CD 6

Russell Cote, the Monmouth County Conservative Examiner sums up the state of race between Diane Gooch and Anna Little very well:

A somewhat stark contrast has developed between the two Republican challengers vying for the opportunity to unseat the dreadful Frank Pallone in the 6th District. Ms. Gooch, well-funded but politically untested, is the top-line Republican nominee in both Monmouth and Middlesex Counties while Mayor Little, grassroots-fueled and a four-time election winner, has relied thus far on an expanding conservative volunteer base and endorsements from smaller but more principled organizations than the county selection committees.

It has been relatively difficult thus far to pin down Ms. Gooch on policy matters as her website is incomplete and her participation in conservative forums has been limited. By contrast, Mayor Little is unabashed in her Conservatism and she expresses such publicly with an aura of increasing confidence and expertise. With just a little over a month to go before the primary, it remains to be seen whether Mayor Little can harness the anger and frustration of 6th district voters securely enough to overcome Ms. Gooch's quarter-million cash on hand and top-line status.

Governor Christie Outlines Plans to Control Property Tax Increases at the New Jersey Conference of Mayors

Trenton, NJ – Governor Chris Christie today delivered the keynote address at the 47th Annual New Jersey Conference of Mayors (NJCM). At today’s conference Governor Christie proposed a series of realistic and tangible reforms that will protect taxpayers and empower local governments to manage their budgets more effectively. Spending at the local level has grown at a dramatic pace, surging 69% since 2001, leading to property tax increases of 70% over the same period. Unchecked levels of spending have left New Jersey taxpayers to struggle under the burden of the nation’s highest property taxes, an average of $7,281 a year.

“We can no longer sweep our problems under the rug, nor can we avoid the hard decisions that must be made following years of spending beyond our means,” Governor Christie said. “This set of reforms will empower municipalities and counties to manage budgets more effectively, without placing ever more burdens on the taxpayers of New Jersey.”

Governor Christie’s reform plans address the property tax crisis head on with a proposed constitutional amendment to limit property tax increases to 2.5 percent per year and a set of common sense tools that will allow local governments to provide the services that New Jerseyans expect at an affordable cost. By empowering local governments with the ability to hold down costs, Governor Christie is providing the tools necessary to deliver real property tax reform and help to make New Jersey a home for growth.

The proposed tool kit includes:

Cap 2.5 Amendment to Limit Property Taxes. Governor Christie is proposing an amendment to the New Jersey Constitution that would limit to 2.5 percent annual increases in property taxes imposed by school districts, municipalities and counties. The constitutional amendment would apply the same limit to growth in spending for state government operations.

Collective Bargaining Reform. Governor Christie has called for changes that prohibit any new labor contract, including all salary and benefits costs, from exceeding a 2.5 percent cap; provide for arbitrator to be selected by the Executive Branch of state government and require the impact on property taxes to be a principal factor in arbitrators’ decisions.

Civil Service Reform. Governor Christie has called for changes to civil service in our state to eliminate obstacles to cost-saving and consolidation and allow for local governments to opt out of civil service altogether.

Employee Benefit Reform. Simply put, New Jersey’s public employee benefit system must move closer to achieving parity with private sector employee benefits. Under legislation Governor Christie recently signed into law, all public employees in New Jersey will contribute at least 1.5 percent of salary toward the cost of their health benefits no later than when their existing contracts expire. This results in an immediate savings of $315 million this year, and an estimated $8 billion over the next 15 years.

Additional Pension Reform. While the recent pension reform bills signed into law last month are a good and encouraging start, the Governor has called for further reform and action. Among other things, additional legislation must roll back the 9 percent increase in pension benefits granted by the Legislature in 2001 for all pension service credit earned in the future, and cap payouts for accumulated sick leave at $15,000 for current as well as future employees to the extent permitted by law.

Red Tape & Unfunded Mandates. One of the Governor’s first actions upon taking office was to sign a series of executive orders, including a freeze on 172 pending rules and regulations that were set to take effect and ordering their review to determine their impact and necessity. Further through executive order, Governor Christie has sought to limit the downpour of additional state mandates by requiring that any new mandate have express authorization from the Governor’s office.

Election Reform. The Governor is proposing legislation to move school board and fire district elections to November. In addition to increasing voter participation in these elections, localities will achieve cost savings associated with no longer administering a stand-alone election in April.

Extending Refund Offset Authority To Local Governments. The Governor has recommended legislation that will allow local governments to offset unpaid property taxes against state gross income tax refunds.

NJCM was founded in 1963 by a group of leading Mayors who believed their collective voices should be heard in Trenton and Washington. NJCM has since become the largest statewide organization in our Nation to exclusively represent the interest of Mayors to the State and Federal Legislatures and Administrations.

Christie Not Running For President in 2012

Governor Chris Christie's principled leadership in the face of New Jersey's fiscal crisis has garnered national attention leading to his name being mentioned as a 2012 presidential candidate by conservative pundits. Prompted by a reporter, Christie nipped the speculation in the bud. He's staying here to finish the job he's just started.

This is good news for New Jersey and it is good news for President Obama. It is bad news for the GOP nationally because none of the known Republican presidential contenders have a credible shot at defeating Obama.

2012 was never in the cards for Christie. The work he is doing to bring sanity to government will not start paying dividends until 2012, if we're lucky. As his agenda takes hold it will be emulated by states throughout the nation and Christie's national stock will soar even higher.

Assuming the GOP takes at least one house of congress this November, Obama will emulate Bill Clinton and start governing from the center. The economy will improve and Obama's popularity will be restored, making him a favorite for re-election.

If Christie is ever to seek the presidency, it won't be until 2016 or 2020.

Little Supports Arizonia Immigration Law

Highlands, NJ– Mayor Anna Little announced her support for Governor Jan Brewer’s bold position on immigration in Arizona. She stands with the Governor and people of Arizona who declare that the federal government has failed to protect them from criminals coming into this country illegally.

“Section 287g of the Immigration and Nationality Act is evidence of the intention of the federal government to delegate responsibility to state and local officials for enforcement of immigration law. The Arizona state legislature merely followed the suggestion of the federal government in passing their own state legislation similar to provisions of 287g to assist in immigration enforcement,” said Mayor Little, who is an immigration attorney.

The March 27 shooting death of rancher Rob Krentz on his property in southeastern Arizona demonstrates that not all individuals who cross the border illegally are interested in becoming productive residents. This incident proves that there are violent criminals coming across our borders illegally.

