The Monmouth County Democrats held their nominating convention last Monday night at the IBEW Local 400 union hall in Wall Township. However, as of Saturday March 28, no Democratic candidates for Assembly from the four districts that include Monmouth County have filed their nominating petitions with the New Jersey Division of Elections.
The nominating petitions are due with the Divisions of Elections by Monday, March 30th at 4 p.m. Should no candidates file petitions with 100 valid signatures, the Democratic nominations for Assembly will be up for grabs to write-in candidates in the June 2 primary.
There has been radio silence from Monmouth Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal’s office and on his blog since the convention on Monday. Even MMM’s spies at the convention have been mum. The silence has lead many Republicans to speculate that Vin has a problem.
Updated:Former Marlboro GOP Chairman Christopher Dean wants the world to know that Councilman Scalea was never a Republican and that he has proof from the Board of Elections. Dean says that MMM is spreading Mayor Hornik’s lies and that facts don’t matter on this site. He said he’s going to spread the word at some meetings he has coming up.
Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik
Desperate to be a player and for a victory of any kind, Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal told a gathering of statewide Democrats in Freehold on Wednesday evening that Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik’s reelection race is his top priority this year, according to report on PolitickerNJ.
Marlboro is a Republican town. Year after year the Township’s voters break for Republicans for Freeholder, County Constitutional offices, State Legislature, Governor, Congress, Senate and President.
Yet Hornik leads a municipal government that on paper is Democratic. The reality is that Hornik’s administration is dominated by former Republicans who left a dysfunctional local GOP at the mayor’s urging.
Hornik, whose father Saul was mayor of the community from 1980-1991, was first elected in 2007 in a race remembered for incumbent Republican Robert Kleinberg distributing flyers implying that he had been endorsed by NJ 101.5’s morning host Jim Gearhart. Gearhart and Gannett columnist Bob Ingle , then media leaders of the GRIP (Get Rid of Incumbent Politicians) movement, went ballistic on Kleinberg. Kleinberg imploded during a live radio interview wherein he explained the flyers were not meant to imply an endorsement, but as a way to show his kids that people were saying nice things about him.
The Monmouth County Democrats will hold a “mini-convention” this evening at the IBEW Local 400 Union Hall in Wall Township to formally nominate their slate of County and Legislative candidates for the June 2 primary.
Jeanne Cullinane is challenging Assembly Members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon in the 13th legislative district
MMM has learned that Hazlet Board of Education member Tom Herman will be a candidate for Assembly in the 13th legislative district, challenging incumbent Republicans Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon. Joining Herman on the Democratic ticket in the 13th will be Jeanne Cullinane, also of Hazlet, a political newcomer.
Monmouth County Chairman Vin Gopal has previously announced on his blog that Neptune Township Zoning Board Member Carol Rizzo will challenge incumbent Republican Freeholder John Curley. There has been speculation that Rizzo was seperated at birth from Rumson Democratic Chairman and former Democratic candidate for Surrogate, Michael Steinhorn.
Monmouth County Democratic insiders tell MMM that all Monmouth County and Legislative Republicans except Assemblywomen Caroline Casagrande and Mary Pat Angelini will essentially get a free pass to election this year as Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal has been unable to recruit candidates or raise money for the legislative races in legislative districts 12, 13 and 30, or the County Offices of Freeholder and Clerk.
Gopal is expected to leave the candidate recruitment in LDs 12 and 30 to the other counties included in those districts. The 30th district, currently represented in the Assembly by Republicans Dave Rible and Sean Kean, has 12 towns in Monmouth County and two in Ocean County. Seven of the fourteen towns in the 12th district are on Monmouth County. The other seven are split between Burlington, Ocean and Middlesex Counties. The 12th district is represented by Republicans Ron Dancer and Rob Clifton.
Gopal’s trial balloon last December of making a second run for Assembly in the 11th himself( he ran in 2011) went over like the Hindenburg with State Democrats, other County Chairs and Special Interest donors who he had convinced that the money they invested in Monmouth County last year would lead to a pick up of Freeholder seats.
Giuseppe “Joe” Grillo, a Democratic candidate for Monmouth County Freeholder last year, has accepted a position as Director of Development at the New Jersey Audubon Society.
Working out of the non-profit’s Bernardsville headquarters, Grillo will be responsible for operations management, supervision of staff members overseeing membership, gift entry and prospect research. He will collaborate with the VP of Development in designing and implementing a fundraising strategy.
