Monmouth Bull Moose

2008-04-30T19:16:00.000-07:00

Farewell my friends

2008-04-30T18:53:00.000-07:00

VIVA LA REVOLUCION !

Well I am waiting for my car to the airport. This shall be a grand adventure. I will miss home of course and I will miss this blog. I have had fun. I hope it has occasionally been amusing as well as thought provoking. I will check for comments to be posted in a few days and while I will not be posting I will not delete this blog. I will leave it up for reference purposes. LOL

I want to thank those of you who visited. A huge thank you to Honest Abe and Art Gallagher aka William Seward for all the encouragement they have given me. The Republican party is lucky to have these gentlemen. One more thank you. Jim "The Shadow" Gianell gave me the title to this post in a recent comment and it is appropriate for my final thoughts.

For 5 years now there have been dedicated Republicans who have been fighting for a Monmouth County Republican party that is democratic, that is interested in public service not personal gain, that is interested in solutions not ego gratification and that wants to find a new way to do political business not just find loopholes to new rules. There have been victories and there have been bitter defeats but progress has been made. Some may say we are naive dreamers or even crazies who will destroy the party but I think not. In fact I think we are on the verge of victory. I smell change in the air. I feel the masses rising up and saying enough. I regret I will not be here to see the final victory but I shall certainly be watching from afar.

What if I am wrong what if victory is not within our grasp. Do not despair. Some battles are worth fighting no matter the outcome. So never stop fighting, never give up and never ever say die!

VIVA LA REVOLUCION !

2008-04-28T15:58:00.000-07:00

I have finally found a cure!

2008-04-23T04:34:00.000-07:00

WHO KNOWS WHAT EVIL LURKS IN THE HEARTS OF MEN... THE SHADOW KNOWS!

So in response to my request for information I found this little gem in my inbox this morning. My informant received a copy of this from their Municipal Chairman who received it from Steve McEnery the Chairman in Manalapan.

This is not the forum that I would normally use for this type of info. However, this will be a very difficult election year for all of Monmouth County. As many of you may know, Manalapan will be having a more difficult year because we will be facing a primary. A few Republican malcontents and a number of rejected Democrat losers have joined together to try and split the Republican Party in Manalapan. We have become just another town to face turmoil.
I believe that the loyal Republicans from Manalapan can take a beating and survive. We can deal with our own dirty laundry.
However, none of us need outsiders helping to split Manalapan Republicans. I have heard that Jim Giannell has teamed up with the breakaway's and committed to help fund their campaign. I know Jim likes to play in the shadow (emphasis added) so nothing can be attached to him, accept the good things he likes to take credit for. I would like your help in telling Jim to pay attention to his own business and leave other Towns to work out their own issues. Start supporting the Party and stop prying things apart.
I'm not sure how to say it in Greek, perhaps some one can translate for Mr. Giannell, what goes around, comes around.
Steve McEnery
Chairman, Manalapan

Is he kidding? On the one hand this stuff makes you worry about the future of the party. On the other hand it makes great theater. You gotta love it.

Does this mean there is a plot a foot to replace the County Chair? The first step would be to take control of municipal committees. Who will be the candidate? This is interesting.

Only a few days left to get tips into the Monmouth Bull Moose. Don't miss your chance.

2008-04-22T04:42:00.000-07:00

On The Front Line.

The Battle rages in Manalapan where the Republican Club overwhelmingly endorsed the challengers to Chairman Steve McEnery.

The committee is stacked with supporters and friends of the chairman but the club is usually filled with rank and file worker bees. Their lack of support for the Chairman is not a good sign for him.

Since he is Adam Puharics hatchet man this is also not a good sign for Adam. If the revolutionaries take control of Manalapan Adam will be in big trouble if a challenger to his
(mis) rule emerges.

This battle bears close watching.

Any news that any readers may have about similar battles in other towns please forward to me. I am interested in hearing more. All contacts will be kept confidential.

2008-04-16T04:56:00.000-07:00

In Defense of Anonymity

We anonymous bloggers take a lot of grief for being anonymous (usually from an anonymous poster... go figure). As I near the end of my career as an anonymous blogger I feel the urge to address this issue.

Anonymity in political commentary has a long and prestigious history. many of our founding fathers engaged in it and some were also the victims of it. Alexander Hamilton and James Madison were particularly adept at it and in fact wrote there defense of the proposed Constitution anonymously.

The Supreme Court has recognized that the right to engage in anonymous speech is protected by the First Amendment. With out this the free exchange of opinion would suffer.

Why would someone be anonymous? Political opinion often engenders strong feelings. Some people feel that anonymity protects them and there loved one from retaliation.

Some people work for companies who just do not like controversy and would be upset if one of there employees was an Internet blogger with controversial opinions. This is especially true with regard to the Internet where a comment can travel around the world and live forever.

Of course some opinions are so controversial that they could subject a person to physical violence.

some people feel ,whether rightfully or not, that their opinion will get more serious consideration if no one knows who they are.

Of course none of this excuses anonymous slander or libel such as falsely accusing someone of criminal or immoral conduct. Nor does it excuse gratuitous name calling.

I will admit I have sometimes come close to the line in voicing my opinion about certain politicians or people involved in politics. Even though those opinions are based on my evaluation of there actions as political figures I sometimes wonder if my harsh words have crossed the line.
Yes I do have occasional pangs of conscience. This has caused me to hold back on occasion. Then again my real persona has never really held back on these opinions. Even though I have not put them in print they are not closely held secrets. Further it can be argued that people entering the political arena must expect to be subject to criticism about there motives.

So this is why anonymous speech though subject to abuse should not be suppressed.

Then again the possibility exists that this is merely a rationalization for cowardice.

What do you the reader think?

Anonymous comments only please.

2008-04-11T07:26:00.000-07:00

Todays Headline

Legal Tab of 2.8 Mill. Disturbs D'Amico

No Duh!

Unfortunatly the Democrat is %100 correct in his analysis of the matter.

I am glad to see Lillian finally gets it and jumped right on that. She should immediatly take steps to see follow through. As Director she can steal the lead from the Dems on this. She can say we tried to reduce costs and it did not work. Lets try in house and see if that works.

If they go this route the Republicans and the Democrats should pledge to develop a NON-Partisan criteria for the position.

2008-04-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

Senator Andrews?

Congressman Rob Andrews taking on fellow Democrat Frank Lautenberg. Good for him I like someone who is willing to buck the system.

Hey, it always makes me feel good to see the Democrats fighting.

Truth be told if our Senator must be a Dem Andrews is much more palatable then Cranky Frank!

2008-04-10T05:43:00.000-07:00

The Idiot Party

So Unanue has now dropped out and they are resurrecting Dick Zimmer.

You remember Dick. He lost to the Torch and then could not win his congressional seat back.

This is the guy who really pissed conservatives off while he was in office. I remember when he flipped on the assault weapon ban. Now while I disagreed with that legislation my issue with Dick was the flip flop. I was present at an event Dick was at and he told a group of us that a bunch of RHINO'S from West Windsor had really gotten on him about his vote against it. They said they would not vote for him again if he did not switch. Shortly thereafter the spineless wonder did just that. Another politician who acts on principle.... NOT.

This is what the best the NJ Republican leadership can come up with?

They would be better served supporting Pennacio or Sabrin. Oh wait a minute, that will not work, they could not control those candidates.

2008-04-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

Hey, everybody has to make a living right?

Is anyone wondering how Lesniak came out with a book about his "heroic" stand against the death penalty so quickly.

Is there nothing Politicians will not make a buck off of. This story makes me want to take a shower.

2008-04-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

GOP Party leaders excited over prospect of Teddy Roosevelt running for the US Senate

The above link is an article about Jersey Joe Pennachio withdrawing from the race for united States Senator if Teddy Roosevelt runs.

While I am flattered let me set the record straight right now. I am not running for Senate. If Nominated I will not run if elected I will not serve.

In fact I hereby wholeheartedly Endorse Jersey Joe and urge all my supporters to vote for him.

2008-04-08T06:26:00.000-07:00

2008-04-08T05:07:00.000-07:00

UPDATE
Red Bank Green reports that although Bennett is running for Mintons seat on the County Committee he does not want the position of Municipal Chair. You do not have to be on the committee to be elected Chairman of your municipal committee. It is all very innocent ;)

Today's News

Lots of exciting things going on today! Did you see that there is no primary to replace the departing Mayor Joe DiBella or Councilwomen Cynthia Shoemaker (Both who had at one time thrown there hats in the ring for Freeholder). Even more surprising the democrats could not even find someone to run. This unusual in a town that historically has had very contentious politics. I usually decry this type of apathy but I have to admit that it is good news for Republicans in this case.

Then I read about perennial APP punching Bag and former State Senator John Bennett challenging John Minton for Chairman in Red Bank. Apparently with the approval of Adam Puharic. Show of hands. How many people would like to see John Bennett just GO AWAY. Our party would be so much better off if he would just retire and move to Florida. He was a bad State Senator and it is representatives like him that contributed to the mess this state is in.

Speaking of Chairman some rumors as of late. A challenge is being mounted for control of the Committee in Wall Township. No big surprise considering that some "independent" Republicans got elected to Council there. In Manalapan a strong challenge is being mounted against the regime of Puharic right hand man Steve McEnery. Not suprising considering the mess that Manalapan seems to be in. If he looses that will be a big blow to Puharic. It is also rumored that Tinton Falls Chairman and one of the founders of the Two Rivers group Mike Lafey is not running for Chairman in Tinton Falls this year.

Anyone out there no of any other towns where changes are taking place in the county committee or where challenges are being mounted? Is this all a harbringer of change at the County level?

As I write this it dawns on me that some of this may be connected to a big power play. Are Bennett and Puharic mounting a challenge to Jim Giannell protege John Minton because they suspect Giannell has something to do with challenges to chairman who support Puharic? If so is that perception based in reality. If that is the case I hope this is the final showdown because the constant internecine warfare has to stop at some point.