Under Arizona's new law, immigrants unable to produce documents showing they are allowed to be in the country could be arrested and jailed for up to six months as well as fined $2,500. Arizona law enforcement officers could arrest people found to be undocumented and turn them over to federal immigration officers. This procedure is very similar to what section 287g of the Immigration and Nationality Act already permits.

Yuk Wong, a citizen of Hong Kong, residing legally in Hazlet says “I’m a minority and I don’t mind to show police my identification if it means that I will be safer, and my tax money won’t go to provide benefits for people who should not be here. I believe that everyone should go through the process of legal immigration. It cost me a lot of money and took many years to get my permanent residence status. Why should people come here illegally and get treated better than me? I love this country, and I respect its laws. I question whether people coming to this country illegally care about this country, because they obviously don’t respect its laws.”

Mayor Little stated, “A civilized society can live by only one rule of law, the written law. It is time the United States conformed government practice to the written law in immigration enforcement. Illegal immigration must be eradicated, and lawful immigration practices must be upheld as the only means of entry to the United States.”

Mayor Little joins NJ Tea Party and Independence Hall Tea Party presenting Healthcare Petition to Governor Christie

(Trenton, NJ) April 27, 2010 – This morning Mayor Anna Little met with representatives of the NJ Tea Party and the Independence Hall Tea Party as they presented a petition in opposition to the Health Care Bill to Governor Christie's Aide. The petition was in the form of an eight foot long scroll bearing over 900 signatures and comments opposing "Obamacare". Tea Party Representatives expressed both constitutional and economic bases for their objections to the bill.

"Citizens' objections to the Health Care Bill are well founded and based on violations of the Constitutional rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness," said Mayor Little. Mayor Little went on to state that"'Obamacare' not only obligates individuals and employers to purchase health insurance, but further requires policies to be acceptable to the federal government. The Constitution does not empower federal government to require citizens or employers to make specific purchases."

Governor Christie's Aide explained that the Governor was reviewing the matter and that the meeting had been set for her to listen to the concerns of constituents and bring that information to the Governor for consideration. Tea Party representatives explained that they were supporters of Governor Christie's fiscally conservative policies. However, the impact of the Health Care Bill on constitutional rights makes the issue of paramount importance.

Mayor Little stated that an additional concern raised by the Health Care Bill was the potential rationing of care, the need for federal government officials to approve treatment alternatives, and the violation or abolition of doctor patient privilege. "This Health Care Bill comes close to violating the right to Life, in that it alludes to the possible denial of treatment for lack of government approval.", said Mayor Little. "It is this aspect of the bill that raises such alarm among the citizenry."

A total of 1200 signatures were submitted to the Governor's office opposing the Health Care Bill on legal grounds. Governor Christie's office will advise regarding his decision on this matter once review is complete.

"Tea Party organizations should be proud of their work relating to this violation of fundamental constitutional rights. It is an honor and a privilege to join with them in their efforts to bring these violations to light." concluded Mayor Little.

Conservative Party of New Jersey Endorses Anna Little for Congress in June Primary

(Boonton Twp, NJ) – The leadership of the Conservative Party of New Jersey announced today that it would be endorsing Anna Little for Congress in the 6th Congressional District for the June Republican Primary against opponent Diane Gooch.

The winner of the Primary will then face Democrat incumbent Frank Pallone in the November General Election. Miss Little was the first candidate to sign the pledge for major party candidates who wish to be endorsed by the Conservative Party of New Jersey, under its new structure.

Chairman Steven Spinosa said that “Miss Little was the most impressive of all the candidates that spoke at the Americans For Prosperity Congressional Forum on March 27th, and is a perfect fit with the Conservative Party of New Jersey’s platform and principles.”

Conservative Party of New Jersey’s Executive Director & Vice Chairman Michael Illions said that it was a proud moment for the entire organization; “This is not an endorsement for the Conservative Party of New Jersey, but rather FROM the Conservative Party of New Jersey to all Conservative Republicans in the 6th Congressional District as they head into the voting booth in June. The only true Conservative running in this race is Anna Little and she deserves their support.”

Where's The Outrage?

It has been a week since Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver's racist comments about the Christie administration were published in Tom Moran's NJ Voices column at NJ.com.

In case you missed it, Oliver said:

"The governor’s inner circle is full of white men, she (Oliver) says, most of them political neophytes who have no clue how deeply it cuts when they raise bus fares or take away tax credits from working poor families.

“That’s why it’s so easy for them to sit around a table, slash this, put a line through that,” says Oliver, the first African-American woman to hold her post. “How many of the guys sitting around that table have ever even sat on a bus?”

Moran did not report the remarks as racist. He reported them as if Oliver had a point.

This little blog was the first to point out the racism in Oliver's remarks. InTheLobby picked it up, as did Gannett's Bob Ingle. Ingle often writes powerfully and thoughtfully on matters of race.

Where is the rest of the media outrage? Can you imagine the news coverage had Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce made similar remarks about African American officials. DeCroce's career would have been over.

I don't know if Oliver is a racist, if her remarks were thoughtless or if she was attempting an ugly political ploy as many of the left are attempting to do to Tea Party activists and any opposition to President Obama's agenda. Either way her remarks were inappropriate.

I'd like to think that Oliver is not a racist or employing the race card for political advantage. I'd like to think that her remarks were simply thoughtless and that Moran's use of them in a supportive manner was equally thoughtless. If that is the case, then I think the level of media coverage about these remarks is appropriate enough for Oliver to make a correction and that she should be safe from a media "high tech lynching," to quote Clarence Thomas.

I think the next time a Caucasian leader makes similar thoughtless remarks, that he or she should be similarly spared.

The Cartel Showing In Red Bank, April 27

The Cartel, Bob Bowdon's eye opening, blood boiling documentary that exposes waste and corruption throughout New Jersey's education system will be shown on Tuesday, April 27, 7:30PM at the Clearview Cinema in Red Bank.




Online ticketing is available here.

Middletown Mayor Believes Salary Freeze Key To Addressing Taxpayer Concerns While Putting Students First

MIDDLETOWN – Upon receipt of the Middletown Township School District’s soundly rejected budget, Middletown Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger is immediately proposing a salary freeze as the only viable alternative to making significantly deeper cuts to the District’s rejected budget proposal.

“The voters have spoken loud and clear—they are demanding a salary freeze,” said Middletown Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger. “I am proposing to the Township Committee that it ask the teachers and their union to agree to a salary freeze.” If they will not share in this year’s sacrifices, we will have no alternative but to make comparable cuts to address an already overwhelming burden on the Township’s property taxpayers.”

“The school budget accounts for more than 60% of our property tax bills, and freezing salaries for one year would save approximately $3 million,” continued Scharfenberger. “Most importantly, a freeze will help save teaching jobs, therefore, letting taxpayers know that we and the teachers are putting the interests of our students first during these difficult economic times.”

