Vin’s Next Move

By Dan Jacobson, also published in the November 17, 2011 edition of the triCityNews

Out of the boredom of last week’s elections – pathetically few were even close – came an interesting development.

It’s the rise of twenty-six year old Vin Gopal as the most promising new Democrat in Monmouth County.

In fact, we’d say Gopal is the most promising Democrat in a generation, ever since Congressman Frank Pallone burst on the scene as a thirty-one year old Long Branch Councilman almost 30 years ago.

We’re not saying Gopal will go as far as Pallone. And I know them both. I worked with Frank for several years in the very beginning, starting from when I was in college. Although I’ve grown to disagree with Pallone’s politics, the guy remains among my favorite people. Frank is probably the smartest, most self-effacing and fun person with whom I’ve ever worked. That doesn’t excuse his bullshit votes on issues like health care reform, of course. I’m just making an observation about the man’s political talents, and great personality.

Gopal is not at that level. Who is? But Gopal has made his own mark. I’ve also observed him quite closely the past few months. He was the Democratic candidate for state Assembly in the 11^th District. I ran as a pox-on-both-their houses Independent.

Gopal built his own organization led by campaign manager Vlad Gutman and field director Joe Grillo of Asbury Park. It was a great campaign for a first-time candidate. Gopal lost by about 3,000 votes out of 35,000 cast. That was the closest of any of the legislative races in Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

I’d like to see Vin become the next Monmouth County Democratic Chairman. The sooner, the better. Not that I’m a Democrat. I left the party because interest groups in its political base make demands on economic issues that are way too much for me to accept. It’s a joke.

Yet I’ve always advocated for more competitive elections in Monmouth County. I don’t like an all-Republican county Board of Freeholders any more than an all-Democratic Red Bank Borough Council. Above all, it’s boring to cover.

It’s also not good for the public. Because it’s either political party making decisions for the rest of us. They put their candidate on the ballot, and they just win. That’s why Gopal should rise quickly in the Democratic Party, and put his energy to work in reinvigorating the party and making it more competitive.

Gopal is close with current Democratic Party Chairman Victor Scudiery. He’s always refused to discuss that position while Vic holds it. Hopefully, Scudiery sees what we see and is planning to hand the reins over to Vin. It’s a no-brainer.

Gopal responded well under fire as a candidate. And he learned a lot about campaigns as a result. Gopal was the target of a barrage of negative mail by the Republicans, some of which was downright defamatory. And Vin showed enough promise that the Asbury Park Press endorsed him – the only Democrat they endorsed for a legislative seat in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

So we thought it time to check in with Gopal and see what he’s thinking about the future, as well as his thoughts on the Assembly campaign. Our first question, of course, is his reaction now to those attack mailings sent by Republican incumbents Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande. The mailings inferred he was involved with money laundering while a 20 year old college student working on a campaign. Even the Asbury Park Press couldn’t take it – they blasted the Republicans in an editorial for their tactics.

“I thought the mailings were incredibly unfair,” he said. “But Caroline Casagrande and Mary Pat Angelini are politicians. They do what they gotta do to get reelected. It amazes me that as incumbents that they couldn’t focus on what they had done in office, but instead focused on Joe Vas.” (Vas was the former Mayor of Perth Amboy on whose campaign Gopal worked. Vas has since gone to jail on various corruption charges.)

“It was also an interesting experience in it showed how important money is in politics,” said Gopal, who claims the Democrats were outspent by 4-1. “We got hit with mailings every day, and some voters would get two in one day. They really got their message out. They had a great get out the vote operation. I learned essentially how strong the Monmouth County Republicans are.”

And from the sounds of Gopal’s future plans, leading the Democratic Party to competitiveness – or at least trying to – is a natural one.

“I’m going to go back and focus on my businesses,” said Gopal who publishes a group of monthly community magazines and also runs a specialty marketing firm.

“I’ll also be active and support people who are good in politics,” he said. “I just love the organizational part of politics, in particular building the organization itself.”

Sounds good to us. Someone has got to rebuild the Democratic Party in Monmouth County. This one party rule bullshit is downright boring.

