Who is Christine Hanlon? The Monmouth County GOP Chair’s Race, Part 4
By Art Gallagher
Who is this woman who, only six years ago was not involved in politics and now has State Legislators and county elected officials feverishly working the phones to make sure she is elected Monmouth County GOP Chair on Tuesday evening at Colts Neck High School?
Late last week as I was finishing up my preparation for this series, I called two of the elected officials who had endorsed John Bennett for Chair. I trust these people’s judgment and I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something.
“Tell me why John Bennett will be a better Chair than Christine Hanlon,” I asked both Republicans. Neither had an answer. Both said they liked Christine and that she would be a good Chairwoman. They both spoke of their friendship with Bennett and the support he gave them early in their careers as the reason for endorsements. Neither disagreed with my concerns about Bennett’s baggage.
One of them called me back over the weekend and asked, “Why do you think Christine will be a better Chair than John?” “Bennett is too much of a risk. Fair or not, he will become a campaign issue and a distraction. No one works harder than Christine and she’s motivated by something other than personal gain,” was my reply. “How can you say that about someone who has only been involved for a few years?” the person quickly asked. “Because I’ve taken the time to get to know her, just like I took the time to get to know you when you were running.” “Oh, I was just asking.” “That’s OK, I was just answering.”
Posted: June 11th, 2012 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Christine Hanlon, John Bennett, Monmouth County Republican Committee, Monmouth GOP | Tags: Anna Little, Barbara McMarrow, Brian Nelson, Chris Christie, Christine Hanlon, Diane Gooch, John Bennett, John Curely, Kim Guadagno, Rick Merkt, Steve Lonegan | 5 Comments »