That being said I am rooting for the insurgents. The current regime has been a failure.

2008-04-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

Sundays News.

OK I am a little late but I wanted to point out two things in Sundays Asbury Park Press.
Ingle had some great comments on cutting the State budget.

Additionally they had an excellent editorial on Initiative and Referendum.

Everyone should do whatever they can to support the I&R bill introduced by Monmouth County's own Declan Oscanlon and Carol Casagrande. You have to give these two credit they have hit the ground running.

2008-04-03T16:24:00.000-07:00

Mount Laurel

I usually confine my posting to commenting on the foibles of various Monmouth County Politicians but today I am going to branch out a little into a state wide public issue. I have been thinking about low and moderate income housing (what we in NJ call Mount laurel housing) a lot lately because of various articles in the Newspaper. Mobile Home parks closing, new regs being discussed on determing a municipalities fair share, Fort Monmouth redevelopment and the impact it would have on the housing obligations of the towns involved have all been in the news lately.

The Mount Laurel court decision that mandated communities build low and moderate income housing has done more then anything to contribute to the overdevelopment of this state.
While I think the court decision was bad and beyond the scope of the courts authority the bad impact of overdevelopment that resulted is really the fault of local politicians.

They took the easy way out. Giving builders greatly enchanced density of market price housing so that they would build a few mount laurel units became the favored way of dealing with the issue. They thought this was the cheapest way to deal with the issue. They were wrong. The additional density cost the towns money. On average residential development cost one dollar and fifty cents in services for every dollar in additional tax revenue generated. The higher densities resulted in more congestion, enviormental degradation, reduced quality of life and higher taxes.

Now you are saying Ok Teddy if all thats true what were the alternatives.

Well to use an overused phrase politicians failed to think outside the box. There were better ways to address this court imposed mandate.

One thing a few towns have done bot not to a large enough extent is form housing authorities and non profit corporations that could have built 100 Mount Laurel units without having to give an extra 2ooo market units. They could have got low interest loans from the State to construct the units. Yes they would have had to expend tax dollars but in the end I doubt it would have been more expensive then the way it was done and it may have been cheaper.

I will give you another Idea. I mentioned Mobile Home parks closing before. This is a loss to a town of low income housing that they will have to make up somewhere else. The stereotypes about trailor parks aside they have very little impact on municipal services and put few children in the school system. If towns were smart they would have made sure that some vacant land was zoned for mobile home parks. Believe me they would have been built. Heck that would have been an inexpensive way for a non profit or housing authorty to provide the housing.
I will let you in on a little secret. A lot of mobile home park owners are millionaires.
I have seen some especially in Florida that are like country clubs. How do I know all this. I had a relative who lived in one for a while and had a chance to speak to the park owner.

The whole point of this is to get the politicians thinking before the next round of obligations come out. The current model is not working so develop a new one. I do not want to come back and see the little of this state that is still green paved over.

2008-04-03T06:15:00.000-07:00

Good Job

It is nice to see a Republican Freeholder get some good press. Director Burry did a good job with the Glimmer Glass Bridge issue. I also like the way she got mention of no tax increase this year into the article. This is the kind of stuff she has to do if she wants to be re-elected. She and Mr. Curley have to become the anti-establishment candidates. Easy for Curly harder for her but she can do it if she continues to buck the system. Vote down a couple high bids. Propose some cost cutting measures. Matbe tighten up a little ethics reform. She may not get the A.P.P. endorsement but all she needs to do is not give them anything they can hammer her on and she can beat the nobody knows them democratic candidates.

2008-04-01T05:34:00.000-07:00

APRIL FOOLS

The APP Reports "The Monmouth County freeholders for unclear reasons dropped close monitoring of bills from government attorneys in recent months — despite amassing a budget-breaking 2007 legal tab in excess of $2.2 million."

Interesting that as soon as Anna Little was gone this stopped. Did they really think no one would notice? If it was an oversight it was a stupid one.

Now the interesting thing is that 20 attorneys racked up 2.2 million in fees. If you do some math that comes to one hundred and ten thousand per lawyer. Now some make way less and some make way more but none of them are doing this full time. So I figure this job could be done by less then 10 full time salaried attorneys. The real proof would be in the number of hours spent doing what but I am going to hazard a guess that the job could be done in house for less then 2.2 million.
Wasn't there supposed to be a study done on that issue? Has anyone seen it?

2008-03-29T15:12:00.000-07:00

Calling Rick Ambrosia

A while back another blog poster Rick Ambrosia and I had a little tit for tat about a comment he made something along the lines that he did not believe Declan Oscanlons promise that his telecom consulting company would not take government contracts within his legislative distrct.

I chastised him for recklessly throwing around allegations and said when Declan did keep his promise I would publicly request an apology.

According to Red Bank Green Declan went one better.

I think now would be a good time for that apology Mr. Ambrosia.

2008-03-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Mr. Curley

I have been thinking about what Mr. Curley's win means. I think it says a lot about the mood of the rank and file. They clearly wanted a firebrand. Someone who wants to change the way business is done and is not beholden to political bosses. Although he was not my choice for philosophical reasons I do think he will be a very effective candidate.

Questions; will the Republican leaders take the hint or if he gets elected and starts bucking them will they start treating him like another Anna Little? Will the Freeholders get the message and radically change the way business is done. (admittedly they have improved but they still are making tone deaf decisions). Will the Republican Freeholders learn to work together or will they continue to have there little power struggles. let us hope the answers are No, Yes and choice #1.

BTW this is not meant to suggest I think Serena DiMasso is beholden to political bosses. Although some may have had that impression I do not believe that to be true. She does however have a different approach and temperament. I think she would also have been a good choice and I hope she tries again down the road.

2008-03-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

A Little Rant

The Asbury Park Press had an article today about the Monmouth GOP getting ready to choose a Freeholder canddidate.

The Article had this to say,

"A vote by a party screening committee in February left Curley, DiMaso and former Freehold Township Zoning Board of Adjustment member Steven Walsh in a virtual three-way tie. Party chairman Adam Puharic could have selected one of the candidates as Burry's running mate but instead chose to have convention delegates pick between Curley and DiMaso.
"It is working out extraordinarily well with good dialogue taking place. We have a pretty thorough vetting process that has allowed the cream to rise to the top," Puharic said. "Those with good strong resumes and plans are coming forward.""

Not that I think he would win or was the best candidate but if Walsh got an equal number of votes from the vaunted screening committee why should he have been excluded by the Chairman? because Adam thinks so. Yeah I trust his judgment.
Sure the rules permitted Puharic to choose just one because he made the rules that is why he could disregard them.

The vetting process allowed the cream to rise? Just who did the vetting process prevent from running? Exactly how are they vetted other then the screening committee deciding who is the smallest risk to their power base. Since previous Freeholders were not "vetted" I am still waitng for an explanation of how this process would have made for better results in the past.
Lets hear it!

I will harp on this to my last breathe.

The process is undemocratic and is only to protect the powerbase of those who are in politics for self interest.

2008-03-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST END (AS DO ALL BAD THINGS)

It is with great regret that I must inform my loyal readers that as of May 1, 2008 I must cease blogging activities.

Business requires me to go to the Sub Continent for at least a year and possibly longer.

As I do not beleive it will be possible to blog about Monmouth County Politics from that great distance because I will be unable to keep my ear to the ground, the last blog entry shall be on May,1 2008.

Until then let us see how much trouble I can get in.

2008-03-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

Oh Yeah and one other thing "Less Legislators"

Another thing in the paper I forgot to mention Carl Golden had a great editorial on reducing the assembly to one member in each district to cut costs.

I will go one better, a Unicameral Legislature. Since the NJ Supremes ruled that state senators can not be elected by County but must be in a legislative district there is really no need for them. We could save a lot with just two Assembly representatives elected every three years.

Can you you imagine politicians doing away with an elected office that they can milk.

HaHaHaHa that would never happen. Another thing will never get without I & R.

2008-03-10T04:51:00.000-07:00

MONDAY MONDAY

Stuff in the paper the last couple of days. The Asbury Park Press does not like the choices in the Republican primary for U.S Senator. They think they are too conservatives. TOO Bad. Maybe we should drag out Christy Whitman to run. Last time she got elected it worked out so well. She gets as much blame for the current fiscal mess as the rest of our past 4 Governors. I say lets give voters a real choice this time. A died in the wool conservative versus one of the most liberal senators around.

Next over the weekend Anna Little was vindicated ...AGAIN... with the creation of an economic development committee to attract business to Monmouth County. This is a response to the Fort closing and a number of large employers leaving the area , like Bell Labs . I am concerned that the committee seems comprised of academics and politicians. How about a couple of real live businessmen.
Start ups are the way to go. We have a lot of talent in this area and an incubator could help a lot of new businesses take off.
Unfortunately it looks like the Fort Monmouth redevelopment is short on that type of thing and long on housing and retail. Just what Monmouth County needs. (he said in a voice dripping with loathing and sarcasm)

The Democrats picked their candidates for Freeholder. I will not give them free publicity by mentioning their names. I will say that if we can not beat them both we should just pack up our bags and slink out of town.

Happy Monday!

2008-03-03T04:53:00.000-08:00

More Democrats! EEWWWW

So today's Asbury Park Press had an article about how the democratic Chairman has loaned a lot of money to the party. Ho Hum.

The interesting part is where they expect to do well this year because of an increase in democratic registrations in Monmouth County. They claim their numbers are now on par with republicans.

A lot of posters on the blogs have posited that this election cycle will be a cakewalk for Monmouth County Republicans because it is a presidential election and a Monmouth county Republicans always do well in a presidential year.

Maybe we should rethink that.

