Jennifer Beck to run for mayor of Red Bank

April 1, 2018

Jennifer Beck

Former state Senator Jennifer Beck will launch her political comeback on Monday when she files her petitions to seek the Republican nomination for Mayor of Red Bank, MMM has learned.

“Red Bank needs leadership,” Beck said in a statement announcing her candidacy. “Mayor Menna is a delightful man, a great compromiser, but in his nine years in office little has changed. Taxes are too high, water rates are too high, there are too many retail vacancies, and parking is a nightmare. The governing body is running in place and playing petty politics.”

Red Bank Republicans did not nominate a candidate for mayor when they met to choose their municipal candidates last Thursday evening, opting to give Democrat Mayor Pat Menna a free pass into office for the third time.  Menna has not been challenged since he beat John Curley in 2006 when the then Red Bank councilmen faced off to replace Ed McKenna as leader of the borough. Read the rest of this entry »

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Gopal Beating Beck Was No Upset. It Was Gerrymandering and Camden Colonialism

By Tommy DeSeno

Election night we listened to pundit after pundit (some admitting they know little about the 11^th District) proclaim Vin Gopal’s victory over Senator Jen Beck was an “upset.”  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Every indicia of prognostication said Vin Gopal was the favorite, and it starts with the previous census.

I’ve lamented for some time that voting in “districted elections” is like not voting at all.  After each census, 10 political big shots, 5 from each party, meet in a hotel room and draw crazy lines that allow them to divvy up the state between the two parties.  Democrats having an advantage in this state, their “map” wins, by an 11^th man tiebreaker.  This is followed by us sheep doing our civic duty and voting even though the pols already stacked the demographic deck.  The winning party acts like it was political prowess that won them the election, when in fact the day was won in the hotel room where the map is drawn every 10 years.  This system is an inhibitor of democracy. Read the rest of this entry »

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40,003 reasons Vin Gopal beat Jennifer Beck

Senator-elect Vin Gopal and Tinton Falls Mayor Gerald Turning. photo via facebook, posted Oct 9

By Art Gallagher

Jennifer Beck had an internal poll showing her leading Vin Gopal by 17% in September.  Gopal had a poll showing him losing to Beck by 6% in mid October. Another Gopal poll showed him winning by 1% last week.  Beck said last week that she thought it was a 3% race. So how did Gopal pull off a 7% victory on Tuesday night?

Gopal’s campaign knocked on 40,000 doors in Asbury Park, Eatontown, Long Branch, Ocean Township and Tinton Falls, according to a veteran Democrat operative who participated in the effort.

The Senator-elect had a fresh and energetic army of volunteers and paid canvassers join his committed troops in the field on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Beck’s campaign closed with a Hail Mary pass and a fire drill. Read the rest of this entry »

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Dems Pick Up Key Seats in Legislature, GOP Takes Several Tight Races

Senate President Steve Sweeney fought off a surprisingly tough challenge from his Republican opponent, funded by NJEA money. New Jersey voters went to the polls yesterday and turned their attention to all 120 seats in the Legislature, ending a busy election season that was rife with special interest spending, political attack ads and controversial mailers, as… Read the rest of this entry »

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Election Day Predictions 2017

Kim Guadagno will be elected the 56th Governor of New Jersey by less than 2000 votes.

The Associated Press will not call the NJ gubernatorial race until Thursday due to the failure of the vote reporting systems in Essex, Hudson, Camden and Middlesex counties which will prevent the vote from being counted.  CNN and NJ.com will report rumors that the New Jersey election was hacked by the Russians.

Steve Sweeney will survive the millions spent against his reelection by the NJEA.  The teachers’ union will lose considerable influence in Trenton and its membership will revolt against leadership and reform the association.  Guadagno and Sweeney will have a stronger and more effective reform agenda than Christie and Sweeney had during the first Christie’s term. Read the rest of this entry »

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Tommy G and Art G on the radio this afternoon

MMM publisher Art Gallagher will be joining Tommy G onNew Jersey’s best drive time radio show this afternoon during the 5 o’clock hour.

The Tommy G Show is broadcast in Central New Jersey on 1450 AM WCTC, on the Internet by clicking this link and via the TuneIn app on your smartphone.

With election season upon us, Tommy and Art will likely be discussing the NJ Gubernatorial election between Lt Governor Kim Guadagno and former Goldman Sach banker Phil Murphy.  The 11th district state Senate race between Senator Jennifer Beck and Vin Gopal could come up.  Read the rest of this entry »

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O’Scanlon: Gopal lacks credibility on property taxes

By Declan O’Scanlon

Vin Gopal and the Easter Bunny photo via @gopalforsenate

Democratic state Senate candidate Vin Gopal, in his Aug. 20 oped “Consolidate small towns,” extolled the virtues of municipal consolidation as if he were presenting a new, fresh approach to the concept. An honest reading of his own words destroys both his credibility on the property tax issue, and his paralyzing duplicity as a candidate.

Let’s concede up front that in order to solve our high property tax problem we will need consolidation and sharing of services. But that’s a very small piece of the essential reform pie.

Gopal, who is seeking to unseat incumbent Republican state Sen. Jennifer Beck in the 11th District, tries to suggest that because those of us — like Beck and me — fighting the fight to reduce property taxes haven’t yet declared victory, he might be able to do a better job. But in his own words he actually says he would make things worse — actually make it harder to consolidate or enact reforms that will reduce property taxes. Read the rest of this entry »

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Monmouth Dems Protest Hot Mess Chicken Emoji, Remain Silent On Hateful Rhetoric Of Their Supporters

LGBT activist Sue Fulton, a former Monmouth County freeholder candidate outside Senator Jennifer Beck’s office. Middletown Committee candidate Tricia Maguire looks on.

Monmouth County Democrats, led by former freeholder candidate Sue Fulton, Middletown committeewoman candidate Tricia Maguire, Red Bank Councilman Ed Zipprich and Councilwoman Kathy Horgan took the the streets of Red Bank on Saturday to protest Ocean Township Deputy Mayor Rob Acerra’s alleged use of a hot mess chicken emoji on the campaign facebook page of LD 11 Assembly Members Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey.

Acerra is one of the Republicans running against Houghtaling and Downey, along with Red Bank Councilman Michael Whelan. The protest took place outside Senator Jennifer Beck’s legislative office on Monmouth Street.

Houghtaling and Downey, who would rather their reelection campaign be about facebook emojis than their records in the Assembly as special interest puppets, both shared photos of the protesters holding handmade signs and rubber chickens on their personal facebook pages.

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Asbury Park Press Depicts Republican Assembly Candidate As Chicken

Gopal and Weinberg condemn hot mess chicken cartoon, silent on District 4 Coalition For Change hate posts

screen grab from app.com

The Asbury Park Press has done an admirable job for most of this year focusing on New Jersey’s ridiculously high taxes, but as we are about to enter election season, the media outlet is apparently trying to help reelect liberal special interest puppets, Eric Houghtailing and Joann Downey, to the State Assembly. Read the rest of this entry »

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Beck: School Funding Should Be Fair and Transparent

Senator Jennifer Beck

By Senator Jennifer Beck

The biggest issue facing our state is property taxes.  And the biggest impact on that issue is school taxes.

Over the next several weeks, a new plan for school funding will be debated in Trenton.

There aren’t a lot of details being provided on this plan or its methodology, but estimates suggest that it could end up costing Monmouth County schools over $100 million in state school aid.

This plan, if estimates are true, isn’t a fair or equitable solution to our school funding crisis.

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