All you conspiracy theorists can now go home. Please.

Second we learned some people are better at building coalitions then other people.

In case anyone hasn’t notice there is one guy who seems to be really good at it. Jim “the Shadow” Gianell (visit http://monmouth-bull-moose.blogspot.com/2008/04/who-knows-what-evil-lurks-in-hearts-of.html/ to learn how he earned that moniker) also known by his friends simply as the Greek.

In the last ten years Jim has only failed to back the winner once.  That was John Curley in his second run.  Here is a guy who isn’t even a municipal chairman, holds no elected office, has no cushy government appointments yet he gets people nominated.  Rich tried to get the nomination twice and failed.  It was not until he got Gianell’s support that he got the nomination. 

How does he do it?  He appears to have the confidence of a lot of people and he is good at convincing people to back his candidate. He did this first as the architect of the once influential Two Rivers Chairman Group and more recently by working with like minded chairmen scattered about the County.  He also is a tireless worker for “his Guy or Gal”.

It seems that if you want to get the Monmouth GOP’s backing Jim Gianell is the guy to go see.

TR

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Monmouth County Ahead of the Curve

Celebrating Monmouth’s GOP Women during Women’s History Month

By Christine Giordano Hanlon, Esq., Monmouth County Republican State Committeewoman

This is not your grandfather’s Republican Party…at least not in Monmouth County.  For years, women have been making big strides within our party as elected officials, local party leaders and activists.  While the number of women in elected office is generally on the decline, Monmouth County Republican women continue to move ahead with the backing of party leadership both at the local, County and State level.

Monmouth’s GOP women have a strong presence in State government, perhaps the strongest of all of the 21 counties.  Former Sheriff Kim Guadagno made history when she was elected to serve as the first Lieutenant Governor in 2009.  In the legislature, 36% of the female Republican legislators are from Monmouth County.  Senator Jennifer Beck (D-12) is one of only three female Republicans in the State Senate.  Of the eight Republican women in the State Assembly, three call Monmouth County home.   Mary Pat Angelini, Caroline Casagrande and Amy Handlin represent Monmouth County’s 11th, 12th and 13th Districts, respectively.  

At the County level, two of the three Monmouth County constitutional officers are Republican women.  County Clerk M. Claire French and Surrogate Rosemarie Peters have served the citizens of Monmouth County for many years.  Freeholder Lillian Burry has been a trailblazer for women across our County, having served as Mayor of Colts Neck, Freeholder since 2006 and the first woman in County history to serve as Freeholder Director in 2008.  And the Republican controlled Board of Freeholders have appointed women to some of the most important positions in our County – County Counsel, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board.

In our towns, Monmouth Republican women serve as local elected officials, Municipal Chairs and grass roots activists.  Mayors Nancy Grbelja (Millstone), Ann Marie Conte (Wall), Janet Tucci (West Long Branch), and many more GOP women serving on the governing bodies of 23 of our 53 municipalities, have demonstrated that Republican women are electable leaders who are making significant contributions to local government.  Approximately 30% of our 53 local Municipal Chairs are women, a number that has grown dramatically in the past three years.  Women have also taken on leadership roles in volunteer efforts, spending countless hours doing the ground work on campaigns and forcefully advocating on important issues. Their efforts help advance the success of our party at every level of government.

Monmouth County’s Republican Women’s Federation is the one of the strongest and fastest growing county Federations in the State of New Jersey, boasting an increase in membership from 49 members in 2007 to 200 members in 2010.  In addition, for the first time in the history of the Monmouth County Affiliated Republican Club, traditionally the male counterpart to the Women’s Federation, a woman was elected Vice President in 2011.

March is National Women’s History month.  It is the perfect time to recognize both the Republican women who have accomplished so much, and the County and local party leadership that supports them.  Monmouth County’s Republican Party is certainly ahead of the curve with respect to women in government, and it is with great respect and admiration that I congratulate all of the Monmouth GOP women who have stepped up to lead, to inspire, to serve.  I am very proud to be a Monmouth County Republican.

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Burnham Quits. Burry Blasts Him

By Art Gallagher

Peter Burnham resigned the presidency of Brookdale Community College yesterday in a defiant letter to the college board of trustees that touted his accomplishments.  His said his resignation should not be construed as an admission of wrong doing, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press. Burnham said he was confident that his good reputation would be preserved.

