The Arnone Report: Bi-partisan team work yields success with Shark River project

By Monmouth County Freeholder Tom Arnone

Freeholder Tom Arnone

After a very long period time and with many notable road blocks and obstacles, I, along with a great team of my colleagues, including Senator Jennifer Beck (R-11), and Neptune Committeeman Randy Bishop, am so happy to announce that the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s (NJDOT’s) Office of Maritime Resources has awarded the bid to complete the Shark River dredging project. The project’s contract was awarded to Mobile Pumping & Dredging Co., of Chester, PA.

This huge step forward is a result of years of work coordinating with the many agencies that have authority over this project. After being involved in this project for more than fifteen years as Mayor of Neptune City and now as a member of the Board of Chosen Freeholders, I am personally very happy to see this project finally begin.  I have worked with other officials throughout the years whom were also very passionate about this project, including Tom Catley, former Mayor of Neptune Township, as well as other past mayors of the surrounding towns and those in office today. The County has long continued to work cooperatively with these local officials, as well as state and government agencies to move this dredging project forward.

This is a large project, with approximately 106,000 cubic yards of material to be dredged.  With cooperation from the Monmouth County Reclamation Center, which is able to accept and reuse the dredged material, and the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders providing funding, we have made this project a reality. Not one part of the Shark River project was easy or simple, but we found a way to accomplish this.

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The Arnone Report: Progress on Shark River Dredging and Two River Bike Path

By Monmouth County Freeholder Tom Arnone

Freeholder Tom Arone

Summer is in full swing and I hope everyone is out there enjoying the beautiful weather we’ve been having. An annual tradition here in Monmouth County is the County Fair. The 41^st Monmouth County Fair was a huge success with thousands of residents attending over the five days it was held at the East Freehold Fairgrounds on Kozloski Road.

Monmouth County is the gateway to the Jersey Shore, and you will find more than 50 miles of beaches, revolutionary history sites, nationally recognized parks and golf courses, outdoor dining experiences for all tastes and plenty of places to spend the night.  The Monmouth Park System offers over 30 park areas to explore, please go out and enjoy all our beautiful county has to offer.

While we are on the topic of outdoor activities you can enjoy throughout our County, I would like to take a moment to address several concerns within different regions, including the Shark River dredging and the two-river area bike path.

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Report: Gopal Considering Another Run For Assembly

What will Dan Jacobson do?

Vin Gopal

Ever the optimist and desperate for relevancy, Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal is floating his name as a candidate for Assembly in 11th District.

The district’s Assembly seats are currently held by Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande.  Gopal and Red Bank Councilwoman Kathy Horgan lost to Angelini and Casagrande by over 3000 votes (out of 37,093 cast) in 2011.  Former Democratic Assemblyman Dan Jacobson, publisher of the triCityNews and AsburyParkSun earned 2358 votes as an Independent candidate that year.

MoreMonmouthMusings hereby endorses Gopal for one of the Democratic Assembly nominations in the 11th.

We were worried that 2015 would be a boring year politically in Monmouth County and that we’d have to start covering restaurant openings to keep our traffic up next year.  With Gopal on the ballot, MMM’s political focus would be assured for another year.

Another reason we like Gopal as a candidate for Assembly is that it takes an issue of the table for Sheriff Shaun Golden’s reelection in 2016.

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Democrats Lining Up To Challenge Angelini and Casagrande

By Art Gallagher

Monmouth Democrats are expecting a contested convention race for the nominations for Assembly in the 11th Legislative District. 

Three of the five members of the Neptune Township Committee, Dr. Michael Brantley, J. Randy Bishop, and Kevin B. McMillian have expressed their interest in competing for the nominations for the two seats, according to a Democrat who asked not to be named because he/she was talking to a Republican blogger.   Red Bank Councilman Ed Zipprich will also seek a nomination, according to PoltickerNJ.

Republicans Mary Pat Angelini of Ocean Township and Caroline Casagrande of Colts Neck currently represent the district in Assembly.

The district is comprised of the Monmouth County municipalities of Allenhurst, Asbury Park, Colts Neck, Deal, Eatontown, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Interlaken, Loch Arbour, Long Branch, Neptune, Neptune Township, Ocean Township, Red Bank, Shrewsbury Borough, Shrewsbury Township, Tinton Falls, West Long Branch .

Monmouth Demcratic Chairman Vin Gopal will probably have to do some arm twisting to come up with a candidate to challenge Senator Jennifer Beck of Red Bank, according to the source.   The Republican Beck is pro-choice and pro-gay marriage.  She is very popular with Democrats in the district.  No one is currently interested in challenging her.

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Ocean Grove Beachfront and Boardwalk May Not Get FEMA Funding To Rebuild

By Art Gallagher

Photo credit: Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association

Neptune Township’s beachfront and boardwalk in the Ocean Grove section of the Township might not get the estimated $3 million in FEMA funding needed to rebuild because the property is owned by the private non-profit and religious Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association (OGCMA), according to an article by freelance journalist Caren Chesler published at NJSpotLight.

Neptune Township Committee Member and Ocean Grove business owner Randy Bishop, as well as Michael Bascom, the Township’s CFO are working with OGCMA to pursuade FEMA to pay for the repairs on the stretch of beach that connects the regional shoreline from Asbury Park south to Spring Lake.

