Kingmaker without a portfolio

A strong argument could be made that the path to becoming a Monmouth County Freeholder goes through Red Bank realtor Jim Giannell’s office. 

Since 2005 when he backed Colts Neck Mayor Lillian Burry, Giannell has picked every non-incumbent Freeholder nominee except two.   One exception was Marlboro Councilman Jeff Cantor who replaced Freeholder Anna Little, a Giannell pick, on the ticket in 2007.  Cantor lost a close election to Democrat John D’Amico and then left the Republican party for Jon Hornick’s Democratic organization in Marlboro.  The other exception is John Curley.  Curley was Giannell’s pick over Serena DiMaso in 2008.  Curley narrowly lost to Amy Mallet in the Obama landslide.  In 2009 Giannell backed Kim Spatola, a former Atlantic Highlands councilwoman over Curley.  Curley prevailed at Joe Oxley’s first candidate selection screening and went on to defeat Sean Byrnes of Middletown in the 2009 Christie landslide in Monmouth. 

With the election of Gary Rich earlier this month, 3.5, counting Curley, of five Freeholders owe their offices to Jim Giannell.  If the former Red Bank municipal chairman’s pick in the current race to replace Assemblyman-elect Rob Clifton, Howell Mayor Bob Walsh, is elected on January 14, Giannell will have picked all five members of the board.

While the Freeholders may owe their careers to Giannell, there is little, if any, evidence that he is a boss, in the classic New Jersey sense of the word.  Once they take office, the Freeholders go their own way.  Burry is supporting Anne Marie Conte over Walsh in the current race.  Curley and Tom Arnone are staying out of the race for now. 

Here is a list of Giannell’s picks for non-incumbent Freeholders since 2005:

2005: Lillian Burry.  Burry ran with incumbent Bill Barham.  Barham was elected at a Republican convention earlier in 2005 to replace long time Freeholder Director Harry Larrison.  Even in the wake of the Operation Bid Rig scandal which tarnished the Republican brand, Barham and Burry defeated Democrats Barbara McMorrow and Rebecca Aaronson and Independent Brian Unger.  The Republican victory was in large measure do to the Asbury Park Press’s call for voters to bullet vote for Unger.  Back then the APP’s endorsement still had influence.  Unger garnered over 18,000 votes.  Burry’s margin of victory over McMorrow was only 1,792 votes. 

2006:  Anna Little and Andrew Lucas.  Little was elected, by one vote, over Howell Mayor Joe DiBella at a convention to replace Amy Handlin who had been elected to the Assembly.  Giannell managed Little’s campaign and her floor fight at the convention. A month later at a contentious multiple ballot nominating convention, Giannell and candidate Terrence Wall threw their support to Lucas in an anti-establishment move against DiBella and then Chairman Fred Neimann.   Little went on to win the rest of Handlin’s unexpired term in the general election.  Lucas lost to Barbara McMorrow. 

2007: Giannell did not have a candidate.  Little, his successful pick in 2006, spent a contentious year battling with Chairman Puharic and Freeholder Director Barham. Little declined to seek the nomination rather than submit to Puharic’s rules for screening and the convention.  Cantor was selected to join incumbent Rob Clifton on the ticket.  Clifton won.  Cantor lost to Democrat John D’Amico.

2008: John Curley was Giannell’s pick over Serena DiMaso who had the backing of Chairman Adam Puharic.  Burry was Curley’s running mate.  In a photo finish election dominated by Obamamania, Burry prevailed and Curley lost to Amy Mallet on the count of provisional ballots.  Democrats took control of the Freeholder Board for the first time in 20 years.

2009: Giannell backed Chairman Joe Oxley in supporting Atlantic Highlands former Councilwoman Kim Spatola over Curley.  McMorrow was up for reelection and was considered a lock to be reelected.  Nominating a woman, given the pro woman gender gap demonstrated by Burry and Mallet’s 2008 victories was considered the only hope of defeating McMorrow.    Just before the nominating meetings for both parties, McMorrow announced she would not seek another term.  Curley won a roll call vote at Oxley’s first screening selection.  The Democrats scrambled to find a candidate to replace McMorrow, settling on Byrnes from Middletown over Mike Beson of Neptune Township.  Curley defeated Byrnes and Republicans won back control of the Board.

2010:  Giannell’s pick, Tom Arnone, narrowly defeated former Middltown Committeeman Tom Wilkens and Spring Lake Councilman Gary Rich.  Arnone and incumbent Rob Clifton went on to defeat D’Amico and Spring Lake Councilwoman Janice Venables.

2011: Giannell backed Rich over Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas, who had Burry’s support, Walsh, and Wall Township Committeeman George Newberry.  Rich won the nomination with 25 votes in the screening committee. Lucas has 23 votes and Newberry 22.  Walsh withdrew before the polling.   Rich and incumbent Burry went on the defeat Mallet and newcomer William Shea earlier this month.

2012?  Monmouth County Republicans have not had a nominating convention of all county committee members since 2008.  It remains to be seen if Giannell can pull off another close race.   Don’t bet the house against Bob Walsh.

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John Curley Will Be Monmouth County Freeholder Director

Tom Arnone Will Be Deputy Director

Freeholder John Curley will be elected Director of the Board by his colleagues when the Monmouth County Board of Freeholder reorganizes in January, MMM has learned.  Freeholder Tom Arone will be elected Deputy Director.

Curley said he will use the opportunity to continue his work to reduce the size and cost of county government.  He said he was concerned about the amount of surplus used to hold the line on property taxes in the current fiscal year.  He sees savings coming from using more part time employees and outsourcing government functions where possible.  Curley said he hopes the county is able to sell the nursing homes it owns.

Arone sees the continued expansion of shared services as an opportunity to reduce costs for municipal governments while enhancing revenue for the county.

Freeholder Lillian Burry who has served two terms as director and broke the glass ceiling when she become the first female director said Curley would do a good job in the post.  Burry was elected to her third term on the Freeholder Board earlier this month. She said her focus will be on the projects she has been working on, notably, the redevelopment of Fort Monmouth and the park system.

Curley, Arone and Burry are each taking a strong interest in the race to fill Assemblyman-elect Rob Clifton’s seat on the board.   The new Freeholder will be running with Curley in the 2012 general election and with Arone and Sheriff Shaun Golden in the 2013 election, assuming a 2012 victory.

Neither Curley or Arnone expressed a preference for any of the announced candidates, noting that the field may not be set.

Burry recruited Wall Township Mayor Anne Marie Conte into the race and is supporting her for the post. 

Curley said he expected a strong challenge from the Monmouth County Democrats in 2012, mentioning Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty and Freeholder Amy Mallet, who lost her reelection bid earlier this month, as possible challengers.

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Runoff Election Will Determine Partisan Control of Manasquan

Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Tom Arnone and GOP Council candidate Bob Ferrante campaign in Manasquan on Sunday

By Art Gallagher

 

Voters will go to the polls in Manansquan on Tuesday to choose a member of the borough’s council.  The November 2 election resulted in a tie, after a recount, between Republican Robert Ferrante and Democrat Owen McCarthy.

If Ferrante is the winner on Tuesday, Republicans will lead the borough council with a 4-2 majority.  Should McCarthy win,  the council will be divided 3-3, with Democratic Mayor George Dempsey breaking the tie.

Sheriff Shaun Golden and Freeholder Tom Arnone braved the elements today to hit the campaign trail with Ferrante.  Golden said, “We need to swing Manasquan into the Republican column.  The voters deserve a fiscally conservative councilman like Bobby Ferrante.”

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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."


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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

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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

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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.

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