Conte and Doyle Are Running For Freeholder

Wall Township Mayor Anne Marie Conte

Wall Township Mayor Anne Marie Conte and Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle are candidates to fill the Freeholder seat being vacated by Freeholder Director Rob Clifton upon his swearing in to the State Assembly.

Conte and Doyle join Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso and Howell Mayor Bob Walsh as candidates in the Republican County Committee election which will take place on January 14th.   Both Conte and Doyle were reelected to their current offices earlier this month.

Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle

Doyle confirmed to MMM that he is throwing his hat in the ring, saying, “I think I can do a lot for Monmouth County.”   Conte was not immediately available.  Multiple reliable sources told MMM that she is “definitely” running.   The sources said that Conte was running for the vacant seat at the urging of Freeholder Lillian Burry.

Burry confirmed her support of Conte.  “Anne Marie is exceptionally competent and intelligent.  I’ve been impressed with her enthusiasm and the job she has done in Wall,” said Burry, “she would make an outstanding Freeholder, but must first get through the process of the convention.”

The Monmouth County Affilated Republican Club’s website mentions Manalapan Deputy Mayor Ryan Green, Manalapan businessman Joe Ficalora, Keyport Chairman Bob Burlew, Hazlet Mayor Scott Aagre, and former Freeholder Bill Barham as possible candidates.

The County GOP’s official website has an announcement urging potential candidates to call Chairman Joe Oxley as soon as possible at 732-431-6664.

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DiBella Not Running, Strongly Supports Walsh For Freeholder

Former Howell Mayor Joe DiBella said that he will not be a candidate for Freeholder and that he strongly supports current Howell Mayor Bob Walsh for the post.   DiBella said that he and Walsh, formerly political adversaries, have become close friends.

Walsh and Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso are the currently declared candidates to fill the vacancy caused by Freeholder Director Rob Clifton’s election to the State Assembly.  A new Freeholder will be elected at a Republican County Committee convention on January 14, 2012.  The winner will take office immediately and will have to defend the seat in the 2012 and 2013 general elections.

Other candidates mentioned by party leaders or said to be considering a bid include Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle, Affiliated Republican Club Vice President Bob Burlew of Keyport, former Middletown Committeeman Tom Wilkens,  Manalapan Deputy Mayor Ryan Green, Freehold Township Deputy Mayor Anthony Ammiano and Wall Committeeman George Newberry.

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DiMaso To Enter The Freeholder Race

Holmdel Mayor Patrick Impreveduto, Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso and Senator Joe Kyrillos at a June 2010 fundraiser. Photo credit: livingmedia.com

Holmdel Deputy Mayor told MMM that she intends to inform GOP Chairman Joe Oxley that she will be a candidate for Rob Clifton’s seat on the Monmouth County Freeholder Board this week.

DiMaso said she has garnered the support of many Monmouth County Republican leaders, including Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, and that she is 100% committed to becoming a Freeholder in this, her third attempt at seeking the office.

DiMaso lost the 2005 nomination to Lillian Burry and the 2008 nomination to John Curley.  She said she is excited about the prospect of being Curley’s running mate in November and hopes to have his support at the January 14th Monmouth GOP convention which will elect Clifton’s successor.  Clifton, the current Freeholder Director, is vacating his seat in order to be sworn into the State Assembly, which he was elected to on November 8.

2011 GOP Freeholder contenders: Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas, Howell Mayor Bob Walsh, Wall Committeeman George Newberry and Freeholder-elect Gary Rich. Photo credit Rhoda Chodosh

In what is sure to be an interesting undercurrent of the race to fill the vacancy, DiMaso says she has the support of Howell Municipal Chairman John Costigan.  Howell Mayor Bob Walsh, who has won his races in Howell as an Independent, is the other declared candidate in the Freeholder race.  Walsh sought the nomination in 2011, losing to now Freeholder-elect Gary Rich.

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Freeholder Election To Be Held On January 14th

Field of Candidates Looks To Be Widening

By Art Gallagher

The Republican County convention  to elect a Monmouth County Freeholder to fill the coming vacancy caused by Freeholder Director Rob Clifton’s ascension to the State Assembly will be held on Saturday January 14th, according to GOP Chairman Joe Oxley.  The location and exact time has yet to be determined.

A quorum, 50% plus 1, of all Republican County Committee members, as certified by the Superintendent of Elections, must be present for the election to be to be official.

Howell Mayor Bob Walsh is a candidate.   Those considering entering the race include Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso, former Freeholder Bill Barham, Wall Committee member George Newberry, Keyport Councilman Bob Burlew, Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle, Manalapan Deputy Mayor Ryan Green, former Middletown Committee member Tom Wilkens and former Howell Mayor Joe DiBella.

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Fiore Will Not Be A Candidate For Freeholder

By Art Gallagher

Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore, fresh off his reelection to his second term on the Middletown Township Committee, says he will not be a candidate to fill Freeholder Director Rob Clifton’s seat early next year.

Earlier this week, Politickernj reported that there was a “major push” to get Fiore to enter the race.  Fiore said he has been receiving overtures from various county leaders to run for months, that he has a great deal of respect for the current Republican Freeholders and that it would be an honor to serve with them.  However, running in a county-wide campaign for two consecutive years after just having completed a campaign in Middletown is not in the cards given his family and career obligations.  The Fiore’s have a 4 year old and a one year old.  Tony was recently promoted in his job at Prudential Financial Services.

