Serena DiMaso will be elected Monmouth County Freeholder at the Title 19 convention of the Monmouth GOP Committee on January 14. Bob Walsh will withdraw during his speech before the convention.
Bill Spadea defeats Donna Simon and John Saccenti at a Title 19 convention of the 16th legislative district to fill the assembly seat vacated by the death of Peter Biondi. After recounts and law suits, the November special election for the seat is declared a tie between Spadea and Democratic Princeton Committeewoman Sue Nemeth. Another special election is scheduled for January of 2013.
Joe Oxley will be named Township Administrator and In House Attorney for Wall Township. The appointment will forward a statewide trend of municipalities hiring either attorneys or engineers as their administrators as a cost saving measure. Oxley is reelected GOP County Chairman by acclamation. Senator Jennifer Beck will give the nominating speech. Christine Hanlon will be Vice Chair.
Middletown will get a new Parks and Recreation Director. It won’t be Linda Baum or Pam Brightbill.
Jim McGreevey is ordained an Episcopal priest.
Jon Corzine remembers where he put the $1.2 billion.
Senator Joe Kyrillos will be the GOP nominee for U.S. Senator, defeating Anna Little and Joseph Rudy Rullo in the primary.
Congressman Steve Rothman defeats Congressman Bill Pascrell in the Democratic primary for the 9th Congressional District nomination. In the only surprise of the primary, former Bergen County GOP Freeholder Anthony Cassano, who had agreed to take one for the team in the 9th, was defeated when the Bergen County Tea Party Group organized a write-in campaign for Anna Little. Little was on the ballot as a U.S. Senate candidate. Having lost the Senate nomination to Joe Kyrillos, Little accepts the nomination, asks Kyrillos to host a fundraiser for her, and promises to move into the district if she wins. She doesn’t.
Maggie Moran defeats Vin Gopal and Frank “LaHornica” LaRocca in a close election for the Monmouth County Democratic Chairmanship.
James Hogan of Long Branch is the GOP nominee for Congress in New Jersey’s 6th Congressional District. Frank Pallone is reelected by 8%.
Jordan Rickards of North Brunswick is the GOP nominee for Congress in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District. Rush Holt is reelected by 15%.
On August 28, the second day of the Republican National Convention, the National Weather Service warns that Hurricane Chris is heading towards the Jersey Shore. Acting Governor Kim Guadagno gets on TV and says, “Get the heck off of the beach please.”
Mitt Romney will be the GOP nominee for President of the United States. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will be the Vice Presidential nominee.
President Obama nominates Vice President Joe Biden to be Secretary of State. Biden submits his resignation as VP effective upon both houses of congress confirming his successor. President Obama nominates Hillary Clinton as Vice President. Speaker of the House John Boehner refuses to schedule confirmation hearings for the VP nomination on the constitutional grounds that their is no vacancy in the office. Obama makes them both recess appointments. Clinton is nominated for VP at the Democratic National Convention and Secretary of State Biden spends October in China.
Despite losing their home states of Massachusetts and New Jersey, the Romney-Christie ticket wins the electoral college by one vote, 270-269. The winning vote comes from Maine, one of two states that awards electoral votes by congressional district. Romney-Christie lose Maine 3-1 but win the election. Obama-Clinton file suit to challenge Maine’s method of awarding electoral votes. Romney-Christie counter with a suit in Nebraska, which they won 4 electoral votes to 1, using the same arguments that Obama-Clinton use in Maine. The U.S. Supreme Court decides both cases for the plaintiffs, 5-4, and determined that in all future presidential elections that electoral votes are awarded on a winner take all basis nationally. Tea Party leader Dwight Kehoe calls for the impeachment of the Justices who voted affirmatively, claiming that they don’t understand the 10th Amendment.
Robert Menendez defeats Joe Kyrillos for U.S. Senate by 1%.
U. S. Senator Frank Lautenberg resigns. In one of his last acts as Governor before ascending to the Vice Presidency, Chris Christie appoints Kyrillos to Lautenberg’s Senate seat.
A tongue in cheek post about who the Democrats could get to challenge Senator Joe Kyrillos when their endorsed candidate failed to submit his nominating petitions, generated more calls from Trenton than any other post of the year.
