Stephanie Murray resigns as Middletown Mayor

Stephanie Murray

Stephanie Murray resigned as mayor of Middletown Township this afternoon in a hand delivered letter to the Township Clerk.  Her resignation from the Township Committee is effective immediately, MMM has learned.

Murray cited her increased job responsibilities in her letter.  She became the part time Borough Administrator of West Long Branch last summer and was promoted to full time administrator earlier this year.

Once considered a rising star in Monmouth County political circles, Murray’s prospects for higher office took a hit in 2016 after the Asbury Park Press wrote an inaccurate and incomplete story about her family’s financial difficulties.  Never-the-less, Murray was overwhelmingly reelected by Middletown voters last November and was selected to serve as mayor this year by her colleagues on the Township Committee.

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BPU unanimously rejects JCP&L’s Monster Lines project

RAGE leaders, in Trenton, celebrate the BPU’s decision to nix JCPL’s Monmouth Monster Power Line Project

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities unanimously denied  Jersey Central Power and Light’s ‘Monmouth Reliability Project,’ according to Hazlet Deputy Mayor Sue Kiley who is in Trenton for the BPU meeting.

“This is a great victory for all of the grassroots activists of RAGE (Residents Against Giant Electric), and all of the government officials who fought together through a complex and arduous legal process to produce the right result for Monmouth County residents who live along NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line,” Kiley said. Read the rest of this entry »

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O’Scanlon: “The Murphy Delay” on sports betting is “a historic blunder”

Senator Declan O’Scanlon called Governor Phil Murphy’s delay of sports betting in New Jersey, “The Murphy Delay,” a policy blunder of historic proportions in a blistering post on facebook this morning:

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O’Scanlon slams Murphy for holding up Monmouth Park sport betting.

Senator Declan O’Scanlon

Senator Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, blasted Governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Racing Commission for standing in the way of Monmouth Park from taking sports bets this weekend.

“There are two aspects to the administration’s actions. The first is that they are taking their time to sign the legislation, and the second is that they are standing in the way of Monmouth Park opening while taking that time,” said O’Scanlon said in a press release this afternoon. “The Governor claims he needs to review this legislation before signing it, but there is no practical reason why Monmouth Park cannot start accepting wagers while that’s happening–the sky won’t fall, lions won’t roam the streets, locusts won’t ravage our fields. There is absolutely zero likelihood of any negative impact of Monmouth Park opening today. That being the case, one has to wonder about the motivation here. It’s disturbing.”

“The legislature came together in a bipartisan manner to get this done correctly and quickly. All of that bipartisan effort has been brought to a screeching and frankly irrational halt by the actions of the administration.”

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Murphy puts the brakes on sports betting at NJ racetracks despite legislature’s green light

Don’t count on placing a bet on the NBA Finals or the Yankees/Mets subway series games this weekend at Monmouth Park.  Governor Phil Murphy has not signed the bill regulating sports betting that passed the legislature unanimously yesterday and the New Jersey Racing Commission, which Murphy controls, warned the state’s three tracks not to take bets before he does, according to a NJ.com report.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the nationwide sports betting ban, except for Nevada, Dennis Drazin of Monmouth Park announced he was prepared to start taking bets at the William Hill Race and Sports Bar on Memorial Day. New Jersey already had a law on the books, and a state constitutional amendment, that allows sports betting, so with the federal ban overturned by SCOTUS, there was no legal barrier to accepting bets.

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400 + Enthusiastic Monmouth Republicans Rally At Bar A

Over 400 Monmouth County Republicans and guests from throughout New Jersey gathered at Bar A in Lake Como on Wednesday night for the 9th Annual Summer Kickoff hosted by Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon.

U.S Senate nominee Bob Hugin and NJ GOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt were on hand to celebrate Hugin’s decisive victory (and Senator Bob Menendez’s poor performance) in the primary the previous day.

Summer in Monmouth started with a bang at their 9th annual Kickoff to Summer Event. Great to be with you all last night! #SummerNights #NJSen pic.twitter.com/ri07wqfTc9

— Bob Hugin (@BobHugin) June 7, 2018

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Sports Betting Can Commence At Monmouth Park

O’Scanlon Praises Bi-partisan Cooperation

Legal barriers to sports betting at Monmouth Park were removed today thanks to a bi-partisan effort lead by Senator Declan O’Scanlon, according to an announcement by the NJ Senate Republicans.

The legislation to regulate sports betting was amended today to remove a provision which would have barred any entity that takes sports bets in NJ prior to the bill becoming law from getting a sports betting license. The amended bill passed both houses of the legislature and now goes to Governor Phil Murphy for his signature. Concerns were raised earlier this week that Murphy would hold up signing the bill as part of budget negotiations with the legislature.

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O’Scanlon and DiMaso Urge Removal of Punitive Language From Sports Betting Bill

The William Hill Sports Race & Sports Book at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. Photo By Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO.

Senator Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso (both R-Monmouth) today urged the Legislature to remove punitive language which would discourage sports betting from commencing operations prior to the approval of regulatory framework legislation.

“We understand the motivation to level the playing field which was the apparent goal of this language in the bill, however that goal was achieved already—sports betting has been held off for weeks,” said O’Scanlon. “This language only serves to enable sports betting to get caught up in the complicated—and apparently contentious—budget battle. The Legislature needs to amend, move, and pass this legislation by tomorrow without any unnecessary punitive language.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Murphy could hold sports betting bill as a chip to play in budget negotiations

The William Hill Sports Race & Sports Book at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. Photo By Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO.

Dennis Drazin and his partners at Monmouth Park were ready to accept sports bets on Memorial Day weekend.  They wisely didn’t after Senate President Steve Sweeney announced he was inserting a provision in the state legislation regulating sports betting that would prohibit anyone who took bets before the regulations were passed from getting a license.

Sweeney was looking out for the Atlantic City Casinos who weren’t ready to take bets yet.   In the meantime, Delaware passed their spots betting regulations and bets will start being taken there today.  New Jersey loses out again.

What was considered a two or three week delay while legislation was passed now threatens to deprive New Jersey’s racetracks and casinos of sports betting revenue, and the related jobs, for a third or more of their summer season.  According to a report on Politico, Governor Murphy is prepared to hold the sports betting bill as a chip to play as he negotiates his first state budget with the more moderate Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin.

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Gopal wants Freeholders to be called County Commissioners

State Senator and honorary volunteer firefighter Vin Gopal finds the term “freeholder” offensive and, for Monmouth County voters in particular, confusing.

Gopal co-sponsored a last minute change–a substitution– in legislation that passed in the Senate last week which, if passed in the Assembly and signed by Governor Murphy, will mandate that the name of the office of Freeholder be changed to County Commissioner. Read the rest of this entry »

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