Keeping it Real and Getting to the Heart of the Matter:
The Wall Interview, Continued
I received the following messages from Terence:
"Hi
I'm trying to work with you (willing to not know who you are) but the "are you still beating your wife" stuff posted on your website is a bit beyond the pale.
Primarily because it is inaccurate.
I need to know what direction you're looking for with this blog (i.e. issues or just blather)
I'm fine either way but need to know if I should continue directing people to it. If it’s a hit parade I can’t be bothered
T "
And, culled from a subsequent email (sorry to not be verbatim):
"Thank you for trying to keep this thing real (it can be positive or negative – all I ask is that it is real)"
So, let's get real and stop ignoring the elephant in the room. This is not going to be easy. It could make a huge difference, if Terence has the courage to engage, and I hope he does, for his sake and our county's sake.
Terence,
I'm not looking for a positive or negative spin.
I am looking for an honest interview where my readers get to know you and can make an informed decision about your candidacy for Freeholder.
This years election is very important to the future of our county. The new and emerging fund raising scandal makes our candidate selection all the more important.
Given your experience and name recognition, you should be the front runner, winning the nomination, and the election in a slam dunk. Your refusal to accept PAC money, while not popular within certain factions of the party, will play very well in the with the general electorate and the press.
However, I don't think you are the front runner. The controversies about you and what you call the "are you still beating your wife stuff," are killing your chances. You have tried to handle that "stuff" by ignoring it, calling for discussion of county issues only and, simply saying the "stuff" is not true. I don't think your strategy is working. Your candidacy makes that "stuff" county issues and fair game.
I left the Affiliated dinner on the 24th very disappointed in our choices of candidates.
DeSeno gave a good presentation but won't win because he has no organization and hasn't paid his dues.
Kleinberg's rambling presentation was awful. He coulda been a contender.
Lucas is not ready from prime time.
DiBella was relaxed for a change. Talking to his old friends, joking about his weaknesses and the controversies about it him. He acted like he has the nomination in the bag, and at this point he probably does, which means we will have a Freeholder from Howell named Barbara.
And you, Terence, were great, except for the fact that you are refusing to deal with the controversies about yourself. There are many people angry at you and others fearful about what stunt you might come up with next.
You say that your critics' posts on my site are beyond the pale, primarily because they are not true. Rather than ignoring them or hope I delete them, let's tell the truth and hopefully get beyond them.
I'm on record as saying that DiBella can't win in November. Given the weakness of the other candidates, that leaves you as our best hope of maintaining our all Republican Freeholder Board, unless another candidate comes forth.
If you don't find a way to neutralize what your critics are saying about you and make people like you anyway, ala Bill Clinton, you can't win either.
With the hope that you can change the buzz about you, I ask that you honestly answer the following questions:
1) Do you have a tape of Serena DiMaso uttering anti-Semitic remarks. If so, why haven't you released it. If not, please explain yourself and clean up this mess once and for all.
2) If elected, will you continue to serve as Keansburg Borough Manager. If not, how will you support your family? Will you complete your term on the Holmdel Township Committee?
3) The redevelopment of the Lucent site is of critical importance to the future of Holmdel and the future of Monmouth County. You have claimed a leadership role in this issue. How do you plan to positively impact this redevelopment while at the same time managing Keansburg and running a county wide race for Freeholder.
4) Did you ever explore running for State Senate as a Democrat?
5) What have you learned since your primary race for Assembly? Did you try to trick primary voters into thinking John Bennett was supporting you? If so, what have you learned from that experience and how will those lessons impact your future races?
6) Given the demands of office holding, public service often means sacrificing private sector accomplishments and quality family time. How has your public service impacted your career and your family? Has it been worth it?
In your blog on jerseypolitcs.com, http://www.jerseypolitics.com/tmwall.html, you talk about an indefinable drive to get the job done that has nothing to do with money, power or prestige. While that drive may be indefinable, please speak to your experience of it, why you do what you do, and what you get out of it.
Please email me your responses and I will post them as comments to this thread. This thread is closed to other comments
Let Me Count the Ways
21 hours ago
Posts
8 comments:
WHS:
1)Do you have a tape of Serena DiMaso uttering anti-Semitic remarks. If so, why haven't you released it. If not, please explain yourself and clean up this mess once and for all.
TMW:
All prior statements that I have made on this issue are factual. Regarding disclosure – The legal authorization required for disclosure from the Mayor was never provided. The matter has been closed. I will continue to do what is right.
WHS:
2) If elected, will you continue to serve as Keansburg Borough Manager. If not, how will you support your family? Will you complete your term on the Holmdel Township Committee?
TMW:
If I am selected on April 8th and am successful in both the June Primary and the November General election, I would offer my Holmdel Committee position to a new citizen volunteer. I would not hold dual elected office in 2007. To the question of employment – the dedicated public servants of the fine Borough of Keansburg are the decision makers.
WHS:
3) The redevelopment of the Lucent site is of critical importance to the future of Holmdel and the future of Monmouth County. You have claimed a leadership role in this issue. How do you plan to positively impact this redevelopment while at the same time managing Keansburg and running a county wide race for Freeholder.
TMW:
The Township Committee voted unanimously to hire a planner to examine possible options. I expect solid progress in short order and have already initiated dialogue with the county. The county offered an economist and other tools and techniques from the planning department which I would continue to manage locally or from the county level.
WHS:
4) Did you ever explore running for State Senate as a Democrat?
TMW:
I appreciate the dialogue but no, I have never met personally or spoke on the phone with the Monmouth County Democrat Chairman. It’s worth noting, however, that a general election candidate will only succeed with support from voters of all parties and particularly the largest voting block – the Undeclared/Independent voter.
