Christopher Dean resigns as Marlboro GOP Chair

Selika Josiah Gore is elected unanimously as new Chairwoman

Marlboro GOP Chair Selika Josiah Gore

Marlboro-  Christopher Dean resigned as Chairman of the Marlboro Republican committee yesterday. Selika Josiah Gore was unanimously elected by the committee members as the new Chairwoman.

Gore is a wife and mother of two teen-aged boys.  An attorney who works as an executive at the New Jersey Motor Vehicles Commission, she was the Deputy Campaign Manager for Scott Sipprelle’s 2010 run for congress and has considerable experience in state, county and local campaigns. She has served as Vice Chair of the Marlboro Republicans for the last four years.

“I’m honored to have the support of my Committee members, said Gore, “I look forward to working with our county and state partners to continue to build a solid Republican organization in Marlboro. We need to focus on fielding the best candidates to bring our message of smaller government and fiscal responsibility to the people of Marlboro.  That is what I plan to do.”

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Amato’s accuser has litigious and calamity prone history

Suzzanne DesMarais. photo via facebook

The woman suing the Monmouth County SPCA and Victor “Buddy” Amato  for harassment has a history of suing her employers for sexual harassment and work related injuries.

According to published reports and interviews, Suzzane DesMarais has won a six figure settlement, multiple workers’ compensation claims and disability pay resulting from her employment as a part-time Special Class II police officer in Long Branch and Plumsted.

She suffered two house fires in six years. After the second fire, she raised money in the name of Chaos Foundation, named for her chocolate lab that perished in the fire. The New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs does not have a Chaos Foundation listed as a registered charity.

DesMarais, represented by the Shrewsbury law firm Shebell and Shebell, filed suit in Monmouth Superior Court on March second. The former police officer, who worked for MCSPCA as an animal control officer, claimed that Amato regularly sent her racist, sexist and homophobic text messages while she was on the job.  She claims that after she complained to Amato’s superiors that she stopped receiving work and that no corrective action was taken against Amato.  Amato resigned as the SPCA Police Chief after the suit became public through a story on BuzzFeedNews.  Garden State Equality, the gay rights advocacy group of which DesMarais is a member, claims it connected her to BuzzFeed to bring public attention to the lawsuit.

Amato seemed to verify the accuracy of the vulgar and bigoted texts revealed in the BuzzFeed report when he told the Asbury Park Press that they were “jokes between a bunch of guys.”

According to published reports and interviews, DesMarias has been down this road before.

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Monmouth County Public Works employees arrested on drug charges

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Historic Glimmer Glass Bridge connecting Brielle and Manasquan reopens 80 days ahead of schedule

Pictured left to right: Kevin Harms, Rob Harms and Jeff Brantly (all from Harms Construction Company, Inc.), Manasquan Mayor George Dempsey, Dan Healey (from Harms Construction Company, Inc.), Assemblyman David P. Rible, Manasquan Councilman Jeff Lee (in sunglasses), Freeholder Director Gary J. Rich, Sr., Manasquan Councilman Gregg Olivera (partially obscured), Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone, Manasquan Councilman Owen McCarthy, County Public Works Director John W. Tobia and County Engineer Joseph Ettore.

MANASQUAN, NJ- The Glimmer Glass Bridge, which had been closed since last August due to significant damage to the bridge deck and immediate safety concerns was re-opened this afternoon, 80 days ahead of schedule.  Repairs to the bridge performed by George Harms Construction Co. of Farmingdale were expected to be completed on May 29 as the summer tourist season kicks off.

“Reopening the Glimmer Glass Bridge is a welcome relief to the nearby residents and the communities of Manasquan and Brielle,” said Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the County’s Department of Public Works and Engineering. “We appreciate all the work done by George Harms Construction to complete this deck replacement project 80 days ahead of schedule.”

“Harms Construction began work in October and worked weekends and overtime to complete the project well ahead of schedule,” said Freeholder Director Gary J. Rich, Sr. “With this being one of the coldest winters in recent memory, this was no small task.”

