Senator Jennifer Beck, Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande
Last week I was treated to a column that the TriCities’ very own publisher (and Independent District 11 Assembly candidate) Dan Jacobson said he’d been ‘itching to write’. I’m not surprised that Dan was feeling a little itchy and uncomfortable prior to writing a column dramatically misrepresenting that I might endorse Dan in his latest political foray. I guess we can take some solace that at least Dan felt a little uncomfortable while knowingly misrepresenting my position! And I know it was intended to be tongue-in-cheek – just like the headline of this column and the made-up Dan quotes below. He did get some things right….Dan and I have indeed been friends for many years, and he is certainly correct that he was a supporter of mine from way-back when I was running for my first term on the Red Bank Borough Council. But I’m friends with a lot of folks that, despite our being friends, don’t receive my endorsement for political office.
I do appreciate Dan’s permitting me to use this space this week to set the record straight and offer my official endorsement for this year’s elections. I’m proud to run with, and support, my two outstanding running-mates: Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini from Ocean Township and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande from Colts Neck, a new demographic for Dan to reach.
Endorsing candidates is something I do not take lightly, and I make sure to hear from all sides before issuing any declaration. On that note, I did not just blindly support my running-mates. I made sure to also reach out to Dan and hear from him on what he’d like to do in his upcoming term if he is elected to return to the Assembly from his 18 year exile.
“Number one, I look forward to raising taxes again on everyday items, just as I did in my first term. Additional taxes on toilet paper, light bulbs, and eggs were such a resounding hit my first time around, I plan on doubling-down in my upcoming term!” Dan told me earlier this week.
Now, of course that’s not a real quote from Dan, just like his “quotes” of me endorsing him weren’t accurate in his column last week. But at least I got the facts straight – Dan did indeed vote in favor of all those taxes back when he originally served in the legislature. The residents of New Jersey couldn’t vote Dan and his legislative mates out of office fast enough then, so sorry Dan, as much as I value our friendship, it would be foolish of us to risk going down that path again. Actually, I should make clear that the “killing puppies” headline was a total fabrication. At least as far as I know.
But back to the choices you have in this election. If you agree that we need less taxation, limited government, leaders in property tax reform, and true accountability in the state legislature, the choice is clear. Both Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande have been vocal leaders in the Assembly, standing up for taxpayers throughout Monmouth County, and the State. My running mates and I have proven track records, having led the way on the historic reforms enacted over the past two years. While Dan may be a good friend, he can’t claim to have been a very effective legislator during his first term. Not honestly anyway.
We are proud to run as Republicans, but both myself and my running mates are extraordinarily deliberative and don’t always just vote the party line. And unlike Dan Jacobson, when we decide to take a stand that some in our party may be opposed to, we don’t resort to physical altercations with our fellow legislators! It’s bad enough the cast of the TV show Jersey Shore make it appear as if we New Jerseyians regularly settle our disputes that way – we don’t need the legislature lending credibility to the portrayal!
Dan is right that our friendship will not be affected by his independent run for the Assembly, and even when Mary Pat and Caroline are re-elected in November, I will still let him pick out the drapes for our legislative offices.
So I guess you heard it here first, Senator Jennifer Beck supports her running mates, Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande for the Assembly – emphatically and enthusiastically!
I’m glad I could clear things up. After all, I’m your Senator, I’m here to help!
In the New Jersey’s 11th legislative district, which comprises much of Monmouth County, 6 of the 7 candidates vying for 3 seats, one in the Senate and two in the Assembly, have come out in favor of same sex marriage. Two of the candidates, Republicans Senator Jennifer Beck and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini said they would break with their party and vote to override Governor Christie’s veto of a same sex marriage if given the opportunity.
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 Steve Sweeney vote no and then change his mind later?”
The issue is not simple to me. I believe that all people should have equal rights under the law. I don’t believe that homosexuals are deviant or immoral. I believe homosexuals are the way God made them. I created an exercise to demonstrate that sexual orientation is not a choice almost three years ago. Check it outonly if you’re willing to be disturbed.
Yet, I understand those who are morally opposed to gay marriage. I understand the argument that marriage is an institution that was defined milleniums ago, before any government that currently exists on our planet was conceived. I understand the desire of those who live their lives dedicated to or in aspiration of those traditions not to have their marriages redefined by a legislative body with an approval rating below 30%.
I suspect those who think the issue is simple, pro or con, think their opposites are just wrong. I suspect many who think the issue is simple, pro or con, have little respect for and even have distain for those who disagree with them. I think that is wrong.
Listen to the show, it you care about the issue. It is an interesting and civil conversation between three smart people with differing views who found enough common ground that Lassiter suggested the three of us run for the legislature together.
The first 18 minutes of the show is Matt and I talking politics and a three minute break to fix some technical difficulties. Jay joins us at the 18:20 mark. In the last ten minutes of the show there is some good natured political sparring.
