“Congenial” Republican Primary in Atlantic Highlands Gets Ugly

Boms disavows Frotton’s flyer

Golden affirms his endorsements

In early April the four candidates running for two Republican nominations for Atlantic Highlands Borough Council declared in a facebook group that they would hold a “congenial and productive primary strengthening our Party for 2018 and beyond.”  In early May the candidates said that they wanted the primary voters, “not individuals who want to wield control,” to choose the nominees.

The candidates, Penny Hofman-Morris, Richard Colangelo, Brian Boms, and Jim Murphy are all friends.   Colangelo and Murphy work together. Boms coaches youth sports with Colangelo and does business him.

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Atlantic Highlands Councilman Jack Archibald Will Not Seek Reelection

By Muriel J. Smith and Art Gallagher

Jack Archibald

Atlantic Highlands Councilman Jack Archibald has withdrawn his candidacy for reelection.

Archibald submitted a letter to the County Committee which was read at a meeting of the borough’s Republican county committee on Monday. In his letter, the councilman stressed he is completing his term which runs out Jan. 1, 2018,  and will continue serving the borough.  However, citing personal reasons and commitments, he said he will not seek another term.

The councilman has been on the governing body for the past 25 years, serving on every committee at some time during his tenure. He has received commendations for work he has done and projects he has instituted or pursued while serving on Harbor, Police, Finance, Public Works , Recreation and  Water and Sewer.

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Atlantic Highlands Democrats Endorse Independent Republican Council Candidates

Former Mayor Fred Rast, a Republican, and Regina Keelen, Atlantic Highlands Democrat Chair, announce their support of Lou Fligor and Jake Hoffman for reelection

Atlantic Highlands-Democrat Candidates for Borough Council, Edward Cetron and Elliot Warren have withdrawn their names from the general election ballot and the local Democrat Party has endorsed incumbent Republican Councilmen Lou Fligor and Jake Hoffmann for reelection.  Fligor and Hoffmann are running for as Independents after being denied the Republican endorsement by GOP Municipal Chair Jane Frotton.

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“Party crashers” could determine Atlantic Highlands GOP mayoral nominee

Atlantic Highlands Councilmen Jack Archibald, left, and Lou Fligor, right, face off for the Republican nomination for mayor in the June 2 primary

Partisan primaries in New Jersey are usually very low turnout elections. Mostly they are uncontested, so only die hard partisans, poll workers and their friends who bring them doughnuts bother to vote. In Atlantic Highlands last year, of the roughly 700 registered Republicans, only 101 voted in the primary. Only 68 or the roughly 800 Democrats voted in the 2014 primary.

In contested primaries on a local level, the candidate with the “Party line” on the ballot usually has a huge advantage over a challenger.

The “Party line” advantage is being challenged in Atlantic Highlands in this year’s Republican primary on June 2.  Two long term Republican Councilmen are competing to be the Party’s nominee for mayor.   Incumbent Mayor Fred Rast, first elected in 2007, is keeping his promise to term limit himself out of office.  Councilman Jack Archibald and Councilman Lou Fligor both want to be mayor.

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Highlands: No Ferry Service Without Power Or More Police Support

Highlands Mayor Frank Nolan and Police Chief Joseph Blewet announced to an Emergency Information Meeting this afternoon that the borough’s restrictive access to downtown Highlands will continue for the foreseeable future and that as of now commuters will not be allowed to enter the town on Monday for ferry service to Manhattan.

Highlands has been closed to non-residents all week since the evacuation for Hurricane Sandy.  Police check points are in place at the two entrances to the community…at the base of the Captain Joseph Azzolina Bridge and at the corner of Waterwitch and Linden Avenues…no one without identification with a Highlands address or accompanied by a Highlands resident are allowed beyond the check points.

Blewet said there had been “a dozen or so” looting incidents reported and that the check points would continue until power is restored to the community.  The Highlands Police Department is being supported by officers from the State Attorney General’s office, the State Police, and the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office.

Nolan told MMM that Highlands would need at least three additional police officers inorder to allow commuters into town or the full restoration of power to the borough.  Highlands is not yet on JCPL’s schedule for power restoration, according to the information they provided the Christie Administration.

Seastreak LLC, the ferry service that operates out of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, sent an email to the customers on November 2 announcing that Nolan “will lift the public access restrictions” and that service would resume on Monday November 5.  The same message emailed was posted on the company’s website.

Jack Bevins, the Seastreak manager in charge at the Highlands Connors location told MMM that the company was indeed planning to resume limited service on Monday.  He said the Highlands OEM Director David Parker had given him permission, subject to a conversation with Blewet.  “This is the first I’ve heard there was a problem,” Bevins said when informed of Nolan’s and Blewet’s announcement.  He immediately left his crew that was restoring access to the fleet to speak with Blewet.

In Atlantic Highlands, Mayor Fred Rast and Harbor Commission Chairwoman Jane Frotton laughed at the notion of Seastreak operating out of their harbor on Monday.  The company’s announcement said they “hoped” to be able to resume service in Atlantic Highlands on Tuesday.  Rast and Frotton said the barge would have to be replaced and parking at the Senior Housing cleared before commuters would be allowed into Atlantic Highlands.   Tuesday appears to be a pipedream.

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Little Still Not Registered With FEC As A Candidate For Congress

10 days since MMM reported that Anna Little was a candidate for U.S. Senate and had terminated her candidacy for Congress as far as the Federal Election Commission is concerned, the former Highlands Mayor has yet to file a Statement of Organization.

Little terminated her Anna C. Little for Congress committee on April 2, 10 days after she was awarded the Middlesex GOP endorsement for the 6th Congressional District primary.   She filed a Statement of Organziation for U.S. Senate on February 13.   There is no active record on Little being a candidate for the House of Representative with the FEC, as of this writing.

Ernesto Cullari, the Monmouth GOP nominee in the CD-6 primary, filed his Statement of Organization on March 26.

Little’s treasurer, Brett Rappaport has yet to respond to an inquiry from the May 6 story.  Little’s former treasurer, Jane Frotton, said she had nothing to do with the FEC reports, despite her signature.  She also said to stop picking on Anna.

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