Monmouth Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal’s blog has not reported whether Grillo will be commuting over an hour each way to Bernardsville from his current home in Asbury Park or if he will move to the Somerset County town where there are no parking meters. During his campaign for Freeholder last year, Grillo complained that it is impossible to live in downtown Asbury Park without getting parking tickets. Starbuck’s, where Grillo’s wife works as a manager, has a store in Bernardsville. A shorter commute and free parking may prove compelling to the couple should the job work out for Joe.
To be honest, I’ve had a draft of an article like this on my desktop since before Christmas. But the recent article about John Heyer, AKA Vin Gopal, AKA Monmouth County Democrat Chair has created an opportunity to tie the current matter into the above issues.
Integrity as one dictionary describes it is “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.” That was the point of exposing Vin Gopal as a real person behind Jersey Shore Insider. It was a lie of omission, for if the real truth were known about the editorial bend of the Jersey Shore Insider blog, one would be able to put it all in context.
One of the tip off’s that something was fishy was finding out that John Heyer was a Democrat Freeholder who died in 1905. No one in Holmdel knew of John Heyer, nor was he found in any public records. That wasn’t too smart of a move Mr. Gopal. It raised a flag. Furthermore, that Gopal has not replied to MMM with a comment should raise a flag with you; telling you that a) he got caught and b) he’s got something to hide.
Monmouth County Democratic Freeholder Candidate Lawrence W. Luttrell, like all bullies, can dish it out but he can’t take it.
The litigiouslunger has spent two years campaigning for Freeholder (he came in last in 2013 and is heading that way again this year) by lying and distorting the records of his opponents, particularly over the farmland preservation deal involving Andrew Lucas. Yet when the truth about his own inglorious past gets revealed, Luttrell threatens legal action.
At the candidates forum sponsored by Lincroft Village Green last week in Middletown, Freeholder Director Lillian Burry was so upset that Luttrell blamed her for Operation Bid Rig that she would not shake his hand after the debate. “You’re taking this stuff too personally,” Burry reported Luttrell as saying.
At issue are Monmouth GOP radio ads and robo calls that refer to Luttrell and his running mate, Giuseppe “Joe” Grillo, as “Lawbreakers” and announce that Luttrell’s law license was “suspended” and “taken away.”
In recent days MMM has been contacted by readers with horror stories involving their personal and professional dealings with Monmouth County Democratic Freeholder Candidate Lawrence W. Luttrell.
Each person spoke of substantial financial losses, shattered dreams, intimidation and fear of Luttrell’s bullying tactics.
Luttrell wants to be a Monmouth County Freeholder; one of five elected officials responsible for overseeing a $500 million county government with 3300 employees that provides roads, public safety and law enforcement, health and human services, parks and recreation, a world class library system, vocational schools, senior services and much more.
For the people we’ve talked to, the thought of Luttrell in a position of power is frightening.
If you have a Larry Luttrell horror story, or know someone who does, and are willing to share it, please contact Art Gallagher at [email protected] quickly. Your identity can be kept confidential if you so choose.
Monmouth County Democratic Freeholder candidates Lawrence Luttrell and Giuseppe “Joe” Grillo have been saying on the stump that, should they be elected, they would govern the way they campaigned.
Given their latest campaign mailer, Luttrell and Grillo are promising to govern with trickery and deceit.
Democratic Freeholder Candidates recount their arrests, Threaten Blogger
By Art Gallagher
Democratic Freeholder Candidates Giuseppe “Joe” Grillo and Lawrence Luttrell talked about their arrests at the Lincroft Village Green candidates forum
Monmouth County Democratic Freeholder Candidate Lawrence W. Luttrell continued his assault on Freeholder Director Lillian Burry’s character tonight at a candidates forum in Middletown.
“There have been 10 indictments since Lillian Burry has been in office,” Luttrell declared at a League of Women Voters moderated debate sponsored by the Lincroft Village Green Association at the Lincroft Elementary School. “Monmouth County has a corruption problem, ” he said.
Luttrell rattled off 10 names, starting with former Freeholder Harry Larrison and six other Operation Bid Rig defendants who were arrested in February of 2005.
“Those people were gone before I got there,” Burry angrily shot back at Luttrell.
Burry was first elected to the Freeholder Board in November of 2005, nine months after the Operation Bid Rig arrests.
Monmouth County Democratic Freeholder candidates Lawrence Luttrell and Giuseppe “Joe” Grillo have been saying on the stump that, should they be elected, they would govern the way they campaigned.