2008-02-24T19:24:00.000-08:00

We don't need no stinkin Bylaws

OK so the Sunday Press reports a 3 way split in the screening committee with regard to who will be our candidate for Freeholder.

According to the press, Adam "Bylaws? we don't need no stinkin bylaws! "Puharic said that he is empowered by the party's by-laws to make a selection in the event of a tie.

Did bylaws get adopted by fiat while nobody was watching? I would not put it past this crowd to adopt bylaws with out putting to a vote of the committee. Hell, they pass resolutions without any vote.

What next El Chairmanedente for life?

I gave Puharic the benefit of the doubt when he was first elected. I have never understood how he has acted since his election. I do not dislike the guy but I sure do not like him as Chairman. Please for the good of the party somebody run against this guy, anybody. I would take Dowd or Nieman back in a NY minute at this point.

After a revolution that called for more democracy Adam has actually made the party structure less democratic and the party less strong. He has careened from disaster to disaster all of his own making.

I repeat somebody with an ounce of common sense and leadership ability please step up and run because this party is on life support and another two years of Puharic will result in the plug being pulled.

2008-02-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

Tone Deaf

Let me preface this with the statement that Freeholder Lillian Burry is not one of those politicians I dislike.

That being said I can not believe she is defending Harry Larrison in the paper.

She says He is being tried in abstentia. Good Grief every politician that was indicted as a result of Bid Rig has plead or been found guilty. Many of them after swearing they were innocent. LETS FACE IT IF CHRISTY INDICTED THEM HE HAD A PRETTY AIRTIGHT CASE.

On top of that it is lousy politics to be defending him. EVERY republican politician in this county should demand his name be removed from the building on Brookdale. I do not care what he did for that school. His corruption wipes out all of it. Beck, Handlin and DaMico are right.

Speaking of Damico. He flips on the issue of hiring the county hiring ex congressman Roe as a lobbyist on transportation issues.
He either decided we get more then our moneys worth out of Roe and that he can do a better job of getting us funds then part time elected officials OR he caved to pressure from Democratic party bosses. I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt even if he is a Dem. Lets face it unfortunately the way the game is played we have to fight for our share.

The APP however did not. The point of this is that in their arrogance rather then say gee maybe we should look at this again and analyze the figures, they did their typical knee Jerk. They can not even fathom that they might be wrong. This paper is a pox on all elected officials.

The common thread in these two stories. Papers and Politicians both have a problem considering that they might be wrong.

2008-02-14T07:50:00.000-08:00

JOHN CURLEY

Just read this interview in Red Bank Green. While there is merit to Mr. Curly's arguement that local politics should be non partisan the fact of the matter is that it is not. Therefore in my mind Mr. Curly's views disqualify him from getting the nod to be the parties nominee.

I have no issue with someone opposing their party when they feel the party is wrong on an issue. I also have no problem with someone changing parties when a philosophical disconnect occurs.

However if you want to the nod to run for a position under a party banner there must be some loyalty to the princples and positions that embody that party. It can not merely be a flag of convienience that you change at regular intervals. The party at the local level is the foundation of the national party. Wether we like that system or not that is the way it works and that is why one of the qualifications for being the parties candidate should be fidelity to what the party stands for. Mr. Curley has raised serious doubt on that point.

While I admire the work that Mr. Curley has done in Red Bank and the way he took on Fast Eddie he can not be our candidate for Freeholder.

2008-02-14T06:44:00.000-08:00

Clueless

Well more in the paper about the county budget process. According to the Press Chairwomen Burry invoked the 5 minute rule on some guy going on about ways to save money.

Now I was not there. Maybe this guy was being obnoxious. Maybe the Freeholders are that arrogant that they do not want to hear the guys suggestions. Either scenario is possible.

What amazes me is the continued political ineptitude. Does anyone in our party understand anything about politics or public relations? For crying out loud let the guy ramble on thank him profusely for taking the time to come out and enlighten you and then move on.

Dale Carnegie where are you when we need you.

2008-02-08T06:05:00.000-08:00

Let The Games Begin!

Just yesterday I was lamenting that things were so quite in Monmouth County that I had nothing to write about. Thankfully the drought seems to be over.

Bill Barham has apparently decided not to run. Good thing for the party. Bill has been known to say things similiar to; If I am going to run this party people have to support what I want.

That was his biggest problem, delusions of granduer. That type of thinking works when you are the head of a company in the private sector. It does not work in politics. Not all successful businessmen can make that transition. I wish Bill well but right now the party is better off without him and quite frankly he is probably better off that way too.

Onto the new candidates. So far we have Red Bank Councilman John Curly and Holmdel Mayor Serena DiMaso. It is too early to make an endorsement because other candidates might still jump in. I agoing to make a prediction however. Between these two I think Serena would win the nomination.

They have sharply contrasting styles John is an in your face slug it out kind of guy. This has worked very well for him In Red Bank where it took somebody like that to stand up to Bully McKenna.

Serena appears to be more of a consensus builder. She takes a more thoughtful approach. She has demonstrated that she can fight when she has too (she gets a large part of the credit for ending the political career of Terrance Wall which she accomplished with a minimium of drama)

I believe that the Republican rank and file will at this point in time be more attracted to Serena's style then to Johns. I think they are tired of turmoil and would like to build a Freeholder Board that has a shot at working together.

Of course the dynamic could change drastically depending on who else gets in the race.

This could get very interesting so Let the Games Begin!

2008-01-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

OH YEAH ABOUT THE CONTEST.

Late last year I ran a contest that asked elected officials to submit there best budget cuts. I did not get any submissions. I then opened it up to anybody with an idea. Nada again.

I saw something in the paper today that reminded me about this failed contest. I saw a good example of a budget cut item.

Keyport received a grant worth over half a million dollars to redo the facades of businesses in it's business district. They received additional grant monies for people to fix up the outsides of their houses and get reimbursed for things like paint.

Now not to pick on Keyport because I am sure they are not the only town getting money like this but why in in the world are my tax dollars being used to fix up private property in Keyport or anywhere else for that matter.* If our State was in good fiscal shape this would be an outrage. In this economic climate it goes beyond outrage.

Why are your taxes high? There is the answer. Because our government insists on sticking it's nose and our dollars where they do not belong. Any State politician who voted for this does not deserve to be re-elected even if it was buried in the spending bill.

There is the first half a mill to cut from the disgustingly bloated budget.

*My apologies to Keyport for the fact that they happen to be a convenient example for a diatribe. I like Keyport, but you happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

2008-01-11T05:30:00.000-08:00

Pleasant Surprises

Two signs of bipartisan cooperation in the press today.
The Republicans and the Democrats on the Board of Freeholders act together to try to straighten out a problem with the Board of Elections. It will be interesting to see if the Attorney Generals office backs the Freeholders or Leah Falk on this one. One would hope that with an ex-Judge on the Board fewer questionable legal opinions will slip through. (BTW it appears that the only reason the Freeholders did not have the high ground on this battle from day one is because of one attempted patronage appointment. I ask was it worth it?)

In Middletown at least one Democrat agreed with the Republican majority that a person who sued the town should not be reappointed to the Human Rights Committee (or at least showed a willingness to consider that). A perfectly reasonable position by the way. You have to make a decision as to which role you want to play. I do have a better idea for Middletown. Do away with the commission completely and save a few dollars. Even these volunteer commisions cost money and all they are for is to make people feel good. That however is a discussion for another day.

Anyway before I get too off topic it is good to see that occasionally politicians can put the common good ahead of political advantage. Some days there actually appears to be hope.

2008-01-05T08:24:00.000-08:00

IS ANYBODY KEEPING COUNT.

Once again the Monmouth County Counsel was told his legal opinion on a high profile issue of political significance was...WRONG.

Is anybody out there surprised? show of hands please. No one.... I thought so.

2008-01-04T05:25:00.000-08:00

A few small positive suggestions courtesy of the Monmouth Bull Moose.

Lets face it we Bloggers complain a lot but their are a fair number of positive things to say about Monmouth County. We have what is probably one of the best Community Colleges in the Country and certainly the best in New Jersey. We have a park system second to none. The County Vocational High Schools are Nationally ranked as outstanding. County roads are well maintained. The County Dump is well managed. A hundred other things are well done. We are over developed (or maybe poorly planned) but that is more the fault of the Municipalities and the State. At this point in my life I would rather live here then any other county in the State.

That does not mean there is no room for improvement or that we should rest on our laurels. If you do not keep moving you get run over.

So I would like to throw out to the newly constituted Board of Freeholders a few suggestions that would make Monmouth County even better.

1. Make the County Roads more pedestrian and biycle friendly. Sidewalks and bike lanes or at least wider shoulders would be great.

2. We need a small business incubator in Monmouth County, other counties have them. The potential for business, especially high tech business in Monmoth County is immense. We can tap that by giving entrepeneurs a boost.

3. More Mass transit both intra county and to commute outside of it. We need to find ways to make it affordable, attractive and convienant. A tall order but an iniative that will make life better for everyone as our population continues to grow.

4. Get in the electronic recycling business. With Commodity prices what they are this would be a positive revenue generator. According to a source quoted in National Geographic magazine a 4 foot square box of shredded circuit boards is worth $10,000.00. Let's look into building electronic recycling capabilities at the landfill. Good money and good for the enviorment.

Maybe none of these things are feasible but I hope this at least sparks an idea with some elected official.

Of course any politician who champions one of these ideas would be entitled to the highly coveted Monmouth Bull Moose endorsement redeemable at your local polling place for a minimium of 9 votes! ;)

2008-01-04T04:44:00.000-08:00

IN TODAY'S NEWS..................

Lillian Burry picked as Director of the board of Freeholders. It will be very interesting to see how things change under her guidance. I wish her good luck. I think she will need it.