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Golden Hammer: Naval Weapons Station Earle employees misused funds after Sandy

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Balancing compassion and fiscal restraint

By Freeholder Lillian G. Burry

In a county as large and diverse as Monmouth County new issues arise for the Freeholders on almost a daily basis.  Fortunately, most also come with a very clear and simple resolution as well and so are dealt with almost as quickly as they come.  Then there are a few issues that are not that simple.  These tend to be ones that place two or more fundamental commitments of government in conflict with one another.  Determining the future of our care centers is just such a complex issue.

Good governments mirror the values of the societies that establish them.  Compassion for the most vulnerable among us is a fundamental value of our society.  From their origins as tuberculosis hospitals through their evolution as nursing homes into more sophisticated care centers our two facilities have met this moral obligation in Monmouth County.

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In the Doghouse: Monmouth SPCA Chief Victor “Buddy” Amato Sued Over Hate Texts, Leaves Job

photo via dogsdeservebetter.org

Monmouth County SPCA Chief Victor “Buddy”Amato resigned on Wednesday after news of a lawsuit alleging that he regularly sent racist, homophobic and sexist text messages to the agencies employees was broken by BuzzFeedNews.

Amato told News12 that the lawsuit prompted him to submit his retirement papers six months earlier than planned.

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Christie to host town hall in Monmouth County next week

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Victoria Dean apologizes for facebook post

Marlboro Board of Ed VP, under political attack, suspects that a second alleged facebook post is a fabrication

Marlboro Board of Ed VP Victoria Dean, right and Marriem Yousef, a Muslim Marlboro High School junior at the conclusion of the March 10, 2015 BOE meeting

Marlboro Board of Education Vice President Victoria Dean last night apologized for racially charged posts made on her facebook page on February 8, during public workshop meeting of the board in the Marlboro Middle School Auditorium.

The offensive post came to light over the weekend when Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal’s Jersey Shore Insider blog posted a story accusing Monmouth GOP Leaders of displaying racist posts on social media.  The story accused Union Beach Mayor Paul Smith of posting a “rant” calling President Obama “A Communist, a Muslim and an Illegal Immigrant,” and Dean of displaying and liking a post on her facebook page that stating that “America isn’t America anymore!  It’s run by foreigners including THIS RAG HEAD PRESIDENT!”

The Asbury Park Press picked up the story on Monday, attributing Gopal’s blog as the source without citing it as a partisan website as is their custom when they cite this website or other conservative websites.

Smith shared a meme on his facebook page that included a photo of Obama holding a pint of dark beer in one hand and while is other hand was raised with his thumb up. The meme caption was ” A Communist, a Muslim and an Illegal Alien walk into a bar……The Bartender says ‘Hello Mr. President…”

On her facebook page, Dean posted a link to a story about a Waterbury, Connecticut school district honoring the Muslim holidays Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha by not scheduling tests, field trips or major school events on those occasions.  Dean added the caption “Pandora’s box opened” and tagged fellow board member Craig Marshall. Mark Garza, a Texas resident who Dean says is a childhood friend, posted the offensive rag head comment which Dean then liked.

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The Arnone Report

By Monmouth County Freeholder Tom Arnone

Freeholder Tom Arone

It’s been a long winter, but we are rounding the corner and spring is in our sight. The weather this week is finally giving us the big thaw that we need to get out from under these huge snow piles.

As the snow melts, and after weeks of plowing and salting County roads, Monmouth County Department of Public Works and Engineering crews have transitioned over to the next phase of operation: pothole repair on County Roads. Residents can report a pothole on a County road by calling the Monmouth County Highway Division of the Department of Public Works and Engineering at 732-431-6550.  If you come across a pothole on a State highway, you should report it to the NJ DOT at their website. Potholes on local roads should be reported to the appropriate local municipality. Please do not use 911 to report a pothole, as the 911 service needs to be used for emergencies.

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