Mystery Robo Call In LD 13

Someone commissioned ‘phone ID’ calls in LD 13 that went out yesterday asking Republican primary voters if they planned to vote for Republican Senator Joe Kyrillos, Tea Party challenger Leigh-Ann Bellew or if they are unsure.

Listen to the recording here.

It was left as a voice mail at an MMM reader’s home.  The caller ID said the call came from 602-357-5922, a Phoenix, AZ landline listed to Danny Crosby.

None of the competing campaigns or candidates will cop to paying for the call. There was no ‘paid for’ disclosure.

‘Phone ID’ calls are not polls, per se.  The data collected is used for get out the vote (GOTV) planning.

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Why is the Bayshore Tea Party Group Challenging Monmouth County Incumbents?

Bayshore Tea Party Group Co-Founders Bob Gordon and Barbara Gonzalez took to their Asbury Park Press blog yesterday to attempt to explain why they are challenging the 13th Legislative District and County Republican incumbents.  In this post I’ll attempt to explain their explanation with the benefit of having spoken to them and having attended the meeting where they introduced most of their candidates.  If I get any of it wrong, I suspect they will correct me in the comments.

Gordon and Gonzalez would probably object to the characterization that they are challenging the incumbents.  They would say they are supporting the challenge, not doing the challenging.  Just as senate candidate Leigh-Ann Bellew said she is not the BTPG’s candidate, but anticipates the group’s support.  This a linguistic distinction without a practical difference.  The challenge is a Tea Party challenge.

THE PROCESS

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Anna Little, David Corsi won’t be Tea Party candidates in GOP Primary

Photo credit: genehoyas.com

Since they formed in 2009, the Bayshore Tea Party Group has supported three campaigns that have defeated the Monmouth County Republican Organization in primaries.

Former Highlands Mayor Anna Little won the 6th Congressional District nomination twice.  In 2010 Little defeated the MCRO’s endorsed candidate Diane Gooch.  In 2012 Little defeated newcomer Ernesto Cullari.  Cullari had won the Monmouth Republican organization’s endorsement. Little won the Middlesex County Republican Organization’s endorsement and won the primary handily in both counties.  Little went on to lose twice to incumbent Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone.

Oceanport real estate executive David Corsi beat Princeton venture capitalist Scott Sipprelle in Monmouth County during the 2010 primary for the 12 Congressional District nomination.  Sipprelle prevailed on the strength of his support in the Middlesex and Mercer portions of the district.  Sipprelle lost to incumbent Democratic Congressman Rush Holt.

Both Little and Corsi were supported by BTPG’s grassroots activists.

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Bayshore Tea Party Wants Bennett To Change The By-Laws

Still won’t reveal their primary candidates names

Bayshore Tea Party co-founder Bob Gordon told MoreMonmouthMusings that he would recommend that the groups’s candidates for the Legislature from the 13th district, sheriff and freeholder not file as candidates in the June 4 Republican primary if GOP Chairman John Bennett would allow the candidates onto the March 23 County Convention ballot without having to submit the signatures required under the new by-laws to challenge incumbents.  He would not guarantee that the so far unnamed challengers would abide by the results of the convention and not file for the primary if they lose in Colts Neck on the 23rd. “That would be up to the candidates,” he said.

Gordan said that county committee members inclined to support the Tea Party challengers are reluctant to sign convention petitions for fear that they will be challenged in the next committee election in 2014.

The deadline to submit petitions for the convention ballot passed last week.  Primary petitions are due on April 1.

Neither Gordon nor fellow co-founder Barbara Gonzalez would name the potential challengers.  Gordon said that there is a full slate of candidates to take on Senator Joe Kyrillos and Assembly Members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon in the 13th district. On the county level, Sheriff Shaun Golden faces a challenge while Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Director Serena DiMaso may only have one challenger, if the candidates file.

Posted: March 12th, 2013 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 2013 Election, Amy Handlin, Barbara Gonzalez, Bayshore Tea Party Group, Declan O'Scanlon, Joe Kyrillos, John Bennett, Monmouth County Republican Committee, Monmouth GOP, Shaun Golden | Tags: Amy Handlin, Barbara Gonzalez, Bayshore Tea Party Group, Bob Gordon, Declan O'Scanlon, Joe Kyrillos, John Bennett, Monmouth GOP, Monmouth Republicans, Serena DiMaso, Shaun Golden, Tom Arnone | 14 Comments »

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Bayshore Tea Party Preparing Primary Slate for LD 13, County Offices

The Bayshore Tea Party Group is preparing a primary slate to challenge 13th district legislators, Senator Joe Kyrillos and Assembly Members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon, and county office holders, Sheriff Shaun Golden and Freeholders Tom Arnone and Serena DiMaso, according to the group’s co-founder Barbara Gonzalez.