I hope that you are entertained and informed by the show, which was sponsored by Repatriot Radio.
Senator Jennifer Beck and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini told representatives of Garden State Equality that they would vote to override a gubernatorial veto of a Same Sex Marriage bill, should such an opportunity come before them in the next legislature. The incumbent Republican legislators were being interviewed for GSE’s endorsement in the 11th legislative district election yesterday at Monmouth University.
Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, Beck and Angelini’s running mate, did not attend the interviews due to a family commitment. She spoke with GSE privately today. Casagrande has not yet taken a position on gay marriage.
Beck, who has previously voted against Marriage Equality in the Senate, was unabashed in her commitment to cast an override vote. Angelini, who has long supported same sex marriage rights, was reluctant say she would vote to override Governor Christie’s veto, but finally did so, according to sources who were in the room.
Garden State Equality’s President Steven Goldstein would not say if the women’s pledge would result in the organization’s endorsement. “Those commitments are being taken into consideration as we complete our evaluation process,” Goldstein said. He indicated that the endorsements would be forthcoming later this week.
Beck is competing with Freehold Township attorney Ray Santiago, the Democratic nominee for Senate. Both support same sex marriage.
Angelini and Casagrande are competing with Democrats Vin Gopal,Red Bank Councilwoman Kathy Horgan and Independent Dan Jacobson, all marriage equality advocates. Jacobson told GSE that they should endorse Angelini because she is the only Republican in the Assembly who has supported their cause.
Beck told MMM that gay marriage is one of the very few issues with which she differs with the governor, “I support him 99.99999%, but we differ on this issue.”
“We all believed that civil unions would provide equal rights,” said Beck, “but that has turned out not to be the case for many people. I was very conflicted over my Senate vote against marriage equality because I personally believe in it, yet I voted against the bill because I felt the majority of my district was against it. I believe the majority of my new district is more open minded and in favor of equal rights.”
Angelini has not responded to MMM’s call for comment. However, Beck said she understood her running mate’s reticence to pledge to override Christie’s veto. “It is not an easy decision. We all have great respect and admiration for Governor Christie, personally and politically. He is a great leader. ”
Beck also noted that the bill recently passed in New York giving same sex couples the right to marriage has stronger protections for religious institutions than the bill that came before the New Jersey legislature during the 2009-2010 lame duck session. Beck said she would only support a bill that had such protections.
By Dan Jacobson, also published in the September 15th edition of the triCityNews
This is a column I’ve been itching to write.
I’m running as an Independent for the state Assembly in the 11th District. While the odds of winning are tough, it’s not impossible.
And I’m quite serious about holding the office. I’d be great at it. Mostly because I can’t stomach bullshit. Visit my campaign website at danjacobson.net. You’ll see.
But I never take myself too seriously. And since politics these days is pretty much a cheesy joke, I’m also having fun with the campaign.
Like with this column. Oh man, I’d love to be there when Republican State Senator Jennifer Beck sees the headline – she has no idea what to expect! Don’t anyone tell her!
Here’s the deal.Everyone knows that Jennifer and I have been close friends since this newspaper started almost 13 years ago. As a result of redistricting, she’s now in the new11th District where I’m running for the Assembly. So will she endorse me?
“Dan Jacobson is a great friend, and I think he’d make a great Assemblyman – if he were running as a Republican,” Beck said. “I wish he’d join our party already. I would do everything I could to get him elected if he ever ran as a Republican – no matter what office he was seeking.”
“The best thing for our state right now is to elect Republicans to the Senate and Assembly, and I am fully supporting my running mates, Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini,” she said. “They are both excellent legislators, and I work extremely well with them.”
Of course, Jennifer didn’t say any of that. I just made it up. I’m 100 percent serious! I do that every so often with Jen in the paper, and it’s hilarious. What’s so funny is that it’s always what she would have said! No doubt I nailed it here once again. Guaranteed.
The reason Jen would stress out over the headline? She’d wonder if I was about to cause havoc with her running-mates or with the Republican Party by somehow making it seem like we’re in cahoots in this election, or that she may endorse me. (Beck wouldn’t freak out about the phony quotes. She’s used to those by now. Bet she burst out in laughter when she reads them.)
But here’s the fun part for me. I get to make my point about the absurdity of party politics. Plus, I get to tease my friend Jennifer Beck.
After all, why can’t Beck say that I’d be a great Assemblyman and suggest a vote for me or her two running mates?I’m an Independent, not a Democrat. Why not just say she supports all three of us, and let the voters pick two? Everyone gets two votes.
Even better, Jennifer and I are almost identical in our views on social and economic issues – even closer than her two running mates! Surely, that should merit some type of endorsement!