Democrat Freeholder John DaMico promises tax relief. It will be interesting to see what services he cuts or can it be done with operating efficiencies? This bears watching.
While I hate waste and inefficiency I also do not mind paying for good services.

The Board of Elections dispute continues. Honestly it sounds as if both sides are screwed up.
The Board is not on top of things and the County is playing patronage games. Interesting how the Lanes have popped up in this. They have been friendly with everybody from former indicted Freeholder Director Harry Larrison to Party Maverick Terrance Wall to powerful assemblyman (now retired) Mike Arnone to reformer Anna Little. The list of people they have ticked off is just as long but they are survivors. They seem very adept at making a living as "public servants". Exhibit 1 as to why political patronage is a bad thing? Perhaps.

Not in the newspaper (yet) but reported in MORE MONMOUTH MUSINGS it's Baaack!
Yes Tyranny lives in Monmouth County the Screening Committee is alive and well.
I am sure that this will be addressed in more detail in future posts.

Ahh nothing gets the blood flowing in the morning like a good news day and a big cup of coffee.

Have a nice day.

2008-01-03T05:48:00.000-08:00

HOW DISHEARTENING

I read the paper this morning and saw in Manalapan that a Democrat was made Mayor and a Republican Deputy Mayor. The same thing in Wall which is now made up of a Democrat, two independents and two Republicans. Republican Jeff Cantor making a heroic stand against the wrong actions of the outgoing Republican Mayor. The People in all parties in these towns made comments pledging to work together for the betterment of their towns. I rejoiced. A ray of hope and sunshine seemed to fill my kitchen. Politicians putting the common good above partisan advantage. Agreeing to disagree where need be but keeping their eye on the real ball and cooperating where they can and should. Amazing.

Then I turned on my cursed computer and read Art Gallaghers latest post. A dark cloud infested my abode.

How disheartening to be reminded that members of our own party are unable to work together.
I understand that some of them are barely speaking to one another. No wonder we are loosing seats. Never mind putting partisan politics aside they can not put their egos aside. Quite frankly this is nothing new on the Board of Freeholders. Look at how Larrison held on to the reigns of power for so long. Look how Amy Handlin was treated. This Toxic Brew has long been stewing in the Hall of Records. Alas it is not just in the Hall of Records it is a rot with in our party that emanates to some degree from every faction with in our party.

Is their no one out there who can unite us and teach our own party to work cooperatively and put ego's on hold. If so I wish he or she would reveal themselves. Please if you are out there pull Excalibur from the stone, drive the Moors from Spain, Part the Red Sea and lead us to the Promised Land.

2008-01-01T19:49:00.000-08:00

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS FOR POLITICIANS.

I know how busy this time of year is so I thought I would help out all you politicians with some New Years Resolutions. To save you all that thinking.

1. I will not lie.
2. I will be clear and up front about my positions on issues.
3. I will not try to play both sides of an issue.
4. Once I formulate a position I will only change it out of conviction not out of fear of losing votes.
5. I will be more concerned about doing what I think is right rather then getting re-elected.
6. I will not use the power or influence that accrues to me for personal gain.
7. I will not waste my time on silly resolutions and feel good legislation.
8. I will not vote for legislation that makes it look like a problem is being addressed when it really is not.
9. I will not think that more government is the same as good government.
10. I will be a tightwad with the taxpayer’s money.

And the bonus resolution.

11. I will not listen to my ego when it tells me how important I am.

Happy New Year.

2007-12-29T08:03:00.000-08:00

What Happened to Democracy.

I am generally in favor of consolidation of services where it results in tax savings but a recent editorial in the Asbury Park Press really bugs me. They called on Allenhurst to reject reforming its own police department and instead merge with a neighboring town.

Now from what I read the majority of people in Allenhurst do not want that. So why should consolidation be rammed down their throat? If the majority are willing to pay more taxes to get what they perceive as better services why shouldn't, they be permitted to do that. If the minority does not like it they have the option to move. I would really appreciate a response from somebody from the APP. Please defend that position.

This issue is also present with schools. The new SUPER County Superintendents (and I am not yet sure of the mechanics of this I do not think anyone is) is supposed to be able to push school districts towards consolidation. If I live in a town with a great education system and next door is a poorly run school district why should I have to merge with the poorer (not necessarily in $ ) school district and wind up in a larger mediocre district. If the majority in the first town are willing to pay extra taxes for superior schools why should they be strong armed to merge?

Another example of this anti-democratic movement is the law that goes into effect this year that requires if a school district seeks to exceed the state mandated cap with a second question it has to pass with a super majority of 60%. Now no other budget in the state even gets voted on. Voting on the budget is a good idea. We should vote on the State budget every year. I wonder how often that would pass. I however have a real problem with super majorities. Why is not 51% good enough. It is good enough to elect our Governor or President. Why isn't it good enough for a budget?

In a desperate attempt to lower property taxes without addressing the root causes of the problem we are throwing a little thing called democracy out the window.

2007-12-18T06:02:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS

So much to blog yet so little time. A few times I have wanted to whip up a post but the Holiday Season has been keeping me busy. Also, quite frankly I just do not feel like being argumentative and combative around now. I even had an idea for a Santa naughty and nice list for Monmouth County politicians (guess which is longer) but I just couldn't bring myself to do it [BTW feel free to use that idea ;) ]. So I have decided to give in and concentrate on enjoying this most magical time of year. Blogging is suspended for the Holidays. Let us all focus on the important things, God, family, and let us not forget to extend a hand to those less fortunate.

I would like to leave you all with one thought. I am sure most of you have seen this but it is something that always brings a tear to my eye. The answer to a little girl who asks if there really is a Santa Clause is as meaningful today as it was in 1897.

Dear Editor,I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? Virginia O'Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the scepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to have men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive of imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest mean, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

THE MONMOUTH BULLMOOSE WISHES YOU A

MERRY CHRISTMAS

AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

2007-12-05T05:42:00.003-08:00

BYLAWS!!

Huzzah for the Republican and Democrat women who want to force the party bosses to adopt bylaws.

I urge everyone to contact their legislators and demand that they get behind this legislation. In particular Monmouth County residents should contact Sean Kean, Dave Ribble, Pat Angelini, Jennifer Beck, Declan O'Scanlon Carolyn Cassagrande and Joseph Kyrillos.
Make them take a public stand on this one. It is the right thing to do.

In the full article in the paper State Republican Chairman Tom (Party Boss) Wilson stated "It is no more appropriate that they do that than they involve themselves in how a Little League or a chamber of commerce operates" NOTE to Wilson. Those groups are required to have bylaws.

Parties operating in a democracy should act democratic not like a dictatorship..

2007-12-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

AND THE WINNER IS.....

Well the results are in. As you recall we were running a contest to see which elected official could come up with the best idea to cut spending. Would you believe it. The winner is...............

NO ONE.

That's right I did not get one idea submitted. What is wrong with these politicians. I mean the passed up an opportunity to reach a vast readership of at least 50 people with their most excellent idea to cut spending.
How could they possibly resist wasting their time submitting their ideas.

I can only conclude that there is no politician in Monmouth County who has an idea on how to cut spending.

Being the magnanimous blogger that i am I am going to assist these hapless elected idiots and expand the contest.

The deadline is now extended until December 10th and it is open to everyone.

This way our elected leaders will be able to tap into the collective intelligence of my vast readership and use their
most awesome ideas to actually cut spending! This is an unprecedented opportunity.

So to all my readers I say Good Luck. ;)

2007-11-29T05:32:00.000-08:00

The Chairman Speaks.

Adam Puharic the Monmouth County republican Chairman spoke to the Asbury park editorial Board. The article about that meeting appeared in yesterday's paper . I thought he did a good job in pointing out the flaws in the pay to play regulations and backed it up with research. He is right it is flawed.

Then he talked about the convention selection process he instituted. I still do not get it so I am asking someone out there who supports Adam's procedures to explain it to me. What do we gain by having powerful party insiders pre- screen candidates? How would it have changed Monmouth County politics if it had been done that way the two previous years by Fred Nieman.
Would we have wound up with John Merla rather then Bill Barham? Was there a better candidate then Lillian Burry? Would Anna Little have been kept off the ballot the first time?

I will tell you what I think the whole thing is about. Powerful individuals and two or three large powerful towns did not like the fact that they were no longer calling the shots. They did not like the fact that small towns could build coalitions and have an impact on the selection process. They were unhappy that they and their candidates actually had to court the votes of people in these towns. They had to appear in front of clubs and chairmen and be subjected to questions about where they stand. How demeaning is that?

If it where not for this screening committee thing then Adam Puharic might have been considered a good Chairman. This idea has caused resentment, is undemocratic and likely caused us to loose a Freeholder seat.

So until somebody can give me an explanation as to how this was a good idea I will continue to hammer away at it.

2007-11-21T20:15:00.000-08:00

THE EDITOR HAS HIS HEAD IN A VERY DARK PLACE.

I am almost starting to feel sorry for the Freeholders. They place the job of recommending an Architect for a specialized job in the hands of professionals within the county government to remove any political taint and the Asbury Park Press finds a way to slam them anyway.

I will admit if I had been in their shoes I would have wanted to know that the firm recommended was the high bidder and an explanation as to why they where preferable to a lower bidder. However the press slammed them awfully hard considering that they apparently are trying to do the right thing. What really got me was the demand that the Freeholders be told how much in political contributions each bidder made. WAIT A MINUTE. I thought we wanted to remove that from consideration. Isn't it better if they do not know that information. Is the press suggesting that those who donated to a political campaign within the rules be penalized? That seems wrong.
The editor needs some sunshine. Come on out of that dark place. PLEEEEASE.

2007-11-15T08:06:00.000-08:00

CONTEST. WIN BIG PRIZE.

Now that the election is over I thought we might try running a little contest for all the newly elected officials.

If you are an elected official at any level of government please submit your best idea for cutting spending. A panel of select judges will then decide which idea is the best.