WHS:
5) What have you learned since your primary race for Assembly? Did you try to trick primary voters into thinking John Bennett was supporting you? If so, what have you learned from that experience and how will those lessons impact your future races?
TMW:
Question 5 includes two separate questions.
5a. Since 1999, I’ve been re-elected twice and had the opportunity to solve both simple and complex challenges faced by all municipal governments. During the last eight years an elected official I’ve developed a unique and mature perspective that helps me solve problems efficiently through collaboration and communication with community stakeholders.
5b.To the second question (and related third) – no.
WHS:
6) Given the demands of office holding, public service often means sacrificing private sector accomplishments and quality family time. How has your public service impacted your career and your family? Has it been worth it?
TMW:
I believe that you can have quality family time, a successful career and a focused dedication to public service.
I work very hard because it’s the right thing to do and it matters. If given the honor of serving as Freeholder, I will continue my hard work on behalf of the county.
I gauge accomplishments not by the dollars received but by the goals achieved.
Most importantly - My family
My family is my life.
Thank you for your questions.
Terence Wall
http://www.monmouthmatters.com
In your blog on jerseypolitcs.com, http://www.jerseypolitics.com/tmwall.html, you talk about an indefinable drive to get the job done that has nothing to do with money, power or prestige. While that drive may be indefinable, please speak to your experience of it, why you do what you do, and what you get out of it.
Thank you for your prompt responses Terence.
I have a few follow ups.
Regarding question # 1, the Serena tape. Are you saying the tape exists and that Serena is holding up its release?
Regarding # 2. Do you expect a contested primary in June? If you do not get the nomination on April 8, will you challenge the nominee in a primary?
If you are elected in November, and if you are not retained as the Borough Manager in Keansburg, how will you support your family?
Regarding # 4. Running for State Senate as a Democrat. I read your denial of speaking with the Dem Chairman on Abe's blog. My question was broader than meetings or conversations with the Chairman. Did you explore a Senate run as a Democrat with anyone at all. If not, where do you think this noise is coming from?
Regarding # 5b. Please elaborate about the edited Bennett robo-call. What was the purpose of it? Would you do it again. Tell us about your relationship to John Bennett now.
Please email me your responses, and any other commments you would like to make.
Regarding question # 1, the Serena tape. Are you saying the tape exists and that Serena is holding up its release?
TMW:
This has been answered fully.
WHS:
Obviously some of us missed the answer as the question keeps coming up. Perhaps you can answer this more clearly...Have you been advised by counsel not to answer any futher?
Regarding # 2. Do you expect a contested primary in June? If you do not get the nomination on April 8, will you challenge the nominee in a primary?
TMW:
Not really
No
WHS:
That is good news.
If you are elected in November, and if you are not retained as the Borough Manager in Keansburg, how will you support your family?
TMW:
The question is not currently relevant
WHS:
I beg to differ. We know how our current Freeholders earn their livings, and we know how your potential opponents do. The APP has made an issue of potential conflicts that Freeholders Burry and Little have by sitting on their towns' governing bodies as well as on the Freeholder board. You know better than anyone that on a day to day basis a Borough Manager has more of an impact on the operations of municipal government than an elected official does. Futhermore, Keansburg is a volatile
political envirnoment and there has been a great deal of turnover in the job you now hold.
You may not want to address this now, but if you get the nomination, I think others will be asking. I hope you have a better answer should that time come.
Regarding # 4. Running for State Senate as a Democrat. I read your denial of speaking with the Dem Chairman on Abe's blog. My question was broader than meetings or conversations with the Chairman. Did you explore a Senate run as a Democrat with anyone at all. If not, where do you think this noise is coming from?
TMW:
I speak with many good people. Some are Republican and some are Democrat. Perhaps this is the genesis of the ‘noise’. The noise is a song for November as we must have support from all voters to succeed.
WHS:
I'll take that as a "Yes"
Regarding # 5b. Please elaborate about the edited Bennett robo-call. What was the purpose of it? Would you do it again. Tell us about your relationship to John Bennett now.
TMW:
John Bennett is a hard working person who stays active in the party. He mentored Joe DiBella and supports Joe DiBella (as Fred Niemann and Bill Barham support Joe DiBella). I accept that and wish all the candidates well. There was no edited robo-call. It is a non-issue but I am responding out of respect for discourse - again.
I’m moving on to questions about cutting taxes and protecting our open spaces from overdevelopment.
WHS:
Fair enough. Acquring open space requires tax money and reduces the supply of ratable land available to develope. How will you reduce taxes and increase open space?
TMW:
Questions about voting records and the running of a government.
Questions about experience.
Questions about how life can be made better in some small way by each candidate
Let’s get back to the issues at our dinner tables. April 8th is coming – there is not much time and there is much work to do.
WHS:
Ok, tell us about your plans for reducing the county budget and thereby reducing property taxes. You've pointed out that there are 70 county departments. Where's the fat?
WHS:
You've been on the forefront of the affordable housing and COAH issue. The increasing cost of government and rising real estate values have made Monmouth County a very expensive place to live. Many residents, homeowners and tenants alike, Seniors and young famlies, are leaving for Ocean and Atlantic Counties and the Carolinas. Is Monmouth County destined to be a place where only the well off and wealthy can afford to live?
Sorry folks, I forgot to turn off the comments after my last post. I have deleted posts from elephants not donkey's and will republish them elsewhere on the blog.
I want the interview with Terence to stand on its own.
I'll republish TR's post too.
Elephant's and TR's comments and questions have been reposted in the "Preparing" thread.
http://moremonmouthmusings.blogspot.com/2006/03/preparing-to-interview-terence-wall.html
For now, please keep additional questions or comments there.
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