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Percentages

In “vote for two”  races, like Assembly, Council or Township Committee races, the percentages for each candidate are reported by the total of votes cast in that race, not by the number of voters who voted.

For example, in the 11th district Assembly race, Caroline Casagrande was the top vote getter with 18,679 votes.  There were 69,803 Assembly votes cast and 3799 under votes.  “Under votes” are voters who did not cast two votes in the Assembly race.  It could be voters who didn’t vote for Assembly at all or voters who cast one vote rather than two.   The County Clerk’s website reports that Casagrande received 26.76% of the vote.

The math is confusing. 

Fortunately we can look to the “vote for one” races, like the Senate races, to get a clearer picture of what happened.

In the 11th district Senate race there were 35,620 votes cast and 1240 under votes.  From this we can conclude that 36,860 people came out to vote in the district.  Jennifer Beck won handily with 56.59% of the Senate votes cast.  She earned the vote of 54.68% of the voters who came out.

Thus, Casagrande earned 50.68% of the votes of all voters who came out in the district, including those who skipped voting  in the Assembly race or only voted for one Assembly candidate rather than two.  Mary Pat Angelini got 49.97%, Vin Gopal got 41.60%, Kathy Horgan got 40.89% and Dan Jacobson received 6.35%.

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A Message to Dan Jacobson from Tommy DeSeno:

In the words of Teddy Roosevelt,

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

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Kiss Your Own Damn Baby! And How To Garner 11% Of The Vote

By Tommy DeSeno, also published at ricochet.com

An old friend of mine is running for state Assembly in New Jersey.   He is an independent, and has one of the more interesting campaigns you will see.

Dan Jacobson served one term in the Assembly over 20 years ago when he was in his 20s – as a Democrat.

As a more mature adult today, he has thrown off the barbed reins of the Democratic dark side.  He now sees himself as fiscally conservative as the rest of us, ranting in his weekly newspaper (disclaimer – I used to rant in columns for it) about the problems with unions and politics, among other issues Republicans would like.  

On social issues he is a Libertarian, though a bit libertine for some tastes.  The only thing left of his old Democrat ways as far as I can tell is that Dan doesn’t seem to know what a baby is or where one hangs out the first 9 months of his or her life.

Which is probably why he won’t kiss yours.

What truly makes his campaign interesting is the way he runs it:  He takes no donations.   He seeks no endorsements.   He holds no rallies.  He has no staff.  He networks with no one. 

Truly independent!    His goal seems to be a campaign that isn’t one, by a candidate who refuses to be one; thus his refusal to honor the political tradition of kissing your baby. He wants to go to Trenton not owing anyone anything.  Good luck with that, Dan.

I once ran a political experiment and found that a truly independent candidate who runs only on issues and seeks no endorsements gets 11% of the vote.  That’s important  – every campaign manager in America should know that issues will garner 11% of the vote.  I predict Dan will get 11% of the vote. 

In the meantime, check out more of his funny newspaper ads that he has run about his campaign.  They are different, and it will make you smile that this campaign is real:

http://danjacobson.net/ads.html

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Showdown at the Press editorial board!

By Dan Jacobson, also published in the October 13th edition of the triCityNews

So I’m running as an Independent for the state Assembly. And there’s been one campaign appearance I’ve been anticipating above all others.

The interview with the Asbury Park Press editorial board for their endorsement!

Yup, for almost 13 years I’ve been trashing that paper for their hypocrisy, moving out of Asbury Park…you name it. So fireworks were expected.

The interview took place earlier this week. All the candidates for both state Assembly and Senate in the 11^th District were there.

I don’t know who threw the first projectile. Maybe it was me. Maybe it wasn’t.

But I can swear to this: It wasn’t me who threw the chair. Fortunately, Senator Jennifer Beck is one hell of an athlete. She dove out of her seat like a third baseman snagging a line-drive to deflect the thing before it went crashing through the floor-to-ceiling window on one side of the conference room.

OK, OK. None of that happened. Dammit! You bet I’m disappointed it didn’t go down that way. I always envisioned the flying chair, the shouting. Denying I threw the first projectile. It would have been great.

