Assemblywoman Amy Handlin named to Bridgegate Investigation Committee

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R-Middletown) has been named to the Special Assembly Committee that will investigate the September lane closures on the George Washington Bridge that have dominated the state and national news for the last week since The Record published emails that revealed that Governor Chris Christie’s then Deputy Chief of Staff, Bridget Ann Kelly, ordered the lane closures with an email to Port Authority’s then Director of Interstate Capital Projects, David Wildstein.

During her public service career as an Assemblywoman, Monmouth County Freeholder and Committeewoman in Middletown, Handlin has earned a reputation as a ethics hawk and outspoken critic of governmental excesses.

Handlin is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Monmouth University and the author of Crony Capitalists in our Backyards: Who they are, What the do and How to fight back.

Joining Handlin on the twelve member committee are eight Democrats; Chairman John Wisniewski, the Assembly Transportation Committee Chair who has spearheaded the Bridgegate to date, Marlene Caride (Bergen/Passiac), Lou Greenwald (Mercer), Gordon Johnson (Bergen), Paul Moriarty (Gloucester), Linda Stender (Union) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (Mercer).

The other Republicans on the committee are Michael Patrick Carroll (Morris), BettyLou DeCroce (Morris), and Holly Schepisi (Bergen).

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Winners and Losers of 2013, Part One

Winners

January 2013 seems like a long time ago.

The years are supposed to go by faster as we get older.  2013 missed the memo, at least for me. President Obama’s second Inauguration and Freeholder John Curley’s second swearing in seem like a long time ago.

Selikia Joshia Gore started us off in 2013 with a timeless call to renew our humanity; the ongoing struggle of saints and sinners to love one another regardless of standing, status or creed.   It is a winning message that works only by embracing our failures without resigning to them.

The Governor. Governor Chris Christie started the year lambasting House Speaker John Boehner and the Congressional Republicans for playing politics with Superstorm Sandy aid and ended the year as the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. In between he built a bi-partisan and multi-cultural coalition that reelected him with over 60% of the vote in Blue Jersey.   Christie had the best year of any politician in America.  Only Pope Francis and Vladimir Putin had better years globally.

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez.  Menendez started the year on the losers list. Embroiled in a sandal of allegations of his cavorting with teenaged girls in the Dominican Republic and using the powers of his office to benefit the businesses of the donor who arranged the party, speculation was that he would resign as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, if not his Senate seat.  Menendez seems to have survived an FBI investigation into his relationship with Dr. Saloman Melgan unscathed.

At the end of the year, Menendez’s position seems secure. He is the leading, and most powerful, critic of President Obama’s foreign policy.   His approval ratings are net positive 22 points in the last Monmouth University Poll. He got engaged to be married earlier this month.

Given where he started, Menendez may have had the best 2013 of any New Jersey public figure, other than Christie.

The Gramiccionis.  The Wall Township power couple had a very good year.  In March, Christopher, the Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor and U.S. Naval Reserve Officer, received orders to report for a 9 month tour of active duty in Afghanistan effective in August.  Those orders were canceled in July, keeping Chris on the job fighting crime in Monmouth County and home for the holidays.  Deborah was appointed by Governor Christie to be the Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.  The job pays $289,657.

Monmouth County Republicans.  Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Director Serena DiMaso were always expected to be reelected on the strength of their records and due to the fact that Monmouth County Independent voters usually vote Republican.  They make the winners list by virtue of fact that they ran as if they were behind, not taking any votes for granted.  More importantly, they ran a positive campaign based on reducing spending, holding the line on taxes, and improving services, in the face of yet another negative campaign on the part of the Monmouth County Democrats.

Monmouth County’s Legislative Delegation.  Each member of Monmouth County’s Legislative Delegation deserves more recognition than space will allow.

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Oceanport Councilman Resigns To Take County Job

William Johnson, right and Oceanport Councilman Joe Irace. Photo credit: Rhoda Chodosh

William Johnson resigned his seat on the Oceanport Borough Council on November 1, due to his recent employment by Monmouth County.  Johnson’s resignation was first reported by LittleSilver-Oceanport Patch.

Johnson is the Monmouth County Recycling Coordinator, working out of the County Reclamation Center in Tinton Falls.  Prior to his employment by the county, Johnson was a loan officer at Colonial American Bank.

Municipal elected officials from Monmouth County towns are banned from employment with the county due to a Resolution proposed by Assemblywoman Amy Handlin, then a Freeholder, in 2005.  The resolution was passed unanimously by the all Republican Freeholder Board in April of 2005 in the wake of the Operation Bid Rig raid that February wherein numerous county employees and municipal elected officials were arrested on corruption charges.

Employees who held elective office at the time the resolution was passed were grandfathered.  County Administrator Teri O’Connor said this morning “there might be a few” employees still grandfathered and holding elected office, but she wasn’t aware of any.

Freeholder Director Tom Arnone said that Johnson applied for the job through a posting on the County’s website, and that the appointment was not a matter of political patronage.

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Trends Toward Greater Doctor Shortage Worry State Legislators

New Jersey policymakers looking to address a looming shortage of doctors in the state need to act quickly, as the problem appears to be getting worse and more quickly than predicted. More of the state’s medical residents are planning to leave the…

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Monmouth County Prosecutor Actively Investigating 4am Robocall

Despite waking up thousands of Monmouth County voters at 4am on primary day, the Bayshore Tea Party Group and the Bellew Brigade have apparently not lost any sleep over their crushing defeat last week.  The architects of the 20%-80% defeat in the Monmouth County and LD 13 GOP primaries have endorsed Dr. Alieta Eck in the Special U.S. Senate Primay and are angling to run that campaign.

