Freeholders to name bridge for Kyrillos

The bridge over the Swimming River between Red Bank and Middletown, S-17, will be renamed for former State Senator Joe Kyrillos, Freeholder Director Tom Arnone announced on facebook last evening.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Kyrillos is appointed to the board of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ

Governor Chris Christie appointed Senator Joe Kyrillos to the board of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the state’s largest health insurance company, yesterday.

Kyrillos did not seek reelection to the State Senate this year and will retire from the legislature in January. Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon was elected on Tuesday to fill the 13th district’s seat in the upper chamber.

Horizon insures approximately 3.8 million New Jersey residents, according to its 2016 annual report.  The company had $12 billion in revenue in 2016 and $85 million in net income.

• Tweet

Senator Joe Kyrillos will not seek reelection

New Jersey State Senator Joe Kyrillos will not seek reelection in 2017, according to a report on Observer-PolitickerNJ .

“It has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve the people of my district and the state of New Jersey in the Legislature,” Kyrillos told the Observer. “Ever since I was a kid growing up in Monmouth County, I’ve always believed that public service is an important and noble profession. I am truly fortunate to have had the ability to serve for so many years in the state Senate, and I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished on behalf of the people of New Jersey.”

A senator since 1992, Kyrillos has been a consistently influential figure in Monmouth County, Trenton and beyond.  Known for his elegant and diplomatic style, the silver haired gentleman from Middletown is a consensus and relationship builder who started his political career right out of college working for Vice President George H.W. Bush during the 1984 presidential campaign.  After President Ronald Reagan’s reelection, Kyrillos served as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Interior until he was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1987.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Beck and Kyrillos Oppose Giant Power Lines

Senators Joe Kyrillos and Jennifer Beck announced this morning that they have introduced three resolutions in State Senate in opposition to the JCP&L project known as the Monmouth Reliability Project.

The project would drive a 230-kV transmission line on 140-foot-tall monopole towers on a nearly 10-mile path from Aberdeen to Red Bank, cutting through Hazlet, Holmdel, Middletown and across the Navesink River with sight exposure to Fair Haven and Rumson.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

With transportation funding negotiations deadlocked, County has plan to restart Shark River dredging

Freeholder Director Tom Arnone said he will announce a plan to restart the Shark River dredging project Wednesday morning at the Shark River Marina in Neptune Township.

The project, which had restarted on schedule on July 1 was halted at midnight on July 8 when Governor Christie’s executive order halting projects funded by the Transportation Trust Fund took effect.

The legislature failed to pass TTF funding with a $.23 per gallon gas tax on June 30th. The Senate’s plan was to increase the gas tax while phasing out the estate tax and reducing income taxes on retirees.  Christie and the Assembly agreed on a bill that would have raised the gas tax and reduced the sales tax from 7% to 6%.  Senate President Steve Sweeny and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto agreed to pass a revised version of the Senate’s original bill last week.  Yesterday, Christie said the Democrats plan is “dead on arrival.”

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Kyrillos, Beck On Opposite Side Of Gas Tax Debate

Senator Joe Kyrillos yesterday endorsed a $.23 per gallon increase in the New Jersey’s tax on gasoline in order to fund the Transportation Trust Fund for the next 10 years.  Proponents of the tax increase say the fund will only have money for debt service starting at the end of this month, if the state tax on gasoline remains at its current level of $.14 per gallon.

“In total, it is a productivity, prosperity and quality of life package for New Jersey, and very, very significant,” Kyrillos (R-Monmouth) said at a Statehouse news conference, according to NJ.com.

The gas tax increase legislation also reduces the estate tax and taxes on retirement income.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

N.J. sports betting case will go before U.S. appeals court again

State Senator Joe Kyrillos, whose district includes Oceanport, the home of Monmouth Park, said, “This court reversal puts us back on the right course to create opportunities here, improve the quality of life, and enhance the state’s economy and job creation and retention at Monmouth Park and Atlantic City. As I’ve said for months, we will prevail, and the repeals that this legislature enacted on a bipartisan basis will ultimately stand.”

TRENTON — New Jersey’s years-long battle to legalize sports betting will get another day in court — and experts say the outlook for the state is suddenly a positive one. Nearly two months after a three-judge U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected the state’s latest bid to legalize sports wagering at casinos and racetracks,… Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Bush Makes Bank In Middletown

State Senator Joe Kyrillos and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush at the Navesink County Club, July 23, 2015. photo via facebook

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush held a fundraiser for his 2016 Presidential Campaign at the Navesink Country Club in Middletown yesterday evening.

The Middletown Police were not called upon to provide security at the tax payers expense.

Bush raised “a lot more” than the $500,000 his campaign told the media was raised in Middletown and at a private dinner in Short Hills following the event.  A source familiar with the candidate’s New Jersey operation told MMM that the take in Middletown was $600,000 in “hard money” donated directly to his campaign plus “big money” to the Bush SuperPAC.

In a show of support to State Senator Joe Kyrillos, the first prominent New Jersey Republican to publicly break from Governor Chris Christie’s presidential quest and a Co-Chair of the Bush fundraising effort, Monmouth County’s Republican leadership, which helped Governor Chris Christie get elected twice and some of whom have publicly endorsed Christie for president were well represented, if camera shy, at the Middletown event, according to PolitickerNJ.

• Tweet

Christie’s N.J. backers now donating to Jeb Bush’s 2016 campaign

WASHINGTON — State Sen. Joe Kyrillos isn’t the only supporter of Gov. Chris Christie to pitch his tent in Jeb Bush’s presidential camp. Kyrillos (R-Monmouth), a longtime Christie friend and political ally, contributed the maximum $2,700 to the former Florida governor’s presidential campaign. So have others who financially supported Christie during his two runs for governor.… Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

“Snooki’s Law” Advances In NJ State Senate

A bill inspired by “Snooki’s” 2011 appearance at Rutgers that paid the Realty TV star $32,000 to advise students to “study hard but party harder” was advanced through the Senate Education Committee today.

Sponsored by Sen. Joe Kyrillos, S-703 decreases costs and increases transparency at higher education institutions by requiring colleges to publish an online breakdown of student fees and allow students to decline certain expenses.

“The growing cost of pursuing higher education is staggering, with many New Jersey students struggling to foot the bill and finish their degrees,” said Senator Kyrillos (R-Monmouth). “College students and their families should know exactly what they’re paying for, before their money is taken. By offering them the chance to opt-out, we are giving students the opportunity to create and pay for the college experience they want, instead of forcing them to pay for frivolous events that do not contribute to the quality education that they deserve.”

S-703 requires all higher education institutions to publish a full breakdown of student fees on the web. The fees must be sorted into categories, including “student managed entertainment” and “capitol improvement.” The bill would allow students to affirmatively opt-out of student-managed entertainment fees.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet