In a decision that could impact development throughout New Jersey, a state appeals court struck down part of the Fort Monmouth Redevelopment plan, according to a report in the Star Ledger.
Ruling in favor of affordable housing advocates, the court said that the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority (FMRPA) failed to take a regional approach to planning for the fort’s redevelopment and leaves the housing decisions to the three municipalities where the fort sits, Oceanport, Eatontown, and Tinton Falls.
Unless successfully appealed by the Christie Administration, the court decision will impact development in the Highlands Region in the northwest portion of the state, the Meadowlands and the Pine Lands. The Star Ledger reported that the Attorney General’s office declined to comment.
Neither Frank Pallone or Rush Holt have commented. Fort Monmouth is being closed next year, its military operations being moved to Aberdeen Maryland, because Pallone and Holt were negligent in there representation of their districts during the BRAC process which lead the decision 2005 decision to close the fort.
I can partially explain Pallones’ earlier claim — this one:
“This is not Obama’s bill. This isn’t Nancy Pelosi’s bill. This is MY bill.”
I worked in the New Jersey Senate years ago when Pallone was a State Senator. He was known at the time as a bill thief.
Whenever a Republican would post a good bill for introduction, the Senate Democrat staff (who controlled the process, as they were in the majority) would simply take a copy of the intro bill, xerox it, cross out the introducer’s name, and write in Pallone’s name. Pallone would then sign intro copies, and his version would be given a priority number, while the Republican’s bill would be mere listed as “proposed for introduction” and therefore receive a higher bill number when it was actually introduced at the subsequent session. He and the staff did this over and over again in order to boost Pallone’s profile.
One day, they did it to Senator Frank Graves, a powerful Senate Democrat from Paterson, and Graves went verbally ballistic on Pallone on the Senate floor at the next session.
Pallone just stood there with that silly smirk on his face, never bothering to deny it because he knew it was true.
He has been claiming that bills are his for a long, long time! A habit of a lifetime.
By now, we’re used to the regular election sign wars in Middletown: signs being stolen, moved or taken down. It usually happens to Republican signs, and an active member of the Democrat executive committee was arrested and subjected to a fine a couple of years ago, after being caught in the act.
But this year, the sleazy Midddletown Democrat thugs are using new tactics. After taking down at least one 4×4 board sign, since last Friday night they started spraying those 4x4s with grafitti. It happened almost every night for the past 4-5 days, and some of those hoodlums are even tagging them with gang signs. You can see this happening on Tindall Rd, East Rd, Leonardville Rd and other places.
Maybe it’s time for Joe Caliendo to remind his thugs that this is not Hudson or Union county, and this kind of gang vandalism is not welcome in Middletown. Or maybe the local committee people would know more. Most of the thuggery occurred in District 23 (Thomas Mahon and Annaliesa Meloro). It was also seen in the neighboring districts, 13 (Steven Borbely and Lynda Cordasco) and 34 (Peter Geronimo and Mary Yule).
Below you can see an example of this new type of Democrat vandalism.
NJ-06 is Tight. Adjusted for 2004, it is a Nail Biter
Written by Noah Rothman on October 26, 2010, 4:43 PM
A Monmouth University poll released today shows that the race in New Jersey’s 6th district between Rep. Frank Pallone and the Republican candidate, Anna Little, has tightened significantly.
In the poll, Pallone leads Little with 52 to 45 percentage points. A Monmouth University poll from October 6th had Little only taking 33 percent to Pallone’s 58 percent of the vote. This 7-point margin in a district that has returned Pallone by no less than 67 percent of the vote in the last three cycles means this will be a race to watch on election night.
The poll, however, could underestimate Little’s performance. The Monmouth University poll’s sample was 40 percent Democrats, 22 percent Republicans and 38 percent Independents. 40 percent Democrat is probably close to correct; exit polls from 2004, 2006 and 2008 placed the Democratic share of the vote at 39, 41 and 40 percent for each respective year. In 2004 the Republican sample was 31 percent and the independent sample was 30 percent. In 2006 the Republican sample was 28 percent (a depressed year for Republicans nation wide, but especially dower in the North East) and the independent Sample was 31 percent. In 2008 the Republican sample was 33 percent and the independent sample was 38 percent.
It is fairly dubious assertion that this year will yield fewer Republicans at the polls than even 2006. It is even more suspicious that 38 percent of the Monmouth University poll’s sample is 38 percent; this independent sample outperforms their best year by 7 points. For a particularly good Republican year, when both the GOP and Democratic bases were engaged, 2004 is a decent place to start.
If you adjust the sample of 647 likely voters (257 Democrats, 141 Republican and 249 Independents) to reflect the exit polls from 2004, (253 Democrats, 201 Republicans and 194 Independents) then the race becomes 51 to 49 percent for Pallone. This is a minor adjustment from Monmouth University’s findings for Pallone but a major boost for Little. It also puts this race within the margin of error for most pollsters. This race could be a lot closer than Monmouth University’s polls show.