(Admittedly, Beck’s running mates – Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande – along with Jennifer and I, pretty much agree on economic issues. The difference comes in on social issues: Jen and I are both pro-choice and favor same sex marriage. Mary Pat is with us on same-sex marriage, but is pro-life. Caroline is a true social conservative: both against same-sex marriage and pro-life.)
But my point remains: I’m still closest with Beck on the issues!
“All the more reason to join me in the Republican Party, and run as a Republican,” Beck responded, in another quote that I just made up.
Anyway, isn’t this all so silly? Who gives a shit about parties these days? People are sick of the partisan bullshit. In fact, I’ve never heard so many people say they don’t care about a candidate’s party. They’ve had it.
Meanwhile, with the recent redistricting, Beck just picked up a ton of new territory that she never represented before – which happens to be exactly where the triCityNews circulates!
Yup, once again this newspaper has made her. For almost thirteen years, Beck has been heavily covered in the triCity region of eastern Monmouth County – a big reason she’s going to kick ass in November. Now she represents this region! And this all started because she was a great story way back in 1999, when as an unknown thirty-two year old Republican she beat the Ed McKenna Democratic machine up in Red Bank to win a Council seat.
TriCity went all out for Beck in that election. We thought Red Bank needed to be shaken up. Our push culminated with a huge front page headline the week before the election stating: “We back Beck!”
The triCityNews – still less than a year old – caught a lot of shit for that. Like we cared. We then predicted Beck’s rise – accurately stating she’d make it to the state Assembly and Senate. We also predicted she’d go higher, such as to Congress or Lieutenant Governor. I still say that will happen.
Although Beck’s coverage in the triCityNews has been overwhelmingly positive, we did have two problems in the past 13 years. Hey, at the triCityNews we always call it like we see it!
The first was about ten years ago when I completely blasted Jennifer for not having the balls – as it were – to challenge Ed McKenna for Mayor of Red Bank. Man, we hammered her. Jen didn’t talk to me for a year. And about three years ago, I again completely blasted her for voting against same-sex marriage. Jen took that one better: she didn’t talk to me for only six months.
(Beck reversed her position on same sex marriage a few months ago – a story first reported in this newspaper. And, yes, the quotes we printed in that article were really from her.)
So, yeah, Jen and I are still great friends. In fact, whenever I speak to her these days, the first thing I ask is what colors she’d prefer for the legislative office I tell her we’ll share when I win.
But all joking aside, let me make something clear: When I declared my candidacy, I told Jennifer that we would have no discussions about campaign activities. She immediately agreed. And that’s what we’ve done. I have no idea what the Republicans are doing, and Beck has no idea of what I’m doing. I insisted on that so Jennifer would have no problems with the Republican Party or her running mates.
And while I’m having a good time here, let me say some kind words about those in the Assembly race from both parties. After all, I like my opponents – it’s the whole Goddamned system that’s pissing me off. That’s what I’m targeting by running.
I voted for Mary Pat Angelini last time for Assembly. I’d vote for her again this year if I wasn’t running. I love Mary Pat. She’s one of the few normal people I know in politics. (This year I’m “bullet voting” for just myself. It’s the best way to send a message.)
And, if I weren’t running, my second vote would likely go to Caroline Casagrande. More than anyone else on the ballot, I sense Caroline shares my gut libertarian instincts on economic issues. And those issue are most important this year.
But that second vote would be a tough choice: The other remaining candidate is Democrat Vin Gopal, with whom I’m in total agreement on social issues. He’s a young guy in his mid-20s who’s also in the publishing business. Vin puts out a community newspaper and magazines in Northern Monmouth. I got to love that! Plus Vin reminds me of a young Dan Jacobson when I served a term in the state Assembly in my 20s. Vin is just a lot nicer. Great guy.
(As of the deadline for this column, Democrat Marilyn Schlossbach, an Asbury Park restaurant owner, had dropped out of the race, and no replacement had been named. If I hadn’t run this year– and Marilyn had stayed in – she’d have gotten my second vote. We’ve known each other for over 25 years, and I love what Marilyn has done for Asbury Park. She too has received extensive coverage since 1999 in the triCityNews for her various activities.)
So there you go. Jennifer Beck is now breathing a sigh of relief. I’ve caused her no trouble with the Republicans in this column. And I’ve been able to say only the nicest things about my opponents. It’s like the fantasy campaign.
Wouldn’t it be wild if lightning struck and I actually won this election? Who runs a campaign like this?
By Dan Jacobson, also published in the September 9 edition of the triCityNews
I just can’t help myself.
When there’s an angle to a controversy that no one else will touch, I’ve got to reach out and grab it with both hands.
I just can’t stand it when a media horde goes off hell bent in one direction and misses a big part of a story. Add in a scrum of politicians riding the wave for their own advantage, and I get sucked in that much more.
