Monmouth Republicans and the Tea Party Row – A National Problem in Local Form

If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism.

~Ronald Reagan, July 1, 1975

By Tommy DeSeno

Self-identified Tea Party groups are supporting primary candidates against Republican incumbents Senator Joe Kyrillos, Assemblywoman Amy Handlin, Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, Monmouth Freeholder Director Tom Arnone, Freeholder Deputy Director Serena DiMaso and Monmouth Sheriff Shaun Golden.

Normally I’d say to the challengers nothing more than, “Hey it’s a free country so have at it,” but to call America a “free country” now is becoming more cliché than reality, isn’t it?  Between Democrat Obama’s view that he has a right to kill American citizens without due process of law and Republican John Roberts ruling that I can be “taxed” on ObamaCare for not buying it, it is becoming increasingly hard to know who to trust in matters of American freedom.

When people ask me nowadays if I’d like to see a third party in politics, I tell them I’d settle for a second one.  The Democrats and Republicans are becoming that much alike.

So let me start by saying to Tea Party folks that I understand your frustration.  I too feel the need to have political ideology inform political judgment rather than concerns over electoral identity.  

The problem, my friends, is the “Tea Party” was never intended to be a third political party, and the local folks in Monmouth County are treating it like it is.  There seems to be a need to serve a full slate of candidates without regard to whether the Republican in question should be challenged, and that makes you look more election driven than ideology driven.  

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O’Scanlon On Offense

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon said the Bayshore Tea Party Group backed challenge of the 13th Legislative District incumbents and the Monmouth GOP county-wide incumbents, is inspired by nothing more than the need for attention and the desire for relevance on the part of the challenging candidates and of Barbara Gonzalez, co-founder of BTPG.  O’Scanlon flat out challenged the group’s integrity.

O’Scanlon made his charge directly to the faces of the challenging candidates who showed up last night, Leigh-Ann Bellew for Senate, Edna Walsh and Steve Boracchia running for Assembly, BTPG co-founder Barbara Gonzalez, along with approximately 30 other Republican primary voters at a Meet the Candidates Night hosted by the Two Rivers Republican of Fair Haven.

O’Scanlon was representing himself and his running mates, Senator Joe Kyrillos and Assemblywoman Amy Handlin at the gathering.  Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Sheriff Shaun Golden spoke on behalf of themselves and Freeholder Deputy Director Serena DiMaso.  All three men defended the conservative records of the incumbents and called out the challengers for running against the wrong candidates, dividing the party, and distorting their records to the Republican primary voters.

O’Scanlon went after the challengers aggressively on the content of their campaign, without personal attacks.

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Bennett: “We’re fighting this primary as if we’re down 25%”

Monmouth County GOP Chairman John Bennett sounded a rallying cry to about 125 Republican faithful on Saturday morning in Hazlet at a Armed Forces Day ‘friend raiser’ held at the Red Oak Diner for county candidates Sheriff Shaun Golden and Freeholders Tom Arnone and Serena DiMaso.

“We’ve had primaries before in Monmouth County that we did not take seriously,” Bennett said,”and bad things happened.  This time we’re running as if we are 25 points behind.”

State Senator Joe Kyrillos asked the assembled Republicans to make sure their friends and families come out and vote on June 4 for himself and Assembly members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon, in addition to Golden, Arnone and DiMaso.

Deputy Freeholder Director Serena DiMaso, former mayors Eddie Farve or Bay St. Louis, MS and Brett Warr of Gulfport, MS and former CNN correspondent Kathleen Koch

DiMaso introduced former CNN correspondent Kathleen Koch, former mayors Eddie Farve of Bay St. Louis, MS and Brett Warr of Gulfport, MS, as well as former Congressman Gene Taylor.  The group was visiting New Jersey to support the Bayshore Conference of Mayors, touring the destruction of Superstorm Sandy in Mantoloking and the rebuilding of the Seaside Heights boardwalk.

Golden used the presence of the guests from Mississippi to talk about his department’s response to Sandy. “We had no deaths or serious injuries in Monmouth County.  In Katrina, there were almost 2000 deaths,” he said.

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Leadership We Can Depend On

Tony Fiore

By Tony Fiore, Former Middleotown Mayor and Current Township Committeeman

I am writing today to ask you to join me in support of three extraordinary county leaders who deserve our support on June 4^th; Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Freeholder Deputy Director Serena Dimaso.  As the Mayor of the largest municipality in Monmouth County, it should come as no surprise that I have had many first hand experiences working with Shaun, Tom and Serena on a number of issues and initiatives.  While I can point to a number of needed improvements that they have helped to bring to Middletown, it is not my intention.  Instead, I’d like to share with you my experience working with them during one of the most difficult and challenging times in our township’s history.

Superstorm Sandy’s impact on Middletown was unprecedented. Thousands lost their homes and everyone lost power for almost two weeks.  When we needed to secure our devastated bayshore for safety and security, we couldn’t depend on the federal government to get us the necessary resources.  However, we could depend on Sheriff Golden.  Each day Sheriff Golden would hold a personal call with both myself and the Township Police administration.  Through his efforts, officers from as far as Mississippi came into Middletown to help us secure our most affected areas.  At his direction helicopters with night vision flew over our bayshore to prevent and catch looters and others who came in to prey on our victims.  Through his leadership, we were safe.   I received a call or text message from him every day asking for our needs until power was 100% restored and we were back to some semblance of normal. 

