Bennett and Golden pledge positive campaign

John Bennett and Shaun Golden kicked off their respective campaigns for the Monmouth GOP Chairmanship last week on a positive note and each man said he wants a positive campaign.

Sheriff Shaun Golden

Golden, the Monmouth County Sheriff, is challenging the incumbent Bennett for the opportunity to lead the Monmouth County Republican Committee for the next two years.  The election will take place on June 10 at iPlayAmerica in Freehold.

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Middletown Officials Backing Golden For Chairman

All five members of the Middletown Township Committee have announced that they are backing Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden in his bid to replace John O. Bennett III as Chairman of the Monmouth County Republican Organization.

Front, Mayor Stephanie Murray and Deputy Mayor Kevin Settembrino. Rear, Committeemen Tony Fiore, Gerry Scharfenberger and Steve Massell. Photo via MiddletownNJ.org

Mayor Stephanie Murray, Deputy Mayor Kevin Settembrino, and Committee Members Gerry Scharfenberger, Stephen Massell and Tony Fiore, all Republicans, issued a statement through Fiore .

“Sheriff Golden will bring a new energy to our Party and make us even stronger in delivering the best and most efficient county and municipal governments in New Jersey to the people of Monmouth County.

“Shaun has demonstrated a commitment to excellence and innovation while improving the performance of the Sheriff’s Office and controlling costs to the taxpayers on both the county and municipal levels.  We believe his leadership and executive skills will greatly serve Monmouth County residents in a political capacity as well.

“Shaun will move our party forward and is the best person to heal any fractures that have occurred over the years.

“We appreciate the good job that Chairman Bennett has done during his term, but now, we face new challenges as elected officials and political leaders.  We can’t afford to rest on our laurels, but must move forward with fresh eyes and with a renewed commitment to improve our performance for the people we represent and serve.”

Fiore told MMM that the committee members were speaking for themselves, not for the Middletown Republican Organization.  Middletown GOP Chairman Peter Carton is aware of their endorsement, but has yet to speak with Golden or Bennett, Fiore said.

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Sheriff Shaun Golden is running for Monmouth GOP Chairman

UPDATED 10:14 am

Sheriff Shaun Golden

Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden will seek the Monmouth County Republican Chairmanship when the party convenes to elect a chairman on June 10.

Incumbent Chairman John O. Bennett III said he is running for reelection.

“Shaun’s a good man and a good sheriff,” Bennett said. “I’ve always thought that elected officials should be elected officials and chairmen should be chairmen.  I think Shaun should focus on being sheriff.  We live in a Democracy.  The committee will decide.”

“It’s a race,” Golden said, “we need to get our party moving forward.”

The two men met for breakfast this morning.  Golden informed Bennett that he was running and asked for a smooth transition.

Golden told MMM that he would be releasing a formal statement and sending a letter to members of the Republican County Committee later today.

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Curley to run for Monmouth GOP Chairman

Freeholder John Curley

Freehold, April 1 –Monmouth County Freeholder John P. Curley announced this morning that he will seek the Chairmanship of the Monmouth County Republican Organization when the GOP County Committee convenes to reorganize on June 10.  Curley urged current Chairman John O. Bennett, III to not seek a second term.

“Throughout my public service I have promised to bring my experience in career proven business practices to place in making Monmouth County an affordable place to live and do business.  We have made great strides and are in better shape that most counties in the country, but we can do better,” Curley said.

“We must measure our success not against the mediocrity of other government entities or other political organizations, but against the requirements of the people we serve.   We must stamp out the remnants of the culture of cronyism from our party and make service our sole focus.

“When I was elected Freeholder in 2009 I brought forth a 23 point plan to create greater efficiency and reduce the size of government.  This has been a work in progress slowed by bureaucratic inertia and political cronyism.  We can do better and we can do better faster.  I will provide the leadership to bring the Monmouth GOP and Monmouth’s county and municipal governments into the 21st century.”