I just call it like I see it. That’s what I’ve always done as a Publisher. It’s what I’m doing now as an Independent candidate for the State Assembly.
So let’s get the controversy going with the state’s new anti-bullying law, which took effect in our schools on September 1.
Passed overwhelmingly by the state legislature and signed by the Governor, the law is the toughest in the nation to stop bullying. Make no mistake. This is a huge problem.
It’s no longer some bullies in a schoolyard. With Facebook pages, websites and texting, bullying has moved to cyberspace. You could have dozens, if not hundreds, of kids tormenting another child. It’s sick.
So anti-bullying advocates joined with Garden State Equality – the state’s leading gay and lesbian civil rights organization – to get the new law passed. Given that this paper is a big supporter of Garden State Equality, and that the media reports were all glowing, the anti-bullying law sure sounded like a no brainer to me, even if I didn’t know all the details.
Meanwhile, some right-wing Republicans were expressing opposition – I assumed because Garden State Equality was in favor. What a bunch of sick bigots, I thought.
Then a couple weeks ago, I was talking with powerful Republican blogger Art Gallagher of Highlands. Art and I share a libertarian streak on economics, and often agree on policy. As I’m leaving, he says that the anti-bullying law will be a costly mess to implement, and school districts are up in arms over it. An agitated Gallagher claimed it’s a complete overreaction to the problem.
I dismissed his comments as the rantings of a red neck Republican.
Five days later, the New York Times – of all newspapers – runs a front page story reporting that New Jersey schools are struggling with the costs and burdens of implementing the law!
I was shocked.
“I think this has gone well overboard,” Richard G. Bozza, executive director of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators told the Times. “Now we have to police the community 24 hours a day. Where are the people and the resources to do this?”
The Times article stated that while many parents and educators welcome the new law, others say it “reaches much too far, and complain that they have been given no additional resources to meet its mandates.”
Of course, when all the politicians got up at the press conferences to brag about passing the anti-bullying law, no one – including the mainstream media – told us the other side of the story. Specifically, that the state was providing no money to local school districts to implement it.
Hey, it’s easy to be a hero when someone else is picking up the tab.
And if we can’t get the full story on the anti-bullying law, imagine how screwed we get on legislation with much less noble purposes. Unfortunately, no politician was willing to expose themselves politically as having reservations on the anti-bullying law. It’s like questioning Mom and Apple Pie.
Of course, the media is too dumb to pick up on the concerns, with the exceptions of the New York Times after the fact and local Republican blogger Art Gallagher, a most improbable combination indeed. (Check out the Times article on-line entitled “Bullying Law Puts New Jersey Schools on Spot” on August 30.)
Let me be clear: I still believe the anti-bullying law is a good thing. There’s a broad public benefit – a real chance to incorporate an ethic against bullying into our culture. This is not a bullshit piece of legislation. But there should have been an honest effort to pay for it. That would have exposed the bill to more rigorous analysis, and increased the chances that any parts not cost-beneficial would have been dropped. And it would not have left local school districts, already burdened with budget cuts, to pay the tab.
Before the New York Times article, I would have said I’m for the anti-bullying law, based on who was advocating for it, as well as the severity of the problem it attacks. As one sponsor recently said, “How could anyone be against this?”
But this is a great example of how not everything is exactly what it seems in government. Look, I’d rather not go down to Trenton and be the crank who always votes no on politically popular legislation that everyone else supports.
Yet I can see that happening. I absolutely refuse to sit there and lie with a straight face. If I see bill after bill come by me to make politicians heroes – while handing the tab to someone else to pay – I’d probably start voting no on every one.
Don’t know if I’d have been at that stage with the anti-bullying law. At the least, I would have offered amendments on ways to pay for it – and get the legislature on record as literally passing the buck. Maybe doing that enough times on enough bills would get the media to take notice.
Not taking responsibility to pay for what we spend has got to stop, no matter how noble the cause. It’s bullshit. If something like the anti-bullying law is that important – and it is – then give the local school districts the money to pay for it. But perhaps that would have doomed the law. How quaint. How hypocritical.
Bleeding heart liberals and red neck Republicans can all unite on what I’m saying. After all, not taking fiscal responsibility is what causes taxes to go up. And when the money inevitably runs out, it’s the truly vulnerable who always get screwed — they don’t have the votes, the campaign contributions or the media clout to protect themselves.
So remember this column the next time you see politicians doing what they do best: looking like heroes at a press conference.
By Dan Jacobson, also published in the August 25, 2011 edition of The triCityNews
This Publisher is unapologetically opinionated in these pages. Often with a harsh, abrasive and profane style.
How do I get away with it? By happily running commentary trashing this newspaper or me personally. We love doing that. It’s what provides balance. Quite effectively.
Currently, I’m running as an Independent for the state Assembly. And I’ve been bluntly stating my positions in these columns the past couple months.
