Ocean Township Elections Results Hold

L-R; Donna Schepiga, Margie Donlon, David Fisher, Christopher Siciliano and John Napolitani after the polls closed on May 14

The number of mail-in ballots that arrived at the Monmouth County Board of Elections at the 8PM Thursday deadline is insufficient to alter to unofficial result of the non-partisan Ocean Township municipal election reported  on Tuesday night, MMM as learned.

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Gopal Endorses Dr. Margie Donlon For Ocean Township Council

Senator Vin Gopal has issued his only endorsement in the Ocean Township municipal election for Dr. Margie Donlon.

The senator shared an advance copy of his endorsement letter with MMM. Ocean voters can expect to receive the letter in the mail tomorrow and Saturday.

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Siciliano blamed mystery mailer on Gopal

Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling, Sen Vin Gopal and Mayor Christopher Siciliano

Ocean Township Christopher Siciliano, in a phone interview last week with MMM, blamed an inflammatory piece of campaign mail that was paid for by an unregistered political action committee on Senator Vin Gopal .

“It was probably Vin,” Siciliano said when asked who was behind the mailer which depicted Councilman Rob Acerra as the Texas Chainsaw muderer with a paid for disclosure by “Ocean Taxpayer Coalition, 700 Carol Ave, Oakhurst NJ 07755.”

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Prosecutor To Investigate Ocean Township Property Tax Fraud

Councilman John Napolitani does not deny the fraud when give the opportunity

Councilman John Napolitani did not deny that he is the member of the governing body who directed favorable treatment from the tax department for friends of the community

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating allegations that a member of the Ocean Township governing body had Stephen Gallagher (no relation to this blogger), the Township’s Chief Financial Officer, instruct employees of the Tax Department to remove properties of friends of the community, according to an announcement by Councilman Rob Acerra.

The allegations were made in a lawsuit by Meredith Nelson, Deputy Director of Finance, and first reported by MMM.

Acerra released a letter sent to the Prosecutor requesting the investigation and said he confirmed that the allegations would be investigated.

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Ocean Township Employee Alleges Sexual Harassment and Property Tax Fraud

Mayor Christopher Siciliano downplays the allegations as greed and politics

In a law suit filed on April 22, Meredith Nelson, the Deputy Director of Finance of Ocean Township, alleged that her supervisor, Stephen Gallagher (no relation to the editor of this website), the Director of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of the Township, habitually harassed her and other female employees of the Township.

Ms Nelson charges that the Township Manager, Michael Muscillo, took no action when she first brought the situation to his attention last August, six months into her employment, other than ordering her to take a “pre-employment drug test.  When she complained of the ongoing harassment again in January of this year, Gallagher retaliated by ceasing all communication with her, “intentionally ignoring her existence,” thereby preventing her from doing her job.  Three months latter, in March, Gallagher met with Nelson and and Muscillo to deliver a 12 page employment improvement plan which included instructions on which calculator to use, where her computer monitor and other business equipment was to be placed in her work area and instructions to seek certification as a Tax Collector…a position she explicitly declined in her pre-employment negotiations with the Township.

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Acerra: Siciliano “should consider” getting out of the Ocean Township Council race

Rob Acerra and Victor Ashkenazi

Ocean Township Councilman Rob Acerra responded to the news of Mayor Christopher Siciliano’s threat to a constituent on social media by demanding that Siciliano apologize and consider resigning.  Acerra said that Ocean Township “voters should strongly consider turning the page on the Siciliano era” in the municipal election on May 14.

“Here in Ocean we have a rich history of non-partisanship and civil political discourse,” said Acerra in a statement released early on Monday afternoon. “To see the Mayor acting like a schoolyard bully toward a constituent he is supposed to be representing raises doubts about his ability to lead. He is responsible for the commentary posted on his facebook profile in his name, period. At the very least Chris needs to apologize for these remarks, if not consider dropping out of the race. Voters don’t deserve a Mayor who solves challenges and bridges divides by threatening Ocean residents. We can and must do better.”

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Integrity, Hypocrisy and Lawn Signs: The Ocean Township Silly Season Heats Up

Ocean Township Mayor Christopher Siciliano questioned the integrity of Councilman Rob Acerra over the placement of lawn signs in a video posted on facebook on Saturday.

When a 22 year year old constituent called Siciliano “Mayor Hypocrite” for talking about integrity, he was challenged to meet up like a real man and discuss it behind headquarters.

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County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon Commemorates Ocean Township’s 170th Anniversary

OCEAN TOWNSHIP, NJ – During the Township of Ocean Council Meeting on Feb. 21, Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon made a special presentation to the Mayor and Council to commemorate the Township’s 170^th Anniversary. Clerk Hanlon gave the Mayor and Council a digital reproduction of the first recorded map of the Township which was filed in the Office of the Monmouth County Clerk, 170 years ago, on Feb. 21, 1849.

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Acerra To Seek Reelection in Ocean Township

Ocean Township Councilman Rob Acerra

Ocean Township Councilman Rob Acerra announced today that he is running for a second four year term on the non-partisan Township Council.  The election will be held on May 14.

In his announcement, Acerra said that he is an independent voice for Ocean residents who has been fighting against higher taxes, over-development and for local government transparency.

“For four years, fighting for Ocean Township Residents has been my top priority, and if reelected on May 14, it will continue to be,” Acerra said.  “With all the burdensome taxes and regulations coming from the politicians in Trenton, Ocean Township must continue fighting to keep local taxes stable and bring down the cost of doing business.  It is imperative that we fight to make Ocean Township more affordable for our seniors and families.”

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Ocean Township Police And First Aid Squad Deliver A Baby Girl

Not all police news out of Ocean Township is of drugs, prostitution or shoplifting busts.

Yesterday afternoon Officer Thomas Rant responded to a West Park Avenue residence for a woman in labor.  The woman was full term and having contractions one minute apart, according to a statement by Det. Lt. Timothy Torchia.

The Oakhurst First Aid arrived along with Officers Kevin Donohoe, Phil Jackson and Sergeant Paul Flammia who assisted with the delivery of a baby girl. Both mom and baby were transported to Monmouth Medical Center for further medical care.

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