Trenton, NJ – Today, Governor Chris Christie accepted the recommendation of NJ Transit Executive Director Jim Weinstein to continue the orderly and expeditious shutdown of the ARC Project. Despite intense negotiations with federal and state participants, no agreement was reached on terms that would assure New Jersey’s taxpayers would not pay more than $2.7 billion for a completed Trans Hudson Express ARC project.
Frank Pallone Jr.Disappointed to hear Governor plans to cancel ARC tunnel at a time when New Jersey needs more mass transit options.
Well, if Pallone had any clout in Washington after 22 years, maybe he could have gotten the Feds to cover the cost over runs on the project. Or maybe he could have gotten his friends in the New York delegation to lean on Albany to contribute their fair share to a project that would have benefited New York more than it would have helped NJ anyway. Think of all those tax dollars New Jersey residents would have been paying to New York after we spent $15 billion dollars to give them a way to leave the state to go to work.
As our friend Harold Kane, the next Middlesex County Clerk, pointed out last week, New Jersey has 40 million square feet of vacant office space. What do we need to spend billions of dollars to send people to work in New York for?
Christie did the right thing and come Tuesday Pallone is going to be despondent.
The time is getting closer for Pallone to exit stage left and Little to enter stage right, much like their political ideologies. Pallone, as many long term politicians before him, has lost his way and become a victim of a malady known as “I know what’s best for the people.” They totally lose sight of the will of the people, thinking of them as little lost sheep who couldn’t possibly know where they are, how to get home, or what they want. So the politician takes on the role of the good shepherd, not only to lead them, but to tell them what they should want. Pallone has reached that stage where he no longer represents what the people want, but actually believes that he knows much better what the people should want and have.
This is exactly why it is time for Congressman Pallone to exit this position and be replaced by someone who knows and recognizes the importance of representing all of the people and what they want. Fortunately, our form of government has a process for the orderly change of representatives who have lost sight of that role.
We now have the good fortune on November 2nd, to participate in an election for someone who understands and will work to represent all the people based on what the people want. That person is Anna Little. I encourage everyone to vote for Anna Little for Congress to bring us back to what a representative form of government is supposed to be – Of the People, By the People and For the People.
Princeton, October 27, 2010 – Slamming Congressman Rush Holt’s new radio ad as “defamatory” and “knowingly false and misleading,” as well as is non-compliance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations, Republican Scott Sipprelle today issued a letter through his attorney, Brian M. Nelson of Menna, Supko & Nelson, LLC, calling on Millennium Radio New Jersey (101.5) to cease and desist playing the advertisement on their airwaves today.
Holt’s ad falsely alleges that Sipprelle somehow manipulated his property tax bill through participation in a volunteer advisory committee in the Borough of Princeton. In addition to being refuted by Sipprelle, the charge was labeled as “ludicrous…not even possible” by the Borough’s Democrat-appointed Tax Assessor in a Trenton Times article yesterday, who added “that the committee and its members were in no position to know what the outcome of the revaluation would be while it was going on.”
“Rush Holt’s defamatory and knowingly false charges against me are the latest and most blatant signs of desperation from a career politician who will to say or do anything to cling to power,” said Sipprelle. “Mr. Holt knows that he can’t run on his record, so his only hope is to run me down. His actions are a disgrace and he should be ashamed of himself. In addition to asking Millennium Radio to take these ads down, I am requesting a public apology from Mr. Holt to the voters in this district, and an admission that his ads are simply not truthful.”
Sipprelle cited Holt’s 2000 campaign against former Congressman Dick Zimmer as evidence that the incumbent has a sad history of misleading campaigns ads being pulled from the airwaves. (Source: “Democrats’ ad is taken off the air,” Star-Ledger, 8/19/00)
“This is a pattern of dishonest behavior from Mr. Holt and it’s completely consistent with how he governs as a Congressman,” said Sipprelle. “For twelve years in Washington, Rush Holt has not allowed the facts to get in the way of his or Nancy Pelosi’s agenda so why would he worry about the facts during his political campaigns?”
Holt’s ad is not only untrue, it is also in violation of campaign finance regulations for failing to have the proper “Paid for by” disclaimer at the end of the spot.
“This is typical of entrenched, out-of-touch career politicians like Congressman Holt,” said Sipprelle. “He is violating a legal requirement that he himself voted to create. This is just another example of arrogant Members of Congress exempting themselves from the laws they pass for the American people and underscores why we need to change Congress. I am asking the voters of the 12th Congressional District to stop Rush Holt on November 2nd and vote for a new direction.”
On Monday, October 25th, I went to Trenton to attend an event organized by the New Jersey Conference of Mayors, which is the largest and oldest Mayor’s organization in the United States. The purpose of the event was to meet with Governor Christie, the Assembly Republicans and the Assembly Democrats to urge the passage of a key provision of the Governor’s “Tool Kit” reforms: capping interest arbitration awards to the 2% property tax cap passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor last Summer.
