Carton Withdraws From State Committee Race

Middletown GOP Chairman Peter Carton sent an email to his fellow municipal chairs and members of the Middletown Republican Committee this afternoon announcing that he is withdrawing as a candidate for State Committee.

 

Dear Republican Chairpersons of Monmouth County,

 

I hereby withdraw my name as a candidate to be the Republican State Committeeman for Monmouth County. I believe this is best for our party and County and for the successful election of Governor Christie, Kim, Serena, Tom, Shaun and all legislative candidates. Please let the members of your County Committee know of my decision.

 

I thank all who called or e mailed to offer support and to volunteer to call all county committee members in my election effort. I greatly appreciated them, had fun talking and corresponding with you and the other chairs and office holders with whom I have already spoken and look forward, as always, to working with all of you in this year’s election effort and after.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

pete carton

Carton’s withdrawal leaves Howell Republican Chairman John Costigan running unopposed for the party endorsement.

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State Committee Seats To Be Contested At Monmouth GOP Convention

Incumbent Christine Hanlon is being challenged by Eileen Kean of Neptune Township for a two year term on the New Jersey Republican State Committee.

The Committee is comprised on one male and one female from each New Jersey county.  The members are elected by Republican voters in the June primary.  Primary challenges are rare with the members typically being chosen by the County Committee.

Hanlon and her fellow State Committee Member John Bennett squared off in the race to replace Joe Oxley as Monmouth Republican Chairman last June.  Bennett prevailed by 3 votes out of 615 cast.  Since then, Hanlon has been the consummate team player.  She is an attorney with Archer & Greiner’s Shrewsbury office, serves as the Deputy Municipal Attorney of Tinton Falls, the Atlantic Highlands Prosecutor and a Commissioner of the Monmouth County Board of Elections.

Kean, the sister of Assemblyman Sean Kean, is a lobbyist with Komjathy and Stewart. She is president of the Neptune Township Republican Club.

Bennett, who is treasurer of the State Committee, is not seeking a new term.

Middletown Municipal GOP Chairman Peter Carton and Howell Municipal Republican Chairman John Costigan are facing off to fill Bennett’s seat.

The nominations will be decided by ballot during the Monmouth Republican Convention, Saturday morning March 23 at Colts Neck High School.

Bayshore Tea Party Group co-founder Bob Gordon told MoreMonmouthMusings he is considering a run for the committeeman seat in the June 4 primary.

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Bayshore Tea Party Wants Bennett To Change The By-Laws

Still won’t reveal their primary candidates names

Bayshore Tea Party co-founder Bob Gordon told MoreMonmouthMusings that he would recommend that the groups’s candidates for the Legislature from the 13th district, sheriff and freeholder not file as candidates in the June 4 Republican primary if GOP Chairman John Bennett would allow the candidates onto the March 23 County Convention ballot without having to submit the signatures required under the new by-laws to challenge incumbents.  He would not guarantee that the so far unnamed challengers would abide by the results of the convention and not file for the primary if they lose in Colts Neck on the 23rd. “That would be up to the candidates,” he said.

Gordan said that county committee members inclined to support the Tea Party challengers are reluctant to sign convention petitions for fear that they will be challenged in the next committee election in 2014.

The deadline to submit petitions for the convention ballot passed last week.  Primary petitions are due on April 1.

Neither Gordon nor fellow co-founder Barbara Gonzalez would name the potential challengers.  Gordon said that there is a full slate of candidates to take on Senator Joe Kyrillos and Assembly Members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon in the 13th district. On the county level, Sheriff Shaun Golden faces a challenge while Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Director Serena DiMaso may only have one challenger, if the candidates file.

Posted: March 12th, 2013 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 2013 Election, Amy Handlin, Barbara Gonzalez, Bayshore Tea Party Group, Declan O'Scanlon, Joe Kyrillos, John Bennett, Monmouth County Republican Committee, Monmouth GOP, Shaun Golden | Tags: Amy Handlin, Barbara Gonzalez, Bayshore Tea Party Group, Bob Gordon, Declan O'Scanlon, Joe Kyrillos, John Bennett, Monmouth GOP, Monmouth Republicans, Serena DiMaso, Shaun Golden, Tom Arnone | 14 Comments »

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Dina’s going Long for Christie

Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long, a Democrat, will endorse Governor Chris Christie for reelection tomorrow morning at Woody’s, according to a source who doesn’t want to be known for talking to a Republican blogger.

Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long. photo credit:RedBankGreen.com

The Christie campaign has announced a campaign event at Woody’s Ocean Grille for 11:15 am.

