Lucas Will Run In the New 12th

By Art Gallagher

Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas will be a candidate for the state legislature in the GOP primary from the new 12th district.

Lucas, who will make a formal announcement tomorrow, said he would defer to Assembly incumbents Sam Thompson and Ronald Dancer should either seek the vacant Senate seat.  In such case Lucas will run for Assembly.  Should neither incumbent Assemblyman run for Senate, Lucas will seek that seat.

Lucas said that he will not compete with Freeholder Director Rob Clifton for the Monmouth GOP line with the screening committee, but would  take the race to a primary.

“I think this will be fun and reinvigorate the western portion of the Monmouth GOP,” said the Mayor.

• Tweet

Clifton will seek a seat in the legislature

By Art Gallagher

Monmouth County Freeholder Director Rob Clifton told MoreMonmouthMusings that he will seek the GOP nomination for the legislative vacancy in the new 12th district.

The district as comprised has no incumbent Senator.  Sam Thompson of Old Bridge (Middlesex County) and Ronald Dancer of Plumsted (Ocean County) are incumbent Assemblymen. 

Clifton is unsure if he will be seeking a Senate seat or an Assembly seat.

Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas is considering entering the fray in the new 12th.  Lucas told MMM that he will make a decision within 24 hours.

• Tweet

Burnham Quits. Burry Blasts Him

By Art Gallagher

Peter Burnham resigned the presidency of Brookdale Community College yesterday in a defiant letter to the college board of trustees that touted his accomplishments.  His said his resignation should not be construed as an admission of wrong doing, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press. Burnham said he was confident that his good reputation would be preserved.

Freeholder Lillian Burry blasted Burnham with the strongest language that any official has yet to use to condemn the disgraced college president’s excessive compensation and spending irregularities:

“He disgraced himself in the eyes of his students, in the eyes of his peers, in the eyes of everyone who believed in his vision for Brookdale and every Monmouth County taxpayer,” Burry said. “He has to be held accountable for his actions.”

Burry also backed off her previous support of the college board.

“They did allow this to happen,” she said. “They created the environment that allowed Peter Burnham to become untouchable. Everyone believed in what he was doing and there was no oversight.”

Freeholder Deputy Director John Curley called upon the Board of Trustees to resign, saying that they are policing themselves which is unacceptable.  Freeholder Director Rob Clifton said that he expected that board members would voluntarily resign.

Across the aisle, Democratic Freeholder Amy Mallet was relatively quiet with the APP, deferring to her potential running mate, former Middletown Committeeman Sean Byrnes who ran for Freeholder against Curley in 2009.

The apparent lack of fiscal oversight at Brookdale is probably not unique to the college, Byrnes said Tuesday.

“Hopefully, the county will take this example and, perhaps, consider doing audits and investigations into some of the (other) boards they have ? library, parks,” he said.

Burry met with approximately 45 members of the Bayshore Tea Party Group last evening where she was very well received.  Charles Measley, a GOP county committee member from Rumson and active BTPG member who attends Brookdale was particularly pleased with Burry.  “I went into the meeting thinking Burry was a RINO, but came away impressed by how conservative she really is,” Measley said,  “regarding Brookdale, she told us of Burnham’s departure and assured us that there would be additional house cleaning.”

Barbara Gonzalez, BTPG founder, said that Burry was extremely impressive and that some of the group’s members thought she should run for higher office.

• Tweet

Monmouth County Reorganization

By Art Gallagher

Monmouth County's government reorganized yesterday afternoon before an overflowing crowd exceeding 500 people at the Monmouth Biotech High School in Freehold.

Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno was on hand to swear in her successor, Sheriff Shaun Golden, who took the oath of office, with his family beside him, in full dress uniform while bearing a side arm. A contingent of at least 100 sheriff's officers, also in full dress, stood in support of the Sheriff as he swore his oath and addressed the "who's who of Monmouth County" assembly.

Monmouth Vicinage Assignment Judge, The Honorable Lawrence M. Lawson administered to the oath of office to Robert Clifton, Matawan, for his third term as Freeholder and to Thomas Arnone, Neptune City, for his first term as Freeholder.

In their remarks, the three newly sworn officers who were running mates in the last election, each emphasised their commitment to reducing the costs of government while maintaining the high quality of life in Monmouth County.

Golden and Arnone both emphasized sharing services with Monmouth County's 55 municipalities and other counties.

Golden commended his 9-11 dispatch center for fielding 17,000 calls during the recent blizzard.  With a nudge to the Freeholders to increase resources to be shared, the sheriff noted that the telecommunications center which currently serves 45 local jurisdictions and two military installations is at capacity.

Arnone excelled at creating shared services agreements as mayor of Neptune City and will oversee the county's sharing efforts as Freeholder. 

Clifton was elected by the board to serve as Freeholder Director and will continue to oversee the county's finance and administration departments.  Him pledge to create a budget that minimizes its impact on taxpayers.