So it’s time to publish some opposition! And I’ve got the perfect source – the reader comments on the website of powerful Republican blogger Art Gallagher. Art lets me post these columns on his More Monmouth Musings site, and my commentary certainly draws some fire. Almost all the comments are posted anonymously.
So in the interest of balance – as well as a creative way to take a week off from this column – I present these opposing viewpoints about the Jacobson for Assembly campaign:
Dan Jacobson lacks the character and the brains to be elected to public office. It goes without saying – and without having to hold a general election – that most voters around here feel the same way.
–Truth
Dan,
There is no doubt you have some great communication skills. However, being pro choice and favoring same sex marriage is your downfall. I suggest you speak with a strong religious scholar. You might just find the missing link in your life.
—Momwiilto
What a nightmare this guy’s writing is. And he runs a newspaper?
Besides, he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s trying to disguise his one issue, that of gay marriage. He can’t win, but he’d love to play spoiler.
–Freespeaker1976
Can this guy write a piece without using an expletive?
Reaching for shock value much? Seems as though that is the only chance he has got to garner attention.
–Acollegerepublican
Really? Who cares? Only you. Of all the issues they need to be worrying about, this ranks very near the bottom. I say to all of you NYers, regardless of orientation, go back to NY.
–Abe (In response to a column in support of same-sex marriage)
Dan Jacobson, using your paper the way you are right now as an official candidate is, in my opinion, very unethical.
–Commonsense
Dan who? … (Yawn)
–Parabellum
I don’t understand why he is doing this. Dan should worry about his newspaper.
–Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vic Scudiery (obviously concerned about me cutting into the Democratic vote)
Sounds like he wants to be a spoiler to hurt the GOP….just like that “Tea party” candidate did in that upstate NY Congressional District recently.
–TheDigger (obviously concerned about me cutting into the Republican vote)
Dan has an entertaining paper but he will have ZERO impact on this race. Maybe 10 democrats, 10 republicans and 50 nut jobs will vote for him. I hope he has fun with it because at least that will spice it up a little.
–TR (obviously concerned about me cutting into nobody’s vote)
Do the words “duplicitous rear end schmuck” mean anything?
–FreeSpeaker1976
Another entrant in the “attention whore of the Jersey Shore”. Congrats on being the first “male” entrant Dan.
–Brian
I too was less than enchanted with Jacobson’s potty mouth language, but then; I thought about it for a moment.
BRILLIANT MOVE ART, publishing (this column). It shows what an arse Jacobson is. Take it for what it’s worth, Rush Limbaugh does this a lot. He lets the idiots talk and the more they talk, the more they expose their idiocy.
But then, what do you expect from a rabid left wing loon.
–Freespeaker1976
Is Jacobson talking about himself being an ass? Beyond that, I have never seen such a run-on and worthless writing style. God save us if this fool wins an election.
The only thing he seems to be good for is the sale of Tums for people who need them after they read his bilge.
–Freespeaker1976
So Mr. Jacobson, Michelle Bachman is a wacko? Why, because she has different ideas about religion and social issues then you do? There are a large number of people who agree with her on those issues. In many parts of the Country they are a majority.
Let me add this Michelle Bachman has provided foster care for 23 children. If she is a wacko we need more of them. Have you ever done anything nearly that selfless? I know I sure have not and I doubt you have either. No all you can do is sit back and be a smart mouth. I would ask you if you have any shame but I already know the answer.
From now on I propose you be known by a more appropriate name… Mr. Jackass.
–TR
Right TR – Dan Jacobson is an intellectual lightweight who can only resort to calling people names – especially when they are light years ahead of him in ability and accomplishment. Michelle Bachmann is a brilliant tax attorney who understands the dire straits our country is in. She is a strong leader who has undergone more scrutiny in a week than our Muslim president has undergone in six years. His candidacy is a joke – this just confirms it.
–Proud Republican
…and that idiots like this can be candidates for office is further proof that not only is this country going to implode, it deserves to.
–Brian
(The 11th 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.)
Prolific Reporter Is Joining The Asbury Park Press
Dustin Racioppi is taking his considerable talent to The Asbury Park Press. Hopefully the creative and entrepreneurial scribe will not be stifled by the suits at Gannett.
“Hopefully I won’t become a “Nudnik'”, said Dustin when confirming his move.
In his two years at RedBankGreen Dustin demonstrated an enviable ability to report local events from car accidents to council meetings with a compelling flair that kept readers coming back for more. He contributed mightly to the impressive growth of RBG and to the emergence of the “hyber-local” news business that the corporate media giants are now unwittingly attempting to homogenize.
