Political Wards in Asbury Park:  A Great Idea That Won’t Happen

Tom DeSeno

By Thomas DeSeno

Currently, City Council candidates in Asbury Park run “at-large.”  That means the whole City votes for each candidate.

In a Ward system, the City is broken up into neighborhoods.  The people only vote for candidates from their own neighborhood, or Ward.  It ensures that each neighborhood is guaranteed a representative on the Council.  Newark for example has 5 Wards.  You can have a mixed system too, with some Ward candidates and some at-large candidates.

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Trump-haters need to understand something…

By Joe Schilp

Trump-haters need to understand something… Growing up in New Jersey, I remember what New York City was like in the 70s and 80s. Rudy Giuliani went in there and cleaned it up and made it safe for everyone. Rudy was a brilliant politician, though I think when he was mayor he was on his third wife. But I didn’t support Giuliani for my father, I supported him for mayor because he got the job done.

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Who is paying Curley’s Legal Fees? Are Those Fees Campaign Expenses?

Where is John Curley getting $300,000 to $500,000 to pursue his ridiculous lawsuit?

Angelo Genova, $850 per hour

Disgraced Freeholder John P. Curley’s attorneys, Genova Burns, submitted an invoice for $30,483.92 for their work on Curley’s contempt motion only yesterday in federal court.  Curley sued Monmouth County taxpayers, his fellow freeholders, County Administrator Teri O’Connor and County Counsel Michael Fitzgerald late last year in an effort to keep an investigative report into his alleged conduct of employee harassment, sexual and otherwise, from becoming public.

U.S. District Court Judge Brian R. Martinotti dismissed Curley’s 12 count suit (not covered in the $30,483.92 invoice), but held the freeholders in contempt for revealing parts of the report in their Censure and Reprimand Resolution of Curley in December.  Judge Martinotti ruled the County must pay Curley’s legal fees associated with the contempt motion.  The County has appealed the contempt ruling, arguing that the information in the Censure and Reprimand did not come from the investigative report prepared by retired Acting Supreme Court Justice Mary Catherine Cuff.

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O’Scanlon: “This is a crtical moment for our children’s future”

By Senator Declan O’Scanlon

Senator Declan O’Scanlon

So. This is what it’s come to. Incredibly, we just passed one of the largest tax increases in the history of the state…and we’re no more than one, infinitesimal, step closer to sustainable solvency than we were the day before. And trust me, we are very ($ billions) far away. We don’t need infinitesimal steps, we need bold leaps…and we need bold leadership willing to make them.

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Limit Curley’s Legal Fees to $2600

U.S. District Court Judge Brian R. Martinotti ruled yesterday that Monmouth County taxpayers will have to pay disgraced Freeholder John P. Curley’s legal bill from Angelo Genova.

Even though Curley’s legal gymnastics to keep the report of his sexual harassment and bigotry secret was ruled to have no basis, Judge Martinotti ruled that Genova is entitled to get paid by the taxpayers.

Genova should be awarded no more than $2600, the maximum allowable contribution to Curley’s reelection campaign. Curley’s lawsuit was all about his reelection prospects.   He even charged his ride to Court in Trenton to his campaign.

In their opposition to disgraced Curley’s contempt motion, Monmouth County argued that Curley did not have “clean hands” in the matter.

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New Jerseyans Need Tax Relief — Not More Spending and Higher Taxes

By Assemblyman Ned Thomson

Assemblyman Ned Thompson

While New Jersey narrowly avoided a second straight government shutdown, the budget agreement that was achieved at the last minute will have a serious impact on area taxpayers that will be felt for years to come.

As a member of the Assembly Budget Committee, I participated in a number of meetings and listened to hours of testimony on Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed budget that sought to increase spending by more than 7 percent and raise taxes by $1.7 billion. Gov. Murphy and the Democrat majority in the Legislature then spent much of the spring and early part of summer arguing over which of our taxes to raise.

Never, it seems, did they consider reducing government spending nor did the conversation appear to focus on reducing the burden on some of the most overtaxed citizens in the country. In fact, during the debate, serious consideration was given to additional tax hikes, including proposals to increase the realty transfer fee and add taxes to short-term home rentals — two ideas that would have dramatically impacted Monmouth and Ocean County residents. Read the rest of this entry »

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Welle Underperforms Against Keady, Smith Overperforms Unopposed

By Art Gallagher

While much of the media is reporting how poorly U.S. Senator Bob Menendez performed in the  Democrat primary yesterday, I couldn’t miss how poorly Josh Welle, address none of your business, performed against former Asbury Park Councilman Jim Keady, Spring Lake, in the 4th congressional district primary.

With all three county party lines, more money and the endorsement of his former landlord, State Senator and honorary volunteer firefighter Vin Gopal, Welle only got 57% of the vote against Keady’s 43%.

Congressman Chris Smith, Hamilton, overperformed expectations, especially given that he was unopposed in the CD-4 Republican primary.

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Murphy could hold sports betting bill as a chip to play in budget negotiations

The William Hill Sports Race & Sports Book at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. Photo By Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO.

Dennis Drazin and his partners at Monmouth Park were ready to accept sports bets on Memorial Day weekend.  They wisely didn’t after Senate President Steve Sweeney announced he was inserting a provision in the state legislation regulating sports betting that would prohibit anyone who took bets before the regulations were passed from getting a license.

Sweeney was looking out for the Atlantic City Casinos who weren’t ready to take bets yet.   In the meantime, Delaware passed their spots betting regulations and bets will start being taken there today.  New Jersey loses out again.

What was considered a two or three week delay while legislation was passed now threatens to deprive New Jersey’s racetracks and casinos of sports betting revenue, and the related jobs, for a third or more of their summer season.  According to a report on Politico, Governor Murphy is prepared to hold the sports betting bill as a chip to play as he negotiates his first state budget with the more moderate Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin.

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Scharfenberger: Proposal to change ‘Freeholder’ to ‘Commissioner’ is wasteful unfunded mandate

By Monmouth County Freeholder Gerry Scharfenberger, PhD

The proposal to change the title “Freeholder” to “Commissioner” is an affront to every taxpayer in this state.

New Jersey residents are being suffocated by an onerous property tax system, companies like Gerber are leaving the state and taking hundreds of jobs with them, a host of taxes are being raised or created and this is what the legislature is wasting its time on?  If this ridiculous proposal goes through, it will cost the counties tens of thousands of dollars to change letterhead, stationery, signage – not to mention the reams of documents in which the term freeholder is embedded.  Read the rest of this entry »

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“Millionaires Tax” Not the NJ Fairy Tale Governor Murphy is Selling

By Rosemary Becchi, J.D., L.L.M.

We all know how the story goes: Steal from the rich and give to the poor.  In the story, it’s noble and righteous for the hero to take these actions.  So, it’s no surprise that Governor Phil Murphy believes he can sell New Jerseyans on an economic proposal known as the “Millionaires Tax”.  Unfortunately, this isn’t a story, and the Millionaires Tax doesn’t steal from the rich to give to the poor.  In fact, it steals from small businesses and gives to the bureaucracy of our state government that has proven unwilling and unable to make tough spending decisions.

Murphy’s story goes something like this: New Jersey will raise the state income tax rate for residents who earn more than $1 million, and this will supposedly produce more than $765 million in new state revenue.  Currently, the state’s personal income tax rate tops out at 8.97 percent on income over $500,000.  Governor Murphy’s proposed Millionaires Tax would increase the marginal tax rate applied to income above $1 million to 10.75 percent.

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