But it was not to be.  Actually, it was quite a sedate affair. The seven candidates for Senate and Assembly only faced Press Editorial Page Editor Randy Bergmann and editorial writer Michael Riley. That’s it. Veteran reporter Larry Higgs was there to report on the discussions.

Bergmann is a surprisingly low-key guy, given how his paper’s editorials regularly infuriate me for their hypocrisy. Yeah, he was gracious. Big deal. I wanted fireworks.

As for Michael Riley, I know I blasted the shit out of him about ten years ago for some column he wrote. I’m sure he forgot about it – hell, I can’t even remember it at this point. So he was quite friendly. Screw him!

In addition, former Press food critic Andrea Clurfeld is now an editorial writer and board member. I’d been brutal with her in the past – for justifiable reason – about her food reviews. Never met her. Would have loved it. But she wasn’t there! I should have walked out right then.

Adding to the sedation is that the other candidates themselves are all very gracious and intelligent people. In fact, I like my opponents. It’s the whole Goddamn system that’s pissing me off. That’s what I’m running against.

(I face Republican Assembly incumbents Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande, as well as Democrats Vin Gopal and Kathy Horgan. There are two Assembly seats. Beck is running in a separate race for Senate against Democrat Ray Santiago.)

I did have one interesting observation at the editorial board, however. Way back in 1986, I worked as a reporter for about a year at the now defunct Daily Register in Shrewsbury. And I’ve always loved old newspapers and newsrooms – like the one in the old Asbury Park Press building in downtown Asbury.

Journalists have always been characters. The old newsrooms and buildings matched them perfectly. So I mean this as a compliment: Looking across the table at journalistic veterans Bergmann, Riley and Higgs reminded me of those old-time newspaper characters. There aren’t enough around like them anymore. Hypocritical editorials or not.

And as much as I welcome the demise of the Asbury Park Press – because they’ve been such a destructive force in our region – there was something poignant about seeing these three guys in that quiet and sullen building. It’s a metaphor for the whole newspaper industry.

That Asbury Park Press newsroom was opened back in 1985 when they moved out to Neptune. That was the advent of a long-ago era, just as newspapers were transitioning into soulless corporate cultures at full gale. The ensuing corporate conformity, and of course the internet, would decimate journalism as we know it – and the excitement and character that came with it.

I thought back to the first editorial board meeting I attended in that same conference room. It was 26 years ago – when the building had just opened. It was my first run for the Assembly at the age of 23. (I lost that one, but won the seat four years later and served a term.)

Back then, the paper was locally owned by Don Lass and Jules Plangere, who both ran the place. Present at that long ago meeting in 1985 were the four candidates for the two Assembly seats, as well as a room full of editors. Must have been about seven other people there, including several senior editors. Plus the reporter specifically assigned to the race. (That practice of assigning a reporter to each legislative race went by the wayside years ago.)

I remember tons of energy in that brand new state-of-the-art newsroom. And a brisk and confident manner of all the editors in the editorial board meeting. They knew they were a force in the community, and they didn’t have to answer to anyone else. The future was exceptionally bright in their gleaming new suburban headquarters 26 years ago – they had moved far beyond their beautiful little building in downtown Asbury Park, the then struggling city of their birth they had just abandoned.

Of course, the Plangere and Lass families sold the paper to the Gannett corporation at the right time well over a decade ago. Today, Gannett papers are sucking wind, collapsing as advertising revenue and circulation plummet. The Asbury Park Press is no exception. It’s a joke.

And those at the Press – including the three journalistic vets sitting across from me earlier this week – answer to much higher, and much more remote, authority. Specifically, Gannett corporate headquarters down in Virginia. Who in turn answer to Wall Street analysts and the stock market.

That’s a big difference from answering to the two owners who had their offices down the hall. When slow economic times came, those owners could hold off on cutting people. They had no fear of Wall Street analysts and earnings reports. They owned the place. And they could invest in the journalism however they wished. It was their money.

In the end, I still hate the Asbury Park Press. But I’m more than ever convinced that it’s the corporate takeover of journalism that’s responsible. Gannett doesn’t give a shit about those three guys who sat across from me in the editorial board meeting – they’d lay them off in an instant if that’s what it took to satisfy Wall Street. That’s the system, man.

