The Middletown Republican candidates for Township Committee released their first campaign video this afternoon.
The video featuring Committee members Tony Perry, Rick Hibell and Patricia Snell, is a celebration of the Township’s extraordinary quality of life, its rich history and the Republicans’ promise to hand off an even better place to future generations. Read the rest of this entry »
During a candidates forum last February while competing for the Democrat nomination to challenge Congressman Chris Smith, Josh Welle told Democrat activists that his company, Severn Pacific, Inc., doing business as Crossdeck, was dissolved in the spring of 2017.
But an officer of Harvard Business Services, Severn Pacific’s Delaware business agent told Patch that Welle’s company submitted an address change on March 3, 2017 . The company, which Welle was the CEO of, then ignored multiple notices from HBS to pay its 2017 taxes. The company was finally dissolved last week, after MMM reported the $130,000 past due taxes.
The Democrat and Republican candidates for Monmouth County Freeholder each said they would not accept County funded health insurance if elected to the part time position next month.
Republican candidates, Freeholder Gerry Scharfenberger and Hazlet Deputy Mayor Sue Kiley, have long opposed part-time elected officials exploiting the taxpayers by taking excessive benefits. Democrat candidates Larry Luttrell and Amber Gesslein each told MMM that would not accept taxpayer funded health benefits if they are elected.
The Independent candidate, disgraced Freeholder John P. Curley, has been sticking Monmouth County property taxpayers with the cost of his medical care for most of the last two years and he opposed a recent resolution against the practice.
Josh Welle and Amber Gesslein could run for the Dem nominations for Assembly in LD 13 next year.
Assemblywoman Amy Handlin’s announcement that she will not seek reelection next year inevitably creates speculation on who will run to replace her. While party leaders on both sides of the aisle would rather their troops stay focused on the election coming up next month, the jockeying has started given how infrequently a vacancy occurs in the 13th district.
Democrats, who normally lose badly in the district will likely have a contest for the two Assembly nominations next year, given Handlin’s vacancy and Serena DiMaso serving her freshman term. DiMaso put something of a target on her back with the Dems when she made a robocall criticizing LD 11 Assemblymembers Eric Hougtaling and Joann Downey for voting for Governor Murphy’s tax increases. Houghtaling and Downey responded to DiMaso’s robocall with an ethics complaint.
With the Assembly on top of the ballot next year, Dems will likely be motivated and funded, even in LD 13.
Potential Democrat Candidates for LD 13 Assembly in 2019 who are running for other offices this year:
Assemblywoman Amy Handlin of the 13th legislative district will not seek another term in Trenton next year.
Handlin told NorthJersey.com that she is serving her last term in the legislature and NewJerseyGlobe that she will not seek reelection. Handlin has not yet responded to MMM’s call or email.
A Monmouth County freeholder from 1990-2005, Handlin was elected to the Assembly in 2005 after defeating incumbent Assemblyman Joe Azzolina a 13th district Republican primary. She served one term on the Middletown Township Committee from 1987 till 1990.
Throughout her political career, Handlin has been known as a ethics watchdog and consumer advocate.
Josh Welle declined to answer MMM’s questions about his company, Severn Pacific Inc, when we got him on the phone this morning and again when we met him in Red Bank this afternoon. However, his company issued a statement to NewJerseyGlobe which blamed the company’s external business agent, Harvard Business Services of Lewes, Delaware, for failing to dissolve the company during the summer of 2017.
Josh Welle has been avoiding our phone calls, until this morning, but still won’t say what’s happening with the company he is apparently CEO of, Severn Pacific Inc.
Senator Bob Menendez is leading GOP nominee Bob Hugin by 11 points, 53-42% in a Quinnipiac University Poll of likely New Jersey voters released this afternoon.
The 1,058 New Jersey likely voters has a margin of error of +/- 4.1 .
Only 5% said they are undecided, but 13% said they could change their mind between now and the time they vote.