Long did not return a call for comment. Nor did Christie strategist Mike DuHaime.

Long’s support of the Republican governor is a set back for Monmouth Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal, one of Democratic gubernatorial presumptive nominee Senator Barbara Buono’s strongest supporters.

Should Long find herself in trouble with Gopal, Monmouth Republican Chairman John Bennett would welcome her to the GOP.

“I would welcome any caring mayor or council member, including Mayor Long, into the party,” said Bennett in a phone interview, “So long as they are working for the people and not out of a personal agenda, I will welcome them.”

Gopal did not respond to multiple messages.

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Bayshore Tea Party Considering Incumbent Challenges

By Art Gallagher

The Bayshore Tea Party Group has started the process of evaluating incumbent Republican office holders with an eye towards possible nominating challenges, according to the group’s co-founder Barbara Gonzalez.

“We’re very angry at Republicans,” Gonzalez said in a phone interview with MoreMonmouthMusings, “but we’re not going to primary someone just for the sake of it. We have committees meeting to evaluate office holders’ records and postions.  Many conservatives, not just the Tea Party feel we have no representation.”

Under the Party By-Laws passed by Monmouth GOP Chairman John Bennett last September, there is a new process by which incumbents on the County and State level can be challenged at nominating conventions.  Gonzalez, who is also a member of the Monmouth GOP Board of Directors due to a provision in the new By-Laws, would not rule out challenges at the convention or in a primary should convention challenges fail.

The Monmouth GOP convention is scheduled for March 23, 8:30 A.M. at Colts Neck High School.

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APP endorses Claire French for Clerk

Could they possibly endorse Curley and DiMaso for Freeholders too?

The Asbury Park Press has recognised the fine job Republican County Clerk M. Claire French has done over the last ten years and endorsed her for a third five year term.

The Neptune Nudniks got this one right.  They dismissed Democratic candidate Michael Steinhorn as someone who “has little to recommend him for the job,” despite the fact that he exposed the statistical anomaly of the Monmouth GOP winning the first general election ballot position in 30 of 33 years and that they like his proposal to that the clerk’s office provide mobile services to seniors and veterans.

Given their logic in endorsing French, it will be fascinating to see how they endorse at least one of the Democratic Freeholder candidates, as I expect they will.

The Democratic Freeholder campaign has been so anemic that I suspect many readers don’t even know who is running.  Despite the Monmouth Dems outraising the Monmouth GOP through September, there is little evidence that Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal and his team are trying to get their nominal slate elected.   Publicly Democratic leaders say the right things about supporting their candidates. Privately they seem resigned to a Republican blow out.

The Democratic candidates are William Shea and Kevin Lavan.  Shea, as Amy Mallet’s running mate, lost to Freeholders Lillian Burry and Gary Rich last year. He is challenging Freeholder Director John Curley for a full three year term.  Lavan, who lost his run for Assembly to Declan O’Scanlon and Amy Handlin in the 13th district last year, is running against Freeholder Serena DiMaso for the remaining one year of Rob Clifton’s term.  Clifton resigned upon being sworn into the State Assembly.

Shea and Lavan were not even on the same page when the Nudniks interviewed all four candidates in September.  Shea recklessly proposed a 20% across the board spending cut from the county budget without backing up how he would do it.   Lavan said “maybe” depending upon the results of an audit.

Yet, the Nudniks loath single party control of any governing body (except the federal government when it is in Democratic hands) and has a historical bias against “Club Monmouth” as they frequently call the Monmouth GOP.  They seem to forget that all of the Monmouth Republican county office holders and all of Monmouth GOP leadership has been replaced since Operation Bid Rig, except Claire French who they just endorsed.  The GOP holds all five seats on the Freeholder Board.

Will the APP editorial board affirm the nudnikness and endorse Shea or Lavan?  We’ll find out soon.  Either way, it won’t matter on election day.   It might matter to their own crediblity if the actually endorse the best people for the job and get over their own biases.

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Monmouth Dems Outraise Monmouth GOP

In their first quarters as party chairmen, Democrat Vin Gopal bested Republican John Bennett in the fundraising battle by over $10,000.

According to their reports filed with the NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission, the Monmouth County Democrats raised $38,647.50. and spent $28,096.01.  The Democrats started the quarter with only $957 in cash. As of September 30th they had $11,509.