At this point, working for the Press is like working for a pharmaceutical or insurance company. And Bergmann, Riley and Higgs are definitely not corporate cogs by nature. They’re clearly journalists. Caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don’t know how they do it. I couldn’t. 

In the end, I’ve got to say that Press writer Larry Higgs was more than fair with the story. I actually saw the words “triCityNews” on the front page of the Asbury Park Press for the first time ever. They had to say what I did. That was fun.

Now if they’d just endorse me. Not that it makes that much difference with the voters. Who cares what the Press says?

It only makes a difference to me – I’d have a ball with the headline in this paper! And I could have a field day mocking myself in the process. Hey, I’m not exempt from taking hits in this paper – even from myself.

Don’t expect an endorsement though. That’s asking way too much of these hypocrites.

(The 11^th District where I’m running includes: Asbury Park, Long Branch, Red Bank, Ocean Township, Neptune, Neptune City, Interlaken, Deal, Allenhurst, Loch Arbour, West Long Branch, Eatontown, Shrewsbury Borough, Shrewsbury Township, Tinton Falls, Colts Neck, Freehold Township and Freehold Borough.)

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Casagrande Strikes Back!

By Caroline Casagrande, also published in the October 6, 2011 edition of the triCityNews

Elections are about choices. And this year you have a clear choice: do you want to continue the new path of fiscal responsibility that started in 2009 with the election of Chris Christie, or go back to the bad old days?

My name is Caroline Casagrande and I’m running for the Assembly in the 11^th Legislative District, along with my friends Senator Jennifer Beck and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini. I’ve served parts of Monmouth County in the Legislature since 2008.

I believe we are the best candidates to represent you and keep us on the path to fiscal responsibility. Making New Jersey affordable for families and businesses, creating jobs,  and restoring faith in a government which had become a punchline for late-night comedians is something that affects everyone, regardless of your gender, religion, or sexual orientation.

Those are the things I’ve been focused on since being elected four years ago and those are things I will focus on if I am re-elected.

Dan has given me this space to introduce myself to you. I thought I’d use the opportunity to set the record straight, then tell you a little about myself in my own words, rather than you hearing about me from someone who’s constantly hyperventilating.

Dan had been attacking me lately for, in his view, not taking a position on gay marriage. What I’ve said is I’m not going to speculate on hypothetical legislation. On issues like this, it’s easy to be for or against something in theory, but the details are the difference. That’s the approach I take on every bill I vote on- show me the details.  Unfortunately, in the black and white, Keith Olbermann- Sean Hannity world we live in, this approach is now seen as a moral failing.

Of course, being lectured on political cowardice by Dan is the ultimate irony. This is the same person who was voted out of office after only one term after voting for the massive $2.8 billion Florio tax hikes in 1990, because he caved when pressure was put on him by the Trenton Democrats.  It’s easy to understand why Dan would want to talk about other issues with that hanging around his neck.

In this difficult economic environment, people want leaders with the courage to cut spending, reduce the size of government, and get out of the pockets of businesses and families who can’t afford to pay any more. On those issues, the differences between us are clear: I’ve been a fierce advocate for them, and Dan voted for the largest tax increase in state history.

Let me explain a little about myself and why I’m so concerned about the direction of our state. I was born and raised in Monmouth County and I am currently raising my own family here with my husband Steve and our two young sons, Harrison and Teddy. I graduated from Red Bank Catholic, Penn State University and received my law degree from Rutgers. I am on the Board of Trustees of the Girl Scouts of Monmouth County and the Visiting Nurses Association.

In 2007, I  decided to run for the General Assembly because runaway property tax increases (and tax increases of every other kind) were making New Jersey unaffordable for many families and businesses.

I come from a close-knit family. I want my parents to stay in New Jersey. I want my brothers and sisters to be able to afford to live here so my kids can hang out with their cousins. Government shouldn’t be taxing and spending to the point of breaking up families, but that’s what was happening. New Jersey was on the brink of financial disaster and no one seemed to care.