“As the parent of a Middletown student and a recent graduate of our schools, I do not take this task lightly,” concluded Scharfenberger. “I look forward to working closely with the incumbent and newly elected school board members to increase cooperation and shared services between the school district and the township to save taxpayers money—not only in the school levy—but also as we work to address the Township’s significant budget shortfall in the near future.”

Mayor Scharfenberger is requesting Middletown teachers and unions make a decision by April 30th as the Township Committee will only have two weeks to determine where to recommend necessary cuts in the District’s rejected $140 million budget.

Clean Oceans and Energy

I love a clean ocean and I love New Jersey's coastline. I live on it. Most of this blog has been written as I look out my window over the Sandy Hook Bay, Sandy Hook, the Atlantic and the New York skyline from Staten Island to deep into Long Island. I love that dolphins, seals and osprey live in my backyard. My commitment to a pristine environment is not theoretical or abstract.

Yet, there is a lot that bothers me about the fierce political opposition to energy exploration in the Atlantic. It seems to me that much of the opposition to New Jersey coastal energy exploration and production is thoughtless, knee-jerk, and based on events of the 1970s that technology could or should be able to prevent and contain today.

As we as a state and a country are preparing to make huge investments in "green energy" like solar and wind, I wonder if investments in making oil and gas production environmentally safe would offer faster solutions to our continuing energy dependence crisis and a greater economic return. It sure would be nice getting checks from the government for oil and gas royalties and not having to pay taxes.

Yes, accidents will always happen, as we are seeing this week in the Gulf of Mexico. I'm interested in watching how the environmental impact of that accident is contained.

I'm wondering if the choice between safe clean beaches and energy production is a false choice. Is it possible to have both without compromise? Are irrational fears and politics preventing us from even looking into the possibility of having both a clean environment and domestic energy independence?

I'm no expert on the matter. But I'm going to keep raising the questions and do some research.

Sweeney: Voters Are Stupid

State Senate President Steve Sweeney told Politickernj that New Jersey voters who sent the vast majority of school budgets to defeat yesterday are stupid.

He didn't say it quite like that, but that is the translation from Libonics to English.

Here's Max Pizarro's piece from Politickernj:

State Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) today praised Gov. Chris Christie, not for any moral victory but for the governor's political savvy in making teachers the problem - even as Christie himself in part perpetuated the problem.

"He's cut school funding dramatically but he has people thinking it's other people who are the problem," said Sweeney, referring to the governor's $820 million in state cuts to education funding.

"He found a villain in the teachers, and he's saying, 'It's not me, it's these guys over here. Politically, it was a masterful job. He cut the funding to cause taxes to go through the roof, so it's his lack of funding causing school budgets to go up. And people are angry."

Sweeney said he doesn't need the governor to tell him to heed the voices of the people. He's at the gym every morning, and hears his burdened constituents.

But Christie has presented a false choice, Sweeney argues, between a year-long teachers' wage freeze and finished budgets with tax hikes under the state cap.

"I'm taking to teachers who are taking a freeze, and you're still laying off teachers," Sweeney said. "Obviously , I'd rather have everyone working than no one working. But the fact remains, the teachers are absorbing the sole brunt of this governor's cuts."

Sweeney and his Democratic trough swilling brethren are grasping at straws to keep the gravy train going. It is over Steve. We have more government than we can afford. Chris Christie is not part of the problem. He is the leader with the back bone to provide the solutions.

I wonder if the focus groups and polling that Sweeney told Tom Moran he was doing predicted the massive school budget defeats. If not, Sweeney better start focusing and polling beyond Middletown Mike's readership.

I really hope Sweeney believes his own spin and forces a show down over Christie's budget by closing down the state government in July. Then we will have some real savings and we'll find out how much waste there really is, i.e., anything we don't miss when the government is shut down.

Governor Christie Visits Monmouth County Tomorrow

Governor Chris Christie will be celebrating Earth Day tomorrow with Clean Ocean Action at The Surfrider Beach Club in Sea Bright.

Those who wish to attend should call Clean Ocean Action at 732-872-0111 or via email to sandyhook@cleanoceanaction.org .

Governor Christie On The School Budget Defeats

The following is a clip from Governor Christie's press conference this afternoon:




GOVERNOR CHRISTIE: Yesterday an extraordinarily clear signal was sent. 58% of the school budgets across New Jersey were rejected by voters yesterday. To place that in historical context for you, that is the most school budgets by percentage that have ever been rejected in the history of the State of New Jersey. And the voters through that have spoken loudly and clearly. Yesterday, in essence, was a statewide referendum on taxes and spending in New Jersey. And when New Jerseyans, who have been endlessly generous to out K-12 school system - the most generous taxpayers in America to the K-12 school system - say in overwhelming majority, enough, stop. All of us in public life have to stand up and take notice. And I think that is exactly what yesterday was all about.

Let The Spin Begin

The leftists and the defenders of the status quo are in their spin cycle over the school budget defeats. The still don't realize that they are all washed up. The current count of school budgets defeated yesterday is 59% statewide.

NJEA's spokesman Steve Wollmer issued a statement saying that high property taxes, not Governor Christie, was the reason that the overwhelming majority of school budgets were defeated. Well, duh! How did the property taxes get so high, Steve? I wonder what his statement would have said if the overwhelming majority of budgets had been passed in the in the wake to the battle between the Governor and the NJEA.

Former Governor Former Senate President Dick Codey issued a statement saying that now that the budgets have been defeated, Christie and the NJEA should let bygones be bygones and play nice, for the good of the kids. Yeah right, Dick. I wonder what his statement would have said if the budgets had passed.

Governor Christie held a press conference to urge municipal governing bodies to work with the boards of educations and the local teacher's union to try to reopen the labor contracts and effectuate a wage freeze.

Christie is staying on message. I hope he sees to opportunity that this election presents and accelerates his reform agenda. The time is right.

No Mas

New Jersey voters delivered a right hook to the tax and spend establishment yesterday, defeating 54% of the school budgets statewide. Roughly 25%, compared to 14% last year, of registered voters came out to the polls, most of which were only open in the afternoon and evening hours.

Unlike Roberto Duran, the boxer who made the phrase "No Mas" famous when he quit a championship bout against Sugar Ray Leonard in 1980, New Jersey voters have not quit. The quitters already left the state, taking $70 billion of their wealth with them. Like Duran, New Jersey voters are tired of taking a beating.