John Curley enters his sophomore year on the board as Deputy Director. He noted that his first year on the board was "a time of trial and tribulation" and "a great learning curve." He praised his fellow Freeholder, Republican and Democrat alike, as well as the administrative and rank and file employees of the county. The new Deputy pledge to work with and for his colleagues, but "ultimately for the taxpayers."  He called on his fellow board members to shrink county government, to make it "smaller, more efficient and responsive for our taxpayers."


• Tweet

Clifton To Be Named Monmouth Freeholder Director

By Art Gallagher

Freeholder Deputy Director Rob Clifton will be chosen by his colleagues to serve as Freeholder Director when the board reorganizes in January.

Freeholder John Curley and Freeholder-elect Tom Arnone told MMM that they support Clifton for the position.  Curley said that it is his understanding that current Director Lillian Burry also is supportive of Clifton filling the position.  Clifton confirmed that he has the unanimous support of his fellow Republican Freeholders. Burry has yet to respond to MMM’s calls on the matter.

There is not yet a consensus as to who will be Deputy Director.  Curley said he he would like the position but speculated that Burry might also want it.  Arone, who will be sworn in for his first term in January, will defer to his senior colleagues to work it out.  Clifton said, “we’re still meeting on that.”

Freeholder Amy Mallet, will be the lone Democrat serving on the board next year.  As a minority party member, she would not be expected to be selected for a leadership position.

The Freeholder Director presides over meetings of the board and signs legal documents for the county.

The county budget is Clifton’s top priority. “Smaller and less expensive government is our objective, while providing residents with the services they have come to expect and that they pay for,” said Clifton, “The expansion of shared services with Monmouth County municipalities and school boards, as well as with other counties will enable us to reduce costs and improve the quality of services.”

The terms of Burry and Mallet both expire this year.  Burry is expected to seek a third term. There has been speculation that Mallet will run for Assembly, depending upon how the legislative districts are redrawn.  She a candidate for Assembly in the 12th legislative district in 2007 and sought the nomination in 2005.

• Tweet

Does the Freeholder Board need a clerk?

By Art Gallagher

The Asbury Park Press reported yesterday that the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders balked at appointing Freeholder Director Lillian Burry’s choice to replace Jim Gray as Clerk of the Board.

Gray retired at the end of October.  His salary was $109,748.  Burry wants to replace Gray with James Stuart of Colts Neck, a semi-retired real estate appraiser, who would start the job at $60,000 if appointed.

Stuart served on the Colts Neck Township Committee with Burry. He served the township for nine years through 2008.  He also had a real estate sales license that hung in Burry’s Colts Neck Realty brokerage office.

Freeholder Amy Mallet (D) slammed Burry for political patronage in proposing Stuart.  That is ironic coming from Mallet, whose unsuccessful running mate, Glenn Mason, was appointed the county Emergency Management Coordinator shortly after the Democrats took control of the Freeholder Board in 2009.

Freeholder John Curley (R) raised questions about Burry’s business relationship with Stuart which were echoed by Freeholder John D’Amico (D). Freeholder Rob Clifton (R) told the APP that we would wait and see what happens.

Sources tell MMM that Clifton and D’Amico are expected to join Burry in appointing Stuart at the next Freeholder meeting on November 23 over the bi-partisan objections of Mallet and Curley.

In these times of fiscal austerity, I think it is worth questioning this appointment and all appointments.  Let me emphasis that I am not taking a position, pro or con, on this appointment, at least not yet.  I’m simply raising questions and encouraging others to do the same.

The first question should be “Is the position necessary?”  Even if the position is required by legislation, and I don’t know if the clerk of the board position is required, the question should be asked, at all levels of government.

The Monmouth County website describes the Clerk of the Board function as follows:

The Office of the Clerk of the Board of Chosen Freeholders provides the Board with the necessary information and background material on those matters requiring its attention.

The principal activities of the Clerk of the Board are to keep a book of the minutes and a record of the orders and proceedings of the Board. The Clerk of the Board has custody of the official seal of the County and all records, documents and other official papers relating to the property and business of the County.

The functions performed by the Clerk of the Board include:

• recording the official minutes of the Board
• handling Board correspondence
• preparing meeting agendas
• processing, filing and advertising ordinances, resolutions and the county budget
• serving as a liaison between the public and the Board
• administering and recording oaths of office
• signing official documents
• attesting the signatures of officers and officials
• maintaining a receipt of service of legal documents;
• acting as custodian for several county departments with regard to the Open Public Records Act (OPRA)
• directing correspondence and inquiries for action to various county departments
• conducting business with other county departments as directed by the Board

Monmouth County’s Clerk of the Board’s office has a Deputy Clerk and three staffers.  When the new clerk is hired that will be five full time people working to fulfill the prescribed functions.  Record keeping and correspondence is important, but are all of those people necessary?  Would there be a savings by promoting the Deputy Clerk and freezing or reducing the staff?  Would the functions suffer?  Does technology make record keeping and correspondence more efficient?

