Manalapan Township Committee Member Ryan Green, a candidate for Freeholder in tomorrow’s Title 19 election, has taken the gloves off in what until now has been a clean and collegial intra-party contest.
Green issued a press release late last night criticizing the Holmdel Township Committee for considering selling land, including land purchased with Green Acres dollars, to close a budget deficit. Green based his criticism upon a January 6 article in the Holmdel Patch.
Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso is competing with Green, along with Howell Mayor Bob Walsh and Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle for the freeholder seat vacated by Assemblyman Rob Clifton.
“To learn that the Holmdel Township Committee would consider selling one of our most valued resources in Monmouth County, open space, is very disappointing. I have a strong record of preserving open space, as I believe it improves our quality of life. I will never support selling any of it,” Green said.
Green said he believes very strongly that when governing bodies purchase land, especially with Green Acres funding, it should be maintained as open space. He said he has been a leader in preserving open space in Manalapan since joining the Township Committee.
He is also concerned that selling land, as the Holmdel Township Committee is considering doing, is a short-term solution to address Holmdel’s looming budget deficit.
“In order to address budget deficits, we need long-term solutions. We need to prioritize what services are being provided, reduce spending, and find new shared services agreements that can save taxpayer dollars. Once that land is sold, it’s unlikely that Monmouth County will ever get it back,” Green stated.
DiMaso shot back, “If we sell, it would be 10 acres of a 400 acre facility to a soccer academy. It will be deed restricted for recreational use, so it will remain open space, and its use will not change. The sale will have Green Acres approval.”
“The Plum Lane property that Ryan ‘read’ about was not purchased with Green Acres money. It was donated to the Township and is surplus land.”
“If Ryan wanted to engage in a genuine debate about open space, why wait until the 11th hour with a press release? I saw Ryan on the campaign trail three times this week. He has my number and my email. He could have brought this up anytime. This type of last minute distortion is very disappointing coming from a so called Republican. Maybe Ryan’s ambition and NJEA DNA is more dominant in his character than his status as a Republican, especially one who promised to run a positive campaign. If he broke this promise to a fellow Republican, what promises will he break to the Monmouth County taxpayer? ”
Update from Ryan Green:
I was informed of this issue while walking door to door on Wednesday evening. I have never mentioned one of my fellow candidates by name during this campaign, nor have I ever engaged in personal attacks. The actions of the Holmdel Township Committee raise a legitimate policy issue for Monmouth County regarding open space, and I feel that it’s important for the voters to know where each candidate stands on this issue.
Freeholder Director John Curley is not taking sides in the campaign for Assemblyman Rob Clifton’s seat on the county governing body which will conclude on Saturday with the Title 19 convention of Republican County Committee members at Colts Neck High School.
“We have four very strong, smart and articulate candidates,” said Curley, ” I will be proud to serve with and run with whoever the party gives me on Saturday.”
The successful candidate on Saturday can be sworn in as Freeholder upon resigning from their current office. The new freeholder and Curley will be the presumptive GOP nominees for this fall’s election.
Curley said he expected the election to be a close contest to Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso and Howell Mayor Bob Walsh. He said he is impressed with both Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle and Manalapan Committeeman Ryan Green, both of whom are making their first bid for county office. “We’ll be hearing from then again,” he said.
Monmouth County residents are fortunate that the Republican party has such a deep bench of qualified talent. Any of the four municipal office holders seeking to take Assemblyman Rob Clifton’s seat on the Board of Chosen Freeholders on Saturday can do the job and do it well.
Serena DiMaso of Holmdel has distinguished herself as the outstanding choice amongst very good choices.
Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle and Manalapan Committeeman Ryan Green, both newcomers to county level politics, each have a great deal of promise. Each has a future in higher office should they continue to pursue it.
Howell Mayor Bob Walsh was the early favorite of this blog. We agree with everything that our friend James Hogan said about Bob in his endorsement, except Jim’s conclusion that Bob is the best candidate at this time. We are impressed with Bob’s political accomplishments, his passion and his entrepreneurial creativity. We appreciate his “big personality.” We’re impressed that he has won over Joe DiBella, his former passionate political adversary.
But we believe that Serena DiMaso will be a better freeholder and a better candidate, at this time.
Serena’s personality is not as big as her heart. She is a rare breed of politician; a truly humble public servant. Her quiet demeanor masks a tough, tenacious and very smart conservative leader.
The Freeholder Board is already occupied by big personalities. We believe that Serena is the perfect replacement for Rob Clifton’s calm, quiet leadership.
We also believe that Serena is the perfect running mate for Freeholder Director John Curley this year and for Freeholder Tom Arnone and Sheriff Shaun Golden next year. As her speaking skills continue to improve…she’s improved remarkably during this brief campaign… Serena will be very difficult for the Democrats to run against. Her record is impressive and she can sell it.
We figured the First Aid Squad gig was a resume builder like many politicians who join their community fire departments so that they use pictures wearing gear in campaign materials. Then we learned that Serena went on over 300 emergency calls last year. What mayor or chair of a hospital foundation does that? How does she do all that? “Dinner is often late to the table and the laundry is done in the middle of the night,” was her answer.
