Chairs

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Gopal launches county campaign with shot at Lillian Burry over Brookdale

Image credit: "Paula Priesse," clearglassproductions.com

While Republicans are settling in after their trip to Tampa for the Republican National Convention, Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal launched the first salvo of the county race for two freeholder seats and county clerk with a column posted on Patch sites throughout Monmouth, before he heads of to Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention.

Gopal blasts Freeholder Lillian Burry, her former campaign treasurer, John Cantalupo, and the mythical “Club Monmouth” for the Brookdale Community College scandal.

Gopal’s column did not mention the Republican candidates, Freeholders John Curley and Serena DiMaso and County Clerk M. Claire French, that he says that Monmouth County taxpayers should unite against.  Nor did he mention his Democratic challengers, Kevin Lavan and Bill Shea for freeholder and Michael Steinhorn for county clerk.

Oddly, the Monmouth Democrats website, which has been redesigned since Gopal became chairman, makes no mention of his county candidates. Their facebook page also makes no mention of the county Democratic team.  Both websites feature Gopal prominently.

Pretty funny coming from a guy who blasted Governor Christie’s keynote address at the GOP convention as “all about him” to NJ.com:

Vin Gopal, the Monmouth County Democratic Party chairman, took a dimmer view of Christie’s moment in the national spotlight.

“The governor sang a tune that is not at all what is really happening. He’s a Republican governor in a Democratic state, and he’s doing a horrible job,” said Gopal, of Long Branch, citing New Jersey’s high unemployment and property tax rates. “He beat an incumbent Democratic governor in 2009 who was incredibly unpopular – here in Monmouth County, Jon Corzine said two weeks before the election that he wanted to raise tolls for the third time. Whoever the Democratic gubernatorial nominee is in 2013, the 700,000 registered Democratic voter advantage in this state, and the 20,000 registered Democratic voter edge in this county, is going to haunt Gov. Christie.”

“Christie’s speech was all about him,” added Gopal. “I don’t know how his message could have connected well with a lot of people. We are working to build up our base of teachers, police officers, firefighters and other public service workers here in Monmouth, as well as other Democratic constituency groups, that will turn out in 2013.”

Gopal says that Monmouth County taxpayers should unite against Club Monmouth, yet despite his overwhelming victory in the Democratic Chairman’s race, he does not seem to be uniting his party behind their own candidates.

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Gopal calls out Little and Smith over Kyrillos tax stance

The following is a release from Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal on behalf of Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. (Monmouth-6) and Brian Froelich (Monmouth-4) – Democratic Candidates for US Congress in Monmouth County:

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Gopal slams Bennett, Little over Christine O’Donnell appearance

Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal issued a scathing statement to Politickernj condemning Monmouth GOP Chairman John Bennett and 6th District Congressional nominee Anna Little for their decision to bring Christine O’Donnell to Monmouth County for a Little fundraiser next week.

“The Monmouth County Republican Party and their star candidate Anna Little are teaming up with the most extreme candidate ever to run for the U.S. Senate – an individual who openly talked about her involvement in witchcraft and who rejected the most basic theory of science, evolution,” Gopal said. “This is who extremist Anna Little and the Monmouth County Republicans are choosing to align themselves with and one has to wonder if they share Ms. O’Donnell’s views on evolution, witchcraft, women in the military and the countless issues in which she is out of touch with not just the residents in Monmouth County, but members of her own party. It becomes scarier everyday what a Congresswoman Anna Little would like.”

Gopal cited several of O’Donnell’s quotes made on Bill Maher’s Politically Incorrect TV show and the FoxNews O’Reilly Factor in making his case that O’Donnell is detached from the mainstream.

“Who do they think they’re going to get to pay $2500 to meet that lunatic?” Gopal said when reached by MMM.

Neither Bennett nor Little were immediately available for comment.

