Could Bayonne Referendum Cause Oceanport Mayor To Resign?

Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis and Oceanport Mayor Jay Coffey and Davis’s reelection kickoff

A coming referendum in the City of Bayonne could shake things up in the Borough of Oceanport.

NewJerseyGlobe reports that Bayonne residents will decide via referendum whether appointees of the mayor must live in the City. Oceanport Mayor Jay Coffey is the appointed Corporation Counsel of Bayonne.  Should the referendum succeed, which we are told is likely, Coffey would have to choose between the lucrative job and serving as mayor.

How Coffey’s successor is chosen becomes an interesting question, should he resign.  In towns with partisan elections, municipal vacancies are filled by the council or township committee choosing from three candidates submitted by the County Committee of the Party that ran the office holder. Coffey, a registered Democrat, was elected as a write-in candidate.  The Oceanport Democrats did not have an candidate for mayor in 2015 when Coffey unseated Republican Michael Mahon, who was unopposed on the general election ballot. Read the rest of this entry »

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How a write-in candidate ousted Oceanport’s incumbent mayor

OCEANPORT — Before the summer, John “Jay” Coffey didn’t have any intentions of becoming the borough’s next mayor. A member of the Board of Education, Coffey was an active participant in the community — but he didn’t start regularly attending Borough Council meetings until after a slew of officials in the borough resigned. The resignations caught… Read the rest of this entry »

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Jay Coffey is Mayor-elect of Oceanport

Oceanport Mayor-elect Jay Coffey

Attorney John F. Coffey II received 949 of the 988 write-in ballots in the Oceanport election for mayor, according to Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon.  Incumbent Mayor Michael Mahon received 721 votes.

All machine and Vote By Mail ballots have been counted. There were 15 provisional ballots cast in Oceanport, which will be counted on November 9.   Jay Coffey is the Mayor-elect of Oceanport.

For Borough  Council, full-term, there were 807 write -in votes. Write-in candidate Cullin Wibble received a total of 694 votes. Candidates John A. Patti received 901 votes and Patricia Cooper received 843 votes.

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Unofficial Oceanport Results Will Be Reported By Days End

Presumed Oceanport Mayor-elect Jay Coffey, center,addresses supporters as Culllin Wible , left, and Councilman Joe Irace,right look on. photo via facebook

In the Oceanport mayoral race, “Write-In” has defeated incumbent Mayor Michael Mahon by a margin of 988 to 721.

Monmouth County Clerk told MoreMonmouthMusings this morning that each of the Write-In votes will be reviewed today in order to determine the winner of the race, subject to the counting of provisional ballots and certification of the election.

A bi-partisan coalition of Oceanport leaders supported Attorney Jay Coffey, a registered Democrat, in his campaign unseat the Republican mayor who was unopposed on the ballot.  Coffey is widely expected to be the winner of the campaign. He declared victory last evening.

Oceanport’s all Republican municipal government has been in turmoil for the better part of the year as Mahon stopped communicating with members of the Council, particularly regarding redevelopment issues at Fort Monmouth, and a growing distrust of Borough Administrator John Bennett festered throughout the governing body and members of the public.

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Another endorsement for Bennett

A group of Republican leaders from the Two Rivers (Navesink and Shrewsbury) area of Monmmouth County have released their endorsement for John O. Bennett to serve another two years as Chairman of the Monmouth County Republican Organization.

Rumson Mayor John Ekdahl, Oceanport Mayor Michael Mahon and the GOP Municipal Chairs of Eatontown, Little Silver, Red Bank, Shrewsbury Township and Tinton Falls issued a press release endorsing Bennett.  Mahon’s name is listed as the GOP Chairman of Oceanport, not as mayor of the borough where Bennett serves and Administrator.

We, as chosen Republican leaders in our respected (sic) towns, are supporting Chairman John Bennett for a second term as Monmouth County Republican Committee Chairman.

Our Party, over the past two years, has seen a resurgence of support and stability through the leadership of Chairman Bennett. Republican candidates from all levels of our government in the county have been able to capitalize on the benefits presented to them by his steadfast and dedicated work.

We believe that Chairman John Bennett and his proven track-record of success is exactly what our party needs to continue its growth. Whether it is raising funds or rallying support for our local municipal elections, Chairman Bennett has been nothing short of reliable in his support.
Now it is our turn to return the favor for the Chairman for all of the hard work he has done for us.
Please stand with us to re-elect John Bennett as Chairman of the Monmouth County Republican Party and continue the growth of our party.

Ekdahl is a pick up for Benentt. He was previously in Sheriff Shaun Golden’s corner for Chairman.

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Asbury Park Press Gets Its Facts Wrong Again

No news. Empty newsstands stored in the Asbury Park Press’s empty parking lot in Neptune.

This morning the Asbury Park Press Neptune Nudniks have an article about something that might be happening and that might cause something else that’s bad to happen.

Two of the three mayors on the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority may be breaking confidentiality rules — and possibly jeopardizing millions of dollars in redevelopment deals — to keep their governing bodies up to date on property negotiations affecting their towns. (Emphasis added)

In a nutshell, the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) is the entity responsible for redeveloping the fort that Congressmen Frank Pallone and Rush Holt let get away.  The authority is governed by a 13 member board. 6 of the board members are representives of the State government. 1 is a Monmouth County Freeholder, 3 are “public members.” The final three are the mayors of the communities that host the fort, Oceanport, Tinton Falls and Eatontown. 

Here’s where APP reporter Bill Bowman got a basic fact wrong:

A state authority under the umbrella of the state Department of Community Affairs, FMERA is the sole body that seeks out potential buyers and lessors and negotiates and approves contracts for the property.

FMERA is not under the umbrella of the state Department of Community Affairs.  It is an independent authority staffed by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

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