Carol Mazzola Loves Chris Chrisite

Monmouth County’s newest Demcratic office holder, Marlboro Councilwoman Carol Mazzola, is not ready to join Mayor Jon Hormik on the Barbara Buono for Governor bandwagon.

“I don’t know anything about her, ” Mazzola said in a phone interview, echoing the sentiments of 82% of New Jersey voters polled by Quinnipiac.

“I love Chris Christie!’ Mazzola exclaimed when asked what she thought about the Governor.  But she stopped short of endorsing the New Jersey head of her former party. “Ask me in the fall when its time to make a decision.”

Mazzola was elected to the Marlboro Township Committee as a Republican in 2009.  She announced earlier this month that she will run for reelection as a Democrat on Hornik’s team.

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Hornik Jumps on Buono Bandwagon

Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik joined the growing list of New Jersey Democrats in lining up behind State Senator Barbara Buono as the party’s nominee to take on Governor Chris Christie this fall.

In a statement released to MoreMonmouthMusings, Honik said that Buono is ready to lead for New Jersey’s middle class and that she is the best candidate to get our economy moving and creating jobs.

“Senator Buono understands the principle challenge facing New Jersey is a need for good-paying jobs. It’s a failure of the Governor when nearly one of every 10 New Jerseyans is out of work.

“There is no comeback when one in 10 is left behind. I know Senator Buono is prepared to make job creation her first priority.

“Senator Buono and I also share the same concern for protecting all of our residents, but in particular our children from gun violence. I applaud her call for a special session of the Legislature to pass common-sense gun safety laws.”

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Hornik: Christie’s playing politics with school safety

By Art Gallagher

Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik told NJ.com that Governor Chris Christie is playing politics by not supporting Marlboro’s decision to post armed police officers at each of their schools as a reaction to the Newtown, CT massacre.

“Unfortunately, I believe that if Governor Christie was not contemplating running for President or was not running for re-election, he would be firmly behind [Marlboro’s actions], but politics has had its influence on him,” said Hornik. “Politics can’t come into play when you’re talking about children’s safety. We need gun control in this country, and we need to get rid of assault weapons and multi-bullet clips. I don’t see a need for them, while recognizing the Second Amendment, at all. But the reality is that guns are out there, right now.”

Since the day after the Newtown shooting, Christie has said that he does not think cops at schools are conductive to the learning environment nor are such deployments the answer answer to mass shootings.

At the press conference for the Belmar boardwalk groundbreaking this week, the governor said that he would not take action to stop communities that decide to have police at their schools.

Middletown Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger told MoreMonmouthMusings that Hornik’s comments sound political. “Maybe Jon’s running for governor,” said Scharfenberger, “his comments sound just plain silly.  I don’t hear anything political in what Christie said.  He is sharing his philosophy and a lot of people agree with him.”

Hornik told MMM that he’s not running for anything this year. “I doing my job as mayor. No other office excites me. You never know what will come your way, but I am not pursuing anything politically.”

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Hornik: Media was more of a distraction than police were as kids went back to Marlboro Schools

Today was the first day of Marlboro’s Cops in Schools program, the community’s first in the nation response to the Newtown Connecticut School massacre that claimed the lives of 20 school children and 6 adult staff on December 14.

Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik told MMM it was just another school day in Marlboro, with the exception of the media presence and attention. “It was a normal a day as the first day back from vacation can be,”said the Mayor, “the police were not a distraction, however there was a significant media presence.”

Hornik said the media attention is a result of the NRA’s call for Cops in Schools nationwide, which happened a day after he announced the township’s decision to protect their school children with armed police.

Sharon Witchel, Director of Community Relations for the Marlboro Board of Education, told Marlboro-Colts Neck Patch that the cost of the 90 day program would be approximately $100,000.

“During the 90-day period, the district will review current safety and security practices and determine future improvements, which will include fiscal considerations,” Witchel said.

Hornik said that township officials and the school board will review the yet to be released incident report from Newtown before making any long term decisions on school security.

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More Year End Awards

The “If it lasts more than four hours, call you doctor award” goes to U.S. Senator Bob Menendez for his antics in the Dominican Republic and for regularly keeping his Washington, DC neighbors up all night.