Freeholder Lillian Burry blasted Burnham with the strongest language that any official has yet to use to condemn the disgraced college president’s excessive compensation and spending irregularities:

“He disgraced himself in the eyes of his students, in the eyes of his peers, in the eyes of everyone who believed in his vision for Brookdale and every Monmouth County taxpayer,” Burry said. “He has to be held accountable for his actions.”

Burry also backed off her previous support of the college board.

“They did allow this to happen,” she said. “They created the environment that allowed Peter Burnham to become untouchable. Everyone believed in what he was doing and there was no oversight.”

Freeholder Deputy Director John Curley called upon the Board of Trustees to resign, saying that they are policing themselves which is unacceptable.  Freeholder Director Rob Clifton said that he expected that board members would voluntarily resign.

Across the aisle, Democratic Freeholder Amy Mallet was relatively quiet with the APP, deferring to her potential running mate, former Middletown Committeeman Sean Byrnes who ran for Freeholder against Curley in 2009.

The apparent lack of fiscal oversight at Brookdale is probably not unique to the college, Byrnes said Tuesday.

“Hopefully, the county will take this example and, perhaps, consider doing audits and investigations into some of the (other) boards they have ? library, parks,” he said.

Burry met with approximately 45 members of the Bayshore Tea Party Group last evening where she was very well received.  Charles Measley, a GOP county committee member from Rumson and active BTPG member who attends Brookdale was particularly pleased with Burry.  “I went into the meeting thinking Burry was a RINO, but came away impressed by how conservative she really is,” Measley said,  “regarding Brookdale, she told us of Burnham’s departure and assured us that there would be additional house cleaning.”

Barbara Gonzalez, BTPG founder, said that Burry was extremely impressive and that some of the group’s members thought she should run for higher office.

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The Politics Of The Brookdale Scandal

By Art Gallagher

The controversy over Brookdale Community College President Peter Burnham’s compensation and spending habits has given Democratic Freeholder Amy Mallet an issue to run on in her reelection bid. Mallet has picked up the ball and run with it.

The Brookdale issue should be a positive for Republicans.  Republican Freeholder John Curley first identified and raised the issue which led to Burnham’s suspension last week.  But while Mallet has gotten out front with the issue by calling for college chairman Howard Birdsall’s resignation and calling for term limits for Brookdale trustees, Republican Freeholder Lillian Burry, who is also up for reelection this year, has been far less aggressive. 

Mallet has made headlines, here, here and here calling for Birdsall’s resignation and greater oversight of the Brookdale board, while Burry has been supportive of the board.

Burry told the Asbury Park Press, “At this point they (the Brookdale trustees) need our support,” Burry said, adding that the board of trustees moved swiftly to address the situ­ation.

Seriously Lillian?  They should have moved swiftly.  But how long has this been going on?  Where else in county government is excessive spending going on?  The Library?  The Park System?  Nursing homes?  The vocational school system?

The Brookdale trustees should be supported in this difficult time….by their friends and families….not by a Freeholder who is charged by the taxpayers with overseeing government operations and making sure our dollars are spent prudently.  

Burry needs to decide who she is; friend or Freeholder.  If she’s a friend, she needs to get out of the way and let someone else take her spot on the GOP ticket this year.  If she is a Freeholder, she needs to step up her game.  Over the last couple of weeks Burry gave Mallet’s career new life and Mallet is making the most of it. 

Prior to the Brookdale scandal, few political observers gave Mallet much of a chance at reelection.  Now she is in the game.  This could lead to stronger Democrats stepping up to run for county and legislative office. It could make it easier for the Democrats to raise money.  It could make what was looking to be a boring Republican rout this year become a competive election season.

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Kyrillos Calls for Firing of CWA Workers in ‘Sick-Out’ That Left 174 Disabled Residents Stranded

Middletown-  In response to an apparent ‘sick-out’ staged by Monmouth County SCAT bus drivers, Senator Joe Kyrillos (R- Monmouth/Middlesex) called for the immediate firing of the 17 CWA workers involved:

“It is outrageous that 174 disabled and elderly clients who depend on SCAT were stranded by what appears to be a coordinated effort by employees to disrupt service without notice,” said Kyrillos.  “The actions of these workers is completely unbecoming of any public servant, and should make every taxpayer in Monmouth County furious.  CWA, the union representing these employees, needs to denounce their members for putting the well-being of these vulnerable individuals at risk, and the employees in question should be fired.”