“We know the Democrats are going to attack us this year based upon the Lucas and Brookdale/Burnham scandals.  I am the Republican who brought those scandals to the prosecutors and ultimately, the perpetrators to justice.  If I am leading the Monmouth GOP, the Democrats attacks will ring hollow.  The attacks will be laughable.”

” Chairman Bennett has had a distinguished career as an Assemblyman, Senator, Senate President and Acting Governor. When John ran for Chairman two years ago, he said he promised to remove perceived and real conflicts from County politics and said serving as Chairman would be a nice way for him to cap off his career.

“I thank Chairman Bennett for his service and urge him to go out on top.”

Curley sent his first mailer to members of the County Committee this week.  He promises a passionate and relentless campaign.

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Monmouth GOP Convention

Congressman Chris Smith was nominated for reelection in CD-4 by acclamation.

Anthony Wilkinson of Old Bridge Township was nominated for election in CD-6 by acclamation.

Candidates for U.S. Senate and Freeholder have spoken and the committee is voting.

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Candidate For GOP Nomination Against Pallone Is Democratic Fundraiser/Donor

Hari Eppanapally of Livingston will be seeking the Republican nomination for congress in the 6th congressional district next Saturday at the Monmouth and Middlesex nominating conventions. His prior political experience is as an active fundraiser for Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula’s 2012 congressional run against Republican Congressman Leonard Lance in the 7th congressional district.

Eppanapply contributed $2500 to President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign.

MMM hereby endorses Eppanapally for the Democratic nomination for congress in CD-6.

Really.  Eppanapally has a better chance of beating Frank Pallone in the Democratic primary than he does of beating Pallone in the general election.

The Vice President and member of the Board of The Financial Policy Council, a free market oriented non-profit think tank and policy advocate, Eppanapally would be a much better congressman than Pallone.

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Burry and Curley tangle at Freeholders’ meeting

Freeholders John Curley and Lillian Burry

The ongoing feud between Freeholder Director Lillian Burry and Freeholder John Curley , both Republicans, became public again Thursday afternoon at the beginning of the board’s work session meeting at the Hall of Records in Freeholder.

Click here to listen to Curley’s remarks and the ensuing exchange between him and Burry.  Curley’s remarks start at the 1:27 mark of the audio.  The exchange concludes at the 5:24 mark.

Curley announced that he had proposed a resolution that would have called on the State Legislature to prohibit elected or appointed officials, on any level, from participating  in New Jersey’s Farm Land Preservation Program.   He likened such participation to Wall Street insider trading.  Curley said that Freeholder Tom Arnone, a Republican,  was his second for the resolution and that Assemblywoman Amy Handlin, a Republican, was going to sponsor such legislation.  Curley said he was disappointed that “the freeholders” pulled his resolution from the work session agenda.

Burry said that Curley’s remarks were inappropriate in that that he did not go through “the chair” or follow proper procedures.  She said the resolution was going to be discussed in Executive Session and had been put off because it needed to be tweaked and properly vetted.

Listen to the exchange.    It’s much more colorful than summarized above.

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Monmouth Democrats Are Off And Running

Monmouth GOP has its pants on the ground

Larry Luttrell and Joe Grillo. Photo via facebook

Their nominating convention is not until March 22 at the IBEW Local 400 union hall in Wall Township, but Monmouth County Democratic freeholder candidates Larry Luttrell and Joe Grillo are off and running full speed ahead.

Luttrell, the Holmdel attorney who came in last against Freeholders Tom Arnone and Serena DiMaso, as well as his running mate Brian Froelich, after being endorsed by the Asbury Park Press last year, announced he was running again almost immediately after his sad showing.

Grillo is the former Executive Director of the Monmouth Democrats and the municipal chairman of the Asbury Park Democrats. Like Luttrell, he has never held elected office. Grillo was briefly a candidate for the Asbury Park City Council last year, withdrawing from the race prior to the filing deadline. Since leaving his position as ED of the Monmouth Dems, Grillo has worked for his family’s tile company in Howell.