The worst joke of the month has consequences that will last at least a decade. “Continuity of representation,” a political value in the mind of Rutgers professor Alan Rosenthal, trumped competitiveness and the state constitution in determining the lines of the new gerrymandered legislative map.
The stakes were so high that Governor Christie got personally involved in the negotiations regarding the map. But Rosenthal’s was the only vote that counted. The professor was not persuaded by the governor.
The map was so gerrymandered for the Democrats that Christie and the Republicans did not even try to win control of the legislature. The governor, who came into office vowing to “turn Trenton upside down” transformed into the “compromiser in chief” in order to salvage what he could of his reform agenda.
While Rosenthal preserved the status quo for the Trenton trough swilling class, he unwittingly contributed to the creatation of a national Republican rock star, as Christie, freed up from having to work to win control of the legislature transferred his political attentions to the national stage.
Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore told MMM that the Democrats put Singer and Kean in the same district in the hopes that the GOP would waste resources on a contentious primary in a safe district. The real reason was that the Democrats were horrified at the prospect of Dan Jacobson returning to the legislature in the upper house.
Jacobson was preparing a fanatasy Republican primary challenge to Kean for Senate should Wall and Asbury Park remain in the same district. The Democrats, who have never understood Monmouth County, didn’t realize the futility of such an endeavor. But they knew Jacobson and they weren’t taking any chances. So they put Senator Jennifer Beck in the same district as Jacobson, knowing that he would never challenge her in a primary. Jacobson, through his newspaper, created Jennifer Beck. Just ask him.
The new 11th district would be represented by Beck in the Senate and Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande in the Assembly. A district represented by three women. A historic first.
Assemblyman Dave Rible, formerly of the 11th, was now in the 30th with Singer and Kean.
The new 12th district provided brief drama due to the fact that the lines created a senate vacancy. Sam Thompson of Middlesex County and Ronald Dancer of Ocean County were the incumbent Assemblymen in the predominently Western Monmouth district. The Monmouth GOP wanted to keep three senators. Thompson wanted to move up. Freeholder Director Rob Clifton had long eyed Thompson’s seat in the assembly, but the senate vacancy presented an unexpected opportunity. Always level headed and not one to needlessly rock the boat, Clifton let the Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex and Burlington chairmen figure it out. Thompson got the senate nod and Clifton joined the ticket with Dancer running for assembly.
The 13th district became even safer for Senator Joe Kyrillos. Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon of Little Silver joined Kyrillos and Assemblywoman Amy Handlon in representing the district. Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornick, a Democrat, had his ambitions put on hold by the map makers who put Marlboro into the 13th.
The Democrats did the best they could, but only put up nominal opposition in the Monmouth legislative districts and on the county level.
Former Howell Chair Norine Kelly passed away in April.
It is no secret that the Republican field in New Jersey’s 11th legislative district ran a tough campaign this election cycle with mail pieces, some controversial, going out almost daily leading up to the election (I had the pleasure of getting 2 in one day), robocalls from everyone and their mother, door knocking and lots of fundraising. But the question is why? Why are these three popular incumbents running like their seat depends on it when the 2011 election pretty much became a lock when the Democrats announced their field?
The answer is 2013. The Republicans were 1% worried about 2011 and 99% worried about 2013
The next time New Jerseyians vote for a new state legislature is 726 days from now for those who are counting. By then the London Summer Olympics will have ended, we will hopefully still be here (granted the end of the world predictions are wrong), if all goes accordingly we will have a new President of the United States and Chris Christie will be so popular there wont even be a need for an election in New Jersey. Well that last one is a bit far fetched. But there is still a question as to why the District 11 incumbents are so concerned with 2013 and I think I have an answer for you.
Background
The redrawn 11th district gave democrats a voter registration advantage over Republicans of approximately 10,000, removing Republican heavy Wall Twp. and Rumson from the district and adding the Democrat saturated towns of Asbury Park, Neptune, Ocean and Long Branch.
Asbury Park, Neptune and Ocean are home to a large number of minority voters.
In 2009 Chris Christie won the new LD-11 65%-35% over unpopular incumbent John Corzine.