Focus is a key to Dustin’s success. He lived and breathed his beat of Red Bank, Fair Haven, Rumson and Middletown. Last year while preparing to cover Congressman Frank Pallone’s office hours in Long Branch, I reached out to Dustin to see if he was going to cover it. “Long Branch is Jupiter to us,” was his response.
I was surprised when I first heard that Dustin was leaving RBG. While preparing to move MMM to this domain from the old blogspot site I sent a feeler out to Dustin about joining me. “I love working for John Ward,” was his immediate response. That was obvious from the quality of his work.
And Ward, owner/publisher of RBG, obviously loved having Dustin work for him. In an “Help Wanted” ad for reporters on RBG, Ward says:
We’re interested in teaming up with people who can quickly gather information and shape it into brief stories that are factually solid and fair, yet more than mere stenography. A distinctive and confident writer’s voice, or a desire to develop one, is a must. So is a broad range of interests, from the arts to public policy to business. The ability to take a decent photograph is a big plus. Wannabes, whiners and prima donnas: please don’t waste our time. We’re interested in working only with those who demonstrate entrepreneurial energy and focus on what needs to be done. Yeah, they sound boring, but they’re the most fun to be around. And we do have fun here.
In other words, John is looking to clone Dustin. Not an easy person to find, as I have learned over the last year. If you’re out there and love politics more than sprinkling fire hydrants or fireworks shows, call me first, or last.
Dustin’s move comes at a difficult time for RBG as it faces competition for advertising dollars from the patch.com sites and perhaps The Two River Times. Two weeks ago, Dan Jacobson reported in the triCityNews that TRT’s new publisher Ellen McCarthy was planning to convert the weekly paper’s website to an active news site with daily updates. If McCarthy has started doing so, I haven’t noticed. It’s probably still in the planning stages. Diane Gooch is still listed as publisher on the TRT site, an indication that they haven’t gotten to working on the website yet.
MMM wishes the best for Dustin at APP, and for Ward and RBG. While we’re at it, we wish the best for McCarthy and TRT and we pray the Neptune Nudniks learn from Dustin rather than trying to train him into a dead tree scribe. The more quality sources of local information available the better for all of us in this Internet age. I’m pretty sure Ward knows that. Maybe the Nudni’s are beginning to figure that out, but probably not. Jacobson doesn’t care. Only Dan knows how to make dead trees sing.
We don’t wish Patch well so much. We’d love them if they put out a consistently quality product, but that’s difficult if not impossible to do with part-time writers working for an extra $50-$100 per week. In the mean time they’re only mucking up the revenue side of the business. Patch’s only hope long term is for AOL/Ariann Huffington to pay Ward, Jacobson or me hundreds of millions of dollars and then leave us alone to do what we want to do.
By Dan Jacobson, also published in the August 18 edition of the triCityNews
When you’re running for office in America, there’s the inevitable question about the seriousness of your campaign:
How much money are you going to raise?
People are now starting to ask that about me. Because I’m running for the state Assembly as an Independent. And I’ve been getting lots of attention lately by bluntly stating my positions in this space. Exactly as I’ve always done as Publisher of the triCityNews.
In fact, serving as an Assemblyman would be an extension of my work as a journalist. It would provide another platform for my advocacy at the state level. But most rewarding would be how I’d hold the office – with complete independence to say and do what I want. I’d owe no one. And I completely reject politics as we know it today.
Yeah, I admit it. I have some big ambitions here. I want to break the mold of politics in this state.
And that starts with my campaign.
Of course, I’d love to do the actual work of an Assemblyman. But I’m certainly not obsessed with getting elected. And that obsession is what I can’t stand about politicians. I can’t even listen to candidates anymore. It’s too infuriating. In fact, politics today is downright cheesy. I think it’s demeaning to those running. It’s actually embarrassing to watch.
So whether it’s glad-handing at political events, handing out the same old campaign literature, mouthing the typical bullshit or getting caught up in the money chase – I’m rejecting it all. Yup, I won’t do it. And I don’t give a shit. If that’s the only way to win, then I don’t win. No problem. I don’t want the office any other way. I don’t want to be a cheesy politician.
Which brings me back to fundraising.
“Dan will wake some people up,” said powerful Republican blogger Art Gallagher on his More Monmouth Musings blog about my candidacy recently. “But unless he raises and spends some serious money, he will not be a factor.”
Art may indeed be right. The major party candidates, backed by their state party organizations, have been known to spend over $1 million in hotly contested legislative districts. Of course, everyone knows what that money represents – and where it comes from. It’s gross. I know firsthand. I was in such a race 20 years ago in my late 20s when I won one term in the state Assembly. Never again. It’s disgusting.
Look, I’ve stated flat-out that I don’t expect to win. No Independent in New Jersey has won an Assembly seat in 50 years. So the odds are overwhelmingly against me. And conventional wisdom says that you’ve got to raise serious money to be a serious candidate.