The prize? You will get an "ataboy" from the Monmouth Bull Moose and your idea will be promoted on the Internet. So do not be shy start posting those ideas now.

Contest rules: No purchase necessary, offer open only to NJ elected officials. Offer expires November 30th 2007. Offeree and judges are not liable if winning idea causes the collapse of the government, ruins your day or ends your free ride. Politicians under indictment or investigation prohibited from participation. Offer void where prohibited. All decisions of judges are final.

2007-11-10T08:08:00.000-08:00

Local Races Rebuttal

Highly respected Monmouth County Republican Blogging pioneer Art Gallagher of More Monmouth Musings recently stated on his Blog.

On the municipal level, the county is trending Democratic:Wall: Independent
republicans win, a repudiation of the local and county GOP organizations.
Splits: Middletown, Holmdel, Hazlet, Keyport, Oceanport, Spring Lake, Red Bank,
Sea Bright. Marlboro: A huge Democratic victory with a major assist from local
Republicans

Is this correct? I beg to differ.

Wall - a split in the party. Republicans won just not the Republicans the leadership backed. This indicates a problem with the leadership. I am with the insurgents on this one.

Middletown- split but my contacts there say that Scarfenbergers running mate was very poor in public appearances. Also this race demonstrates the power of name recognition. The two winners had the most. If Tom Hall (a real class act) had run for reelection he would have won handily.

Holmdel- The loosing Republican had run against the party and with Terrance Wall in the previous municipal election. That could of been the cause of his defeat.

Hazlet- I do not know enough about to comment on. Maybe someone else out there can.

Keyport- Was all Democratic and we gained a seat. That does not show a Democratic trend.

Oceanport - They beat an incumbent Mayor and did not loose any seats. The Mayoral winner Mike Mahon worked hard and is smart, sincere and personable . I hope the party sees more of him.

Red Bank - We held our own. Given the demographics in Red Bank that is a good thing.
I think Pat Menna will make it even harder for Republicans to win because he has a much more palatable style then mean McKenna did. Hate his politics but Menna is a gentleman.

Sea Bright - In a very close race in a small town an obviously popular candidate won. This swung on personality and local issues not party trends.

Marlboro - Republicans lost because as many bloggers have pointed out the head of the ticket imploded. He was beat by a former Republican who was born and raised in Marlboro and was helped by disaffected Republicans.

Add in a win in Highlands and an impressive win by an embattled Republican in Manalapn and wins for new Republicans in Eatontown.

If you logically analyze the data there is no trend. I must respectfully disagree with the gentleman from Highlands.

I think what we do see is a tendency for voters at the local level to disregard party affiliation and vote on local issues. Not necessarily a bad thing for the towns or the party's.

2007-11-08T17:34:00.000-08:00

Top 10 things I learned from this Election (maybe)

Number 10 - Not getting the Asbury Park endorsement doesn’t kill you
It did not have a big effect on the county races. Most of their endorsements went to sure things anyway.

Number 9 - If the Asbury Park press hammers you unmercifully you have problems. Witness the 12the legislative district. They did to Karcher what they did to Bennett. It was the hammering that effected the 12th not the endorsement.

Number 8 – Negative campaigning doesn’t always work and sometimes it backfires. A couple million dollars worth did not help the Democrats in the 12th. It did not help the new Sheriff. She would have won by a bigger margin if she did not go negative.

Number 7 – Negative Campaigning works sometimes. Karcher was killed by a Christmas tree farm. (BTW the republican candidates owe Blogger Barry Goldwater BIG time). If it was not for that one issue she would have won by at least 5 points.

Number 6 – I have not a clue as to what makes negative campaigning work and what makes it backfire.

Number 5 - Name recognition helps. Kim Guadagno had better name recognition then Hill. Clifton and DAmico had better name recognition then Cantor and Schueler. The only one who broke the trend was Casagrande and not by much.

Number 4 – Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Usually only the disaffected make noise and they are not always in the majority. Look at Manalapan. You would have thought that Andrew Lucas was dead meat based on Internet postings. Yet he won by a comfortable margin.

Number 3 – Sometimes the Internet postings are a sign of trouble. If you read the comments posted at online newspaper articles about Karcher’s farm you knew she was in trouble.

Number 2 – Internet Bloggers are our friends (well at least some of them)
It is better to work with them then attack them. Abe and Goldwater helped quite a bit. Good opposition research. The fact that the party seems to have embraced at least some of the reforms bloggers have been advocating helped the republicans turn their election prospects around.

AND THE NUMBER 1 THING I LEARNED FROM THIS ELECTION IS.

We Bloggers don’t know everything. Let’s face it our predictions of apocalypse for county Republicans did not come true. Although, if Anna Little had not been dumped I think everyone can agree we would be sure that only one Democrat would be on the Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Now that I have catalogued all I learned (or didn’t) I have to go lay down. I have a headache

2007-11-02T07:02:00.000-07:00

TR'S Ballot Question Recommendations

Question 1: Dedicate 1% of sales tax for property tax reform. VOTE NO. It is another fiscally irresponsible political shell game.

Question 2: Stem cell research Bond Issue. VOTE NO. If it is so great private industry will fund it. This is a job for free enterprise not the state government. Plus we can not afford it. Plus it is fraught with ethical issues that there is wide public disagreement about.

Question 3: Green Acres , Blue, Farmland, Blue Acres and Historic preservation Bond.
VOTE YES. This is the state governments job. We live in a state with a higher population density then India. Preserving open space is critical to the quality of life for NJ residents.

Question 4: A constitutional amendment changing the current wording that says idiots and insane people can't vote to say person who has been adjudicated to be incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting. Hmmmm?
I understand what they are getting at but I have a better idea we should liberally construe our constitution (that's what our courts likes to do) and interpret idiot in the modern colloquial sense.
This would stop about 2 thirds of the uninformed public from voting and should insure better electoral outcomes. So VOTE NO.

Just kidding about the last one. lol.

2007-11-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

THOUGHTS FOR TODAY

So is it just me or does anyone else think Bob McKennas reasons for the Republicans in Wall not debating was lame. My attitude has always been debate anytime anywhere anyone. Then again I also enjoy pugilistic endeavors (i.e. fist fights).

The APP refusal to endorse Kim Guadagno for Sheriff is nuts. She is the most qualified candidate to ever run for that office. Question would the APP have taken that route no matter what or does the blame get layed at the feet of whoever thought up the poorly thought out and badly executed negative campaign launched against her opponent?

Speaking of negative will the Karcher attack adds help her or backfire? I guess we will find out on election day. Anyone see any polling data on that race?

Also to0 bad Claire French did not get the APP endorsement. Claire made a mistake not standing up to the old guard but that one mistake should not wipe out all the hard work she has done.
She is an outstanding county clerk and has done a fantastic job upgrading the clerks office technology wise.

Let hope the APP does not carry much wieght.

How about those Larry Inzerillo signs out by Brookdale that have a paper attached to them that say "lower tuition". What a hoot. Actually I have seen a number of individualized signs. Candidates on signs with other people running and with there own signs too. All different colors. orange, yellow bright green. I saw one that said Vote Green, Clifton and Cantor.
Differentiate and target specific markets sounds pretty smart. T he only question I have is will we get sign overload and block them all out?

Ahhh the last few tense days before the election. On the day after will I be praising the powers that be or monday morning quarterbacking and doing the BULLMOOSE SLAM.

2007-10-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

That keg party is back on

Interesting article in the Coast Star
http://starnewsgroup.com/weekly/2007/10.25.07/abc_director_10.25.07_67746.html?featured=*
The Keg ordinances that require all kegs be tagged have been declared "illegal" by the Director of the ABC. This was first adopted by Belmar where it was endorsed by a certain Sheriffs candidate. It has since been passed in a number of towns and is being considered in others.

Why haven't the other papers picked up on this story? More importantly why couldn't the police chiefs and municipal attorneys figure this out. It was pretty clear to me and to a few councilman in various towns that have raised concerns that such an ordinances overstepped the powers that municipalities have.

I suspect that everyone involved knew these ordinances would not stand up. What the heck, it is good publicity and makes them look tough on underage drinking. Why let legalities get in the way of looking good.

Thats not to say it is not a good idea. It is and the state legislature should adopt it.

2007-10-30T05:24:00.000-07:00

A Good Reason

Here is a good reason to not vote for the democrats in the 12th district.
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=9033504687091008599&postID=2824326926218744746
Great post by Barry Goldwater!

2007-10-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

A Pattern Revealed.

The APP has endorsed both Democrats for Freeholder. The App can explain their choices any way they like but the truth of their strategy is now plain. They simply want whatever party that is in power at a particular level of government to be replaced. They want a change in control at all levels of government.

Historically the APP endorsement does not seem to carry a lot of wieght. However, in a close race it could be a deciding factor.

Time will soon see.

2007-10-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

Green Acres is the place for me ♪♫

I know this is an election but some issues should not be politicized for the sake of being elected.
Go ahead and vilify me as the enemy of true Republicans but my desire for good public policy transcends my party loyalty.
First this is a tempest in a teapot. I can think of a great many more compelling reasons to not vote for Ellen Karcher. A farmland assesment does not top my list. Can we really blame any of the people who take advantage of the Farmland Assessment. I know if I lived on 6 acres I would take advantage of it to the fullest legal extent possible. Who is to say that it is not accomplishing its purpose with regard to smaller lots. Many people would subdivide their 7 0r 10 acre (or more) lots were it not for the farmland assessment. I know many people in Colts Neck who rent out part of their property to a local farmer who then grows crops. They get a farmland assessment and the farmer gets to grow crops. Is that a bad deal?