This election was no fluke. As our friends at InTheLobby point out, this is a trend. The political class... pundits, pollsters, lobbyists and legislators alike are shocked. Just as they were shocked when we defeated Corzine's $400 million bond issue for stem cell research, and just as they were shocked when we sent Corzine back to Wall Street and marital bliss.

They are shocked because they didn't realize that New Jersey voters have come out of the ether and we realize that the Trenton establishment of unions and special interests fleeced us while we were under. We're angry and we want our money back. We want to stay here.

This election was not a rejection of school budgets. It was a repudiation of a system that is literally taxing us out of house and home.

InTheLobby says we can expect a more conciliatory tone in Trenton toward Governor Chris Christie's proposed reforms. That is probably true. The trough swillers will try to get on the right side of the electorate in order to survive so they can eventually put us back under the ether and fleece us another day.

Rather than welcome the conciliation and making nice, I hope Governor Chrisite ups the ante.

Christie's first budget, while extreme to the special interests, is really just the first step of deeper reforms that must come if New Jersey is to return to fiscal sanity. Christie knows that the changes required can not be accomplished in one year. He said he expected his approval numbers to decline and that he is not governing to get re-elected. His current budget and proposed reforms represent the best he thought he could do in the current political environment.

Yesterday's election proves that the political environment is more favorable to reform than even Christie thought it was. His poll numbers are strong. Probably stronger than he thought they would be.

It is time to up the ante. Rather than work with the newly conciliatory trough swillers, I hope that Christie pushes harder, makes them squeal again and squeal louder.

Forget a constitutional amendment to cap property taxes at 2.5%. That will guarantee that property taxes rise 2.5% forever. Such a cap treats the symptoms. It doesn't cure the disease. We need lower property taxes, not a guarantee that they will keep rising at a slower pace.

Let's have constitutional amendments that overturn the Abbot and Mt. Laurel decisions. If the legislature won't go along with that, put the amendments on the ballot for two years. They will pass twice. Let's get rid of "prevailing wage." Let's get rid of civil service protections. Let's get rid of tenure. Let's get rid of defined benefit pensions.

Let's cure the disease.

Swing out Governor. We've got your back and we are counting on you.

BAM Wins Middletown BoE, Budget Defeated

Vincent Brand, Chris Aveta and Michael Mascone swept out the incumbents in the Middletown Board of Education election, according to unofficial results posted on the Monmouth County web site.

The board budget was soundly defeated, 58% no to 42% yes. 12,657 people voted on the budget question in the 45 or 46 districts reporting as of this posting.

My completely unscientific perusal of the budget questions throughout the county indicate that the vast majority of budgets went down. Tinton Falls being one notable exception. Well done Mr. Laffey.

Rasmussen: 53% of NJ Voters Approve of Christie's Performance

A Rasmussen poll released this morning indicates that 53% of New Jersey voters approve of Governor Chris Christie's performance.

This must be driving the trough swillers in the legislature, unions and their media lap dogs crazy.

Compromise

The Star Ledger Editorial Board, i.e., Tom Moran, argued yesterday that Governor Chris Christie should compromise with Assembly Speaker Sheila "Let's Play The Race Card" Oliver and Senate President Steve Sweeney by accepting a "temporary" millionaires income tax surcharge of half the amount that Governor Corzine imposed last year.

Moran argues that if Christie doesn't compromise he is risking a shut down of the government, as if that would be a bad thing, and worse, his is risking his entire reform agenda including additional pension reform, civil service reform and the governor's proposed 2.5% property tax hard cap. Moran wrote that real structural reform is within reach, if only Christie would compromise on this one itty bitty tax that only affects millionaires.

Hogwash.

Christie's budget is already a compromise. He campaigned on the promise to reduce taxes in order to make New Jersey more competitive with other states and in order to stimulate the economy and create badly needed jobs.

Given that fiscal mess that Christie inherited, a $2 billion deficit in the current budget and a $11 billion deficit in next years budget, Christie has put off tax cuts. On the campaign trail he said that spending had to be controlled first, then he would cut taxes.

Christie knows that the kind of change New Jersey requires can only be accomplished gradually. If he surrenders on the issue of the millionaires tax, even if only for half, New Jersey's economic recovery will be set back further and the tax cuts he will propose in future years' budgets will be tougher to get.

Sweeney and Race Card Oliver know this. They are using Moran to negotiate through the press and to try to get public support through class warfare and racial angst. Shame on the three of them.

Contrary to Moran's argument that real structural reform is within reach if only Christie would compromise, such surrender would assure that the Christie administration would be the second term of the Corzine administration. Corzine came into office fully committed to reforming New Jersey, but he couldn't tame the legislative beast.

Christie must tame that beast and defeat the status quo, regardless of Oliver's racial demagoguery or Sweeney's line in the sand.

He will.

I'm rooting for Oliver and Sweeney to force a showdown and close the government by refusing to submit a budget that Christie could alter with the line item veto. I hope they have the fortitude to play chicken with Christie, because he won't blink. Then after the government is shut down for a month or two we will have saved a ton of money and found out what we can really do without. Shutting the government down could advance fiscal sanity by two years.

Unfortunatley, I doubt that will happen. The sand they are drawing a line in is also the foundation of their committmemt to reform and fiscal sanity....very weak and nothing to build on.

Starve The Beast

Governor Christie has suggested that school budgets in towns where teachers unions have not agreed to a pay freeze should be voted down. Education Commissioner Bret Schundler has suggested that voters take other factors into account as well.

Here are some other factors to consider:

1) If the average class size in the district is less than 25 students, vote the budget down.

2) If the superintendent makes more than $136,000 per year, vote the budget down.

3) If any teachers buy classroom supplies out of their own pocket, but administrators do not, vote the budget down.

4)If the principals, assistant principals, superintendents, assistant superintendents and/or deputy assistant superintendents don't teach at least one class, vote the budget down.

5) If the Executive Director of the NJEA makes more than the Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce, vote the budget down.

6) If any school board employee has more job protection than a private sector worker has, vote the budget down.

7) If your school system is budgeting to spend more money than they did last year, vote the budget down.

8) If your school calender has weekdays set aside for the NJEA convention, vote the budget down. Let them convene during the summer or a holiday break.

9) If your school calender has more holidays than your private sector job does, vote the budget down.

10) If your school system has a defined benefit pension plan and the company you work for does not, vote the budget down.

11) If the employees of your school system are not paying at least 25% of their own health insurance premiums, vote the budget down.

12) If the superintendent of your school system has a car provided by the system, or a car allowance vote the budget down.

13) If any employee of your school system ever earned an online degree, vote the budget down.

14) If your children have come home from school complaining about Governor Christie's budget, vote the budget down.