Then again, I’m not a conventional guy, and I’ve always rejected conventional thought. I make my own judgments. And I would not run if I didn’t at least think I could win. It is possible.
This is a five candidate race featuring two Republicans, two Democrats and me. We are competing for the two Assembly seats in the 11th District. Voters can vote for up to two candidates. I may get only 10 percent of the vote. Or I may win by 10 votes. Maybe I’ll lose by 10 votes. Perhaps I’ll come in first by 1,000 votes.
I really don’t care. That’s the liberating part. I know exactly how I want to run this campaign. And I know exactly how I’d serve if elected. That’s all set in stone. There’s no deviating from it.
That means winning or losing is out of my hands. As it should be – because I won’t change who I am or what I say to affect the outcome. Got no interest in doing so. That’s why this campaign may have a special resonance with voters if they pick up on it.
My beliefs are united by one thing – a knee-jerk reaction against the concentration of power, wherever it may be found. That includes government employee unions who use mandatory dues to elect those sitting across the bargaining table. That includes powerful corporations that get government favors instead of competing in the free market. It also includes big media – my disgust with the Gannett-owned Asbury Park Press is well-documented. And it includes political parties who order elected officials what to do. I recoil against it all.
As for social issues, I’m pro-choice and in favor of same sex marriage. Government should not be involved in such private matters.
By the way, there will be some money spent on this campaign. I’m not disclosing how much. That will eventually be on the campaign finance reports. But it will certainly not be considered “serious money”. Yup, I want to be that cheap. I’ll owe no one.
Keep in mind, however, that there are two things I know quite well: Communications and politics. In the end, I say my unconventional campaign – run purposely on the cheap – will have as much punch as a conventional one spending $100,000.
Still, is that enough for an Independent to win? Probably not. But it’s not impossible.
So why do this at all?
Here’s my motivation: It would be tremendously satisfying to win this campaign by saying exactly what I think. Literally not changing one word. I’ve never seen that done before. What an accomplishment that would be!
That, in turn, would lead to the most professionally rewarding experience possible in government: Holding an elected office without owing anyone. After running a campaign where you told voters the truth.
That’s the fantasy of all decent people who’d like to serve in public office. And that’s the only way I’m willing to do it.
(The 11th 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.)
Editors note: All candidates for any office are welcome to submit material to MMM. You don’t even have to be a candidate for office to submit. As long as I think your stuff will be of interest to my readers, I’ll probably publish it, unless it needs more than 30 seconds worth of editing. If your stuff needs lots of editing, I probably won’t open your second email.
If you quote me and stroke my ego, your chances of publication are very good. Send to Artvg at aol dot com.
By Dan Jacobson, also published in the July 14 edition of the triCityNews
So I’m running as an Independent for the state Assembly in the 11th District. Got a letter the other day from NJEA President Barbara Keshishian inviting me to submit my views on public education. Apparently, the teachers union has begun to consider candidate endorsements. Here’s what I sent:
Yes! I do want the endorsement of the NJEA. Of course!
First, let’s dispense with some unpleasantries.
I want school vouchers tried in poor urban school districts. If successful, I’d want vouchers expanded statewide to develop an alternative education system competing with the public sector. I also don’t believe government employee unions should use mandatory dues for political purposes.
And I support the recently-passed pension and health benefits reform bill as a step in the right direction, although its supporters overstate its impact. (Of course, the bill – surprise, surprise – leaves unstated who will pay the taxes that it clearly requires. Wow, what courage. No wonder the pension system has been underfunded for 15 years.)
Since 1999, I’ve published the triCityNews weekly newspaper – with the largest readership in the 11th District – and I’ve followed one rule: We call it like we see it. We respect our readers enough not to pander to them, even if it pisses them off. And that’s exactly what I’m doing with voters. Same with this letter, which I’m publishing verbatim in my paper.
Contrast that with the NJEA’s recent experience. The Democrats told you everything you wanted to hear to get your support, and you demand almost 100 percent adherence to your agenda. Of course, they don’t believe in any of it. All they believe in is getting elected. You saw the results when Democratic leaders stabbed you in the back on the pension bill. Now all sides look like fools.
The Republicans? Governor Christie claims he has no problem with the teachers – only with your union. He’s full of shit. The Republican Party is purposely demonizing public school teachers to gain political advantage. They’re communicating to voters that widespread teacher incompetence is a major problem in the education system.
It’s not. Although widespread incompetence among lawmakers in Trenton is certainly a major problem. Issues like teacher testing, tenure reform and seniority reform are all bullshit. They have nothing to do with containing costs or radically transforming the way education is delivered in our state. They have everything to do with getting Republicans elected by trashing teachers. Watch for a push on those issues before the November election.