That does not mean the Farmland Assessment Act could not use some improvement. For instance if you live on a 10 acre plot that is in a ten acre zone it should be much more difficult to get the farmland assessment because that land will not be developed in any event. On the other hand a legitimate farmer may have a 10 acre farm and you would still want them to get a break.

The bottom line is that the impacts of any changes in the law need to be carefully evaluated and should not be driven by a few bad examples or by campaign rhetoric.

2007-10-24T05:22:00.000-07:00

In the News

The APP endorses Republicans in the 11th. Not a hard call considering the backgrounds of the Democrats in the race tag them as big spenders. Sean Kean, good job. Can I ask please be even tougher on the wasteful spending.

This years endorsements should put to rest the argument about the APP favoring one party over the other. They are against t only one party. The "Incumbent Party". Why? Because it sells papers.

Bid Rig defendants sentenced. Merla cried and Palughi took it like a man. Who woulda guessed?
Nice act by Merla . I am glad it did not sway the Judge. He is a con man from way back. I wonder what he took over the years that we do not know about.

Little Tid Bit. Sources tell me that at the Monmouth NJEA dinner this week the politicians who spoke were Karcher, Panter and Handlin.

2007-10-22T16:43:00.001-07:00

RASTA REVEALED

Nice scoop by Art Gallagher. http://moremonmouthmusings.blogspot.com/2007/10/meet-rasta-man-at-least-one-of-them.html

My sources say this is not over. As was suspected there is more then one culprit.

I am sure this snivelling coward will spill his guts and rat out his partners in crime.

2007-10-22T06:47:00.000-07:00

12th District and guess the press game.

Wow the APP endorses Beck. That has got to hurt the Democrats. I would love to see the current polling data on that race. How much weight does the APP endorsement carry? Why nothing about the assembly candidates in the district?
Is this a part of the throw the incumbents out strategy? What will the APP do at the county level? Time will reveal all.

I am going to take a guess as to what the press will do at the county level. Lets see how I do.
Sheriff -Guadagno, Clerk Choudary, Freeholder 1 -Cantor as to the second Freeholder seat. That is a tough one. I think they want to give it to a Democrat but may be having second thoughts about D'Amico (thanks to Honest Abe) I also think they have mixed feelings about Clifton so I will go way out on a limb and say Schueler. However, I would not bet the homestead on any of those three. Let us be clear this is not who I endorse it is just a little game to see if I can guess what the press will do.

Question for everyone out there. What are the Dems spending all there money on?
I have received a ton of mailers from the Republican candidates but hardly a thing from the Dems. Are the Dems spending their money on just other Dems and independents?

2007-10-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

BREAKING NEWS

Rastaman goes private! Access to the controversial site Monmouth Rastaman suddenly grants access only to invited readers. You must be registered to view it.

Rumor has it that a connection to someone in the NY real estate business has been discovered.

More to come.

2007-10-16T13:40:00.000-07:00

DISILLUSIONMENT

Is Tom Wilson "Choice for a change" campaign working. I suspect that when combined with the vote out the incumbent mood it may have a positive effect. The truth is it is a great initiative, IF it is followed through on.

The problem is nobody really believes it. Oh they will give it a try. It certainly will not be worse then what the Democrats have to offer and maybe just maybe the Republicans will keep their promises this time. That is about as high as the excitement gets.

Tom Wilson says

"For the past six years, those trusted to govern New Jersey have failed the people of New Jersey. They haven’t listened, they have been arrogant, at times greedy, and they have acted as though they are smarter than the very people who elected them"

The problem is it goes back much further to the end of the Kean administration. It has gotten worse through successive administrations both Republican and Democrat. Like a runaway train and neither party has tried to apply the breaks.

It is no better at any level of government from local to the halls of Washington.

I have not criticised any of our candidates because being a republican I do not want to be blamed for contributing to a defeat (I will have some pointed comments after the election) but the truth is few of the state candidates inspire confidence that they will implement Wilson's vision. I am not impressed by any local or Federal politicians either. Surprisingly a few county candidates give me some small ray of hope. I used to be a rabid Republican now it comes down to whether or not they are marginally better then the Democrats. Yes that is what it boils down to. I will vote for the Republicans because the Democrats are probably worse when taken as a whole. What a sad commentary on the state of politics.

Wilson goes on to say
The people have lost faith in government and those who govern. They feel powerless to make the politicians listen and far too many feel like casting a vote is a waste of time because it just doesn’t matter. What a sad, sad commentary on the state of our state. Democracy as it was envisioned, the great gift of self governance bestowed upon us by our founders, is in serious trouble here in New Jersey. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can fix what is wrong, end the cynicism, and restore hope by returning to the core idea that government belongs to the people and governments exist to serve their needs.

So I will try to hunt up some antidepressants and hope and pray that this time I am being told the truth.

2007-10-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

NEGATIVE

Does negative campaigning work? Do people care that Karcher legally but perhaps not fairly takes advantage of the farm preservation program. Do the voters care that Oscanlon got a consulting contract in Fairhaven? Do the voters care if someone screws up with there elec forms? I could go on and on.

Beyond whether it works when is negative campaigning OK. Is it sometimes unethical itself?

Certainly it works at least sometimes. Especially if it is credible. Look at the swift boat campaign against Kerry. That sure worked. Of course that was done by a group with no obvious political axe to grind and many people had the precept ion that the Swifties were credible. (before any dems start yelling at me notice I said perception. I am not taking a position on whether the perception is true or not because that is not the point of this post. So please do not go there). There are lots of example where negative campaigning has worked and worked well. Does it ever backfire?
On the other hand I notice that the more local the race the less effective it is. While you always have a group of people ready to believe the worst about anyone most people do not want to believe bad things about their neighbors. Just a theory. Maybe I am being to optimistic about human nature.

Certainly it is appropriate if it goes to the honesty and integrity of the candidate. But how bad does it have to be to qualify. Who out there has led a blameless life. Raise your hand.
Ha! I thought so. I do not see any hands raised ;)

But certainly it is sometimes relevant. Look at the extreme end. I f somebody was a convicted embezzler that is negative but certainly relevant. What about the guy who has filed bankruptcy is that fair game? Does it depend on the reasons?

How much puffery is allowed? I would say none in a negative campaign. If it is not bad enough as is to make a difference do not slant it. As Joe Friday said. 'Just the facts" or to turn a phrase, you report the voters decide.

Is politics like love and war where all is fair?

Tough questions with no easy bright line answers but certainly worth thinking about.

2007-10-04T05:42:00.000-07:00

Ramblings on the Corruption Review

The Asbury Park press has been running some interesting articles the last few days that have
been pretty interesting. It has actually changed my mind about something. I once said in a post that pay to play was a bigger problem at the local level and not really an issue at the state level.

Boy was I wro wron wrog ... oh hell I can not even write that word. Let's say I was off base ;)

It also appears that the reforms that have been passed may be having the desired effect. Fundraising ability seems to be diminishing.

The most interesting statement came from Codey who said the best way to get rid of corrupt politicians is to vote them out. Good point. It has always amazed me how some politicians can get re-elected again and again even when there are questions about there ethics. Of course that is not always the case as a few Monmouth County former legislators can attest. But even absent evidence of corruption we refuse to use the ballot box to enforce term limits. Should one person hold an office for 10 or 20 years?

I think one thing Codey is trying to say is ; We have met the enemy and he is us.

2007-09-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

Worse Then Garbage

A while ago I asked what would the readers like to see me write about. I got one response. They wanted me to write about the Rastaman poll. I declined at the time because I really have no idea who he is and I did not want waste my time talking about him. I have decided however, that it is time to shine some light on this cockroach.

Now all bloggers go a little overboard sometimes, myself included. I have on occasion done more then crtique opinions or policies. Some Bloggers are worse then others. Hey we are all human.

However, this guy Rastaman is beyond the pale. He libels and slanders people with abandon. His website has accused or implied that various people are drug dealers, pornography purveyors, pedophiles and crooks. His campaign against Freeholder Little was disgraceful. He apparently things this is OK when he disagrees with someone on a political issue or believes some reporter is a political hack.

This guy is a cancer upon the body politic of Monmouth County. He is a malignant pus filled tumor that needs to be excised.

As I said I do not know who he is. I do not believe his story about who he is. He may even be more then one person. He certainly is being fed information by some people.

He may even be working for or with the blessing of people in the party.

Whoever he/ they are should be figuratively tarred and feathered and run out of politics on a rail.

This will eventually happen. Tommy Deseno (attorney for one of Rastas victims) is a smart enough lawyer that he will eventually discover who Rastaman really is. Their are a number of ways to do it. When he finally does I hope the libel verdict bankrupts him.

I was talking to a lawyer friend of mine who works for a large NY firm in the litigation department. He was telling me how they do electronic discovery. They actually get the hard drive of the computers of whoever they are suing. Then they send it to experts who extract every bit of electronic data off them. They even can recover deleted documents.

So I figure that when Mr. Deseno discovers who Rastaman is he is also going to find out who has been working with Rasta or feeding him information. I am sure that will generate plenty of people for lawyers to sue and destroy many a budding political career. I am sure their are some people out there who should be very very worried.

For my money the day can not come soon enough.

2007-09-26T16:49:00.000-07:00

WHAT AN UNMITIGATED LOAD OF GARBAGE.

I am talking about this post http://theinsideclamdigger.blogspot.com/2007/09/czech-acker-deal-is-sign-of-times-with.html on Jim Purcell's Blog Inside Clam Digger.

He claims that Middletown has decided to hire County Chief Finance Officer Mark Acker as Township Administrator. He also claims the Middletown administrator is going to Freehold. First he claims the Freeholders did not do a thorough job searching. I see no back up for that statement. He also claims Middletown did not do a search. To that I say so what! In private industry if you know of a star candidate is available for an opening you have, then you do not waste time and money doing a search. You hire the guy. Aren't we always saying we want government to run more like a business ( well at least us conservative republicans say that).