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Gopal Slams Monmouth GOP, Freeholder Burry, Over Brookdale Scandal

Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal released the following statement yesterday afternoon after former Brookdale Community College President Peter Burnham pled guilty to theft by deception and official misconduct:

“Earlier today, Brookdale Community College President Peter Burnham pled guilty of stealing tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money. The web of corruption surrounding this case is just another example of Monmouth County Republican cronies profiting at the taxpayers’ expense.”

“Mr. Burnham, along with Brookdale Community College’s then Board President Howard Birsdall and Brookdale’s Board Attorney John Cantalupo were all close allies and major political supporters of the Republican Party establishment here in Monmouth County. Mr. Cantalupo served as Freeholder Lillian Burry’s close confidant and official Campaign Treasurer in her 2005 and 2008 Freeholder campaigns. In this same time period, Mr. Cantalupo negotiated the terms of Peter Burnham’s lavish Brookdale contracts. This represents a clear conflict of interest, given that Mr. Cantalupo was Freeholder Burry’s right hand man. Perhaps this is why Freeholder Burry sat silently on the sidelines as the truth about Mr. Burnhams theft was being exposed.”

“As a result of the Republican-controlled Freeholder Board’s lack of oversight, student tuition increased at Brookdale Community College while their college president profited immensely. This is what happens when a chief advisor for the Republican Freeholders is negotiating salary contracts on behalf of a College President that is funded by these same Republican Freeholders. It is time for Monmouth County taxpayers to unite against the Good Ol’ Boys Network here in Monmouth County”

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Monmouth Democrats 2ndQ ELEC report not filed. Missing?

Monmouth GOP Team reports $83,000 cash on to hand

The Monmouth Democratic Party’s second quarter campaign finance report, due July 15th, has not been posted on the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission’s website as of this afternoon.  Dem Chairman Vin Gopal told MMM that the report was filed with ELEC, along with the report designating him as the new chairman, on July 10th.  Gopal said he would contact ELEC resolve the problem.

At the end of the first quarter, the Monmouth Dems had $6,305.14 cash on hand and was $78,025 in debt.  Over $60K of the debt was owed to then County Chairman Victor Scudiery.  Gopal said that the second quarter report “was pretty much the same, less than $10,000 on hand.”

The Democratic county candidates, Kevin Lavan and Bill Shea for Freeholder and Michael Steinhorn for Clerk, have $64.14 between them as of their post-primary reports.  Lavan and Steinhorn each told ELEC that they were not raising or spending money for the primary race.  Shea raised over $20K, but spent all but $64.14 in the uncontested primary.

The Monmouth GOP appears to be in better shape.  The GOP committee reported $34,790.31 in cash as of June 30th.    In their post-primary reports, Freeholder Director John Curley reported $22,554.81 in cash; Freeholder Serena DiMaso reported $11,401.19 and County Clerk Claire French reported $14,673.21.

Monmouth County  Republican Chairman John O. Bennett III has instructed all county and state elected officials, with the exception of this year’s candidates, to suspend raising money as of August 1 so as to not compete with his fundraising activities for the coming county campaign.  Bennett promised Curley, DiMaso and French that he would raise the funds necessary for the fall campaign.

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Scudiery: Democratic County Candidates Should Resign

Former Monmouth Democratic Chairman Victor Scudiery

Former Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Victor Scudiery told MMM that he thinks his party’s nominees for freeholder and county surrogate should resign their candidacies and let the new Chairman, Vin Gopal, and the Democratic County Committee select new candidates.

The freeholder candidates, former Hazlet Mayor Kevin Lavan and former State Trooper William Shea, along with surrogate nominee Michael Steinhorn, all supported Gopal’s opponent, Marlboro Council President Frank LaRocca, in last month’s Chairman’s race.  Gopal won the chairmanship with over 70% of the vote, over 80% excluding Marlboro.