The Democrat map, which was chosen by Alan Rosenthal, the 11th member of the redistricting team put the 11th district in play.
What does this all mean? After the map was drawn parties only had a limited number of days to recruit candidates to run for office. The Republican Party had the clear advantage in the process as the LD-11 looped three Republican incumbents together, all with established support and campaign structures. The Democrats on the other hand were rushed to choose candidates, all of whom would be running for the first time. On top of that the Republicans had candidates in numerous other districts, most notable, 1,2,7,14,18 and 38 who were able to divert the resources of the Democrat State Committee Unions and big democratic donors from seats like LD-11 that could be possible pick ups to seats they needed to save.
In 2013 Gov. Christie will be running for re-election and although there is no clear cut Democratic challenger there is a chance Newark mayor Cory Booker will be nominated. Bookers possible nomination plays a big roll in the outcome of the Legislative election in D-11 come 2013. Why so much emphasis on Cory Booker? Mr. Booker has become somewhat of a popular national figure having appeared on The Oprah Winfrey show with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg to receive a $100 million dollar grant for Newark Public schools, he is everywhere on twitter, pioneering the way politicians use the popular social media site, his nationwide appeal opens the door for large amounts of out of state money, especially in an off year gubernatorial election where the democrats will be looking to take back the governors mansion and the NJEA will work tirelessly and spend millions of dollars of membership dues to take Christie out and Mr. Booker is a very popular minority politician.
I will be willing to bet a large amount of money that the democrats will be targeting the 11th district in 2013 not only as a possible pick up in the Legislature but for big democratic turn out in the gubernatorial election. This would hold especially true if Cory Booker were to get the nomination. The New Jersey democrats look at Cory Booker as an Obama type politician; charismatic, excellent communicator and campaigner and a candidate that will spark enthusiasm among minority voters. This spells possible trouble for the Republicans in district 11 come 2013, especially in towns with a large minority population, Asbury Park, Neptune and Long Branch, all of which are additions for to the 11th district for Casagrande who has very little name recognition in these towns. Mary Pat Angelini has had Asbury Park, Neptune and Long Branch in her district for sometime now so she has a slight advantage when it comes to name recognition especially since most of the towns she had not represented in the old 11th district are Republican strong holds.
This leads us back to the 2011 mid-term elections and the tough campaign the LD-11 Republican team ran. I don’t think it is because they were worried about their democratic challengers in this election cycle but because of their concern for 2013.
None of this is set in stone, a lot can still change in 726 days. It is not known who the Democrats will nominate as their gubernatorial candidate (Republicans get to sit back and watch the bickering for once), the Republicans will not let such a large portion of Monmouth County, which produced a large plurality for Christie in 2009 fall by the wayside, money will flow in from out of state sources for both parties and the Republicans may have an ally in the White House come 2013, especially if Mitt Romney, a close Christie ally, gets the republican nomination and wins the White House and Gov. Christies popularity continues to rise as the state see’s results from his policies. Heck, there are hundreds of factors that will play into 2013 but it seems to me like Beck, Angelini and Casagrande are taking nothing for granted. A move, I think will pay off in 2 years.
Without Art to corral you donkeys, I thought I’d send the friendly admin my latest Random Thoughts, and try to incite a riot, as I’ve been discussing this very topic with neighbors in my town.
It’s no secret at this point, Jen Beck and Mary Pat Angelini have both come out in favor of gay marriage, a position that is off of the usual Republican line. Earlier this year, Jen Beck voted against a Christie line item veto for “women’s health funding”, which is also off of the line. Likewise, Mary Pat Angelini sponsored and pushed, what I would consider to be nanny state, anti bullying legislation and then pushed the student survey bill that would have asked students for personal information about their households like salary, religious beliefs, political affiliations among other items, again seemingly an off of the line bill. For me personally, both have been on the wrong side of Second Amendment legislation over and over again, supporting One Gun a Month legislation and doing nothing to get NJ’s laws in line with the nation’s firearms laws in light of recent Supreme Court decisions. I’m sure I’m missing a few places where they weren’t toeing the line, but these example should suffice.