For example, in 2007 the Democrat controlled Legislature passed a $33.5 billion budget, capping a five year span where they raised the budget, $10 BILLION. That’s 50%! In just 5 years! Rather than do something crazy, like maybe spend less money, Governor Corzine was considering selling the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike.

Since 2009 with the election of Governor Christie, we have been able to start to undo the bad economic policies of the past that lead to tens of thousands of people and jobs fleeing our state. We have begun to restore fiscal sanity to our state and create private-sector jobs.

Last spring I voted for bi-partisan reform of the state’s pension and benefits system that will save taxpayers $120 billion over the next 30 years, and preserved the retirements for thousands of workers.

I voted to enact the 2% municipal cap legislation that forces local governments to live within its means and helps stabilize property taxes.

I have made it a point to root out arrogant and wasteful spending of your tax dollars.  I’m leading the fight to forbid public employees from cashing in any unused sick and vacation time. I changed the law this year to increase penalties on people committing Medicaid fraud.

I created a web site www.stopgovernmentwastenj.com,  for public workers to report waste, such as the fact the state used to waste $3.2 million per year on unused phone lines.

I will continue to fight for taxpayers and look for more ways to reduce the size and cost of government. Unlike my opponents, I will never support job-killing tax increases and will work to find bi-partisan solutions to the challenges facing our state. I hope I have earned your support on the issues that matter most to working families.

 To learn more about our campaign, please visit www.team11nj.com

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The immaturity of Caroline Casagrande

By Dan Jacobson, also published in the September 29, 2011 issue of the triCityNews

It’s well known that I’ll blast any politician for perpetrating all manners of bullshit. These are people who should know better.

But there’s a difference with Republican Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande. She likes to tout her status of one of the youngest members of the state legislature. And it’s suddenly showing.

It would be overkill to blast her. So I’ll go relatively easy. Quite frankly, I don’t know if she can take it.

For Casagrande is there by accident. Her Republican running mates in her old district – Senator Jennifer Beck and Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon – carried her in. Same is likely true this year in her new district: she’s with Beck and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini. No one knows Casagrande. Voters will likely just go down the Republican column like lemmings as they always do. What a way to run a country.

Obviously, the biggest challenges we face are economic. But even bigger is whether we’re going to continue to elect the same mediocre clowns who give us the same awful results. Our state’s massive economic mess will never be addressed until we start electing people with the maturity and seriousness to address them.

I’m running for one of the two Assembly seats as an Independent in the 11^th District. That makes me one of Casagrande’s opponents.

Here’s the problem. If a politician will bullshit you on any major issue, they could bullshit you on every major issue. To my surprise, Caroline Casagrande suddenly proved herself one of the bullshitters. That I can’t stand.

The controversy involves same-sex marriage, but the real problem is her sudden refusal to take a stand. That surprised everyone who thought she was opposed. (I favor marriage equality.) When asked last week by powerful Republican blogger Art Gallagher her position, Casagrande said she would not take one. Her initial reason? Too busy dealing with fiscal issues. Like anyone buys that.

With the redistricting earlier this year, Casagrande’s new district has a sizeable gay and lesbian population – as well as a group of conservative Republicans on the other side who oppose same-sex marriage. So Casagrande just ducks the issue. Why not? Most likely she’ll cruise to reelection without voters knowing any of this.

But I can’t stand a politician who won’t take a stand. That type of nonsense is what’s gotten us into our economic mess. And I can’t keep quiet when I see it. Like me, Casagrande has a big mouth – which is why I liked her – but I confused that with a mature self-confidence and independence that doesn’t exist.

In the end, all the Assemblywoman has got is a big mouth. At least I use mine to take a stand and take the heat.

Of course, Casagrande is welcome to equal time by taking this column for a week. She won’t. Why rock the boat? Why not just keep going to those friendly audiences and acting like a hero – and getting reelected by simply putting your name on the ballot? Wow, what a rewarding way to spend one’s life.

Then again, who the hell appointed me God?

So I’ll let you make the call. Below is how Republican blogger Gallagher reported Casagrande’s actions on his More Monmouth Musings site last week. I’ll also reprint what I posted on Art’s site in response.