Congratulations Steve Lonegan!

Neither BTPG nor Leigh-Ann Bellew’s campaign have admitted to commissioning the 4am robocall on June 4 that announced it was being made on behalf of Senator Joe Kyrillos , Assembly Members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon and faked the caller ID to a number belonging to the Monmouth County Republican Organization.  They are exercising their right to remain silent to the extent that they have yet to congratulate their opponents.

MMM first reported the call (click here to listen) and that it appears to have been recorded by the same person who recorded Bellew’s voice mail greeting. (Click here to listen to Bellew’s voice mail greeting.)

Kyrillos and O’Scanlon publicly accused the Bellew campaign of making the call. Monmouth County GOP Chairman John Bennett lodged a complaint with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. Bennett said yesterday that he will not let up on pursuing prosecution of the dirty trick.

Bayshore Tea Party Group co-founder Barbara Gonzalez complained about this website on facebook, saying she was going to report its owner to the FBI because he finds out, and acts on, what she is writing about on the social media site without the help of the NSA or the Obama Administration.

Charles Webster, spokesperson for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, confirmed that there is an active investigation into the 4am robocall.

Webster was not at liberty to discuss the investigation, so MMM’s investigative team got to work to find more evidence of the call’s origin.

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“An Amazing Moment”

~ Declan O’Scanlon

With remarkable teamwork on the part of the candidates, county and municipal leaders and key members of the legislative delegation outside of the 13th legislative district, the Monmouth County Republican Organization earned the resounding endorsement of a Republican electorate that has proven over the years that performance and integrity matter far more to them than party loyalty.

Big egos checked, big leaders pulled together to support each other.  A real team emerged.

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It’s Over

With over 62% of the voting districts in LD 13 reporting, State Senator Joe Kyrillos has won the GOP nomination for another term in Trenton’s upper chamber, according to MoreMonmouthMusings’ statistical expert team.

Assembly Members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon have also been renominated.

Sheriff Shaun Golden and Freeholders Tom Arnone and Serena DiMaso have been renominated with over 80% of the vote with 80% of the districts reporting in the county.

Monmouth County GOP Chairman John Bennett, celebrating with about 250 supporters at the Lincroft Inn in Middletown has declared victory of the LD 13 legislators and counter incumbents.

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The Dirty Trick Call

MMM has obtained a copy the 4am robo call that fraudulently announced it was made on behalf on Joe Kyrillos, Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon and reminding the listener that they had “another four hours to vote.

The call had no paid for disclosure, as calls from the Monmouth GOP, whose number was used on the caller ID, would have.

Listen to the call yourself by clicking here.

We called the Bellew for Senate campaign for comment.  No one answered.  This is a copy of the recorded message that answers the Bellew for State Senate phone.  Click here to listen to the Bellew for Senate recorded phone greeting.

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What if Christie picks…..

Could John Bennett be heading back to Trenton?

…Senator Joe Kyillos?

By virtue of his long term friendship with Governor Christie and his campaign for U.S. Senate last year, State Senator Joe Kyrillos is on every Christie mind reader’s short list of possible U.S. Senators to replace the late Frank Lautenberg.

Assuming Kyrillos defeats Leigh-Ann Bellew in the primary today, his move to the U.S. Senate would create a vacancy for the nomination for State Senate in LD 13.  If either Assemblywoman Amy Handlin or Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon move up to the Senate slot, as would be expected, there will be an Assembly nomination vacancy.

Neither Handlin nor O’Scanlon will say if they want the State Senate seat, which probably means they both want it. Even so, I would expect that they would work that out amongst themselves rather than have a convention fight.

A nominating convention for the resulting Assembly vacancy would bring out a wealth of Republican talent.

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Primary Turnout

The weather is predicted to be beautiful on Tuesday, temperatures in the high 70’s and no change of rain.  If there is a low voter turnout in the primary, it won’t be because of the weather.

There will be no suspense in the GOP Freeholder races.  The incumbents, Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Director Serena DiMaso ran a hard campaign.  Their opponents did not.  Tom and Serena will win easily in the county wide race.

Likewise, Sheriff Shaun Golden will once again easily defeat Dan Peters, and by a larger margin that he did in 2010.  Peters benefitted by the Tea Party wave in 2010 and by being bracketed with Anna Little in the 6th Congressional District and David Corsi in the 12th Congressional District.  Outside of the 13th legislative district, most of the county, Peters is bracketed with only his Freeholder running mates this time around. He’ll get no help from them.

Peters has run harder, and spent more money than his freeholder running mates, but he has made no justification for electing him to the job.  Shaun Golden is clearly qualified and is doing the job well.  Peters has not demonstrated that he is qualified. Hopefully Peters won’t need a job in 2016 and we won’t have to put up with a nonsense challenge to Golden again.

This entire primary race has always been about Joe Kyrillos and the 13th district.  Joe and his running mates, Assembly Members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon worked hard and spent the money necessary to win. The very likely will win comfortably.   If the turnout in the 13th is 10,000 or more votes (out of about 35,000 registered Republicans) Joe, Amy and Declan will win by a landslide.  If the turnout is between 7,000 and 10,000, their margin of victory will be comfortable.

If the turnout is 7,000 or less, there will be some nervous people at the Lincroft Inn tomorrow night.  If it is 5,000 or less, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Vote.

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