15)If the per pupil cost of your system is more than tuition at a local private or parochial school, vote the budget down.

Feel free to add to the list.

Collision Course

If Star Ledger Editorial Page Editor Tom Moran is right, the political debate over New Jersey's fiscal crisis is going to get very ugly.

In Moran's NJ Voices piece on NJ.com today, Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver invokes the race card against the Christie administration:

"The governor’s inner circle is full of white men, she (Oliver) says, most of them political neophytes who have no clue how deeply it cuts when they raise bus fares or take away tax credits from working poor families.

“That’s why it’s so easy for them to sit around a table, slash this, put a line through that,” says Oliver, the first African-American woman to hold her post. “How many of the guys sitting around that table have ever even sat on a bus?”

Oliver's comments are more offensive, and more dangerous, than those of the Bergen County teachers union leader who distributed a joke that included a prayer for Christie's death. Everyone new that was a joke, but it was such a political gaffe that it crippled the NJEA's campaign against Christie's cuts in education funding.

Oliver's comments are not a joke.

That New Jersey's highest ranking African American elected official would seek to divide our state along racial lines for political purposes is the height of irresponsibility and recklessness.

Oliver also complained that Governor Christie is acting as an unyielding prosecutor dealing with the legislative leadership as if they are defendants. Many would argue that NJ's fiscal practices over the several years were criminal. Borrowing without voter approval, raiding trust funds to plug budget holes, etc, etc.

We need a principled leader to fix this mess. Oliver playing the race and victim cards is not serious statesmanship. It is petty, yet dangerous, politics.

Oliver and State Senate President Steve Sweeney are looking to employ race and class warfare for political advantage, while Christie is looking to put NJ back on sound financial footing regardless of the political consequences. This battle is all about the so called "millionaires tax", the "temporary" income tax surcharge on those who earn over $400K that Corzine imposed last year and the Democrats let expire before Christie took office. The Democrats let the tax expire so that they could force Christie to break his campaign promise not to raise taxes by reinstating the surcharge.

Oliver and Sweeney will settle for half the surcharge being reinstated. If they don't get Christie to budge, they are considering not submitting a budget to the governor by July 1, thereby shutting down the state government or holding Christie's reform agenda of a 2.5% property tax cap, pension reform and civil service reform hostage.

Sweeney says he has polling data that shows the public is overwhelmingly with the Democrats on the income tax surcharge. I hope he and Oliver believe those polls and force a show down. Shutting the government down for a month or two would be just the medicine we need. We will find out what we can really do without and make real cuts accordingly.

Clifton Named County Legislator Of The Year

Deputy Freeholder Director Rob Clifton will be awarded the County Legislator of the Year award at the New Jersey Conference of Mayors on April 29 during the Mayor's annual convention.

Democrats Challenge Falzon's Petition Signatures

MMM received an email from Mark Falzon, Democratic challenger to Frank Pallone in the 6th congressional district, stating that the Pallone campaign had issued a challenge to Falzon's petition signatures.

A spokesperson for the NJ Board of Elections confirmed that Falzon's petitions were being challenged by Victor Scudiery. Scudiery, the Chairman of the Monmouth County Democratic Organization, was not immediately available for comment.

The deadline to file a challenge is 5PM this afternoon. So far there have been no other challenges made in the 6th district in either party, according to the Board of Elections spokesperson.

Halfacre Endorses Gooch, Angelini Joins Campaign

Matawan Councilwoman Toni Marie Angelini has joined the Gooch for Congress campaign as communications director.

Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre, who last month dropped his bid for the GOP congressional nomination in the 12th congressional district, issued his endorsement of Diane Gooch in the 6th congressional district.

"While I have known Diane for years, I have been particularly impressed as I talked politics with her over the past few months, and observed the passion and sincerity she has brought to her campaign. She has the practical experience in the private sector to fight the current policies out of Washington that are killing job creation and economic growth." Halfacre continued, "Many of us believe that government has gotten out of control and that Congress is out of step with the values our communities share here in New Jersey. Diane will bring a refreshing perspective on our behalf when elected."

Rasmussen: 65% in NJ Favor Pay Freeze For Teachers, School Employees

From Rasmussen Reports:

Sixty-five percent (65%) of New Jersey voters favor a one-year pay freeze on the salaries of administrators, teachers and school workers to reduce the state’s level of local school aid, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey.

Just 28% of voters in the state oppose this pay freeze to meet Governor Chris Christie’s proposed $820 million reduction in school aid. The newly-elected Republican governor is proposing the reduction as part of his effort to close the state’s $11 billion budget deficit.

The state teachers’ union, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), is angrily opposing the proposed pay freeze, saying it will set back education efforts. But 66% of New Jersey voters say the union is more interested in protecting its members’ jobs than in the quality of education. Twenty-four percent (24%) believe the union places the quality of education first.

Fifty-two percent (52%) think public employee unions like the NJEA put a significant strain on the state’s budget. Twenty-eight percent (28%) disagree, while another 20% are not sure.

It’s clear, too, that New Jersey voters are following the budget spat between the new governor and the teachers’ union. Ninety percent (90%) of voters in the state say they have been following news reports about it at least somewhat closely, including 55% who are following very closely.

Male voters in the state are slightly more supportive of the pay freeze than women are. Voters 40 and older are much more strongly in favor of the pay freeze than younger adults.

Seventy-one percent (51%) of white voters favor it, while 59% of African-Americans are opposed. Those without children in the home are slightly more supportive of the pay freeze than those who have children living with them.

Eighty-four percent (84%) of Republican voters in the state and 75% of voters not affiliated with either major party support the pay freeze. Democrats are almost evenly divided on the question.

Given the teachers’ union’s consistent support for Democratic candidates, it’s perhaps surprising to find that a slim majority (51%) of Democrats in New Jersey think the union is more interested in protecting its members than in the quality of education. Less surprising are the findings that Republicans and unaffiliated voters overwhelmingly agree with that notion.

Solid majorities of Republicans and unaffiliated voters also believe that public employee unions are a significant strain on the state budget, Democrats are fairly evenly divided on that question.

Two-thirds of adults with children in the home and those without children agree that the teacher’s union is more interested in protecting its members. Just 47% of those with children in the home agree.

Fifty-one percent (51%) of voters in New Jersey, a state Barack Obama carried handily in 2008, now favor repeal of the recently-passed national health care bill. But support for repeal is lower in New Jersey than it is nationally.

Joe Azzolina: RIP

Joe Azzolina passed away yesterday evening at St. Vincents Hospital in New York. He was 84.

