MoreMonmouthMusings

Standing strong against the voices attempting to destroy our party

02/20/2007

Dear fellow Republicans:

Tonight, I received word from the Asbury Park Press that Anna Little has decided not to seek our great Republican Party endorsement, and instead is considering to run off the line in a primary or has even hinted at switching parties. Switching parties? This is an outrage to every good Republican – over 550 of us who attended Lincoln Day last night -- that she would betray our hard work, use the election victory we all worked towards together, and throw all of it away for her personal glory.

As a result, I will honor her request and I remove her for consideration as a Freeholder candidate in 2007. Despite her attempts to undermine her running mates, Monmouth County Republicans like Claire French, Joe Kyrillos, Sean Kean, and Jennifer Beck will prevail in the fall.

In her comments, she will claim that the candidate agreement our party asked candidates to sign is the sole reason she is leaving our party – but nothing could be further from the truth. She did not have to sign it, and I told her this. From the beginning, Anna Little and her supporters have attempted to divide our party by embarrassing fellow Republicans in the Asbury Park Press. Only Anna Little and the renegade candidate attempting to undermine Jennifer Beck’s run at Ellen Karcher have made an issue of the candidate selection process. For them, it was an excuse to embarrass our party, and to undermine our leadership. They have failed, and in their failure they are now joined as a campaign ticket against all Monmouth County Republicans.

Truth be told, Anna Little was not living up to her promises when she ran for office. She has proven ineffective in reforming county government, and instead attacks her fellow Republican Freeholders. She has not lived up to her responsibility as a party leader. Instead of being an active part of the 2006 campaign, Anna’s supporters organized into a counter-organization known as “Anna’s Army.” They met independently of the true campaign, making decisions counter-productive to her great running mates Andrew Lucas and Rosemarie Peters. They made independent campaign expenditures without consulting their running mates.

And last night, Anna’s supporters attempted a quiet boycott of Lincoln Day in a poor attempt at protest. Instead this backfired, with over 500 Republicans of good cheer replacing them without much effort. This party is moving on. We have moved past the angry scowls and negative spin of an agenda-driven cabal.

On March 3, our screening committee will convene to select two Freeholder candidates among a qualified pool of four great Republicans, including Freeholder Robert Clifton, Ocean Twp. Councilman David Hiers, Marlboro Council President Jeff Kantor, and Spring Lake Councilman Brian Reilly. Freeholder Clifton has publicly supported this process, along with all of the Assembly and Senate candidates. They deserve our support and our unity.

The voices of dissention have made their voices heard. It is time for the voices of party unity to speak. I am writing to ask for your support to work together, and stand strong in the face of shrill voices that would destroy our party. I need your help.

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Adam Puharic, Chairman
Monmouth County Republican Party