Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Today's News

Two items of interest in today's Press.

First the editorial suggesting that the second round of interviews for County administrator take place in public. I know we are loathe to do anything the APP suggests but this is actually a good idea and good public relations. Just because it can be done in executive session does not mean it has to be done there.

The second thing is an article about development on Route 33 in Howell. Joe Dibella states that it is inappropriate for retail development. I drive that section of road nearly every day (more then once a day actually) and he is absolutely correct. More of this type of thinking is needed by our elected officials with regard to development

Monday, June 25, 2007

HOW DO WE GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE

We looked at how we wound up where we are but what is the lesson. What do we do now

Let me say that I do not have the wisdom of Solomon (my wife reminds me of that on a regular basis) so I may be off base on this. That said, here is my take.

We have a tough election cycle ahead of us. It is not because we do not have good candidates. In fact we have some really outstanding candidates this year. However we continue to get hammered in the press. The independent voters no longer trust us and the Dems smell blood in the water.

We must convince the public that we are the party who will best look out for their interests. We know that is the case. Lets face it both parties have corruption but the Dems have always been willing to look the other way when a popular Democratic politician is corrupt. Republicans have always been tougher on there own kind, and rightly so.

However to win back the trust of the voters we must take radical steps. The people of not only this county but the country are fed up with politicians a new paradigm is called for.

So here is my program for the party.

1. Some Mea Culpas are required. Elected officials and party officials alike need to make a "some mistakes have been made speech" I do not have to say who. You know who you are.

2. The party should adopt bylaws. Prove we are dedicated to openness and democracy by ruling our own house that way. I have some ideas for this that will be the subject of a future column.

3. Adopt a platform that says cronyism will not be tolerated. The best person for the job will get it. That does not mean if the parties are equal that the one who volunteers for the party can not get the job. It means that we will look for the best candidate for the job and not give it to someone who will not (or does not) get the job done just because they are friends with a politician or did some favor for the party. Besides how often will you be unable to find a republican who is not more qualified then a democrat. Of course the hard part will be getting our elected officials to follow this but it must be done.

4. Adopt a platform that says no elected or appointed official shall be allowed to double dip in the pension fund. If someone has a position that puts them in the pension system and they want a second job they should be told no unless they are willing to opt out of the pension system on one job. We do not have to wait for Corzine to get legislation passed. We can police ourselves.

5 Elected officials should not hold two offices. Tell them if they insist on doing it the party will not support them.

6. Be open about fundraising. Tell the public we will follow the letter of the pay to play laws but we will go one step further. Set up a website where within 48 hours of receipt of a donation any donation over $100 dollars will be posted along with who donated it and who their employer is. Require all candidates within the county to participate. Then Double Dog Dare the Democrats to follow suit.

7. Zero tolerance for even the appearance of impropriety. Have a special committee made up of people who make no money off politics (and whose family members make no ) who can review questionable actions by elected officials. If they find that it even looks bad the politician should be told shape up or else. Lets police ourselves before the newspapers do and not let someones arrogance bring down the whole party.

8. Finally the no brainer. we must take serious steps to reduce spending. There are one hundred ways to do it. Be creative.

Radical? Incredibly stupid? Utterly Insane? A recipe for disaster? All of the above?

Perhaps. But perhaps we have nothing to loose except a political system that nobody trusts anymore.

next up" The Reformers?"





Monday, June 18, 2007

HOW DID WE GET HERE PART II

I think what really started the whole thing was Bill Dowd dumping a certain Freeholder.
That galvanized a very interesting coalition. I would broadly put the members of that coalition into 4 groups. Now I realize that this is a bit of an oversimplification, as there was overlap some people belonging to more then one group but I believe this is broadly correct.
Group 1 believed that the certain Freeholder was a good Freeholder (hard to fathom but true) and that he was being treated unfairly. Group 2 saw the precedent being set by the chairman as a threat to their own position of power. Group 3 saw the demise of the chairman as creating a power vacuum that would allow them upward mobility. Group 4 agreed with the Chairman's assessment of said Freeholder but not his method of execution and saw a change in control as an opportunity to reform how the party did business.

In retrospect it should have been abundantly clear to group 4 that groups 2 and 3 where not going to let group 4 accomplish it's goal.

Group 4 made a deal with the devil and is now in hell as a result. So that was big mistake number one.

Then we Got Fred Nieman. Now I think Fred did some good things. The best of which was opening up the nominating system. Fred also made some errors. I think he should have focused more on bylaws. I know he had campaigns to run but bylaws would not have taken that much effort.