Azzolina was a great family man, entrepreneur, philanthropist and civic leader.

He built his family business, founded by his parents as a small corner grocery store in Highlands, into the SuperFoodtown chain with stores throughout Monmouth and Ocean counties. The company remains a family business today, lead by his nephews and sons.

Azzolina enlisted in the Navy upon graduating from high school in 1943 during World War II, and was called back to action in 1950 to serve in the Korean War.

He represented much of Monmouth County in the state legislature in the Assembly from 1965 to 1972, the Senate in 1973 and 1974, the Assembly from 1986-1988, and finally from 1992 through 2006.

He was the owner of The Courier, the bayshore weekly newspaper, buying the paper from the estate of its founder in 1982.

I will always remember Azzolina as an honest man from the moment I met him in 1997. I was at the statehouse in Trenton to lobby against a bill that was on the calender that day. Coming upon Azzolina in the corridor, I introduced myself as his constituent and asked him to vote against the bill. Without hesitation he gruffly told me I was wasting my time and to go home. He said the leadership and the governor had already determined the bill was going to pass. Every other legislator I talked to that day placated me. The bill passed.

Senator Joe Kyrillos said this morning that Azzolina as a "businessman, military officer, legislator, father and leading citizen lived a remarkable life and led by deed and example."

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Azzolina and Scaduto families.

It is time for change!

By Chris Aveta

I am running for a seat on the Middletown Board of Education because I believe that the incumbents have lost touch with the priorities of education. They are taking too many resources out of the classroom while making only minimal cuts to the overabundance of administration.

It is time for change!

We need to elect people who have the courage, vision and intelligence to make decisions based solely on what is in the best interest of our children. We must demand that our leaders realize that the status quo is no longer acceptable nor sustainable. We must elect leaders who will get us back to the basics of education and raise the level of professional accountability for the benefit of our children.

All wasteful and non-essential spending must be stopped immediately. At the same time, we need to be mindful of the potential repercussions regarding the decisions we make with respect to the taxpayers and parents.

As a former Board of Education member, I completely understand and would fully accept this responsibility. As a parent and taxpayer, I strongly believe that we should expect nor accept anything less for our children. Thank you for your consideration on Tuesday, April 20th.

If you agree with my position, I am asking that you help support our campaign by placing a sign one of our signs on your front lawn. Also, I'm asking that you reach out to your friends and neighbors and ask them to support me and my running mates Vinnie Brand and Mike Mascone. Let’s try to get three existing members replaced by three new faces with fresh ideas.

Chris Aveta:

Married to Cathy, 13 years. 2 Children ~ Rose (10) & Christopher (8) Attend Middletown Village School
Occupation- Litigation Coordinator ~ Platzer, Swergold et al. NY, NY since 1995
Member of the Carteret Board of Education (2003-2005)- Chairman of Finance Committee. MYAA Little League ~ Baseball Coach, Founding member of the Michael J. Valiant Foundation ~ dedicated to raising funds for adults and children with special needs with a primary focus on Autism Awareness ~ main benefactor Autism New Jersey

Please visit the Facebook group "BRAND AVETA MASCONE".

To see more details and confirm this group invitation, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=1662009396&k=ZYC5Y55X3XTF6BD1QK5YXRVQT3IB42VD4WIQJ&oid=106150949407304

The Bayshore Tea Party Group Announces Full Support for Mayor Anna Little

Middletown, NJ April 14, 2010- Bayshore Tea Party Group, after having spent several months vetting candidates for New Jersey Congressional District 6, today announces it's full support for Mayor Anna Little. Ms. Little, currently Mayor of Highlands, NJ, appeared before various Tea Party groups and has won almost unanimous approval from our members.

Bayshore Tea Party Group is a grassroots entity made up of individual members united together in a common desire to see less government intervention, lower taxes and a free enterprise system. Mayor Little has instilled confidence in our members that she will be the candidate that will best fulfill those desires and has made a commitment to stop the out of control spending in Washington, DC.

The Bayshore Tea Party Group members wish Anna Little all the best and pledge to do all we can, as individuals to help her in her campaign heading towards the June 8th Republican Primary.

The Asbury Park Press Is Self Destructing

TheStateNJ.com once said that The Asbury Park Press editorial policy was influenced by this blog. If that was ever true, those days are over.

The paper which could once be counted on to accurately report day old news has lost its way.

The front page today is dominated by a "report" by failed restaurant reviewer Andrea Clurfeld under the headline "NJEA showdown backfires on gov". Like Clurfeld's restaurant reviews of old, the article is more of reflection of her biases and mood swings than it is of reality.

I can only imagine what Clurfeld did to get tenure at Gannett. Management really has to find something else for her to do. I'd suggest covering Little League games but someone would accuse me of advocating child abuse. Maybe spell checking on the 4 pages of classifieds would keep her out of trouble.

Clurfeld's article is about a Monmouth Unversity poll that by my analysis shows that New Jersey voters think more of Governor Christie's handling of the state than they thought of former Governor Corzine at a similar time in his term. The poll, which has a +/- 3.5% margin of error indicates that voters are pretty much evenly divided with the approval of Christie, as 42% approve and 44% disapprove.

Maybe Clurfeld couldn't actually read or understand the questions and the numbers of the Monmouth/Gannett poll and got thrown off by the formerly reliable Patrick Murray's anti-Christie spin of his own work. You can read Murray's slanted spin and his data here.

Asbury Park Press Graphic


Clurfeld and Murray's spin of the numbers have little relationship to the numbers as graphed by the APP. 22% of those questions said they were satisfied with Christie's budget. 31% said they could live with it. From my point of view that's 53% favorable, not a backfiring showdown with the NJEA.

But what about the 45% dissatisfied? How many of those responders think Christie is doing a great job but are not satified with the level of cuts? Had I been questioned I would have answered that I am not satisfied. We're not cutting enough to my liking, but I believe Christie is doing an amazing job in the current political environment and given the history. The types of changes required do not happen quickly. I have two minds about hearing Christie saying, "there doesn't have to be job losses if the NJEA agrees to a pay freeze and contributes 1.5% of their health care premiums." Politically I think it is brilliant. From a policy perspective I am glad the the teachers unions are not taking the bait and that there will be structural cuts. We will find that we can get by with a lot less people which hopefully will lead to lasting change, not temporary change as Christie's "out" implies is possible.

On a day that Christie had the left leaning commentators on MSNBC and CNBC eating out of his hand, it is a shame that Monmouth and Ocean County readers of the APP are subject to such distorted dribble as Clurfeld's spin of Murray's spin.