Seventeen SCAT workers, including fourteen bus drivers for the developmentally disabled and senior citizens, took sick leave with no notice on Friday, February 25th- the same day as a coordinated demonstration organized by labor leaders at the State Capitol.  Service was disrupted for 174 clients who take SCAT buses to medical appointments or work.

“The rights of workers to demonstrate, protest, and take appropriate leave from work for personal purposes are not disputed,” Kyrillos stated.  “However, it is not their right to abuse sick leave and disrupt a system many people have come to rely on.  In fact, it is a breach of contract and should be punished to the fullest extent possible.  This type of behavior not only hurts the people SCAT serves, it harms the reputation of all public workers.”

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Gate Crasher

Guess who showed up uninvited to an intimate gathering of Monmouth County Republican leaders at the home of Diane and Mickey Gooch on Tuesday evening.

The invitation only event was first intended to introduce those invited to Sam Raia, the new NJ GOP chairman.  Raia cancelled on Monday, but the Gooches went ahead with the event in order for their friends to get to meet Monmouth County Freeholder contenders Andrew Lucas, George Newberry and Gary Rich.

Someone showed up uninvited.  I bet you guess who it was on the first try.

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Curley Calls For Review Of Brookdale’s Budget

Community college is seeking an 8.2 percent tuition increase

FREEHOLD, NJ – Freeholder Deputy Director John P. Curley today called for a public review of Brookdale Community College’s 2011-12 budget after learning about expensive memberships and a housing allowance for college President Peter F. Burnham.

“While I am appalled at the contract Dr. Burnham was given, I can’t help but wonder what other extravagances are in that budget,” said Curley, liaison to Brookdale. “It’s time we go through Brookdale’s budget line by line to see not just what the president is spending, but the other departments as well. A good hard look at waste in all public colleges and universities is long overdue.”

Last week, Brookdale’s Board of Trustees approved a $99,166,064 budget that contains an 8.2 percent tuition increase. Burnham blamed the need for the increase on a Board of Chosen Freeholders’ decision to reduce funding to Brookdale this year by $6 million. The freeholders had understood that Brookdale would be able to achieve the cut without resorting to a tuition increase.

Brookdale operates on a fiscal-year. Its budget, for 2011-12, must be approved by the freeholders when the Board of School Estimate meets sometime in March.

Burnham receives an annual salary of $216,000, but is allotted another $39,000 for annual  memberships, an $18,000 housing allowance and a $27,000 vehicle.

“I will be voting no on Brookdale’s budget if it contains a tuition increase,” said Curley, who sits on the Brookdale Board of School Estimate. “It is offensive to me that Dr. Burnham is seeking a tuition increase or more county funding when taxpayers are subsidizing his housing costs and private club memberships. I don’t know how he can look students in the eyes and ask for more money.”

Curley noted that the freeholders are trying to get the county budget down to a point where there will be no tax increase this year. The county budget is separate from Brookdale’s budget.

“Freeholders and staff have been squeezing savings out of budgets in each of the last three years, and we are always looking for new revenue sources or alternate methods of paying for county services,” Curley said. “Brookdale, however, has chosen to raise tuition and blame the county for cutting its funding when the college is sitting on $13.8 million in surplus. It’s disgraceful.”

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One more thing about by-laws

By Art Gallagher

While researching county committees and the question of by-laws this week I stumbled upon an interesting provision in the unconstitutional amendment to NJSA 19:5-3.2 that creates a significant incentive for county parties to create by-laws.

In Monmouth County we elect county committee members and the Chairman every two years.   In trying to find the law that set those terms, I couldn’t find it.  The terms of committee members and chairmen does not appear to be spelled out clearly anywhere in the law.  I consulted an expert election law attorney figuring he would have the answer on his finger tips.  After an hour searching the Intenet together over the phone, we still couldn’t find it.

Title 19 refers to annual elections but it isn’t clear.  My election law expert found a case going back to the 1960’s that could be interepted to require annual elections.

I confess that my first thought upon this discovery was somewhat selfish.