Serena will bring a great, deep, balance to the next two general election tickets and to the Board of Freeholders.
Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso scored a surprisingly strong victory tonight at the Tea Party vetting of Freeholder candidates sponsored by the Bayshore Tea Party Group, the Jersey Shore Tea Party Patriots and the East Jersey Tea Party. The meeting of about 50 people was held at the West Park Recreation Center in Oakhurst.
DiMaso earned 50% of the vote in the four person race with 16 votes. Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle got 8 votes followed by Howell Mayor Bob Walsh with 6 votes and Manalapan Committeeman Ryan Green getting 2.
While each of the candidates promoted their accomplishments as municipal leaders and their plans for county government, the Tea Party members were more concerned with federal and constitutional issues, for the most part.
Jersey Shore Patriot leader Mark Falzon said that DiMaso won over the group, which he said was very impressed with all four candidates, on the strength of her commitment to fight to repeal ObamaCare.
Joe Abbruscato of Tinton Falls expressed his frustration about Republican elected officials who seem resigned to the implementation of ObamaCare. Walsh and Green expressed their opposition to ObamaCare. Doyle said he was hopeful that the U.S. Supreme Court would overturn the law. DiMaso said that as a member of the Board of Trustees of Meridian Health and as a physician’s wife, that she is actively fighting ObamaCare and was intimately familiar with the damage it will do to the country.
Brett Rappaport of Manalapan asked what Green said were the toughest questions of the campaign. 1) Name a Republican office holder who should be voted out of office, and 2) name an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that should be repealed.
All four candidates revealed that they are not terribly familiar with the Constitution they have sworn to uphold.
Regarding the “bad Republican” question, DiMaso hit it out of the park, “I’ve done it twice in primaries in Holmdel.” Walsh spoke of running against the party as an Independent in Howell. Green and Doyle punted.
Assuming there is a quorum of 386 present, the Monmouth GOP Committee will elect one of the four candidates to fill the seat vacated by Assemblyman Rob Clifton on Saturday at Colts Neck High School.
The final opportunity to hear all candidates will be on Friday night at the Monmouth Affiliated Republican Club’s candidates night dinner at Doolan’s in Spring Lake.
Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande
Dear County Committee Member,
On Saturday January 14th at 9:00am at Colts Neck High School (59 Five Points Rd., Colts Neck), you and other Monmouth County Republican Committee members will vote for the person who will replace Assemblyman-elect Rob Clifton on the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
We are supporting Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso and we ask you to vote for her on Saturday. We have each known Serena for many years and believe her record of fiscal responsibility, her experience, and her temperament make her the best choice among the candidates.
Despite huge increases in costs like healthcare, fuel, and pension contributions and a significant loss of state aid, Holmdel’s current budget is only slightly higher than it was in 2007, a great example of Serena’s commitment to keep spending and taxes under control.
Serena’s political accomplishments are just as impressive. When the Holmdel Republican Party was going through some difficult times, Serena worked hard and won two contested primaries (2001 & 2007). She worked even harder to bring the party together after those tough victories, and today the Holmdel Republicans are united and a 4-1 majority on their Township Committee. The ability to bring people together and unite them for a common purpose is a very important attribute for our next Freeholder.
Experience is another attribute our next Freeholder will need. The County budget is nearly $500 million, with multiple large and complex departments and responsibilities. We believe Serena’s 10 years on the Holmdel Township Committee- especially the five she spent as Mayor- make her the candidate best equipped to deal with the complexities of county government.
Monmouth County is a wonderful place to live because of the vision and accomplishments of the great Republican Freeholders of the past. We believe Serena DiMaso will carry on that great Republican legacy in Monmouth County and we ask you to vote for her on Saturday January 14th at 9:00am at Colts Neck High School ( 59 Five Points Rd., Colts Neck)
The candidates to replace Assemblyman-elect Rob Clifton on the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders will not address the Title 19 convention of Monmouth Republican Committee members when they convene on Saturday morning at Colts Neck High School.
Nominations will be accepted from the floor and then the balloting will commence.
Several party leaders told MMM that Chairman Joe Oxley decided on this agenda for the convention out of concern for maintaining a quorum. 50% plus one of the committee’s 770 members must be present during the voting in order for the election to be official.
There is talk among some committee members about making a motion from the floor to allow the candidates to speak.
There will be no problem obtaining a quorum of 386 if the candidates’ head counts are accurate. At a meet and greet hosted by the Atlantic Highlands Republican Committee last night, Howell Mayor Bob Walsh and Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso both told MMM they have 200 votes. Manalapan Township Committeeman Ryan Green said that he counting on at least 150 of the 300 GOP committee members he personally visited. MMM did not talk to Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle about his vote count.
The Monmouth County Republican Committee will be electing a Freeholder on Saturday, January 14, to fill the vacancy resulting from Freeholder Director Rob Clifton’s election to the State Assembly.