On a day when the Wall Street Journal is comparing Christie to President Reagan it is a shame that the APP, which sometimes does great work, like their TAX CRUSH series, their Fort Monmouth Series and even their Club Monmouth Series, is self destructing before our eyes.

Maybe that is why traffic here keeps growing. At least we're honest about our biases here.

Monmouth County Democrats Drop The Ball On Highlands Petitions

For some strange reason the Monmouth County Democratic Organization took control of the candidates petitions for Mayor and County Committee for the Borough of Highlands. They dropped the ball big time.

In my capacity of municipal chairman of the Highlands GOP I was reviewing the Republican petitions with Borough Clerk Carolyn Cummins at 3:45 this afternoon when a call came into Borough Hall from the Board of Elections. It was Bertha Sumick informing Cummins that someone from the Democratic Party was just leaving Freehold with the Highlands petitions. Cummins and I where both puzzled as to why one of the local Democrats would attempt to file their petitions in Freehold, especially since the petitions are clearly marked "To the Municipal Clerk of ____________."

I told Cummins I would object to Democratic petitions being filed after the statutory deadline of 4pm and she smartly placed a call to the Borough Attorney Scott Arnette, a Democratic appointee. Arnette was not immediately available. I called a Republican attorney for advise.

Imagine my surprise at 4:15 when Mike Mangan walks in with the petitions! Mike Mangan, the Democratic spokesperson for Frank Pallone who got Diane Gooch all upset. Mike Mangan, the Democratic operative who was reporting to then state Democratic Chairman Joe Cryan during the 2008 Monmouth County Freeholder race recount. Mike Mangan, who on behalf of Cryan was soliciting resumes from throughout the state for high paying Monmouth County staff positions after the Democrats won control of the county after the 2008 recount. Mike Mangan who used to be a full time employee of the Monmouth Democratic Party and served on its Board of Directors from 2006-2009.

Why was Mangan handling the local Highlands Democrats petitions?! This was no screw up by a neophyte who didn't know better. Mike Mangan is a paid professional!

When Mangan arrived he heard me place a call to my Republican attorney friend who's name Mangan is familiar with. When I got off the call I asked Mike, "why didn't you just have the locals hand them in?" "I'm not talking to you now," was his response, with the inference being now that he knows I am consulting with an attorney.

Arnette finally called Cummins back and advised her not to accept the petitions. Being the outstanding Borough Clerk that she is, she followed his advice.

Highlands Democratic Councilman Chris Francy, the announced candidate for Mayor, would not explain to me why Mangan was handling his petitions.

Who knows how this will all turn out. The Democrats can take the Borough to court to plead that their petitions should be accepted or Francy and his committee candidates can mount a write-in campaign. Either way, I imagine we'll have Democratic opposition in Highlands come November. We'll also have some fun in the meantime.

It's nice to know that Mangan knows his way to Highlands and can even get here from Freehold in half an hour. Next time he visits I hope he stops in on one of our fine restaurants or other businesses.

Falzon To Challenge Pallone in Democratic Primary

Tea Party activist and Middletown resident Mark Falzon, 56, filed petitions with approximately 240 signatures today to secure a ballot position in the Democratic primary against incumbent Congressman Frank Pallone.

Falzon, who is currently unemployed, is an IT professional. He most recently worked for AT&T for seven years as a network implementation specialists. He has been married for 31 years, has five children and 2 grandchildren.

He said that he is challenging Pallone because, "the Democratic Party has been taken over by radical leftists. Would John Kennedy fit in to today's Democratic Party? No way! I'm so upset my head is about to explode."

He is running under the slogan, "Democrat Tea Party Approved." "The Tea Party movement is not just about Republicans anymore," declared Falzone.

Golden Facing Primary Challenger

Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden is facing a primary challenge for the GOP nomination for a full term.

Dan Peters of Middletown who filed to run for Sheriff in 2007 before realizing he did not meet the three year county residency requirement for the office filed with again this year, according to a senior level party official.

Gooch, Little File in CD 6

Two River Times publisher Diane Gooch and Highlands Mayor Anna Little have each filed their petitions to run the the Republican primary for the CD 6 nomination.

The Gooch campaign issued a press release touting their "nearly double the required amount of signatures." Gooch spokesman Tony Sayegh told MoreMonmouthMusings that the actual number of signatures on the Gooch petition was 355. Gooch has the party line in Monmouth, Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties, having picked up the Union line today after Shannon Wright suspended her camapaign.

Little filed petitions with 402 signatures and will appear on the ballot under the slogan "Republican Tea Party Approved," according to her spokeswoman Leigh-Ann Bellew.

WRIGHT SUSPENDS CAMPAIGN, ENDORSES GOOCH

Focused On United Effort To ‘Send Pallone Home’

PLAINFIELD, NJ – Small business owner and community leader Shannon Wright has announced that she will suspend her campaign for the Republican nomination in the Sixth Congressional District and offer her support to fellow businesswoman Diane Gooch.

“This campaign was never about me. It was about my family, my friends and neighbors throughout the district, and Frank Pallone’s stunning lack of effective representation in Washington. His unabashed and proud support in cosponsoring Speaker Pelosi’s takeover of nearly 1/5th of the US economy via the healthcare power grab is more evidence of his having lost touch with those he is supposed to represent.”

In her primary campaign to take on Pallone, Wright won the endorsement of the Union County Republican Committee and received votes at all four of the district’s county screening committees or conventions.

“Diane Gooch has run a successful business and created jobs in our local economy,” Wright said. “I’m confident she will bring common sense fiscal policies to Washington, DC. I’m proud to support her and look forward to working with her to help Frank Pallone find another line of work, because we can’t afford him anymore.”

Wright, who holds a degree in economics from Virginia State University, is a Certified Small Business Planner with the American Management Association. She is a Pastor with her church and a small business owner. She lives in Plainfield with her husband and four children.

A Different Point Of View

By Michael Laffey

As we approach annual School Board Elections in a year of severe budget cuts from the State and appropriate taxpayer anger over taxes I would like to share what I learned as a former Board of Education member with the public.

First there are school districts that do have bloated administrations and are fiscally irresponsible but not all school districts are like that. Case in point is Tinton Falls, where I reside. Tinton Falls reduced its number of administrators by 40% over a six year period. The portion of the Tinton Falls tax bill that is attributable to the K through 8 school system went from 50% of the tax bill down to 35% of the tax bill over a 10 year period (some of which was probably attributable to demographic changes). In the last 3 budget years they submitted a budget that was under the cap twice.