This all exploded when the gay and lesbian advocacy group Garden State Equality asked the 11^th District candidates their position on same sex marriage – certainly a reasonable request if you’re seeking office.  Here’s Art Gallagher’s take:

Republican Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande has corrected the widely held perception that she would vote against gay marriage by saying only that she hasn’t publicly taken a position on the issue. She said her focus has been on fiscal issues and that she would need to study the civil union law before taking a stand on gay marriage.

Casagrande’s refusal to take a position on the politically expedient schedule of Garden State Equality has drawn criticism from her opponent Dan Jacobson and others. Jacobson said the issue has already been hotly debated and the issue should be simple.

Casagrande says it’s not so simple, “I haven’t seen a bill,” said Casagrande, “What about protections for religious institutions? If the issue is so simple, why did (Democratic Senate President) Steve Sweeney vote no and then change his mind later?”

Here’s how I responded on Gallagher’s blog:

Respectfully, I’m not accepting Caroline Casagrande’s explanation. Her running mates have taken a stand. Everyone else in the 11th District race has taken a stand. Governor Christie has taken a stand. Steve Sweeney has taken a stand – after apologizing for initially taking a political stand on this moral issue. That’s why Sweeney reversed his position. Not because of its complexity…

As a supporter of same sex marriage, I should be praising Caroline for seeming to move off a position that most people thought she held. But I’m not. I’d rather have her just decisively say she opposes it than engage in this bullshit.

Because there’s a bigger principle here – whether someone has the maturity and seriousness to hold this office. Saying that you can’t take a stand on this bill because you’ve been busy with fiscal affairs, as Caroline said a couple days ago, is nonsense. And everyone knows it.

Marriage equality is a major issue, but it’s certainly not the biggest one facing voters. The biggest problems are economic. But even bigger than that is whether we are going to stop electing people who are just playing games. That’s my objection to what Caroline is saying.

That’s what she’s doing here. And it’s what makes me go ballistic about politicians.

I’m actually a bit stunned by Caroline’s gamesmanship. After all, last week I wrote that I’d likely vote for her if I wasn’t running because we seem to share similar economic views, even if I disagree – or at least I thought I disagreed – with her on social issues like abortion and same sex marriage.

My advice to Caroline is simple. Stop this nonsense. Take a position like everyone else is able to do. And let’s all move on, and forget this ever happened. Otherwise, your failure to take a stand will become a major issue in your new district.

And I assure you it will become a major issue between the two of us in my capacity as an editorialist and candidate. Sure, I will always generously give you equal time in an equally prominent place in my newspaper. But I would rather not have us in such an adversarial relationship. I don’t know how much friendlier and more respectfully I can put it.

Hey, what can I say?

After all, we’re the triCityNews. We’re here to help – especially a frankly immature elected official who needs to learn a lesson and cut the crap.

(The 11^th District where I’m running includes: Asbury Park, Long Branch, Red Bank, Ocean Township, Neptune, Neptune City, Interlaken, Deal, Allenhurst, Loch Arbour, West Long Branch, Eatontown, Shrewsbury Borough, Shrewsbury Township, Tinton Falls, Colts Neck, Freehold Township and Freehold Borough.)

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What if we held an election and nobody cared? Part 1, 11th district

In seven weeks New Jersey voters will have the opportunity to elect an entirely new state legislature.

Patrick Murray’s Monmouth University/Neptune Nudniks poll conducted in August indicates that New Jersey voters disapprove of their legislature by a 48%-35% margin.  Democrats disapprove by 45%-38%.  Independents, the majority, disapprove by a whopping 50%-28%.  Surprisingly, Republicans approve of the legislature by a 45%-41% margin.  Public workers disapprove by 55%-26%.

Based solely on those poll results, one might expect that we’d be in the middle of a spirited campaign with Democrats and public workers rallying to throw the Republicans out of office.  Obviously that is not the case.  Democrats control the legislature that their base and Independents disapprove of strongly.

Due to Dr. Alan Rosenthal’s decision that New Jersey voters are better off being continuously represented by legislators they don’t know, there are only a handful of competitive legislative races.  The Democrats will continue to control the legislature for the next two years.  Probably the next ten years.