Mark Acker is the consummate professional. If Middletown can nab him good for them.

Make the search more transparent he says. Obviously he knows little about employment law and privacy concerns. On a practical note if you made the process transparent you would automatically rule out anyone who does not want their current employer to know they are shopping for a job. Confidentiality is paramount in a job search.

Elected officials have a job to do until the election. That includes filling administrative vacancies. The idea that these professionals are going to secretly sabotage the agenda of the newly elected Democrats is ridiculous. They are going to do what there bosses tell them to do. Just like Democrat Bob Collins did for the many many years he was the County Administrator under a Republican Administration.

Both these men are fully qualified for these jobs.

Sorry Mr. Purcell but you are so off base here you are out near Jupiter. This is just bashing Republicans for the sake of bashing.

Coming soon. The Bull Moose SLAMS Rastaman!

2007-09-20T05:18:00.000-07:00

The Arrogant One

As I had previously mentioned upon returning from safari I was perusing the pile of newspapers in my study and saw the news that Robert T. Collins publisher of the Asbury Park press was retiring.

I then came across an article by Michael Riley. Michael Riley is a reporter for the press and sometimes Minister who writes a column that has a religious theme. For the most part I disagree with his line of reasoning and I usually find him to be insipid but he can on occasion be thought provoking. However, I digress. The column I want to talk about was Rev. Riley's ode to his departing publisher. There was one thing that really caught my eye. Riley reported that one day at a meeting with Collins, Collins said the following,

"I usually assume I am the smartest person in the room"

That quote struck me like a bolt of lightning. It explains a lot. What an ego, what hubris! Now we know how the APP got its holier then thou attitude. It came from the top down.

Lets hope that the new publisher is less arrogant

By the way my experience has been that people who have to say things like " I assume I am the smartest person in the room", usually are not.

2007-09-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

New Blog

I would like to plug a new blog a friend of mine has started. It addresses cultural, political and religious issues. I believe many of you will find it entertaining, enlightening, controversial and usually well reasoned.

http://sonliberty.blogspot.com/

2007-09-19T08:28:00.001-07:00

ALIEN POD PEOPLE ?

Good Gravy! What is going on in Monmouth politics. First Adam Puharic and Art Gallagher making nicey nicey. Now a freeholder candidate is taking the same positions that made Anna Little persona non grata. Adam is being supportive of that candidates position and then attacking a democrat for having supported County Counsel and prolific fund raiser Malcolmn Carton 20 years ago therefore, by inference attacking Carton himself. Has somebody finally realized that the bloggers and reformers are not evil or even anti-Republican and in fact their agenda is the way to get Republicans elected; or is it something else??????
In all seriousness Jeff Cantor does not surprise me. People with military experience especially combat zone experience are usually pretty independent and fearless in the political arena. They stand up for what they believe in so no surprise there. These are good developments within the party and may very well allow the Board to remain Republican.

As to the praise that was offered for Mr. Cartons litigation success, well I wonder how much work he did and how much work some assistant county counsel or counsels may have done.
An intrepid investigative reporter would make an OPRA request and look in to that. Credit should be given where credit is due. I have seen times in the business world where sometimes a supervisor takes credit for the work of subordinates. I am not saying for sure that happened here but I sure would like to find out.

2007-09-17T05:22:00.000-07:00

WHILE I WAS AWAY

Just arrived back from the dark continent last last night.

Had a Bully of a good time and I obtained some excellent specimens for the museum. One bad run in with a Cape Buffalo but did not see anything as dangerous as a NJ politician with his hand out!

In perusing the web and the pile of newspapers I see a number of interesting things happened while I was otherwise engaged.

Anna Little is running for Mayor of Highlands with the blessings of Chairman Puharic. But really could you have imagined the party implosion if he had said no. In any event we wish Ms. Little Good luck.

Another controversial county pol Terrance Wall seems to have suffered a blow to his political aspirations. I give him credit for getting smarter as he ages. Instead of going down fighting he quietly resigned his position as administrator in Keansburg. This quickly ends the matter with no controversy. I ask however; with the political history in Keansburg being what it is who in there right mind would apply for that job at this time?

More corrupt politicians busted around the state. If you are a prosecutor in NJ specializing in corruption cases you certainly have job security.

New editor at the APP. More on that later.

The big story for me is ethics reform in Monmouth County. The "Party Leaders" finally woke up and realized what Anna Little and other reformers were saying was good politics. A brick wall does not have to fall on them any type of wall will do.

Then I came across Kate Mellinas editorial in yesterdays paper. Message to Ms. Mellina.
NOBODY LIKES A SORE WINNER! That was in really poor taste and very bad politics.
Only about 5% ( is that overly generous?) of politicians do things because it is the right thing to do. Most do things because it is what they believe will get them re-elected. (yes I know I am cynical. Hang around politics as long as I have and see how you get) That being the case it does not make sense to beat them after they do the right thing. You want to encourage politicians to do the will of the voters, That is part of the job description. Let me hearken back to when less enlightened methods were used to train animals. If you smacked your dog whenever he barked he would eventually stop barking. If when he stopped barking you continued to smack him he would start barking again and eventually he would probably bite you.

Rob Clifton is very astute. He realized reform was the smart thing to do and he struck at a time that would give him maximum benefit and when he knew he had the cards to win the hand.
He deserves to be given a bone not smacked. So here is a bone from TR. Good Job Rob.

2007-08-16T19:33:00.000-07:00

Memo
T0: Blogosphere
From: Dolores Fienbottom
Secretary to President Roosevelt
Re: Temporary suspension of Blogging activities.
Date: August 17, 2007

The President has gone on Safari to Africa. He is expected back
on or about September 17.
He has given me limited authority to moderate comments in his absence.
Any comments which do not fall within those parameters will be addressed upon the Presidents return.
Thank you all for your anticipated indulgences.
End Memo

2007-08-16T07:04:00.000-07:00

Great piece by Jeff Cantor.

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070816/OPINION/708160411/1030&GID=sjQkx9hL+EcR4Xcne4bmkEV9ZlX2YQ4iTlvIGU5OEtY%3D
This Guy might just bail us out.

2007-08-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

By- Laws

I have been consist ant about at least one thing. The party needs By-Laws.
There has been little discussion about what By-laws should look like. I would like to throw out a radical model for consideration (on the off chance someone actually considers by -laws).

I would suggest a corporate model. The Chairman and a Board of Directors are elected by the county committee. The stakeholders could be expanded to include more then just the committee for the election of the Board. For the chairman I believe that by statute that is limited to the committee. The Board could all be at large members or it could be by region or it could be a combination of both.

I would create a paid position of Executive Director. Pay just enough to make it interesting. say $20,000.00 or more. That position would go to the Chairman as a matter of course. This would make the job attractive to a broader candidate pool. Quite frankly if we do not want a chairman to make money off the influence that comes with the job we should offer compensation. Lets face it not many people can afford to take the job of Chairman as it currently exists.

There is a bonus. If the chairman gets out of hand you are stuck with him until the end of his two year term. However with this model he can be removed from the paid position of executive director and limited to his statutory duties. Which are in reality very few. A nice stick to go with the carrot, It is assumed that a democratically elected board would collectively be less likely to run amok. It could happen I admit but there are more checks and balances in this model.

This may need some work but It is a starting point.

2007-08-12T17:09:00.000-07:00

Sundays Paper.

Tinton Falls Council President Michael Skudera had an excellent piece in todays Asbury Park Press. It can be found at .
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007708120359
Open and easy access to government records is one of the keys to government reform.

2007-08-09T17:58:00.000-07:00

GO DOWN THREE
I have been working on a post on the legislative races. I had saved it in draft while I worked on it. Unfortunately when I posted it came up beneath my last two posts. So if you care to read it go down 3 posts.

2007-08-07T13:59:00.000-07:00

The Real News

The real news today was not Adam's employment situation as many "Monmouth Bloggers" seem to think. Something by the way that certainly did not deserve the prominence it received in the Press. In my opinion Adam's political activity ( while open to criticism) has unfairly interfered with his ability to work and this type of attention can not be helpful.

The real news was in the continuing recap of Bid Rig. I am actually enjoying reading all the juicy little tidbits that have been coming out. I bet Cullinane gets a book out of this. I will admit to having some sympathy for the families of these crooks and that has tempered my enjoyment of the series somewhat. I do however look forward to the next round of indictments as I am sure these guys are singing like canaries to reduce their sentences.

Any way, today's news was the FBI agents claim to have some pretty solid evidence that Larrison was corrupt. Will this put to rest those who continue to defend him?
Unfortunately probably not.

While it is true that he never had the chance to defend himself and there is a presumption of innocence, I do not want the fact that he was corrupt recognized so that he can be vilified or punished. (He is beyond the reach of that in any event). No we must recognize it because if we do not recognize that Monmouth County was corrupt all the way to the top we will never take the steps necessary to reduce the chances of it reoccurring in the future.

Harry Larrisons ability to be corrupt was only as great as it was because we gave him the extraordinary amount of power that he wielded for so long. In fact if Lord Acton is to be believed it may have been that power that corrupted him.

This is a lesson I fear we have not yet collectively learned.

2007-07-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

A little political humor
I had to share this joke I received today.
Five surgeons were discussing who makes the best patients to operate on.
The first surgeon from NY says Accountants. When you open them up all the parts are numbered.
The second surgeon from Chicago says electricians because all the parts are color coded.
The third surgeon from Seattle says librarians are the best everything is in alphabetical order.
The fourth surgeon from LA says, I like construction workers they understand if you have a few parts left over.
The fifth surgeon from Washington DC says you are all wrong. Politicians are the best to operate on. There's no guts, no balls, no brains and no spine. Plus the head and the ass are interchangeable. LOL

2007-07-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Legislative Races

As we roll through the summer the legislative races are heating up.