But while Jen Beck and Mary Pat Angelini seem to stray from the party line on these few, relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, issues, they also can be accused of just toeing the line on many others. Both can be counted on to toe the line when it comes to pension and benefit reforms, both can be counted on to toe the line when it comes to the 2% property tax cap and other tax reforms. Both seem to toe the line on school choice, teacher tenure reforms and other school funding issues. In fact, one can certainly make the case that both Beck and Angelini always just toe the party line… usually.
So what do you want your elected representatives to do? Do you want them to just be consistent and toe the line, every time? Or do you want them to be free thinkers who sometimes stray from the party line, but try to represent local interests? Is there another option that allows free thinking and local representation without having the appearance of just toeing the line, or crossing the line at the wrong times? If no one on either side was willing to budge from their party line, would anything get done? Does anything, good, get done now with the current system? Where do you draw the line on toeing the line? As a county committeeman, would you accuse me of toeing the line for supporting candidates who don’t always toe the line, or am I getting out of line to support candidates who are sometimes out of line? Again, is there another option?
Feel free to discuss. In the meantime, don’t mind me – I’ll be out “toeing the party line”, or not, and asking everyone in district 11 to vote Beck, Angelini and Casagrande on November 8th because they have done a great job toeing the line or have proving their ability and will to get off the line and have a voice of their own. Either way you look at it, I’m happy with the general direction that the Great State of New Jersey is moving, and.I’m convinced that, in general, Beck, Angelini and Casagrande will continue toeing the line, or not, to keep our state moving in the right direction.
Since this Blog is supposed to be about local Monmouth County politics I trolled the local Patch sites for something interesting involving local politics. The best I could come up with is this article in the Eatontown/Tinton Falls Patch. http://eatontown.patch.com/articles/board-of-ed-issues-a-call-to-action-to-tinton-falls-residents#comments. Maybe tommorrow something good will pop in Marlboro. Things are usually exciting there.
Anyway some interesting comments in this article. I see popular troll (and by that I mean smelly monster that lives under a bridge and eats goats Jim Sage jumped in.
So what do you pack of Hynaes masquerading as political pundits that Art calls an audience think of this story?
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 11th 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 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.)
Third major business association to endorse 11th District Republican candidates
11th District Republican candidates Senator Jennifer Beck and Assemblywomen Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande issued the following statement today announcing that they were endorsed for re-election by the New Jersey Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the country’s leading advocate for small business:
“We are grateful for the endorsement of our candidacies by the NFIB. Getting our businesses in New Jersey back on track and creating jobs is our number one priority, and we are pleased that this is the third major business association to recognize our efforts. We will continue our efforts to make New Jersey an affordable place to do business.
The endorsement was the third major business organization to endorse the 11th District candidates for re-election. NEW JOBS PAC, affiliated with the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, and PENPAC, the political affiliate of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey had previously endorsed the three women.
NFIB Executive Director Laurie Ehlbeck said that all three women scored a perfect 100% on issues affecting small business over the past year.
“Jenniferis one of the hardest working legislators in Trenton and she’s been one of our most reliable allies,” said Ehlbeck. “She’s been a strong supporter of Governor Christie’s reforms and she is one of the leading voice in the Legislature for the spending reforms that we need to be competitive.”
“We couldn’t ask for a better advocate in Trenton than Caroline Casagrande,” said Ehlbeck. “She’s been with us on every key vote, and she’s been among the most energetic and thoughtful legislators in Trenton when it comes to the small business issues.”
“Carolineputs the interests of her constituents first, and she knows how important it is for their future to have a strong, healthy and growing small business sector,” said Ehlbeck. “Most of the jobs in New Jersey are created by small businesses, and Caroline Casagrande keeps that uppermost in her mind on every issue.”
“Mary Pat Angelinihad an outstanding year from our perspective,” said Ehlbeck. “She was one of the most consistent supporters of small business, and she backed all of the important reforms that we need to get control of state spending and make New Jersey more competitive.”
“Mary Patwas with us every step of the way, and the small business owners in her district will be very proud to send her back to Trenton to keep fighting for their interests.”
Senator Jennifer Beck came on The Real Jersey Guys Radio Show with former Senator Dick LaRossa and Art Gallagher on Tuesday afternoon.