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Christie Raises $500K in Middletown

Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholders Serena DiMaso and Tom Arnone at Christie fundraiser, facebook photo

Governor Chris Christie’s reelection campaign raised $500,000 at the Middletown home of Newport Capital Group President Domenic DePiero, according to sources familiar with the event.  The fundraiser, chaired by State Senator Joe and Susan Kyrillos, was the most successful Christie fundraiser to date, including the February fundraiser at the Palo Alto, CA home of facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Former NFL player Christian Peter, listed as a supporting member of the host committee on the event invitation, did not attend.   “The only big guy I saw was Christie,” one donor said.

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Why is the Bayshore Tea Party Group Challenging Monmouth County Incumbents?

Bayshore Tea Party Group Co-Founders Bob Gordon and Barbara Gonzalez took to their Asbury Park Press blog yesterday to attempt to explain why they are challenging the 13th Legislative District and County Republican incumbents.  In this post I’ll attempt to explain their explanation with the benefit of having spoken to them and having attended the meeting where they introduced most of their candidates.  If I get any of it wrong, I suspect they will correct me in the comments.

Gordon and Gonzalez would probably object to the characterization that they are challenging the incumbents.  They would say they are supporting the challenge, not doing the challenging.  Just as senate candidate Leigh-Ann Bellew said she is not the BTPG’s candidate, but anticipates the group’s support.  This a linguistic distinction without a practical difference.  The challenge is a Tea Party challenge.

THE PROCESS

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Bennett: Tea Party Primary Challenge Is “Ludicrous”

Monmouth County Republican Chairman John Bennett said that “it is ludicrous to me that these individuals are being challenged” in the primary.  Bennett was speaking to MoreMonmoutMusings about the primary challenges to his 13th legislative team of Senator Joe Kyrillos, Assembly members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon, as well as Sheriff Shaun Golden and Freeholders Tom Arnone and Serena DiMaso.

John Bennett

“I have no idea what their agenda is,” Bennett said of the Bayshore Tea Party Group and their slate of candidates who filed to challenge the incumbents today,” our candidates are doing great jobs and are conservatives.”

“We will treat this challenge like any other election against our good, strong incumbents and return these good people to office with every resource at our disposal.”

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Anna Little, David Corsi won’t be Tea Party candidates in GOP Primary

Photo credit: genehoyas.com

Since they formed in 2009, the Bayshore Tea Party Group has supported three campaigns that have defeated the Monmouth County Republican Organization in primaries.

Former Highlands Mayor Anna Little won the 6th Congressional District nomination twice.  In 2010 Little defeated the MCRO’s endorsed candidate Diane Gooch.  In 2012 Little defeated newcomer Ernesto Cullari.  Cullari had won the Monmouth Republican organization’s endorsement. Little won the Middlesex County Republican Organization’s endorsement and won the primary handily in both counties.  Little went on to lose twice to incumbent Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone.

Oceanport real estate executive David Corsi beat Princeton venture capitalist Scott Sipprelle in Monmouth County during the 2010 primary for the 12 Congressional District nomination.  Sipprelle prevailed on the strength of his support in the Middlesex and Mercer portions of the district.  Sipprelle lost to incumbent Democratic Congressman Rush Holt.

Both Little and Corsi were supported by BTPG’s grassroots activists.

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Bayshore Tea Party Wants Bennett To Change The By-Laws

Still won’t reveal their primary candidates names

Bayshore Tea Party co-founder Bob Gordon told MoreMonmouthMusings that he would recommend that the groups’s candidates for the Legislature from the 13th district, sheriff and freeholder not file as candidates in the June 4 Republican primary if GOP Chairman John Bennett would allow the candidates onto the March 23 County Convention ballot without having to submit the signatures required under the new by-laws to challenge incumbents.  He would not guarantee that the so far unnamed challengers would abide by the results of the convention and not file for the primary if they lose in Colts Neck on the 23rd. “That would be up to the candidates,” he said.

Gordan said that county committee members inclined to support the Tea Party challengers are reluctant to sign convention petitions for fear that they will be challenged in the next committee election in 2014.

The deadline to submit petitions for the convention ballot passed last week.  Primary petitions are due on April 1.

Neither Gordon nor fellow co-founder Barbara Gonzalez would name the potential challengers.  Gordon said that there is a full slate of candidates to take on Senator Joe Kyrillos and Assembly Members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon in the 13th district. On the county level, Sheriff Shaun Golden faces a challenge while Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Director Serena DiMaso may only have one challenger, if the candidates file.

Posted: March 12th, 2013 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 2013 Election, Amy Handlin, Barbara Gonzalez, Bayshore Tea Party Group, Declan O'Scanlon, Joe Kyrillos, John Bennett, Monmouth County Republican Committee, Monmouth GOP, Shaun Golden | Tags: Amy Handlin, Barbara Gonzalez, Bayshore Tea Party Group, Bob Gordon, Declan O'Scanlon, Joe Kyrillos, John Bennett, Monmouth GOP, Monmouth Republicans, Serena DiMaso, Shaun Golden, Tom Arnone | 14 Comments »

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Bayshore Tea Party Preparing Primary Slate for LD 13, County Offices

The Bayshore Tea Party Group is preparing a primary slate to challenge 13th district legislators, Senator Joe Kyrillos and Assembly Members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon, and county office holders, Sheriff Shaun Golden and Freeholders Tom Arnone and Serena DiMaso, according to the group’s co-founder Barbara Gonzalez.

Gonzalez told MoreMonmouthMusings that the group has six candidates who are clearing their potential candidacies with their families and employers.  She wouldn’t name any of the candidates but expects to make a formal announcement next week.  If the slate declares, they will bypass the Monmouth GOP convention on March 23 and file to run in the June 4 Republican primary.

Gonzalez said that former Highlands Mayor Anna Little, who twice ran and won in Congressional primaries with the group’s backing, is not one of the candidates.

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