Monmouth Republicans running for state office are in an interesting position. While the voters might be unhappy with local republicans it also looks like there is some dissatisfaction with the ruling party in Trenton. The challenge for them is to distance themselves from the local issues and become the alternatives to dems in Trenton. Interesting note; the County Democrat website does not even mention legislative candidates.

The breakdown by district is as follows.

13th;

This district should be an easy winner.

Amy Handlin has strong reformer credentials and her running mate Sam Thompson is popular in his home county of Middlesex. Amy has not showcased her liberal tendencies and in light of events since her election her criticisms of previously popular politicians is no longer much of an issue. She is gaining in popularity in her district because she has been doing a good job.

The challenger Pat Walsh is better and has more name recognition then the typical democrat candidate. She seems savvy and intelligent. However it will not be enough in this round. While she is a 4 term Middletown Board of Ed. member, that position in that town might be a minus. Plus she has two lead weights for running mates Her Assembly running mate is Bob Brown. Who? enough said. Well not really we also need to say that he could not even get his petition right.

Senator Joe Kyrillos is a popular politician and a good fundraiser. The Democrat Leonard Inzirillo appears incompetent next to Joe. He also has had his own "filing issues"

12th;

Probably the most interesting race. First we Pit Republican Assemblywomen Jennifer Beck against Democratic Senator Ellen Karcher. Beck is a tireless and experienced campaigner. While she is not a favorite of conservatives neither is Karcher. Beck is also extremely personable. Much more so then Karcher. Plus Karcher while a savvy politician who has bucked her own party when she needs to has ticked off a fair number of Dems, especially the trial lawyers.

Declan O'Scanlon came within a whisker of beating Assemblyman Panter last go around. While Panter is another savvy politician who bucks his own party when he has to, the last election was to close to give him a pass. I think he is viewed as opportunistic and there will be a slight trend against Democrats at the state level.

Caroline Casagrande the other republican candidate is young, energetic and well connected but not well known.

Then again neither is the other Democrat candidate Amy Mallet.

I would call this district too close to call except for two things MONEY and local issues.

I have not checked elec reports but I hear the dems have a lot and we do not.

Additionally two local issues may have an impact on this race.

The first (if the insipid blog "Da Truth Squad" is to be believed) is that Caroline Casagrande is being blackened by local politics in Manalapan where she is the Township attorney.

The second issue appears to be a little complex but the short version is that Panter has introduced legislation concerning the issue of who educates children of non military families who reside on Earle Naval Base. Tinton Falls Borough Council (while Tinton Falls has a non partisan form of government I believe the current council consists of all Republicans) unanimously passed a resolution supporting Panter's legislation. It is also reported that Michael Laffey the Republican Chairman of Tinton Falls and a member of the Board of Education testified in support of the Bill. Colts Neck opposes the Bill as has Jennifer Beck. While there is no evidence that any republicans are supporting Panter , only this legislation, one has to wonder what impact this will have on the many independent voters who reside in Tinton Falls.

In a close election either one of these local issues could be a deciding factor

In this race give an edge to the Democrats but that edge could be overcome if the State party will pump substantial resources into the race or the candidates themselves can raise substantial funds. Let us hope that is the case.

11th;

I say another win for Republicans.

Assemblyman Sean Kean running for Senate is well known and well liked in his district. I hear he is supported by the teachers union as was his predecessor Joe Palia. In my opinion he needs to concentrate more on important legislation and less on fluff but in all honesty from an electability stand point it seems to be working for him. His latest legislation on tougher penalties for "illegal guns" is a good move and good legislation.

No question he is a savvy politician and well connected. The small amount of backlash he will get from Steve Coredemus partisans will have little effect.

His running mate (for Assembly) Mary Pat Angelini is a nice counterbalance to Kean. A hard worker with strong conservative credentials. She should be a strong candidate. Dave Ribble in my mind is an unknown quantity but from what I have seen is a capable speaker.

Kean's opponent Villipiano has a well known name and is a real veteran but my feeling is it's a little late for a come back and the public mood does not favor Democrats at the state level right now. He has a shot but I would not give good odds.

John P. Napolitani will run well in Asbury Park and do well with the teachers (being a teacher and living in Asbury) but that is not where the Democrats needed help. The other Democratic Assembly candidate John J. Pimat does not even show up on a google search.

For what it is worth that is my take on the legislative races.

2007-07-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

I am disappointed.

I must be failing to write things that will generate discussion.

I know about 50 people read this blog. I can not believe that Art was the only one who had anything to say about the post on reformers.

Do I have to call people names and trash their reputations in order to get a response. I hope not because I am not going to do that.

Come on people let's step it up a notch.

How about this is their a subject out there of interest ( that somehow relates to Monmouth County) that you would like me to blog about? I am always open to suggestions.

2007-07-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

Monday News

I have been following this superintendent story out of Middletown. This is another good story about what is wrong with this state.
From what I can gather this Witmer guy tried to get a bunch of days he was not entitled too carried over. The administrative law Judge found that to be the case but said since it is unlikely he would have succeed you can not fire him. By the way people have been convicted of criminal offenses for similar things.

So let me get this straight a school superintendent can not be fired for attempted theft. Am I missing something here?

And then you have the morons who are commenting in the article that "I can not believe that the school spent so much money suing to have the guy fired. Couldn't they just work it out internally?" Obviously they have no concept of how the system works.

If this had been private industry this guy would have been shown the door with no problem.

School administrators should be employees at will just like you and me.

Maybe one day I will write a piece on my other radical ideas to reform education.

2007-07-12T17:54:00.000-07:00

The Reformers

Previously I have discussed some of the mistakes the reformers have made.

So what should the reformers now do? Well first of all if we do not loose any seats this year we should acknowledge that the Chairman knows what he is doing and then shut up.
However, that scenario while it has attractive qualities to Republicans is probably unlikely.

Just for the heck of it let us assume that does not happen. The party will then be in tatters and if the reformers play there cards right they could wind up in a very influential position and rebuild the party.
To get there here is the road map they should follow.

1. ORGANIZE. That's right form an organization dedicated to working to reform the party from within. Get a name. Elect officers and have members. Do it all out in the open. If we hang at least we will all hang together.

2. Develop a platform. Have a meeting and reach a consensus on what reforms you want adopted.

3. Don't trash mouth other republicans, talk issues not personalities. OK I know some of you are saying look whose talking. Yes I have been intemperate at times in my commentary but what has it accomplished for any of us? I have seen the light (for now). Additionally it has left us open to criticism. There are exceptions to every rule. Some people seeking power are so loathsome that a light must be shined on them but in all honesty many of us have abused the exception.

4. On the other hand be careful of who you associate with. Make it clear to those who wish to ally with you must buy into your platform. They can not join you and continue there double dipping patronage job giving funny money raising ways. Also do not let the loony tunes (and we have a few, like guys who think they are dead presidents)) take control of your organization. Be careful there are those who will associate with you for the wrong reasons. Now that does not mean someone who was part of the system and was working it can not see the light. We are all capable of repentance and redemption.

5. Get on the county committee and get people who are like minded on it. I am not suggesting that you try to take over a town because you do not like the municipal chair. That will ignite a war we do not need. But every town has vacancies or people who want to retire. An occasional contested district never hurt anyone but do not over do it. There are already a fair amount of people on the committee who will follow you.

6. Finally someone or preferably some people will have to be willing to step up and take a leadership role in both the organization and ultimately (hopefully) the party. It will be a thankless aggravating and frustrating job but someone will have to do it.

This is what it will take if the Monmouth County Republican party is to be rebuilt into what it should be.

2007-07-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day and God Bless America

Please take a moment to read the Declaration of Independence posted on

http://moremonmouthmusings.blogspot.com.

2007-07-01T18:12:00.000-07:00

PAY TO PLAY

I had not planned on this subject for my next pontification but it is prominent in the news of late so I will say a few words on it.

Pay to play is an obnoxious distasteful corrupt process. However, on the scale of problems with politics in NJ it is in the category of a gnat.

It hurts the people who practice it the most. here is how it works. I am an engineer or lawyer or planner who wants a job in a particular town. I give money to Joe Candidate for mayor. Usually somewhere between $500 and $2500 dollars although it could be more. Joe Candidate wins. Now two people want the job me and Bill Didnotgive. After the election I let Joe know I would like the job. Guess who gets it?

Truth is in 90 % of the cases the town will get the same services for the same price whether it hires me or Mr. Didnotgive.

I suspect most professionals will be happy to see this system go and it should go because it is wrong. I do not think advocates of reform are correct in there assumption that professional fees will go down and I doubt they have data to support that contention.

There really are bigger fish that we should be frying. Ending pay to play while a correct action diverts attention from the real corruption.

Of course it creates a problem for candidates because it makes it more difficult to raise money for campaigns. This is not really a problem on the municipal level because there are ways to run effective campaigns with less money. In fact, it will level the playing field in most instances in municipal elections.

At the state level where they are not getting jobs these professionals give to candidates to show they are good R's or D's (or in the case of some both)

It is at the county level and state level where doing away with pay to play becomes a bigger problem, because big campaigns take money. Here is where the public has to take some blame. They want to restrict how politicians raise money but most of them are unwilling pony up $10 for a candidate. In fact if citizens actually engaged in the political process politicians would not need pay to play. The public is schizo. They complain but will not take the time to learn the issues or support candidates. You politicians out there. How many times have you gone door to door only to have the door slammed in your face.

If as many people paid attention to political issues as paid attention to Paris Hilton a lot of corruption could be avoided. Don't get me wrong I am not letting corrupt politicians off the hook but...

Maybe the public is getting what they deserve?

Food for thought.

2007-06-27T07:08:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-25T16:40:00.000-07:00

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?"

2007-06-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

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"

2007-06-14T05:27:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-06-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-06-12T05:54:00.000-07:00

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