Given all the comments the announcement of Beck’s appearance generated, we expected lots of calls to the show. No calls. What a bunch of kittens some of those keyboard commandos are. Kittens, kittens, kittens.
Jennifer addressed same sex marriage, of course, as well as fiscal policy, education reform, prevailing wage reform and several other issues. She came across exactly as she is, friendly, forthright, knowledgeable and unflappable.
It is impossible to disagree with the Tea Party’s fierce insistence that budget reform is necessary. It is no secret that New Jersey is in dire financial straights. While our impressive near-$33 billion debt has the stains of many administrations, it cannot be ignored that Senator Jennifer “Romney” Beck and Assemblywomen Caroline Casagrande, Mary Pat Angelini and their cronies have made decisions which have halted progress and placed enormous, unwarranted burdens on tax payers.
This is not fiscal conservatism, this is political theater. The Twisted Sisters have saved the state money for their own sake by taking it directly out of the pockets of those they claim to protect.
With February marking our second credit downgradesince 2008 at the hands of Standard and Poor’s, the only way to ignore the fact that poor is rapidly becoming our new standard would be to bury your head in Asbury Park’s tourist-friendly sand.
While balancing the budget is important, effectively stepping on the necks of residents by forcing local governments, schools districts, and individual taxpayers to shoulder additional costs defeats the purpose of spending cuts. The “tough choice” Ms. Beck made in order to keep that budget of ours balanced was the choice to advance her own political career, even if it meant harming the very voters that allowed her to have one at all. I’m sure she lost a lot of sleep over that.
Budget cuts are indeed necessary. Even destructive budget cuts may be justified if they effectively do what they are intended to do: lower taxes. But the cuts that Ms. Beck, Ms. Casagrande and Ms. Angelini advocated for have increased property taxes significantly. If you were worried that New Jersey’s status of having the highest property taxes in the country was going someplace, breathe a sigh of relief. So long as the Three Blind Legislators are in office, you can be confident that we will retain the title.
Here’s the rundown:
– Freezing Senior Freeze: Program that freezes property taxes for seniors so
they don’t continue to increase over time. Beck, Casagrande and Angelini
voted for the budget that gutted it and against the budget that restored it.
– Cutting School Aid: Cutting billions in aid to schools – including $50 million in aid to District 11 schools alone – has resulted in serious budget holes that have been closed by raising taxes, cutting programs altogether, forcing students to pay for previously funded extracurriculars, and in some cases going as far as to force student teaches to pay a fee to work.
– But! A few districts will receive more aid this year than under Corzine’s last
budget. One of those that did is Colts Neck, Caroline Casagrande’s
hometown, which is patently absurd, considering the average family income
in Colt’s Neck is $109,190, while the average family income for the state is
$55,156. Why, instead of providing that aid to a district that needs it – a
middle class district for instance – is that aid being given to one of the
wealthiest communities in New Jersey?
– Slashing Property Tax Rebates: The average citizen now receives 75%
less in property tax rebates than they did under the previous administration.
– Cutting Municipal Aid: This has resulted in serious budget holes which
have been closed by catastrophic cuts and paralyzing tax hikes.
A political parade of careless cuts results is nothing more than the violent trampling of taxpayers. Ms. Beck, Ms. Casagrande and Ms. Angelini have not only run over their constituents, they have proceeded to back up over their bodies before running over them again. Ms. Beck, of course, is driving.
Olivia Nuzzi is a student from Middletown and an intern for the District 11 Democratic campaign. Her opinions are her own and not those of MoreMonmouthMusings or the District 11 Democratic campaign. MMM welcomes her fair and biased contributions.
Senator Jennifer Beck will be our guest on The Real Jersey Guys Radio Show this afternoon with former Senator Dick LaRossa and your favorite blogger.
Beck is one of the very few Republican legislators in New Jersey who has demonstrated independence from Governor Chris Christie. She joined the Democrats in the Senate last May in voting to restore women’s health care funding in the state budget. More recently, she has said should would vote to override a Christie veto of same sex marriage if given the opportunity.
The show is broadcast on WIFI AM 1460 and here on the Internet from 5PM-6PM. Your calls are welcome at 609-447-0236.