Clifton was elected to the State Assembly two weeks ago. He will take office in Trenton at noon on the second Tuesday in January and must resign as Freeholder before he joins the Assembly.  Clifton’s replacement will be elected at a convention of the entire Monmouth County Republican Committee.  The winner of the convention will take office immediately and be expected to defend the seat in the November 2012 general election and again in 2013 at the scheduled expiration of the term.

The current contenders are Howell Mayor Bob Walsh, Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso and Manalapan Deputy Mayor Ryan Green.

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Monmouth GOP May Face Tougher Election Than Expected

By Art Gallagher

Throughout the spring and summer the conventional wisdom has been that the Monmouth GOP will not face serious challenges in legislative and county races of 2011.   2011 is supposed to be a “good Republican year.”

It still could turn out that way. Probably will.  But MMM has learned that the Democrats think they have unexpected opportunities.

On the legislative level, the Trenton Democratic machine has taken interest in the new 11th district. 

Back in April after the new legislative map was released the Democrats were scrambling to field a slate of candidates.  No Democratic elected officials would challenge Republican incumbents Senator Jennifer Beck or Assemblywomen Caroline Casagrande and Mary Pat Angelini.  Now the Democrats think the 11th is in play and will dedicate financial and human resources to elect Ray Santiago to the Senate and Marilyn Schlossbach and Vin Gopal to the Assembly.

Both sides fear that Independent Assembly candidate Dan Jacobson will draw votes away from them and could end up being a spoiler.   In his column in last week’s triCityNews, Jacobson said that he expected to take votes from both sides and that he would need 20% of the voters to cast an uninformed protest vote for him in order to win a seat.  Jacobson said he expects Beck, Casagrande and Angelini to prevail in November.

On the county level, the Democrats are planning a character assassination on Freeholder Lillian Burry.  They will allege conflicts of interest on Burry’s part going back to her tenure as Mayor of Colts Neck and continuing in Freehold.

Game on.

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If you’re still here tomorrow….

…..are not among the only 3,000,000 people Rapture believers say will ascend to heaven…

When: The opening is this Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 10 A.M.

Where: Our new address is 2 Monmouth Avenue, Freehold, New Jersey 07728.

Bagels, doughnuts, and coffee will be served!

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Lucas Will Run In the New 12th

By Art Gallagher

Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas will be a candidate for the state legislature in the GOP primary from the new 12th district.

Lucas, who will make a formal announcement tomorrow, said he would defer to Assembly incumbents Sam Thompson and Ronald Dancer should either seek the vacant Senate seat.  In such case Lucas will run for Assembly.  Should neither incumbent Assemblyman run for Senate, Lucas will seek that seat.

Lucas said that he will not compete with Freeholder Director Rob Clifton for the Monmouth GOP line with the screening committee, but would  take the race to a primary.

“I think this will be fun and reinvigorate the western portion of the Monmouth GOP,” said the Mayor.

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Photo Finish

By Art Gallagher

The race for the Monmouth GOP nomination for Freeholder is coming down to the wire.  The only safe bet at this point is that Howell Mayor Bob Walsh will not be the nominee.  A late entry into the race, Walsh has impressed on the stump, but this is not his year.  He has a future in county or state politics, if he wants it.  Elected in Howell as an Independent, Walsh needs to build support within the Republican party in order to secure a nomination on a higher than municipal level.

The race as it stands now is a nail biter between Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas, Wall Committeeman George Newberry and Spring Lake Councilman Gary Rich.  Tonight’s speeches at the Monmouth County Affilitated Club’s candidates night ( Lakeside Manor, Rt 36, Hazlet, 6PM) will be delivered with the hope of closing the few undecided delegates and picking off delegates with “soft” commitments.  A gaffe or a home run tonight could determine the nomination.  Not that I want to create any pressure for the candidates.

Rich has emerged from the “oh him again” candidate to a tenacious contender.  He has earned the respect of many and the admiration of his competitors.  His presentation skills are strong.  Rank and file Republicans and Tea Party groups both like him.   If Rich wins the nomination it will be from the strength of his support from the municipal chairs, especially from the smaller coastal and bayshore towns.

Newberry is a solid guy.  Honest, hardworking, dependable.  A team player.  While not yet comfortable on the county stage, George, if nominated will be a strong candidate in the general election against Democratic incumbent Amy Mallet and Sean Byrnes, if Byrnes is the Democratic nominee.   If Byrnes runs for the legislature, Newberry is even stronger in the general.

Lucas is a proven winner in  rough and tumble Manalapan politics.  He is Lillian Burry’s first choice for a running mate. He has strong support in among chairs in the western part of the county.  Andrew has run for Freeholder before, losing to Barbara McMorrow in 2006 when she was a Democrat.  The is no shame in losing to McMorrow and losing a countywide race is no longer a disqualification for seeking another shot.  Mallet lost an Assembly bid before winning her Freeholder seat and John Curley was successful in his second try for Freeholder.

The Monmouth GOP is fortunate to have such a deep bench of qualified candidates.  Each of the four gentlemen pursuing the nomination this year could win the general election and serve with distinction.   The close race is an indication of the difficulty of the choice.

The selection committee meets Saturday morning.  MMM will have the result first.

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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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