11th District

The 11th district race is the only local race that is remotely interesting, so far.

There are two reasons that it is interesting. Independent candidate Dan Jacobson is colorful and is wisely using MMM, as well as his own publication to generate interest in his campaign.  Republicans are not happy about this, but MMM has had a long standing policy welcoming voices other than Art Gallagher’s.  Democrats have foolishly ignored the opportunity for years despite Gallagher’s overt invitations.

The other reason that the 11th district race is interesting is that Senator Jennifer Beck made gay marriage an issue.  That’s right, Beck, not Jacobson, not MMM, gave gay marriage prominence in this race.  She did so when she told Gannett columnist Jane Roh that she would change her vote on the issue.

“There are lots of reasons why I ultimately voted no. My position has evolved. I spent a lot of time on this issue, and at the end of the day, I would support it if it came before me.”

The Democrats, jumped on Beck’s curiously timed  “flip-flop.”   She had given them an issue.

The issue heated up again when Beck told Garden State Equality that she would vote to override Governor Christie’s veto of same sex marriage if given the opportunity.  Put on the spot, Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini took the same position with some reluctance.

As a result, Beck and Angelini’s running mate, Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, is now in a tough spot.

Casagrande has been, ummm, straight, in how she has responded to the issue.  She could have remained silent and let people continue to assume that she was against gay marriage rather than say she has yet to take a position.   This has resulted in attacks by Jacobson, Olivia Nuzzi and other Democrats who scoff at Casagrande’s insistence that the issue is not simple and that the rights of religious organizations need to be respected as well.

Gay marriage advocates say they have no problem with religious rights being protected and that is no longer a valid reason to withhold support of marriage equality.  While that might be true now, it has not been true in the 11th district’s recent past.  The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association lost the tax exempt status of its Pavilion in 2007 when it refused to allow a lesbian couple have a civil union ceremony there.  The Methodist organization told the couple they could have their ceremony on the boardwalk that is also owned by the group, but not in a structure where religious ceremonies are held.

That compromise wasn’t good enough and the couple complained to the State Division of Civil Rights.  Eventually, Lisa Jackson, Governor Corzine’s DEP Commissioner and now President Obama’s EPA Commissioner, declined to recertify the pavilion’s tax exempt status which the Camp Meeting Assoication had enjoyed under New Jersey’s  Green Acres program.   Reports indicate that the loss of tax exempt status for the structure cost the association about $20,000 per year.

New York’s recently enacted gay marriage law would have protected the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association from the lesbian couple’s complaint and from Jackson’s punitive action had it been law in New Jersey in 2007.   I’d be willing to bet that Jacobson, Nuzzi and the 11th district Democratic candidates did not know that before it reading here.  Garden State Equality was front in center in the 2007 fight against the Camp Meeting Association.  I’ve yet to hear a peep from them about the rights of the religious or the rights of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association in particular with regard to gay marriages now that New York has set a new standard.

While the gay marriage issue is not going away, so long as Chris Christie is governor it is not a practical political issue for a legislative race.  While Democrats are expected to continue their hold on the legislature, there in not enough support from their side of the isle to override a veto.  Garden State Equality blew their chance to get a gay marriage law passed when they agreed to Governor Corzine’s request that they not push the issue until after his re-election race.

The importance of gay marriage to voters in the 11th district depends on who you believe.  Beck told MMM that Garden State Equality told her that there are 10,000 same sex couples in the 11th district.  I would would want to see a list and match it up to the voter registration records before I bought that claim.  There is no historical evidence of such a voting block.

Until I see such a list, I won’t be convinced the issue is as critical to 11th district voters as 6 of the 7 candidates running seem to think it is.  Its the economy and those who are trying to make the campaign about something other than the economy think the voters of the 11th district are stupid.

While all this chatter is fun, it won’t have much of an impact on election day.  Despite a 10,000 voter registration edge for the Democrats, Jacobson and the Democrats expect the Republicans to win a low turnout election by a wide margin.

Coming soon, What if we held an election and nobody cared?  Part 2, 13th district.

