FMCSA is the federal agency that regulates heavy duty vehicles. Its mission is to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities involving large trucks and buses.
Gore for the last five years was the Deputy Administrator of Operations at the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission where she was responsible for customer service at all 39 MVC branch offices, the vehicle inspection and emissions program, business and motor vehicle dealer licensing, state bus inspections, capital planning. At MVC she oversaw a staff of 1800 and managed an annual budget of $330 million.
Frank DeBlasi, the top vote getter in the Republican primary in Marlboro eariler this month, has withdrawn as a candidate, according to a statement by Selika Josiah Gore, the Chair of the Township’s Republican Committee.
Gore said that DeBlasi withdrew because of unforeseen personal circumstances.
“Frank was a great candidate with a true desire to serve the public and bring new Republican Leadership to Marlboro,” said Gore, “While we regret his withdrawal, we appreciate his integrity. We hope to see his name on the ballot again in the future.”
The Marlboro Republican Committee will meet later this month to endorse to new candidate for council. Any Marlboro voter interested in running is invited to submit a resume and letter in intent to JoAnn Denton, the campaign manager for the 2015 Republican “Positively Marlboro” campaign.
Updated:Former Marlboro GOP Chairman Christopher Dean wants the world to know that Councilman Scalea was never a Republican and that he has proof from the Board of Elections. Dean says that MMM is spreading Mayor Hornik’s lies and that facts don’t matter on this site. He said he’s going to spread the word at some meetings he has coming up.
Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik
Desperate to be a player and for a victory of any kind, Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal told a gathering of statewide Democrats in Freehold on Wednesday evening that Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik’s reelection race is his top priority this year, according to report on PolitickerNJ.
Marlboro is a Republican town. Year after year the Township’s voters break for Republicans for Freeholder, County Constitutional offices, State Legislature, Governor, Congress, Senate and President.
Yet Hornik leads a municipal government that on paper is Democratic. The reality is that Hornik’s administration is dominated by former Republicans who left a dysfunctional local GOP at the mayor’s urging.
Hornik, whose father Saul was mayor of the community from 1980-1991, was first elected in 2007 in a race remembered for incumbent Republican Robert Kleinberg distributing flyers implying that he had been endorsed by NJ 101.5’s morning host Jim Gearhart. Gearhart and Gannett columnist Bob Ingle , then media leaders of the GRIP (Get Rid of Incumbent Politicians) movement, went ballistic on Kleinberg. Kleinberg imploded during a live radio interview wherein he explained the flyers were not meant to imply an endorsement, but as a way to show his kids that people were saying nice things about him.
Selika Josiah Gore is elected unanimously as new Chairwoman
Marlboro GOP Chair Selika Josiah Gore
Marlboro- Christopher Dean resigned as Chairman of the Marlboro Republican committee yesterday. Selika Josiah Gore was unanimously elected by the committee members as the new Chairwoman.
Gore is a wife and mother of two teen-aged boys. An attorney who works as an executive at the New Jersey Motor Vehicles Commission, she was the Deputy Campaign Manager for Scott Sipprelle’s 2010 run for congress and has considerable experience in state, county and local campaigns. She has served as Vice Chair of the Marlboro Republicans for the last four years.
“I’m honored to have the support of my Committee members, said Gore, “I look forward to working with our county and state partners to continue to build a solid Republican organization in Marlboro. We need to focus on fielding the best candidates to bring our message of smaller government and fiscal responsibility to the people of Marlboro. That is what I plan to do.”
The years are supposed to go by faster as we get older. 2013 missed the memo, at least for me. President Obama’s second Inauguration and Freeholder John Curley’s second swearing in seem like a long time ago.
Selikia Joshia Gore started us off in 2013 with a timeless call to renew our humanity; the ongoing struggle of saints and sinners to love one another regardless of standing, status or creed. It is a winning message that works only by embracing our failures without resigning to them.
The Governor. Governor Chris Christie started the year lambasting House Speaker John Boehner and the Congressional Republicans for playing politics with Superstorm Sandy aid and ended the year as the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. In between he built a bi-partisan and multi-cultural coalition that reelected him with over 60% of the vote in Blue Jersey. Christie had the best year of any politician in America. Only Pope Francis and Vladimir Putin had better years globally.
U.S. Senator Bob Menendez. Menendez started the year on the losers list. Embroiled in a sandal of allegations of his cavorting with teenaged girls in the Dominican Republic and using the powers of his office to benefit the businesses of the donor who arranged the party, speculation was that he would resign as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, if not his Senate seat. Menendez seems to have survived an FBI investigation into his relationship with Dr. Saloman Melgan unscathed.
At the end of the year, Menendez’s position seems secure. He is the leading, and most powerful, critic of President Obama’s foreign policy. His approval ratings are net positive 22 points in the last Monmouth University Poll. He got engaged to be married earlier this month.
Given where he started, Menendez may have had the best 2013 of any New Jersey public figure, other than Christie.