The candidates are Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso, Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle, Manalapan Committeeman Ryan Green and Howell Mayor Bob Walsh.
Serena DiMaso will be elected Monmouth County Freeholder at the Title 19 convention of the Monmouth GOP Committee on January 14. Bob Walsh will withdraw during his speech before the convention.
Bill Spadea defeats Donna Simon and John Saccenti at a Title 19 convention of the 16th legislative district to fill the assembly seat vacated by the death of Peter Biondi. After recounts and law suits, the November special election for the seat is declared a tie between Spadea and Democratic Princeton Committeewoman Sue Nemeth. Another special election is scheduled for January of 2013.
Joe Oxley will be named Township Administrator and In House Attorney for Wall Township. The appointment will forward a statewide trend of municipalities hiring either attorneys or engineers as their administrators as a cost saving measure. Oxley is reelected GOP County Chairman by acclamation. Senator Jennifer Beck will give the nominating speech. Christine Hanlon will be Vice Chair.
Middletown will get a new Parks and Recreation Director. It won’t be Linda Baum or Pam Brightbill.
Jim McGreevey is ordained an Episcopal priest.
Jon Corzine remembers where he put the $1.2 billion.
Senator Joe Kyrillos will be the GOP nominee for U.S. Senator, defeating Anna Little and Joseph Rudy Rullo in the primary.
Congressman Steve Rothman defeats Congressman Bill Pascrell in the Democratic primary for the 9th Congressional District nomination. In the only surprise of the primary, former Bergen County GOP Freeholder Anthony Cassano, who had agreed to take one for the team in the 9th, was defeated when the Bergen County Tea Party Group organized a write-in campaign for Anna Little. Little was on the ballot as a U.S. Senate candidate. Having lost the Senate nomination to Joe Kyrillos, Little accepts the nomination, asks Kyrillos to host a fundraiser for her, and promises to move into the district if she wins. She doesn’t.
Maggie Moran defeats Vin Gopal and Frank “LaHornica” LaRocca in a close election for the Monmouth County Democratic Chairmanship.
James Hogan of Long Branch is the GOP nominee for Congress in New Jersey’s 6th Congressional District. Frank Pallone is reelected by 8%.
Jordan Rickards of North Brunswick is the GOP nominee for Congress in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District. Rush Holt is reelected by 15%.
On August 28, the second day of the Republican National Convention, the National Weather Service warns that Hurricane Chris is heading towards the Jersey Shore. Acting Governor Kim Guadagno gets on TV and says, “Get the heck off of the beach please.”
Mitt Romney will be the GOP nominee for President of the United States. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will be the Vice Presidential nominee.
President Obama nominates Vice President Joe Biden to be Secretary of State. Biden submits his resignation as VP effective upon both houses of congress confirming his successor. President Obama nominates Hillary Clinton as Vice President. Speaker of the House John Boehner refuses to schedule confirmation hearings for the VP nomination on the constitutional grounds that their is no vacancy in the office. Obama makes them both recess appointments. Clinton is nominated for VP at the Democratic National Convention and Secretary of State Biden spends October in China.
Despite losing their home states of Massachusetts and New Jersey, the Romney-Christie ticket wins the electoral college by one vote, 270-269. The winning vote comes from Maine, one of two states that awards electoral votes by congressional district. Romney-Christie lose Maine 3-1 but win the election. Obama-Clinton file suit to challenge Maine’s method of awarding electoral votes. Romney-Christie counter with a suit in Nebraska, which they won 4 electoral votes to 1, using the same arguments that Obama-Clinton use in Maine. The U.S. Supreme Court decides both cases for the plaintiffs, 5-4, and determined that in all future presidential elections that electoral votes are awarded on a winner take all basis nationally. Tea Party leader Dwight Kehoe calls for the impeachment of the Justices who voted affirmatively, claiming that they don’t understand the 10th Amendment.
Robert Menendez defeats Joe Kyrillos for U.S. Senate by 1%.
U. S. Senator Frank Lautenberg resigns. In one of his last acts as Governor before ascending to the Vice Presidency, Chris Christie appoints Kyrillos to Lautenberg’s Senate seat.
The Monmouth County area Tea Parties are coming together to in order to make their presence felt in the upcoming county committee election to replace Assemblyman-elect Rob Clifton on the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders.
Bob Gordon, co-founder of the Bayshore Tea Party Group, says that between the groups there are 25 county committee members eligible to vote on January 14th when the county committee convenes to elect Clifton’s successor. They are potentially a significant voting block.
The Tea Parties extended invitations this afternoon to each of the declared candidates to speak at the January 10th meeting. Following the candidates presentations and a Q and A, a secret ballot will be taken. The winner of the groups’ endorsement will be announced upon the tabulation of the ballots.
Howell Mayor Bob Walsh and Manalapan Deputy Mayor Ryan Green have accepted. Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso is juggling a scheduling conflict. Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle has yet to respond, according to Barbara Gonzalez, the another co-founder of BTPG.