Many of you may remember that when both Republicans and Democrats passed the Governor’s budget, there was much hoopla about the 2% property tax cap, and there was an emphasis on the need for passage of the “Tool Kit” reforms that would enable local governments to manage the cap. While the Tool Kit is composed of many Bills, there is almost universal agreement among Mayors that arbitration reform that mirrors the cap is vital.
There is currently pending before the Legislature two versions of arbitration reform. In one version, A-3283, arbitrators, mediators or fact finders would be prevented from recommending or awarding any settlement that would exceed by more than 2% the total economic impact on the public employer.
The other version, A-3393 has already been reported out of Committee, and may go before the full Assembly any day. This version does not require an Arbitrator to adhere to the 2% cap, rather, it simply adds the cap to a list of nine criteria that should be considered by the Arbitrator in making a decision.
For obvious reasons, the need for a hard cap on arbitration awards is vital to the success of the hard cap on property taxes. To provide otherwise will slowly and inexorably eat away at all governmental functions until all that are left are those functions that are carried out by collective bargaining unit employees. Eventually even those “protected” employees will be downsized to feed the public sector union monster.
The group from the New Jersey Conference of Mayors was made up of Mayor’s from both sides of the aisle. Republicans, Democrats, large towns and small, all who have engaged in the municipal budget process recognize the need for this reform. The need for arbitration reform is not a partisan issue, it is an issue of economic and financial necessity.
The Governor graciously met with the approximately 35 Mayors who attended. He was introduced by David DelVecchio, Democrat Mayor of Lambertville. The Governor gave us as much time as we needed, and answered questions. Governor Christie emphasized the need for a hard cap on arbitration awards, and asked us to take his message to the Assembly.
The group of Mayors then walked to the Assembly Republican caucus room, where virtually every Republican member of the Assembly listened as Mayor Arnone, Republican of Neptune City and Mayor Tarantolo, Democrat of Eatontown, gave their pleas for enactment and reform. The Assembly Republicans asked their own questions, and agreed that real reform meant a hard cap on arbitration awards.
The overriding message brought to Trenton by the Mayors is that we have done almost all we can on our own. We have shared services, some have laid off employees, some have laid off police, some have cut services drastically. We have, often, done all we can do to stabilize property taxes in our towns. What we need now is help from Trenton. For too long, Trenton has helped itself, and not given the State’s municipalities the tools needed to stop the rise of property taxes. Now there is an opportunity to pass meaningful reform, and we can not let it slip away.
After leaving the Assembly Republican Caucus room, we went across the hallway to meet with the Assembly Democrats in their Caucus room.
The Assembly Democrats did not let our bipartisan group of Mayors in to speak with them. An anonymous staffer came out and said that the Assembly Democrats would be in caucus for at least another hour, and then the Assembly would go into session. Assembly Speaker Oliver would not come out to speak to us, nor would any other Assembly Democrat.
Our bipartisan group of Mayors, organized by the bipartisan New Jersey Conference of Mayors, were left out in the cold by the Assembly Democrats.
When people ask me why the Great State of New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the Country, I now have yet another first-hand account: Because the Assembly Democrats don’t care about your property taxes.
Even Frank Palloneknows his negative ad claiming Anna Little an extremists is ridiculous. So much so that he put his “I’m Frank Pallone and I approved this message” disclaimer at the front of the ad, rather than at the end of the ad as is customary.
This morning on FoxNews this ad ran:
The next frame on the TV screen was “I’m Frank Pallone and I approved this message.”
(HIGHLANDS, October 27) – Republican Congressional challenger Anna Little today maintained her campaign’s focus on Frank Pallone’s recent silence on his role in the passage of the government takeover of health care, frequently referred to in New Jersey’s 6th Congressional District as “PalloneCare.”
“Back in the spring, when he thought it was going to be popular, my opponent infamously said of the government takeover of health care, ‘This is not Obama’s bill. This isn’t Nancy Pelosi’s bill. This is MY bill,'” said Little. “But now that the public has learned more about what’s in it, and it’s not nearly as popular as he thought it was going to be, he’s gone radio silent – why, his campaign web site’s ‘On the Issues’ section doesn’t even MENTION health care!”
“Sadly, this is not surprising,” said Little. “All we’ve heard from Frank Pallone is distortions of my views, rather than an explanation for the votes he cast for a failed trillion-dollar stimulus package, a failed cap and trade policy that would raise everyone’s electricity bills, and the government takeover of health care.
“Of course, it’s perfectly understandable – if I had cast a vote to cut Medicare by $500 billion, reduce patient choice, put government bureaucrats between doctors and their patients, and raise taxes, I probably wouldn’t want to draw attention to it, either.
“But that’s the big difference between Frank Pallone and me – I would never have cast that vote in the first place!
“In six days, New Jersey will vote, and we’ll have a chance to send a fresh face to Washington,” said Little.
“If you think we’re headed in the right direction, then Frank Pallone is your man,” said Little. “But if you think we’re moving in the wrong direction, if you think you’re ready for a change, then I need your vote – because you cannot change Washington without changing the people we send to Washington!”
A screen capture of Pallone’s campaign web site “On the Issues” section, taken early this morning, is attached.