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Casagrande’s Cowardice

By Olivia Nuzzi

As noted here, six of LD11’s seven legislative candidates have come out in support of gay marriage. They include Democratic Senate candidate Ray Santiago, Democratic Assembly candidates Vin Gopal and Kathy Horgan, and independent Assembly candidate Dan Jacobson. 

Also on the list are Republicans Senator Jennifer “Romney” Beck and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini, both of whom pledged – Angelini after significant hesitation – on September 18th during an interview with Garden State Equality at Monmouth University, to override Governor Christie’s veto of a same sex marriage bill should the opportunity arise in the next legislature. 

Conveniently, Caroline Casagrande, Beck and Angelini’s running mate, could not attend the event at Monmouth because she was busy with a “family commitment.” I suspect her family committed to travel far, far away from anyone asking her about gay marriage, an issue she has refused to take a stance on.

One of the many jobs of a public figure is to know a thing or two about public relations. Everybody, public figure or otherwise, knows that “no comment” is, more or less, always a confirmation. Evidently, no one forwarded that memo to Caroline Casagrande who has adopted a strict policy of “Don’t Ask me about gay marriage and I won’t Tell You a bunch of evasive nonsense.” 

Her refusal – while inexcusable – is understandable, given that without question, there are a significant number of voters in newly formed LD11 who are not going to agree with, accept or respect a politician who opposes gay marriage. However, no one can respect a coward. A coward, as it stands now, is precisely what Caroline Casagrande is.

If you want to be a social conservative, go ahead and be one – your base will revere you for it, and your ideological enemies will have no choice but to respectfully disagree. 

Instead of taking a stand, Ms. Casagrande has skirted around the issue of gay marriage, going as far as to employ Senator Sweeney’s regrettable history as a cop-out. 

By asking the “tough” questions that anybody who knows anything about the fight for marriage equality already knows the answer to, she is doing the best she can to make this seem complicated. “What about protections for religious institutions?” she challenged, as if the Big Bad Gays are planning to storm into Sunday mass to force the congregation to Vogue in unison. 

Ms. Casagrande is attempting to slide under the radar. She is hoping that this massive insult to the intelligence of those that she hopes to represent goes unnoticed. In adopting dishonesty as her policy, she has succeeded in fooling no one, she has merely made a fool of herself. 

You could call her running mate, Senator Jennifer “Romney” Beck, many things (a lobbyist or a liar, for instance), but a cowardly ideologue she is not. Ms. Beck at least had the guts to flip-flop as soon as LGBT-supportive Asbury Park and Ocean Grove became her problem. Maybe it’s just me, but I prefer the audacious displays of dishonesty to the panicked whispers… I’m a romantic, what can I say? 

Beyond embarrassing herself with her stunning lack of bravery and admission (however fabricated) that she cannot comprehend a simple issue, Ms. Ummmmm? also managed to miss an opportunity to follow the wide path of Declare and Defend set by her Messiah, Governor Christie. Aw shucks, what a shame.

We elect people who we believe possess the skills necessary to handle the many issues that NJ faces at once. If Ms. Casagrande can only handle one issue at a time, perhaps it is time for us to reevaluate her competence to serve. I say this only because I care about her well-being. After all, it would be cruel to continue to overwhelm her with the many complex legislative responsibilities that rest on her shoulders in Trenton. 

Olivia Nuzzi is a student from Middletown and an intern for the District 11 Democratic campaign.  MMM welcomes her fair and biased contributions. 

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Is bullet voting Un-American?

In last year’s municipal election in Neptune Township, Republican candidate for township committee Warren Lapp did not have a running mate.  He publicly encouraged voters to cast a “bullet vote” just for him, even though there were two committee seats open with candidates on the ballot.

The Neptune Democrats responded by calling Lapp un-American for suggesting such a thing.

Now Neptune Matters, the Republican leaning blog from the township is calling on Neptune Democrats Randy Bishop and Eric Houghteling to denounce Dan Jacobson, the 11th district Independent candidate for Assembly for asking voters to bullet vote for him.  Neptune Matters says that Bishop and Houghteling should call Jacobson un-American, but that they won’t because a bullet vote for Jacobson helps the Democratic candidates in the 11th.

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