Last year, due to the same snafu in the primary ballot printing that placed Dan Peters for Sheriff under Anna Little for Congress, making the Sheriff primary an unexpected race, county committee challengers in Highlands were also bracketed with Little.

I knew my county committee slate was in trouble as soon as I saw the ballot.  Early on in the process Chairman Oxley assured me that the challengers would be in the Siberian section of the ballot.   That I was supporting Little over Gooch for Congress was no secret.  I had raised the question of bracketing the incumbent committee with Little in the primary because I expected her to win Highlands, which she did.   Oxley assured me that the challengers would not be bracketed with Little and the committee that I led submitted our petitions under Gooch and the rest of the county line.

I know this wasn’t a dirty trick on Oxley’s part because he was more surprised and upset by the ballot as I was. Not so much because of the Higlands bracketing, but because of the Dan Peters for Sheriff bracketing under Little.  Suddenly Shaun Golden for Sheriff lawn signs had to be rush ordered and placed throughout the 6th congressional district.

We weren’t going to buy four different sets of lawn signs for a county committee primary in Highlands that less than 200 people were going to vote in.  But we did spent the weekend before the primary on the phone asking historical primary voters to cast a vote for Little for Congress and then move to the left and vote the county line for the rest of the ballot.  Those hundreds of voice mails that said, “Please vote Anna Little for Congress in column B and then move to the left to column A and vote for Shaun Golden for Sheriff, Clifton and Arnone for Freeholder, Frank Nolan for Mayor and our local county committee team” must have sounded pretty weird to the people who listened to them.  The messages didn’t work and the challengers won the primary on Little’s coat tails.

Discovering that the terms of committee members weren’t defined by law and what little law there was pointed to annual elections, it occurred to me to have my committee team in Highlands file petitions this year two minutes before the filing deadline.

If the clerk accepted our petitions and put us on the ballot, and if everyone kept their mouths shut, the current Highlands committee wouldn’t even know that they were about to be voted out until they got their sample ballots in the mail.  This was fun fantasy.

But if the clerk said, “there’s no county committee election this year,”  and I said, “there should be, let’s go to see Judge Lawson,” word would get out we’d waste a bunch of time and money.

If I prevailed, either in court or by the clerk accepting the petitions and putting us on the ballot, the victory would be short lived and all hell could break lose through out the county and as unhappy Republicans and Tea Party activists tried to take over the party every year.  We could have a different county chairman every year.  It could lead to chaos and ultimately Democratic control of the county government.

All of that went through my head in less time than it took for you to read it while I was on the phone and the Internet with my election law expert friend when I remembered reading in the Ocean County Republican By-Laws that the the term of county committee members in Ocean is four years.

“Hey election law attorney friend,” I said, ” the Ocean County By-Laws say that the terms of county committee members are four years, what’s up with that?”

Back to the unconstitutional statute we went and there is was….the new law passed by Corzine and the legislature provides that county committee terms are determined by committee by-laws.

That seems to be a pretty good reason to have by-laws.

Maybe we’ll have by-laws by the primary filing deadline.  If not, we might have some fun in Highlands after all.

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MANALAPAN MAYOR LUCAS ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR MONMOUTH COUNTY FREEHOLDER

Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas announced today that he will seek the Republican nomination for Monmouth County Freeholder.

“I am proud to announce my candidacy for the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders today,” said Lucas. “Prior Freeholders have set a tradition of fiscal responsibility and visionary planning, making Monmouth County one of the best places in America to live, work or visit. I intend to build upon this tradition and I believe my experience makes me the best candidate to do so.”

Lucas, a lifelong Monmouth County resident who was raised on a working farm in Manalapan, cited his broad life experience as a major asset.

“In these difficult economic times, I believe my education and finance background is definitely a major asset. I think my record in Manalapan of cutting over $2 million in wasteful spending and being at the forefront of sharing services to create more efficiency in government bears that out. I also know being raised on a farm, as well as now owning my own farm, has given me an appreciation for hard work and a respect for the environment that will allow me to serve the people of Monmouth County well.”

Mayor Lucas is a principal owner of Lucas Capital Advisors, an investment management firm. He has a degree in Economics from Princeton University. He is also the owner of Walnut Grove Farm in Manalapan. He has served on the Manalapan Township Committee since 2005, during which he has served three terms as Mayor.

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