He also made people nervous by doing things like supporting some candidates behind the scenes. He would have been better served by saying, Hey you can vote for who you want but I think this is the best candidate. Also the rule changes and the secrecy around the vote counts made people suspicious. Although I do not think there was anything nefarious going on there.
In short he did not pay enough attention to perception.

Finally Fred was not ready to make a clean break from the old ways of fundraising and rewarding supporters. I think that was because he believed that in the short run that would hurt the party. (but I also recognize that he like most lawyers are a part of that system) He may very well have been correct.

Finally let me say that any one of us could have made these same mistakes.

Things were not perfect but they were improving. Maybe we should have stuck with Fred. Sometimes the devil you know is better then the devil you don't. (just a figure of speech Fred)

Then came Adam. I don't get Adam. He is not a bad person outside of politics.
I think it boils down to inexperience and lack of leadership ability with a touch of arrogance.
I will just say 2 things about his tenure. By attacking the nominating process put in by Fred he has attacked the reformers within the party. Second he has repeated the mistake made by the previous two chairman. No Bylaws.

The bottom line is that a lot of mistakes that have been made. Some of which have been made by the would be reformers of the party.

Next up "How do we get the Hell out of here"

Thursday, June 14, 2007

GETTING SMARTER

I want to take a quick moment to comment on the letter Freeholder Little sent out on June 6th. (I would post it here but with my technical skills it would take more time then I have available today)
In any event it is about healing and reconciliation.

To quote in part
"It is unfortunate that divisions have occurred among Republicans in Monmouth County over the years. these divisions began long before I was appointed and elected to my position... The unfortunate truth is that these divisions have been carried forward into the present without resolution, plaguing newcomers who were not party to the original dispute.
I offer the following suggestions toward healing these differences. Think not of Justice to any one individual, but to our common purpose to serve the greater good. What has happened in the past cannot be changed, but what happens in the future is completely up to us. Let's not carry mistakes of the past forward. Let's rather make today what it should be, and tomorrow even better."

That is an excellent letter worthy of careful consideration.

Ms Little has championed an excellent reform agenda. Unfortunately she made some political mistakes. Admittedly she was in dangerous waters and it was not hard to make a wrong move and hit the rocks. However this letter shows that she is learning.

I applaud her and I am sure we have not heard the last of Anna Little in Monmouth County.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

How did we get here?

This is an interesting question. How did the Monmouth County GOP wind up where it is today? The story starts at the roots of corruption.
I will confess that 5 years ago I never would have suspected the corruption that was uncovered in operation Bid Rig. I was naive. I thought that type of corruption was for the most part relegated to the more urban areas of our state. I have been disabused of that child like innocence and as a result have become more cynical and less trusting of politicians.
But how did it happen? Two simple words explains that; “COMPLACANCY” and “ARROGANCE”. We became complacent. We won elections again and again with ease. Plus, life was good in Monmouth County. We did not dare question the godlike figures who gave us these victories and returned them to office again and again. Of course some malcontents would sometimes question the powers that be. But even they would not question loudly. This led to those powers becoming arrogant. They where entitled to what they could get. Most times legally. Pension padding, triple dipping, cronyism were all quietly accepted practices. Some engaged in more clear cut corruption. In our complacency we turned a blind eye to these questionable activities and besides we told ourselves that the Democrats would be worse. (Truth be told they would be at least no better)
It is actually a very old story certainly not limited to any one geographic area or any one party. It appears that it is a deep flaw in human nature. Along with not being able to learn from history.
But that does not begin to explain how we became the fractured weakened party that we are. We could have easily recovered from Operation Bid Rig and we still can. But first (and in a future post we will) we must continue to search for how we got to the point we are at.
Let's have a go at it.

All right. At the urging of two men I have come to admire, Abe Lincoln and the late William Seward (now Art Gallagher) I have managed to marshall my meager technical skills and create a Blog.
I can not promise to be prolific but on occasion when the muse strikes me I will endeavor to say something intelligent. Additionally at times I may be required to take extended leaves of absence from blogging.
I have decided, now that I am not just a poster of comments on blogs, I will try to avoid personal attacks and stick to issues. With regard to some individuals I have in the past been harsh in my expression of my opinions. I have reflected on that and feel it is not a productive course of action. Of course where the personal attributes of someone seeking or holding elective office is the issue that will be fair game.
I would ask that those who post try to refrain from some of the more vulgar attacks that have sometimes cropped up in the blogosphere. Of course humor and satire are always appreciated where appropriate.
Finally this is my blog. While I am generally tolerant of dissenting opinions I reserve the right to engage in censorship. If I do not like your comment and do not post it you of course are free to start your own blog.
Perhaps soon I will post something of substance.
TR