NJ Democratic Party Sues Belmar Republican Candidates, Board of Elections, Alleging Voter Suppression

NJ Democratic State Committee Chairman John Currie, right and Vice Chair Lizette Delgado-Palanco

The New Jersey Democratic State Committee and five Belmar residents have filed suit in Monmouth County Superior Court alleging that the Republican candidates for Mayor and Council in last year’s municipal election, as well as four of their supporters, also Belmar residents, participated in a voter suppression scheme designed to disenfranchise vote by mail voters who delivered their ballots to Freehold via messenger.

The suit, filed as amended on February 3, also alleges that Monmouth County Superintendent of Elections Hedra Siskel instructed and/or advised two of the Belmar defendants, Joy and Carmine DeSanctis to alter, amend or modify their sworn affidavits challenging the mail in ballots.  Siskel is not a defendant in the suit.

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Republicans governors aware they must deliver on promises

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Connelly leading in Eatontown mayoral race after provisional ballots counted

Eatontown “Mayor-elect” Dennis Connelly. photo via facebook with permission.

Eatontown Council President Dennis J. Connelly, a Republican, appears to have thwarted Democratic Mayor Gerald J. Tarantolo’s bid for a 5th four year term as the borough’s mayor.

Tarantolo was leading the race by one vote after all the machine and vote by mail ballots were counted in the wee hours last Wednesday.  This morning, Connelly picked up four votes when the provisional ballots were counted to Tarantolo’s one vote, leaving the final unofficial count 1,481 for Connelley and 1479 for Tarantolo.

Connelly told MMM that he expects the mayor to demand a recount. Tarantolo has until November 19th to file for a recount.

Of the 13 provisional ballots submitted on election day, 6 were disqualified and 2 did not have votes cast for mayor.  Of the five qualified ballots, 4 cast votes for Connelly.

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Opinion: Divided We Govern, Both in Trenton and Washington, D.C.

Credit: Amanda Brown Dick Zimmer The smart money is betting that the gridlock that plagued the legislative process in Washington, D.C., during the past four years will become even worse now that Republicans have won decisive majorities in both houses of Congress. Surely, nobody will be shocked if lawmaking in Washington remains paralyzed for the next… Read the rest of this entry »

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Why the Republican victory is good for markets

The Republicans have taken control of the U.S. legislative agenda for the next two years if not longer, and that has political and market implications up until 2016 and likely beyond. Let’s see how they handle this role, given the divisiveness within the party itself and the fact that it did not really run on a…

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A Different Brand of Politics

By Gary Rich, Monmouth County Deputy Freeholder Director

Art Gallagher thinks I’m a winner. Well, sort of. And while I appreciate the (backhanded) compliment, I’d like to pose a few items of food for thought.

Maybe, just maybe, voters really are tired of the game playing and posturing that exists in much of politics. (I think voters across the county sent that message pretty loud and clear with their votes this Tuesday.)

Maybe all they really want is for us to get back to the business of working on the issues that affect them.

Maybe they don’t care how many hands we have shaken or how many babies have been kissed. Maybe they see through that.

Maybe that’s why—despite suffering “from a perception within the Party’s leadership that [I have] skated by on the backs of others” (a perception that Art clearly seems all too eager to perpetuate)—I have now TWICE been the top vote-getter in each of my races for County Freeholder. (FOUR TIMES if you add my convention victory in March and June’s Primary Election.)

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Voters Answer Resounding ‘Yes’ to New Jersey’s Two Ballot Questions

Voters approved two ballot questions — one to replenish a virtually bankrupt open-space preservation program and the other to make fundamental changes to who is eligible for bail and who is not in New Jersey. Both questions, which would amend the state’s constitution, proved controversial. Unlike previous open-space ballot questions this one proved contentious, even…

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Analysis: GOP Gubernatorial Gains Bolster Christie’s Presidential Hopes

Credit: Governor’s Office/Tim Larsen Gov. Chris Christie’s name wasn’t on the ballot Tuesday, but he was clearly one of the biggest winners of the 2014 midterm elections. Christie’s 70 days of coast-to-coast campaigning and the record $104 million he raised as Republican Governors Association chairman paid off in a string of gubernatorial victories that thrust him… Read the rest of this entry »

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Losers: The Battle for Monmouth

This morning we gave you the winners from the Battle for Monmouth.   Without further adieu, the losers:

Vin Gopal. Underneath that boyish smile and pleasant demeanor is a nasty, dirty, ruthless political operative.  The Monmouth Democratic Chairman showed his true colors in 2013 with his defamatory allegations against Sean DiSomma in the Red Bank Council race. Give him several hundred thousand dollars, which the NJ Democrats did this year, and he tries to destroy the good names of distinguished public servants simply because they hold offices he wants. Monmouth Republicans, particularly some in the legislative delegation, who are friendly with Gopal should reconsider their judgement about him.  It no longer can be said that Vin is a wolf in sheeps clothing.  He’s a wolf.

The NJ Democratic State Committee, Essex County Clerk Chris Durkin, Senator Cory Booker, Assemblyman Joe Cryan, various labor unions and anyone else who gave Gopal money.  They got nothing for it.

The Asbury Park Press. Neptune Nudniks is no longer an appropriate moniker for them.  They are not stupid or incompetent as “nudnik” implies.  They are dishonest and lazy. Their coverage of the Monmouth County Freeholders race was spoon fed or edited by Gopal and his candidates Larry Luttrell and Giuseppe “Joe” Grillo.  Gopal, Luttrell and Grillo used APP to counter MMM’s coverage of the race, which we find hilarious and complimentary.  It didn’t work because APP no longer has influence in Monmouth County.

Their election night coverage was a disaster.  While APP was reporting on software problems at the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office, MMM was reporting election results.

The Monmouth County Clerk’s Office.  The Monmouth County Election Results website is the New Jersey equivalent of HeathCare.gov.

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Now and then, Good does prevail

By Stuart J. Moskovitz

In every election there are winners and losers. This year was no exception. On the national scene, the obvious losers will be written about by most pundits – Obama and the Clintons. Obviously Harry Reid has probably seen his last days of power in any form. But there are other losers. The entire Democratic platform — the so-called war on women, the freebie mentality, the irresponsible blind eye to international distress, the cowardly acquiescence of the Democratic congress to Obama’s war on Israel, are all losers. Republicans elected young people, African-Americans, women, as diverse a group as anyone would want to see. In many cases these were the first of such to be elected in their state — an accomplishment the Democrats never managed and never would manage. These Democratic campaign platforms were as fake as their claim for the last forty years that Republicans would overturn Roe v. Wade. The electorate is simply not as naive as they were in 2008 and 2012. No more. Obama has accomplished at least that.

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