Highlands Councilwoman Tara Ryan. photo via facebook
The Monmouth County Democratic Party has endorsed incumbent Councilwoman Tara Ryan-Killeen for reelection in the non-partisan municipal election in Highlands on November 3.
In a sponsored advertisement on facebook, Chairman Vin Gopal’s organization lists every nominated Democratic candidate in Monmouth County on the County, State and Municipal levels, plus Ryan-Killeen in the non-partisan election in Highlands. The Democrats did not endorse any candidates in the only other non-partisan election this November, in Tinton Falls, which is uncontested.
Incumbent Councilman Kevin Redmond, who ran with Ryan-Killeen as a Democrat when they ran in 2012, did not receive the endorsement of Gopal’s organization. Highlands changed to non-partisan municipal elections in 2014.
Redmond and Ryan-Killeen appear to be running together, as the share a facebook page, lawn signs and have issued a joint mailer. However, they have different slogans on the ballot.
There appears to be a race worth watching in Marlboro
The Democratic campaign of Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik and Council Members Randi Marder and Michael Scalea has characterized their opponents’ plan to reform the Township’s Summer Camp as “cheap gutter politics.”
In statement promoted by Hornik on facebook and released on the JerseyShoreInsider blog (a site funded by Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal and Ocean County Democratic Chairman Wyatt Earp that has nothing to do with Snooki or The Situation), Hornik campaign manager Jon Evans accused Republican candidate for Mayor Ira Goldberg and Council candidates Sui Allex and John Dwyer of exploting the “unfortunate and serious incident” that occurred as a result of Matthew Kleinstein, while working as a Marlboro Camp Counselor, sending pictures of his penis to four 11-13 year old female campers in his care.
Councilman Scalea was a member of the Township’s Recreation Committee at the time the incident occurred.
Evans’s statement goes on to claim that the reforms the Republicans proposed are already in practice in the Township of Marlboro. Evan’s states that the Republicans have no platform for improving Marlboro’s government. Read the full statement (that Evans inexplicably did not send directly to MMM) here:
Former Asbury Park Mayor Ed Johnson is “seriously thinking about” running for governor in 2017, according to a report on PolitickerNJ.
“I know a little about raising cities from the dead, and I know about staring down Hurricane Sandy,” said Johnson, who runs his own private consulting firm. “There are no greater troubled waters than our state right now. Whether it’s Democratic or Republican it just keeps going.Everything I’ve done, people said ‘you can’t do that,’ and we did it. People now say the state is too far gone, too broken, it can’t be fixed. I think it can be. I’m not saying I’ve made a final decision. It would be a wildcat, barn-burner election, no question, but the people must regain control of this state.”
Democratic Councilman Michael DuPont Remains Confident He Will Be Reelected
Vin Gopal: “GOP Will Take Control of Red Bank”
Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal told The Two River Times that the Republican Party will win control of the Red Bank municipal government in this November’s election.
Gopal, who launched a campaign of personal destruction against Red Bank GOP Chairman Sean DiSomma in 2013 when he issued a false press release asserting that DiSomma, then a candidate for council, had a warrant for his arrest in Texas over an unpaid traffic violation, whines incessantly to TRT reporter John Burton over the video that led to the resignation of Art Murphy from the borough council. Murphy, the Council President at the time of his resignation last week, also resigned his candidacy for reelection.
Gopal apparently has more of a problem with the fact that Murphy was caught vulgarly belittling his constituents than with the former Council President’s actions. Regardless of whether or not the Republicans released the video, which they deny, they did not fabricate charges, as Gopal did in 2013 against DiSomma.
Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal’s entourage showed up at County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon’s office today for the ballot positioning drawing, armed with a space age temperature gun.
Not Linda Baum
Linda Baum, a Middletown Democrat who has twice been defeated for Township Committee, and who got the Middletown Librarian fired when they conspired together to politicize library operations behind the backs of the Library’s Trustees, was on the scene in Freehold to take the temperature of the capsules containing the names Democrat and Republican for the ballot positioning drawing.
Gopal issued a press release this morning wherein he accused former County Clerk M. Claire French of refrigerating the capsules in the past in order that she could pick the cold one to assure the Republicans win the favored ballot position.
Baum, who’s certification in temperature gun operation is unclear, pointed her gun at the capsules while Bertha Sumick, the Clerk of Elections and a Deputy County Clerk looked on.
Hanlon had recused herself from presiding over the drawing, because she is on the ballot in November.
New Jerseyans would rather see former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush or Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker elected president in 2016 than their own Governor Chris Christie, according to a Monmouth University Poll released this morning.
“The message from New Jersey voters seems to be as simple as ABC – anybody but Christie,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.
In fairness to Christie, it should be noted that Murray did not poll the Governor’s presidential bona fides against former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Congressman Frank Pallone, Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik, Freeholder John Curley, Monmouth Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal or Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
Christie isn’t even New Jersey Republicans first choice to the president. By 44%-30% New Jersey Republicans prefer Walker to Christie in 2016.
Brookdale Community College President Maureen Murphy is one of four finalists for the position of president of Blinn College’s Bryan, Texas campus, according to a report on theEagle.com, a Byran-College Station, TX publication.
Murphy and her three competitors will be in Texas to meet members of the public, who will provide feedback on the selection, on May 4 and 5.
In an email to Brookdale’s faculty and staff on Friday, Murphy said, “I entered this search for personal and professional reasons. My commitment to Brookdale is steadfast, but I am exploring select opportunities,” according to a report on APP.com.
The former English professor has an interesting definition of steadfast.
The Monmouth County Democrats held their nominating convention last Monday night at the IBEW Local 400 union hall in Wall Township. However, as of Saturday March 28, no Democratic candidates for Assembly from the four districts that include Monmouth County have filed their nominating petitions with the New Jersey Division of Elections.
The nominating petitions are due with the Divisions of Elections by Monday, March 30th at 4 p.m. Should no candidates file petitions with 100 valid signatures, the Democratic nominations for Assembly will be up for grabs to write-in candidates in the June 2 primary.
There has been radio silence from Monmouth Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal’s office and on his blog since the convention on Monday. Even MMM’s spies at the convention have been mum. The silence has lead many Republicans to speculate that Vin has a problem.
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.
The Monmouth County Democrats will hold a “mini-convention” this evening at the IBEW Local 400 Union Hall in Wall Township to formally nominate their slate of County and Legislative candidates for the June 2 primary.
Jeanne Cullinane is challenging Assembly Members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon in the 13th legislative district
MMM has learned that Hazlet Board of Education member Tom Herman will be a candidate for Assembly in the 13th legislative district, challenging incumbent Republicans Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon. Joining Herman on the Democratic ticket in the 13th will be Jeanne Cullinane, also of Hazlet, a political newcomer.
Monmouth County Chairman Vin Gopal has previously announced on his blog that Neptune Township Zoning Board Member Carol Rizzo will challenge incumbent Republican Freeholder John Curley. There has been speculation that Rizzo was seperated at birth from Rumson Democratic Chairman and former Democratic candidate for Surrogate, Michael Steinhorn.