In a press release posted on OGCMA’s website, President Dr. Dale C. Whilden said, “The Camp Meeting is fully committed to restoring Ocean Grove’s beautiful beachfront, a keystone of our community as well as a protection from ocean storms, and we’re on track to implement a comprehensive beach and boardwalk restoration plan.  With God’s blessing and the assistance of our local, state and federal officials, as well as support from individuals and organizations, our beach will open on Memorial Day weekend.”

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Is bullet voting Un-American?

In last year’s municipal election in Neptune Township, Republican candidate for township committee Warren Lapp did not have a running mate.  He publicly encouraged voters to cast a “bullet vote” just for him, even though there were two committee seats open with candidates on the ballot.

The Neptune Democrats responded by calling Lapp un-American for suggesting such a thing.

Now Neptune Matters, the Republican leaning blog from the township is calling on Neptune Democrats Randy Bishop and Eric Houghteling to denounce Dan Jacobson, the 11th district Independent candidate for Assembly for asking voters to bullet vote for him.  Neptune Matters says that Bishop and Houghteling should call Jacobson un-American, but that they won’t because a bullet vote for Jacobson helps the Democratic candidates in the 11th.

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Randy Bishop Will Not Be An 11th District Assembly Candidate

Neptune Township Deputy Mayor Randy Bishop said he will not be a candidate for Assembly tonight when the 11th legislative district Democratic County Committee meets at that Asbury Park VFW to nominate a candidate to replace Marilyn Schlossbach.  Schlossbach resigned her candidacy last week citing business obligations.

“During the nominating process in the spring I determined that I would not put my name up this year,” said Bishop, ” I have commitments in Neptune and in my personal life that take priority now.  Too many of us in politics neglect our personal commitments.”

The list of potential candidates is a closely held secret.  “All I know is that I’m supposed to show up at 6:30 tonight,” Bishop said, “if you hear who’s in the running, let me know”

One Democratic source said this morning that a final round of interviews had “just happened” and a party favorite had not been determined.  The source wouldn’t say who has been interviewed.

If they have a quorum tonight, the 11th district Democratic County Committee members will nominate a running mate for Assembly candidate Vin Gopal and State Senate candidate Ray Santiago. Under Title 19, a quorum is 50% plus one of the county committee members.

The slate will face off against incumbent Republicans, Senator Jennifer Beck, Assemblywomen Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande.  Former Democratic Assemblyman Dan Jacobson is also running for Assembly as an Independent.   Internal Democratic polling indicates that Beck, Angelini and Casagrande are heavy favorites to be elected in the newly configured district.

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Democrats Mum On Schlossbach’s Replacement

Monmouth County Democrats have shrouded the selection of an Assembly candidate to replace Marilyn Schlossbach in the 11th legislative district in more secrecy than a Koch Brothers convention.

They won’t even say where and when the convention to vote on a candidate will be.  Campaign Manager Vlad Gutman said the convention will be “on Wednesday, somewhere in the district.” 

MMM has learned that the convention will be Wednesday, 6:30PM at the Asbury Park VFW.

Democratic County Committee members from the district are being called and urged to attend the convention which requires, under Title 19, a quorum of 50% plus 1 of the committee members in order to select a candidate.  While they are scrambling to get a quorum, the Democrats are also scrambling to find a candidate.  No mention of potential candidates is being made on the calls to the committee members and no one will say who is under consideration or who has thrown their hat into the ring.

Schlossbach’s withdrawal was a big blow to the Democrats’ slim hopes of picking up Assembly seats in Monmouth County.  An internal Democratic poll indicated that Schlossbach had the highest name recognition of all Assembly candidates, including incumbents Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande.  While Schlossbach’s name recognition was superior, the poll indicated that the Republican team of Senator Jennifer Beck, Angelini and Casagrande are heavy favorites to win in November.  Beck’s name recognition and favorables in the district are huge.

Despite a voter registration advantage in the district, the Democrats have a very thin bench.  Elected officials like Red Bank Councilman Michael Dupont, Long Branch Councilman John Pallone (brother of the congressman), Neptune Township Deputy Mayor Randy Bishop and Eatontown Mayor Gerald Tarantolo all declined to run for the legislature back in April when the slate of Ray Santiago for Senate, Schlossbach and Vin Gopal for Assembly, all seeking their first elected office, was chosen by the party.  Now that the summer fund raising season has past and polling has been done, the district looks less winnable for Democrats than it did it April, making it less likely that an experienced politico with a base will step up to replace Schlossbach.

Also complicating the Democrats task of finding an Assembly candidate, Santiago and Gopal have made support of gay marriage a central theme of their campaign.  If marriage equality is a litmus test, finding a new candidate will be even more difficult.

Fund raising will be difficult whoever the Democrats nominate, with the possible exception of John Pallone who could tab his brother’s special interest supporters.  Beck is dominating the fund raising race in the district by both raising money for her team and discouraging donors from contributing to her opponents.  Beck called Cory Booker this week to express her displeasure over the fact that the Newark Mayor is headlining a fundraiser for Gopal later this month in Colts Neck.

The Democrats will probably come up with a nominee, if they get a quorum at the convention.  Whoever it is will be taking one for the team and will probably get a new job or appointment some time in the next year.

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