The Monmouth GOP ended the quarter with almost $2,000 less cash than it had when Bennett was elected.  The GOP reported raising $28,296 and spending $30,284.  Former Chairman Joe Oxley left Bennett with $34,790.  Of the $28K  Bennett raised, $6000 was donated by the Election Fund of Assemblyman Dave Rible and $3000 was donated by Senator Jennifer Beck’s campaign account.

Gopal’s large donors were Local Union 400 IBEW ($3500), the Middletown Democrats ($1850), Plumbers and Pipe fitters Local Union #9 ($1000) and the Uliano Law Firm of West Long Branch ($1500).

Gopal raised $20,710 in contributions of $300 or less.  Bennett raised $9,802 in donations of $300 or less.

“The Monmouth County Democrats are organizing at a grassroots level because residents across the county are beginning to realize there is a very clear difference between the two political parties,” said Gopal,   “At our convention last June, we had a turnout of over 90% of our county committee with hundreds of new county committee members entering the political process, many of them first time contributors to our party,”

” With party standard bearers like Barack Obama, Bob Menendez and Frank Pallone, people see that we are building and we are organizing.  The Monmouth County Democratic Party is fighting for middle-class taxpayers, fighting for small business owners and working to protect our environment.  There is a clear difference between the two county parties and our messages and people across the county are beginning to recognize these differences.”

Bennett did not return a call for comment.

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Do we need Jimmy Carter to monitor Monmouth County elections?

The editorial board of the Asbury Park Press Neptune Nudniks want the State Attorney General’s office to monitor the ballot positioning draw for Monmouth County elections until such time as the legislature takes the chance out of ballot positioning.

Even though they acknowledge that there is no way to prove their allegations, the Nudniks are basically accusing Monmouth and Essex County Clerks, and the Monmouth GOP and Essex Democrats by inference, of fraud because the results of ballot positioning draws have defied statistical probability by huge margins over the past few decades.

Ballot drawings should be watched. But the Attorney General or Jimmy Carter don’t have to do the watching.  The APP should send a reporter and write about the process.

One reason this matters, the Nudniks and the “experts” they refer to say is because voters who are uninformed about candidates will vote for candiates in the first ballot position.  It seems to me that “voters” who are uninformed about the candidates stay home.  They APP could impact this problem by doing a better job covering candidates and campaigns.

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Bennett proposes to reduce his term to one year

Monmouth GOP Chairman John O. Bennett III emailed a new “final draft”  of proposed bylaws this afternoon.  For the most part the draft released today is a match for the previous “final draft” released last week.

A quick read revealed one minor change to the candidate selection process that MMM suggested last week…an “open seat” seat is now defined as an office with no Republican incumbent.  Previously “open seat” was undefined.

Bennett’s bylaws, both drafts, contain a major change that MMM’s research and investigative staff missed last week.  He is proposing that that Chair and Vice Chair be elected annually.  From Article IV, section 1:

The County Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be elected at the annual meeting called in accordance with law as described in Title 19.  In the event a vacancy occurs in the position of County Chairman or Vice Chairman, a meeting of the County Committee shall be held within forty-five (45) days of said vacancy to fill the unexpired term.  (emphasis added)

The term of the Monmouth County Chairs of both parties has been two years since the Florio Administration.

Bennett told MMM that the change was unintentional and that he realizes that the bylaws as proposed are not perfect. He said he intends to serve for two years.  He plans on amending the bylaws at a convention in March of 2013.

The currently proposed bylaws will be up for adoption at a convention of the GOP County Committee that will take place on Saturday, September 29 from 9am-11am at Colts Neck High School.

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ByLaws: Keep them simple

Monmouth GOP Chairman John O. Bennett III is to be applauded for his endeavors to keep his campaign promises.  In particular, his efforts to codify bylaws, a nagging issue that has stymied several previous chairmen, are worthy of praise.

As we wrote yesterday, we think there are some issues in the bylaws draft.

A windbag is someone who talks too much yet contributes little of value.  Someone who complains yet offers no solutions.  At MMM we’re not windbags.

We have no intention of telling Bennett how to run the party or select candidates.  He should do what he thinks is best in how he structures the party and selects candidates.  If he does well, we’ll praise him.  If he screws up, we’ll be all over him with glee.  Not because we want him to fail, but because the web traffic will go through the roof.  This is a business after all.

It is in the spirit of not being a windbag and in driving traffic to this site, that we offer a solution to the bylaws problem that will let Chairman Bennett run the party and select candidates how he sees fit.  More importantly, our solution will not hamstring future chairs with unintended consequences of the bylaws as proposed.

Keep them simple.

Read the rest of this entry »

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