Grillo stepped up his game over the weekend with a fundraising email blast that announced his candidacy.  He raised $6,200 online through Sunday. A Democrat who does not want to be known for talking to a Republican leaning site told MMM that Grillo has raised over $20,000 for his campaign including checks collected offline. His stated goal is to raise $50,000 by the June 3rd primary.

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Bob Walsh: “The Monmouth GOP’s Brand Is Tarnished”

Howell Councilman Bob Walsh, second from left, and Freeholder Gary Rich, right, are set to compete for a 2014 GOP nomination. Andrew Lucas, left, then a Manalapan Committeeman and Wall Township Committeeman George Newberry, between Walsh and Rich. Photo from 2011 Freeholder nomination race.

Howell Councilman Bob Walsh, a candidate for one of two available nominations for freeholder at the Monmouth Republican Convention on March 22, said that the Monmouth Republican Party’s brand has been tarnished by the Burke Farm deal with Andrew Lucas and by the Brookdale Community College scandal that resulted in former Brookdale President’s Peter Burnham’s conviction for official misconduct and theft.

Incumbent freeholders, Director Lillian Burry and Deputy Director Gary Rich are seeking to be nominated for reelection at the convention.

Speaking on the record, Walsh said that many “neutral people, people who know nothing” that he encounters think that the Lucas farm deal and the Brookdale scandal are examples of Republican corruption.  Walsh said that he talks to these people and tries to correct their perception, “but it is out there and a lot of people think that way, it’s a common thread.”

Walsh was very careful not to speak negatively about Burry and Rich specifically while discussing his own candidacy.  “I don’t consider that I am challenging them,” he said, “I am seeking an office according to the rules.  No one is elected forever.  People complain and complain about government, yet keep electing the same people.  That’s what’s wrong with this country.”

“People say that government should be run as a business.  I have a very good record in business, as a licensed banker,  and a very good record as mayor of Howell that I am proud of.  I think I am an asset and will be an asset to the freeholder board. I have energy, passion and the flexibility to do the job.”

While not specifically accusing anyone of complacency, Walsh said that his candidacy and his service, if elected, would be a battle against complacency in county government.

“Complacency has no place if public service,” he said, “I am very pleased with some of the things I see happening since I started running.” He declined to elaborate.

Walsh said he expected that this November’s election will be more contentious that usual.

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A-Rod’s transgressions don’t make The Yankees dirty

Andrew Lucas, center, then the Republican mayor of Manalapan, with then Freeholder John D’Amico and Amy Mallet, both Democrats, in September of 2010, seven months after Lucas purchased Burke Farm.

Former future Hall of Famer Alex Rodriguez dropped his lawsuits against MLB last week and accepted his 162 game suspension for doping with performance enhancing drugs.

The suspension will cost A-Rod $25 million and very likely his induction to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

No one from the Red Sox Nation, not even a fan, has called for the Yankees to be banned from playoff contention in 2014 due to A-Rod’s transgressions. No sports writer has suggested Derek Jeter is dirty because A-Rod cheated or called for asterisks to be placed next to Mariano Rivera’s records.

Rightly so.

Too often in politics when a member of one team is accused or convicted or wrongdoing, the rivals attempt to paint the entire team as dirty.  Too often journalists hungry for content cooperate with the slander.

Thus is the case in Monmouth County were former Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas, a Republican, was indicted last week on charges of wire fraud, identity theft, bank fraud and providing false statements to the IRS and FBI.   A private equity manager, Lucas is accused of deploying a complex and fraudulent scheme to come up with the funds to purchase a farm in Manalapan which he then immediately tried to sell the development rights on to New Jersey’s Farmland Preservation Program.  The Farmland Preservation Program is funded by the state, county and municipal governments.

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