For me, it’s all about school vouchers giving parents a choice. School vouchers set up a system where the public and private sectors compete against each other. That means peak performance by everyone. Let the teachers, administrators and union in each public school figure out for themselves how to retain and attract students. They’re talented enough to do so. If not, parents will send their kids elsewhere, and the school will close. It’s what we face in the private sector every day. What am I missing?
The best teacher testing? It’s whether a parent will send their kids to a particular school. That’s the best test. Not a state bureaucracy pushing teachers to make students do better on standardized tests. Especially if test results are linked to teachers getting merit pay. That all seems a bit weird to me.
If school vouchers work, the competition will make every school provide the best education it possibly can. Those that don’t – either public or private – will cease operations. And those teachers displaced will seek jobs at new schools or those expanding. In fact, you’ll likely see entrepreneurial public school teachers go out and open their own private schools. The world is changing, and our system of education must change with it.
The last thing you want is the dead hand of government in the middle of all this competition, regulating the classroom and teachers in the public schools. That defeats the whole purpose. Let the teachers and the NJEA suggest the changes in the law they need to compete in a voucher system. Not impose it on them.
Call me crazy, but I think the NJEA should come out for vouchers in some poor urban school districts to see if it works. Why not take a broadly defensible position for a change? Why not say you want to compete? And if successful, vouchers should be responsibly implemented statewide, like over a decade, so any problems can be flagged. That’s not going to kill teachers in the system today. And who says the public schools can’t compete? This all should have been done 20 years ago.
When parents have a choice – and they then voluntarily choose the public schools – the NJEA will win the public’s support the old-fashioned way: by earning it. It’s what we do in the private sector, and there’s nothing more rewarding.
So why endorse me?
Because I’ll tell you the truth. Unlike the bullshit you’ve been getting from both parties, this candidate believes in the professionalism of our state’s teachers. My positions indicate that. My differences with the NJEA involve financial constraints, and how to build a transformative system of education to better respond to society’s needs.
But without at least trying vouchers, even I’d eventually have to go for the highly flawed alternatives: teacher testing, merit pay, and tenure and seniority “reform” (the last two which risk politicization of the hiring and firing process). At least I think I would. What a dumb scenario that would all be: The dead hand of government flopping around trying to improve the education system to deal with the many challenges – both economic and social – that we face.
So there you go, NJEA! A candidate who truly respects your membership and tells you the truth.
When do the teachers arrive to start picketing my house?
Dan Jacobson
Independent candidate for the State Assembly
11th District
(The 11th 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.)
Our guest was Lon Hosford, a Tea Party activist who challenged Leonard Lance in the NJ CD7 GOP primary last year.
My partner/co-host former Senator Dick LaRossa shocked me when while introducing Hosford he referred to Lance as a RINO that is “unfortunately our 7th district congressman.”
As much as I disagree with some of Lance’s votes, most notably his votes for “cap and trade” and “cash for clunkers,” I think the RINOplasties that much of the right wing of the NJ GOP and the Tea Parties often engage in is counter productive. Especially while we are in a minority, conservatives damage our ultimate cause of reducing the size of government when we are aggressively intolerant of Republican office holders and candidates who are too moderate for our liking.
Many of us need to learn Politics 101 from the NJ Democrats. Three weeks ago the NJ Democratic Party was deeply divided over the pension and benefits reform bills. Their coalition of unions and progressives were enraged with the legislative leadership and those “turn coats” that joined with the Republican legislators to pass the bills. There was some talk of leadership challenges to Senate President Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver.
Less than ONE WEEK later they were united against their common “enemy,” Governor Christie and the Republicans. Blue Jersey ran an anti-Sweeney ad, which is now gone from that site, urging progressive not to support Sweeney should he run for governor. There was no movement to challenge Sweeney’s reelection to the Senate.
New Jersey Republicans, particularly ideological conservatives and Tea Partiersdon’t have that level of maturity and sophistication. Many of us would rather purge those who don’t pass our ideological purity test and potentially lose an a “safe” seat to a Democrat than do the work required to educate and pursuade our friends, families and neighbors to vote for Republicans.
You can probably imagine that we had an interesting debate on the show. You don’t have to imagine. Listen to it:
During the second half hour of the show Dan Jacobson, publisher of the triCityNews, MoreMonmouthMusings contributor, and Independent candidate for Assembly in the 11th legislative district called in. Dan made some excellent points about the damage conservatives have done historically, particularly in 2006, by sitting out elections and letting Democrats take over. Dan also had some surprisingly nice things to say about the Tea Party.
During the last 20 minutes of the show Hosford, LaRossa and I talked about the difference Tea Parties can make and the power of using social media to do so.
I hope you tune in next Tuesday from 5PM-6PM for the LaRossa and Gallagher: Real Jersey Guys On The Radio Show sponsored by Repatriot Radio. The show is broadcast on WIFI 1460 AM and on the Internet at wifiam1460.com