“I don’t know why they did that (took a position in the Chairman’s race),” said Scudiery, “LaRocca must have promised them something.  I don’t see how the rank and file supports them now.”

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Thanks for a great month

June was by far the most active month in MMM’s history.  There have been 32,000 visits and 57,000 page views so far month.  71% of those visitors were repeats.  Google analytics says that all of that traffic came from 8700 computers.  Unbelievably to me, the average visit is for 11 minutes, which is longer than it takes to read an entire issue of the Asbury Park Press.

According to alexa.com, only 15,850 websites in the New York area and 125,439 in the United States get more traffic than MMM.

Special thanks go out to Anna Little, Ernesto Cullari, John Bennett, Christine Hanlon, Vin Gopal, Frank LaRocca, Barbara Gonzalez, Bob Gordon, Linda Baum  Rachel Alintoff, Judge Paul Escandon, Louise Murray and everyone who wears bathing suits on the Asbury Park Boardwalk.  I can’t forget Bob Menendez’s opposition research team.

I doing my monthly review, I couldn’t help but notice the success of my friends in Asbury Park.

Congratulations to Dan Jacobson and Molly Mulshine at the AsburyParkSun.  In only three months they have made a significant impact in the local media market.  Alexa.com says that APS is in the top 200,000 of all websites nationally and in the top 35,000 in the New York area.   Mulshine was the first to report the Asbury Park Boardwalk beach attire controversy, a story that went national.

UPDATE: July 1

Wow!  I haven’t had such a busy last day of the month since I was in the car business.  The final numbers for June are 32,959 visitors fromm 9,194 unique IPs and 58,768 page views.  Ranked 120,646 in the U.S. on Alexa.

As Lois mentioned in the comments, thank you so much to all the commenters, especially the “congregation” as Lois called the regulars.  I won’t name them all because I’m sure to leave an important one out.

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Steinhorn: “I’m waiting for Gopal to step up”

Democratic Monmouth County Clerk candidate Michael Steinhorn told MMM that he has not heard from Vin Gopal, the new Democratic County Chairman, since Tuesday night’s convention.  “I’m waiting anxiously for my running mates and I to be summoned so that Mr. Gopal can show us how to win,” said the Rumson Democrat, “I hope he doesn’t wait until two months before election day and then say he really doesn’t have enough time.”

Steinhorn, along with Democratic Freeholder candidates Bill Shea and Kevin Lavan, openly supported Gopal’s opponent, Marlboro Council President Frank LaRocca for Democratic Chairman. “I wish my running mates had staid out of the race, but after they endorsed Frank I felt like I was between LaRocca and a hard place,” Steinhorn quipped,  “I didn’t want to split the ticket.  I felt to was important that the three of us stay united for fundraising and the campaign.”

When asked if he has spoken to the members of his county slate, Gopal declined to comment.

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Party Unity

Based upon the voting results of the two Monmouth County political conventions that occurred on Tuesday evening, it would appear that the Monmouth Democratic Organization is united and the Monmouth Republican Organization is divided.

Vin Gopal’s margin of victory in the Democratic Chairman’s race was 73%-27%.  John Bennett scored a 50.24%-49.75% victory in the Republican race.

Both parties had extraordinarily high turnouts with over 600 committee members voting.  For a county party that has had no electoral success in recent years, the record turnout for the Democrats was an impressive showing. 

But all is not rosy for the Democrats.  Among Gopal’s minority opponents are his 3 county level candidates, Michael Steinhorn running for County Clerk and Freeholder candidates Bill Shea and Kevin Lavan.  Gopal, Steinhorn, Shea and Lavan were all general election candidates last year.  Gopal was an Assembly candidate in the 11th district.  Steinhorn and Shea were county level candidates, and Lavan was an Assembly candidate in the 13th district.  The divide is reportedly over Gopal’s relative (they all lost) success.  He raised more money, got more press and came closer to winning than Steinhorn, Shea and Lavan did in 2011.

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