The “Three monkeys award” goes to the New Jersey press corps for their coverage of Bob Menendez and Lisa Jackson.

The “They’re all made of ticky tacky and they all look the same” award goes to Newark Mayor Cory Booker for backing down from his candid comment on Meet the Press that he found the negative political ads deployed “by both sides” nauseating.

The “Rahm Emanuel Never Waste A Good Crisis Award” goes to Senate President Steve Sweeney and Senator Mike Doherty for their political courage in proposing that funding for rebuilding the Jersey Shore post-Super Storm Sandy be contingent on the elimination of beach badge sales to pay for beach safety and maintenance.  Sweeney gets the bonus Kitten, kitten , kitten award for his unwillingness to discuss his proposal with anyone other than stenographers and the Asbury Park Press Editorial Board.

The “Cory Booker Profile In Grandstanding Award” goes to Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik for his multiple TV appearances promoting his community’s Cops in Schools program.

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Marlboro Mayor’s Moxy

By Matt Rooney, cross-posted at SaveJersey.com

Marlboro’s Mayor Jon Hornik is standing by the community’s decision to introduce an armed presence into its schools, Save Jerseyans.

I admire this guy’s moxy!

Our Governor and other like-minded pols are opposed to turning schools into ”armed camps,” but I wholeheartedly disagree with their premise. It’s an logical leap, particularly when so many of our high schools already have a regular police presence. The fact also remains that there seems to be little or no political will on either side of the aisle to address the real problem: an over-medicated, under-parented generation whose less stable members are shielded from meaningful psychiatric action by asinine post-deinstitutionalization laws and administrative regulations.

Read the rest of this entry>>

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Marlboro to post cops at schools

The Township of Marlboro is apparently the first community in the nation to assign armed police officers at their schools in reaction to the massacre in Newtown, CT.

According to reports in Marlboro-Colts Neck Patch, NJ.com and The New York Post, each of Marlboro’s 9 schools will have a cop on guard when they reopen on January 2.  Additionally, digital video cameras will be installed in all school facilities to be monitored by the police department.

“We’ve seen a new evil and we need to deal with it,” Mayor Jon Hornik said in a phone interview with MMM, “This is like 9-11.  We’ve seen airport security change. Now we have to change school security and do it quickly.”

Board of Education Vice President Victoria Dean said that the board authorized the funding of police officers in the schools for 90 days while they evaluate long term options.

“This is not the long term solution,” said Dean, “we want to prevent the possibility of a Sandy Hook copy cat and to ease the fears of our residents.”

Both Hornik and Dean said that Marlboro had made this decision prior to NRA President Wayne LaPierre’s call for cops in all schools nationally at his news conference on Friday.  Marlboro’s new school safety policy was posted on the board’s website on Thursday.   Hornik said he is not an NRA supporter and believes that assault weapons and ammunition should be banned, “but we have to protect our kids.”

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168 sick days over 14 years

David Chioda is retiring from the Marlboro Township Public Schools on Monday, according to an article in The Asbury Park Press.  For the last 14 years Chioda was the supervisor of math, science, math resources/basic skills math and world language.  His salary is $142,450.   Who knew that math, science, math resources/basic skills math and world language needs all that supervision?!

The Marlboro Board of Education has managed to find an expert in discrete mathematics to take over Chioda’s job for $115,000.

Chioda is being paid $9,795 for 168 unused sick days he accumulated without supervision over the last 14 years.  He’s getting another $4,303 for 7.25 in unused vacation days.  I wonder where he went on the .75 day vacation.

A $14,000 payout is discreet by the recent standards.  For that Marlboro taxpayers can be grateful. Chioda won’t be able to buy much of a boat with that.

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5.7% turnout for school board elections

Marlboro and Neptune Township held school board elections yesterday.   Of the 45,035 registered voters in the the two townships, 2,618 voted.

By far most of those voters were from Marlboro, where over 2000 people came out.  In Neptune, less than 600 of aproximately 16,000 registered voters came out.

As of February 18, there was 24,926 registered voters in Marlboro and 15,865 in Neptune Township, according to Labels and Lists.  The county website says there were 45, 035 eligible voters in yesterday’s election.  Where those 4,244 new voters came from since February could be the subject of a future column.  In the meantime GOP leaders should take note that someone seems to be having a voter registration drive in Democratic towns.