Another question, and this is not meant to single out Stuart, but to address widespread abuses.  Is Stuart’s appointment a pension pad/grab?  Does he have pension credits from his service on the Colts Neck Township Committee that would count towards years of service should he be appointed to this job. I don’t know in Stuart’s case.  However such pension padding by part time elected officials has been so rampant over the years that the pension system, and abuse thereof, has obviously been a consideration when making such appointments in the past.  It should also be a consideration, on the other side of the equation, going forward.  If two people are equally qualified for a necessary position but one would add substantial pension costs if hired, those costs should be carefully considered in a hiring decision.

• Tweet

Rally With The Governor Tonight

Governor Christie will be rallying Anna Little, Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Rob Clifton, Mayor Tom Arnone, Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger and Kevin Settembrino and hundreds of their supporters at Bachstadt’s Tavern, 8 Bray Ave, Middletown. 

The event starts at 7PM. 

In Middlesex County, Governor Christie Stops at the Middlesex County Victory Office with Scott Sipprelle and the Middlesex County Republican Ticket

Start Time: 6:30PM

Location: Middlesex County Victory Headquarters

4095 Route 1 South
Located in the South Brunswick Square Mall
Monmouth Junction, NJ

• Tweet

Dear Fellow Republicans, Over the past 8 months, Governor Christie has initiated and implemented sweeping fiscal reforms. Recently, he launched the “Christie Fall Reform Agenda” to address four key areas of government that need reform; Ethics Reform, Pension/Benefit Reforms, Economic Development, and Education Reforms to rethink, reform, and rebuild our state government. These reforms are critical to ensuring that New Jersey becomes a more affordable place to live and work. We need to elect fiscally conservative leaders at every level of government. Our county candidates, Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Rob Clifton and Freeholder candidate Tom Arnone have proven records of opposing higher taxes, cutting wasteful spending and responsible leadership. Shaun Golden for Sheriff Sheriff Shaun Golden, is an experienced law enforcement and public administration leader. Before becoming Sheriff he was a law enforcement officer for 18 years on the Colts Neck and Toms River Police Departments. Sheriff Golden also worked as a certified paramedic for MONOC, serving Monmouth and Ocean Counties, and was a volunteer firefighter and EMT. He holds a Masters Degree in Administration from Seton Hall University, is a NJ Certified Public Manager and an adjunct professor at Monmouth University. Sheriff Golden lives in Farmingdale with his wife Catherine, and their two children. Rob Clifton for Freeholder Freeholder Robert Clifton has served on the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders since 2004. He is currently the Deputy Director of the board and oversees Finance, Purchasing and Information Technology. He was the Mayor of Matawan Borough from 1996 until 2005. In Matawan he also served on the borough’s unified Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment, the Board of Health and the Monmouth County Board of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. Mr. Clifton is the Director of Government and Community Affairs at Comcast. He lives in Matawan with his wife Tracy and their two children. Tom Arnone for Freeholder Freeholder candidate Tom Arnone has served as the Mayor of Neptune City borough council since 1997 and been Mayor since 2004. During this time he served as Police Commissioner, Public Works Commissioner, Finance Chairperson and Director of the Office of Emergency Management. He also served as a member of the Land Use Board, the Planning Board, and on the Borough’s Environmental Commission. In 2009 Tom was named the Vice President of the New Jersey Conference of Mayors, and was elected President in 2010. He has owned and operated a family business since 1983. Mayor Arnone lives in Neptune City with his wife Catherine and their teenaged daughter. The November 2nd 2010 election is rapidly approaching. Our county team needs your support and vote. They are fiscally conservative leaders who will help ensure that Governor Christie’s reforms are effectively implemented at the county level. To find out more or to get involved, visit our website at . Please cast your vote for Sheriff Shaun Golden and Rob Clifton and Tom Arnone for the Board of Chosen Freeholders. Together, we can ensure that Monmouth County remains a beautiful and affordable place to live, work and raise a family.www.monmouthrepublican.org Respectfully, Joseph W. Oxley Chairman, MCRC

• Tweet

The Neptune Nudniks Are Flailing

The Asbury Park Press endorsed Tom Arnone  and Janice Venables for Monouth County Freeholder yesterday.  Their reasoning?  That Rob Clifton and John D’Amico have been in office too long.

Today the Nudniks endorsed Rush Holt for Congress in CD-12.  Holt has been in office longer than Clifton and D’Amico.

Not surprisingly, the APP needs a history lesson.  They said that Rob Clifton is the last vestige of the GOP’s “good old boy” network.  Clifton’s first candidacy was actually the beginning of the end of the “good old boy” network when he was Amy Handlin’s running mate in 2004.

More than most politicians, Clifton has been a faithful and humble public servant, consistently putting the people before his ambitions.  As the longest serving Freeholder, “Robby” has served through a tumultuous political environment over the last six years and avoided ambition driven infighting .

Clifton’s experience and his level headed demeanor will be an important dynamic on the Freeholder Board next year.

• Tweet