Gonzalez told MoreMonmouthMusings that the group has six candidates who are clearing their potential candidacies with their families and employers.  She wouldn’t name any of the candidates but expects to make a formal announcement next week.  If the slate declares, they will bypass the Monmouth GOP convention on March 23 and file to run in the June 4 Republican primary.

Gonzalez said that former Highlands Mayor Anna Little, who twice ran and won in Congressional primaries with the group’s backing, is not one of the candidates.

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Bayshore Tea Party Promises Primaries

Monmouth GOP Chairman John O. Bennett III invited Bayshore Tea Party Group Co-Founder Barbara Gonzalez to speak at the GOP Unity Breakfast last Saturday.

Gonzalez and fellow co-founder Robert Gordon responded on Monday by issuing a statement to say something that Gonzalez forgot to say to the Unity gathering on Saturday:  Every Republican can expect a primary if they don’t do what the Tea Party wants them to do.

Here’s the statement:

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Thanks for a great month

June was by far the most active month in MMM’s history.  There have been 32,000 visits and 57,000 page views so far month.  71% of those visitors were repeats.  Google analytics says that all of that traffic came from 8700 computers.  Unbelievably to me, the average visit is for 11 minutes, which is longer than it takes to read an entire issue of the Asbury Park Press.

According to alexa.com, only 15,850 websites in the New York area and 125,439 in the United States get more traffic than MMM.

Special thanks go out to Anna Little, Ernesto Cullari, John Bennett, Christine Hanlon, Vin Gopal, Frank LaRocca, Barbara Gonzalez, Bob Gordon, Linda Baum  Rachel Alintoff, Judge Paul Escandon, Louise Murray and everyone who wears bathing suits on the Asbury Park Boardwalk.  I can’t forget Bob Menendez’s opposition research team.

I doing my monthly review, I couldn’t help but notice the success of my friends in Asbury Park.

Congratulations to Dan Jacobson and Molly Mulshine at the AsburyParkSun.  In only three months they have made a significant impact in the local media market.  Alexa.com says that APS is in the top 200,000 of all websites nationally and in the top 35,000 in the New York area.   Mulshine was the first to report the Asbury Park Boardwalk beach attire controversy, a story that went national.

UPDATE: July 1

Wow!  I haven’t had such a busy last day of the month since I was in the car business.  The final numbers for June are 32,959 visitors fromm 9,194 unique IPs and 58,768 page views.  Ranked 120,646 in the U.S. on Alexa.

As Lois mentioned in the comments, thank you so much to all the commenters, especially the “congregation” as Lois called the regulars.  I won’t name them all because I’m sure to leave an important one out.

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Bayshore Tea Party’s Write In Campaign For Monmouth GOP Chair

Bayshore Tea Party Group Founder Barbara Gonzalez is asking her members who are also members of the Monmouth County Republican Committee to vote for her fellow group founder, Bob Gordon as Monmouth GOP Chair:

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Gonzalez denies stealing signs. Threatens legal action

Bayshore Tea Party Group founder Barbara Gonzalez said “I have never done that and I never would” regarding the report on MMM on Saturday that a Cullari for Congress volunteer said she and BTPG activist Joe Abbruscato were spotted stealing Cullari’s signs in Middletown.

In an email to MMM Gonzalez said her attorney advised her to request a retraction and an apology or proof that she stole the signs.

On facebook Gonzalez threatened to sue Cullari’s Middlesex County coordinator Peter Carrol, campaign manager Charles Measley and “a certain blogger” unless proof of the allegations is produced by 9PM.

MMM contacted the campaign volunteer who says he witnessed the theft at about 7:40 PM on Friday.  He said he “definately saw Joey with the signs.  Barbara’s Jeep was pulled over so she was likely around.”

Rob Little, the former Highlands Mayor’s husband, called MMM shortly after our report was posted to say that Gonzalez was with him all night on Friday and that she could not have been involved in the theft.  MMM immediately updated the report with Little’s story.

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Bayshore Tea Party Group Members Stealing Signs

Cullari for Congress Campaign Manager Charles Measley tells MMM that one of the campaign’s volunteers spotted Bayshore Tea Party Group founder Barbara Gonzalez and active member Joe Abburscato stealing Cullari for Congress signs last evening in Middletown.  Measley said he called Abbruscato who initially denied the thefts before calling back with a defiant rant.

Measley called the police and is filing a complaint in Middletown Municipal Court.

It is a shame to see that BTPG has fallen so low as to resort to tactics normally deployed in Middletown by the Democrats.

Gonzalez publically boasts babbles of throwing a member out of her organization for “stealing and spying” information shared via email with a members of the BTPG ememies list.  Who will throw Barbara out?

UPDATE  8:41 AM

Rob Little, for the former mayor’s husband, just called with an alibi for Barbara.  Little said that Barabara was with him all night and that she could not have possibly been among the sign thieves.

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