For now I’d like to speculate about why there was a close to normal 10% turnout in Marlboro while only 3% turned out in Neptune.

One obvious reason could be competition.  In Marlboro, there were 7 candidates for 3 seats on the school board.  In Neptune, the 3 seats were not contested.

A not so obvious reason could be campaign spending.  In Marlboro one of the candidates, Bonniesue Rosenwald, mailed out a professionally produced post card late last week which included an endorsement from Mayor Jon Hornick.  Rosenwald, an incumbent, squeaked out a third place finish by 13 votes to retain her seat.

Some in Marlboro were upset that Rosenwald and Hornick politicised a school board election.  I say politicisation increases participation.

With the recent and perennial hubbub about campaign spending and pay to play, few of the critics of the pay to play/PAC/wheeling system are offering alternatives.  No one is talking about the public service campaign spending provides.

If not for campaign signs littering our roadways and lawns and mail boxes filled with glossy advertisements  few people would know when to interrupt their routines to vote.

With the arguable exception of presidential and gubernatorial elections, the media, local and national, does a horrible job of covering campaigns.  The media looks as electioneering as a revenue source,  not a story to be covered as if democracy depends upon it.

Current campaign finance laws thwart participation by limiting contributions and making the process more complicated.  The process is so complicated that only the most motivated and self interested contribute.  Recently, pundits at The Star Ledger, The Asbury Park Press and even the usually smarter than that InTheLobby criticised the John Wisniewski/Middlesex County PAC practices for violating the spirit of campaign finance laws.   Hogwash.  The complex system that reduces transparency is the spirit of our campaign finance laws.

If our leaders really want to reform the system, rather than give lip service to ethics while voting for a bill with “loopholes” intentionally written in, the would create a simple system with full and immediate disclosure required.

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Marlboro Republicans Want Ethics Complaint To Be Referred To Local Finance Board

Marlboro GOP Chairman Christopher Dean filed an ethics complaint against Mayor Jon Hornik, Councilman Frank LaRocca and Councilwoman Randi Marder last October. To date, no action has been taken by the Marlboro Ethics Board.

The complaint involves the Township doing business with a company owned by Marder and her husband on a “no-bid” basis.

Dean was a candidate for Township Council, running against LaRocca and Marder, when the complaint was filed.  He and one of his running mates, Craig Marshall who ran for Mayor against Hornik, are continuing their fight for ethical government in Marlboro, despite their loss at the polls.

Members of municipal ethics boards are appointed and approved by the Mayors and Councils of their respective communities.   Of the 566 municipalities in New Jersey, only 37 have their own Ethics Boards.  Of New Jersey’s 21 counties, 7 have Ethics Boards.

In a January 26 letter to the Marlboro Ethics Board, Dean asked that his complaint be referred to the State Local Fiance Board rather been heard by the local board which is comprised of personal friends of the Mayor and Council members who are subject of the inquiry.

Marshall questions the objectivity of the board’s new attorney.  In a Letter to the Editor published in the Marlboro Patch, the former mayoral candidate notes that the attorney, Ken Biedzynski, earned $221,146 last year as a Marlboro special council for affordable housing, an appointment he received with the approval of the subjects of the pending ethics complaint.

All government officials should recuse themselves when faced with a conflict or the very appearance of a conflict.  This is especially so for an Ethics Board and its attorney.  In this case, there is enough of an appearance of conflicts or potential conflicts to warrant recusals.

Even if the Marlboro Ethics Board were to hear the case, which they could have done in the last four months, and found that there was no ethical violation, Dean and Marshall are going to appeal to the Local Fiance Board anyway.

The fact that this issue is still dragging on after four months with multiple attorneys raises questions about the impartiality of the board. 

The Marlboro Ethics Board would be wise to refer the matter to the Local Finance Board when they meet on March 14.  Hornick, LaRocca and Marder would be wise to publicly call for such a referral.  

Let both sides make their cases to the Local Finance Board and put the matter in the rear view mirror.  That’s going to happen eventually anyway.  The delaying tactics only raise more questions.

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