Cantor seeks to unseat Golden as Monmouth County Sheriff

Marlboro Councilman Jeff Cantor announced this morning that he is seeking the Democratic nomination for Monmouth County Sheriff in 2016.

A Colonel in the U.S, Army Reserves, Cantor cited his military experience in intelligence, emergency management and anti-terrorism as reasons he could do “a tremendous job” as sheriff in a phone interview with MMM.

Cantor has served on the Marlboro Council since 2004, including while deployed on active duty overseas. During his deployments, he participated in Council meetings via telephone.  He told MMM that he doesn’t think he will be deployed in the next two years before he retires from the military, “but it depends on what happens in Syria.”

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State Police: Marlboro report was a “good call”

The New Jersey State Police posted the following statement on their facebook page regarding the incident that occurred on a commuter bus on Route 9 in Marlboro this morning:

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NJ State Police Bomb Unit Assisting Marlboro Police with Route 9 Bus

The Marlboro Police Department closed Route 9 in both directions this morning, according to reports on 511nj.org and Monmouth County Police, Fire and EMS.

MCPFE is reporting that the NJ Jersey State Police Bomb Unit is assisting the Marlboro PD with a suspicious device left on a bus.

Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik confirmed that there is police activity involving a NJ Transit Bus on Route 9

Capt. Stephen Jones of the NJSP Public Affairs Unit told MMM that the Arson and Bomb Unit was wrapping up and preparing to leave the scene as of 10:05 a.m.  Jones said that the Marlboro PD is leading the investigation.

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Gopal Pushes Hornik for Governor, Bashes Monmouth Republicans

Vin Gopal and Jon Hornik, photo via facebook

Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal is publicly calling for Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik to run for governor in 2017.

In a Letter to the Editor published on APP.com,  Gopal sings Hornik’s praises as a “socially conscious and fiscally ressponsible” Democrat who was elected in three time in a town that voted for Chris Christie for Governor and Steve Lonegan for U.S. Senate over Cory Booker in 2013. Gopal said that should Hornik run for governor, he would have Vin’s unwavering support.

I wonder how Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Senate President Steve Sweeney and former Ambassador to Germany Phil Murphy, all presumed Democratic candidates for governor who have contributed generously to Gopal’s Monmouth County Democratic campaigns, feel about this.

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S&P rates Marlboro AA+

Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik

Standard and Poors, the international credit rating agency, has rated $21.957 million of general obligation bonds, water utility bonds and recreation utility bonds authorized in 2014 and 2015 as AA+. The AA+ differs from the top AAA rating only to a small degree, according to S&P.  The rating means that S&P considers Marlboro’s ability to meet its obligations is very strong.

“This is tremendous news for Marlboro”, said Mayor Jonathan Hornik. “This rating upgrade affirms the difficult decisions made over the last eight years to reduce the size of government and run it more efficiently. It also represents a reflection of the overall financial stewardship of the municipality. ”

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In Marlboro: Why are the Hornikcrats lying about John Dwyer?

Why are the Hornikcrats politicizing Marlboro’s schools?

What else are the Hornikcrats lying about?

John Dwyer smiling

In Marlboro, the incumbent Democrats, Mayor Jon Hornik, Councilwoman Randi Marder and Councilman Michael Scalea have raised over $70,000 and counting for their reelection campaign. They are spending aggressively in an apparent pursuit to keep anyone other than an approved member of the Hornikcrats from participating in municipal government.

In contrast, the “Positively Marlboro” Republicans are spending less than $13,000 on their campaign, according to their filings with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.

The Hornikcrats have also politicized the highly regarded Marlboro School System by endorsing a slate of Board of Education candidates.

They have further politicized the Schools with two mailers to Marlboro voters in the last week or so, in which they lie about former School Board Member John Dwyer’s role in the property tax increase associated with the School Board Budget.  Dwyer, and Sui Allex, are the Republican candidates running against Marder and Scalea.

Dwyer voted NO on the current School Board Budget.   Here’s the proof:

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Gopal: Marlboro is in play

With only $3,000 cash on hand, as of September 30, Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal seems to be abandoning his strategy of concentrating on LD 11, and now appears to be focused on protecting his turf in Marlboro.

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Larry “The Lunger” Luttrell Resurfaces, Attempting To Thwart News Of Marder’s Ethics Violations

When we last heard from Lawrence “The Lunger” Luttrell, the three time election loser, was scurrying into obscurity while threatening to sue the Monmouth County Republican Committee for a radio ad that claimed his law license was “suspended” when in fact he had been ruled ineligible to practice law.

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To our knowledge, no one has actually investigated whether or not Luttrell actually practiced law during his ineligibility.  He claimed he was unaware that he had been ruled ineligible, so maybe he did perform legal work when he was not legally authorized to do so. That would be a problem.

Now, nearly a year later, Luttrell has resurfaced in an apparent attempt to keep the voters of Marlboro in the dark about Councilwoman Randi Marder’s ethics violations and worse, the waste of $16,000 of Marlboro tax dollars that Mayor Jon Hornik and the Marlboro Township Council authorized to be spent in legal fees to appeal the New Jersey Local Finance Board’s findings that Marder committed eight ethical violations associated with the Township doing business with her husband’s companies.

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Marlboro GOP Candidates Congratulate Middletown for Taking Action on Property Taxes

Mayoral and Council Candidates Pledge Solutions, Not Grand Standing

Ira Goldberg, Sui Allex and John Dwyer

Marlboro, NJ- Ira Goldberg, the Republican candidate for mayor in Marlboro Township issues his congratulations to Middletown Mayor Stephanie Murray and the Middletown’s Township Committee for taking decisive action to bring accountability and fairness to their Township’s Property Tax Assessments in the wake of the Asbury Park Press investigation that shed a scandalous light on the state-mandated Assessment Demonstration Program, the controversial new method of setting property values in Monmouth County.

“While Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik has been political grandstanding in the face of a scandal by calling for the ADP to be suspended without offering a replacement, my friends in Middletown have enacted a solution to inequitable tax assessments and put their own credibility on the line,” Goldberg said, “By firing Realty Data Systems, and bringing the home inspection and data collection functions in house, Middletown has offered a solution to the problem.  That is leadership.”

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Hornik Calls For Suspension Of Tax Assessment Program

Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik and Councilwoman Randi Marder at a campaign event last month. photo via facebook

Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik called for the immediate suspension of the controversial tax assessment program, Assessment Demonstration Pilot Program(ADP), in a press release issued Tuesday evening.

Responding to an “investigate report” in the Asbury Park Press that alleges cronyism, nepotism and ethics violations on the part of Monmouth County Tax Administrator Matt Clark, former Tax Commissioner Daniel Kelly and the companies that won the contracts to provide the inspections and appraisals of all Monmouth County properties that are assessed through ADP, Hornik said, “I am heartened by the recent call by the Asbury Park Press for an investigation of the Monmouth County Tax Assessment Demonstration Pilot Program,” said Mayor Hornik. “I have been a vocal critic of this program since its inception, and I expressed, in no uncertain terms, that the program did not fairly and accurately reflect market value, that it inappropriately interfered with local tax assessors and that it had a disproportionate adverse effect on residential and senior citizen property taxpayers.”

Hornik joins Freeholder John Curley in calling for ADP to be suspended and investigated.

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