The Gramiccionis. The Wall Township power couple had a very good year. In March, Christopher, the Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor and U.S. Naval Reserve Officer, received orders to report for a 9 month tour of active duty in Afghanistan effective in August. Those orders were canceled in July, keeping Chris on the job fighting crime in Monmouth County and home for the holidays. Deborah was appointed by Governor Christie to be the Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The job pays $289,657.
Monmouth County Republicans. Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Director Serena DiMaso were always expected to be reelected on the strength of their records and due to the fact that Monmouth County Independent voters usually vote Republican. They make the winners list by virtue of fact that they ran as if they were behind, not taking any votes for granted. More importantly, they ran a positive campaign based on reducing spending, holding the line on taxes, and improving services, in the face of yet another negative campaign on the part of the Monmouth County Democrats.
Monmouth County’s Legislative Delegation. Each member of Monmouth County’s Legislative Delegation deserves more recognition than space will allow.
Carol Mazzola, right, with Selika Josiah Gore and Kim Guadagno during their 2009 campaign. facebook photo
Marlboro Councilwoman Carol Mazzola met with Monmouth County Republican Chairman John Bennett prior to announcing her to run for reelection as a Democrat this fall. Mayor Jon Hornik was present at the meeting which took place in Freehold.
Mazzola told MoreMonmouthMusings that she met with Bennett out of respect for the chairman for whom she has great admiration. She said that Bennett attempted to pursuade her not to switch partys, but that her mind was already made upInflatable Slide.
The councilwoman, who is seeking her second term on the Marlboro Council, said she’s been struggling with the decision for many months. “In the end, I know I made the right decision for myself and for the citizens of Marlboro,” she said, “win lose or draw, I know I did the right thing.”
Former Republican joins the Democratic Party. Says Local Democrats Put People First
Marlboro Councilwoman Carol Mazzola has joined the Democratic Party and will seek reelection this fall as a member of her new party, Muncipal Chairman and Council President Frank LaRocca announced today.
“Mayor Jon Hornik and Chairman LaRocca are doing phenomenal jobs,” Mazzola said. “It’s always people first with their team; not politics first. The Council is doing an excellent job and I feel very comfortable being part of their team. They have the best interests of Marlboro at heart.”
Mazzola is the second Republican to switch parties and join Mayor Jonathon Hornik’s and LaRocca’s team since they were first elected in 2007. Coucilman Jeff Cantor, a former Republican Freeholder candidate, became a member of the Marlboro Democratic team in 2009.
Marlboro GOP Co-Muncipal Chair Selika Joshiah Gore said she was saddened by Mazzola’s decision.
2012 had moments that confirmed my faith in fellow man, and provided encouragement and inspiration to millions. 2012 also had moments that defied logic and decimated entire communities.
In looking forward to 2013 it cannot just be about momentary acts of kindness that make us feel better.
Instead we need to re-discover our humanity.
Many of us are active in our state and national organizations. But what of our neighbors?
Are we more likely to gossip about the pretty girl moving ahead on the corporate ladder instead of reaching out to the old couple up the street? Is it easier to brag about the check we have written for a charity then bring home groceries for the mother with her infants at home around the block?
This is no indictment on my fellowman, nor by any stretch is it meant to imply that I am without reproach. What it is meant to do is to call attention to our humanity.
If we specify a certain number of acts of kindness does that mean that our humanity has a limit?
Instead of getting caught up in the latest fad of giving how about we all, including myself,determine (meaning to decide authoritatively) to have humanity begin at home.
This is no Pollyanna wish. It is what separates us from the animals and brings us closer to God. How many times a day do you pass the same bus driver, cafeteria worker, parking attendant, desk security, mailman etc., without not knowing their name or even saying hello. The more people that care about us, the more opportunities for a lifeline when things go bad. We cannot legislate away crazy and the reality is only the Lord will provide world peace. But each of us in this New Year called 2013 can add humanity to the world around us.
Happy New Year and God’s Blessings for a Healthy and Prosperous One.
Monmouth County Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon is making statewide waves and generating statewide headlines in his quest to prove that red light cameras are not safety devices, but revenue generating ripoffs.
O’Scanlon makes a compelling case, backed up with engineering, that yellow lights should be timed for actual speeds that motorists are driving, rather than by the posted speed limits. He convinced MMM that’s he’s right on the issue, and that might be the subject of a future post. Read one of these articles if you want to bone up on that issue now. What prompted my call to O’Scanlon was politics, not policy.
There are no red light cameras in O’Scanlon’s legislative district, the 13th in Northern Monmouth County.
As the Assembly Republican Budget Officer, O’Scanlon has one of the highest, if not the highest, statewide profile of his fellow Republicans in the Assembly.
The last time O’Scanlon made statewide headlines on a issue not related to the budget he was speaking out in favor of medical marijuana and against towns that were using zoning laws to keep happy medicine dispensaries and farms outside of their boundaries. MMM’s unscientific poll indicated that his position on 420 could cause a 180 among his supporters in the 13th.
I wondered if O’Scanlon might have political ambitions that, in addition to his commitment to doing the right thing, are motivating his activities outside of his district.
By Selika Josiah Gore