Here is where my problem with Governor Christy’s budget comes in. It does not factor in that some schools have been fiscally responsible. Those school systems that have been fiscally responsible are now being punished by across the board cuts because they have no fat to cut. Our reward for doing the right thing for the last 10 years is to now have our school system devastated by cuts. While I applaud the Governor for seeking to reduce government spending I wish he had done so with a more precise scalpel.

Secondly I believe that much of the anger about property taxes is misdirected. Yes teachers should not get an automatic increase in years where there is no inflation and the economy has caused a fiscal emergency and yes they should contribute to their health benefits. On the other hand teachers and most administrators are not overpaid. They are paid what is an appropriate amount considering the level of education required and the amount of work they do. Believe me teaching is a lot harder then it looks and if you want good teachers they have to be adequately compensated. The same is true for administrators. Yes many get paid more then the Governor, however, elected positions are considered public service and the payoff usually comes after they are out of office and garner large salaries for working as lawyers or consultants and pundits. School and municipal administrators are not engaging in the same type of public service. They are professionals trained to do a job. Yes the Superintendent of Middletown gets $175 K a year but if he where running a private corporation with the same number of employees and the same budget do you think he would be paid less? Do we not realize that salary potential will have an effect on the quality of people looking to do a particular job?

In the great scheme of things salary caps are just nibbling around the edges. Here is the thing that I learned as a Board of Education member that shocked me the most. High property taxes are not caused your municipality or your school district. HIGH PROPERTY TAXES ARE CAUSED BY THE STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
State and federal mandates are what causes your property taxes to go up. Most of the budget of your local schools can not be touched because of these mandates. A good example is special education costs. They compromised 20% of the Tinton Falls school budget. They can not be cut because of state and federal mandates. Now I am not saying that these students should not get these services but if the state is going to mandate it shouldn’t they pay for it? As a board member I lost count of the number of times someone suggested something that would generate revenue or improve education or cut costs only to be told that state law will not allow that. The upper levels of government have put hand cuffs on schools that prevent them from innovating.

Another example is the union negotiation tools the Legislature took away from school boards. Loosing these tools gave the unions the upper hand in negotiations (there is finally talk of giving those tools back). It is not the fault of the boards of education that teachers consistently get increases of over 4% a year. It is the fault of State Government.

Then there are the development laws. For every tax dollar collected on residential property approximately $1.50 in services are provided. High density residential development means higher taxes. Yet COAH has forced more high density development on towns. Some towns approved over 55 developments to try and keep property taxes lower. What did our legislature do last year? They passed a law that will allow many of the over 55 developments that have been approved to switch to family type developments. Tinton Falls has two large over 55 developments that have been approved. Thanks to the State there is a good chance that those developments will be allowed to sell to families with children. If the developers are successful in doing that the result will be that Tinton Falls will be forced to build a new school which will send taxes through the roof. Taking development decisions away from towns is a leading cause of high property taxes. The much maligned home rule would actually keep your taxes down if such a thing actually existed.

So don’t direct all your anger at your local school board or municipality when you get your high tax bill. Save some for the State.

Michael Laffey served as a member of the Tinton Falls BOE from 2003 to 2009. A believer in term limits he did not run for a third term.

A Call for Change At The Middletown BOE

By "Jersey Strong"


The time has come for Middletown Residents to take a stand against high property taxes. We all know that 63% of our property taxes go toward the school system. Year after year we have less than 5000 people turn out to vote in the April School Election. They have been riding a wave of voter apathy. Our community is stronger than that! Every vote counts! You can not complain about high property taxes if you can’t take the time to vote. A strong message has to be sent by a vocal majority to get them to open their eyes.

Teachers send our children home every April with the message “a vote against the school budget is a vote against our kids”. A vote in favor of the school budget year after year is a vote for ever rising teachers salaries, premier health coverage, out of control pensions, and golden parachutes for retirees. If we vote no to these budgets they will get the message and start making the cuts where they should be made. A vote against the school budget is a vote against higher property taxes. They claim that if we vote against the school budget programs that benefit our children will be cut. If the teachers union cared about our children they would negotiate a fair contract that would not make the children suffer. They are holding our children hostage!

The Teacher’s Union is currently spending millions on media campaigns to maintain their “gravy train” when that money could be better spent to defer the costs of the teacher’s pension plans and health care. The “E” in the NJEA should stand for education, not extortion. Parents are asked to volunteer countless hours at the schools and give back to the community. When will the teacher’s union give back to the children they claim to care about? The Governor asked the union to take a one year pay freeze and contribute 1.5% to their health coverage to compensate for his budget cuts. A teacher who makes $100K a year would only have to pay $1500 for what is described as the best coverage in the nation. The union refused. The union would rather see their members get laid off and students suffer. No one wants to see any teacher lose their job or programs cut but the union can’t expect the homeowners to continue to pay for their greed! The state was offered $400 million from the federal government earlier this year but the teachers union rejected the funding because it was based on teachers being held more accountable. You can’t complain about funding cuts when you reject funds. Not one program would be cut or one teacher laid off if the union would agree to a one year pay freeze and a 1.5% contribution to their health coverage. The Executive Director of the NJEA made over $550K last year. The NJEA spends $5 million in advertising and $2.7 million on travel expenses annually. Teachers have no problem contributing union dues to pay for this salary and unnecessary expenses.

We do not blame the teachers. The union boss hogs are to blame for creating this problem. We are not anti-teacher. There are some excellent teachers in our district. Unfortunately, they are overshadowed by the ones that have lost the love of working with the children, recycle their lesson plans and hide behind their tenure. According to the district 72 teachers, 20 paraprofessionals, 16 secretaries and 7 administrators are going to be eliminated. What they are not telling you are that some of these positions will not be lay offs. Some will be due to attrition. Retirements that will not be replaced. If teacher’s salaries and benefits were not so high maybe some of these jobs could be saved. Other teachers who currently have little or no responsibilities will be reassigned to do what they were hired to do: TEACH! Are the tenured teachers willing to make concessions to save their fellow union members jobs? Of course not, their union solidarity ends when it comes to giving up one dime of their gravy train. Wait and see how many dedicated teachers that are only concerned about the children decide to retire before Christie makes changes to the pensions and accumulating of sick days.

Signs around town saying don’t balance the budget on our kid’s backs. Do not let them use guilt to sway your vote. They have done it for years and it is time that they operated like a business and eliminate the fat and streamline their operations. There are also signs asking us to save our schools. Our children equal our future. Our children will have no future in this state if the out of control spending is not stopped. Our children will not grow up where we did but will end up in another state which is more affordable.

School Board Elections give us an opportunity to bring in new faces with a new perspective. The same people run year after year and support the status quo. They have ties to the district, administrators and teachers. We have all seen how the teachers, staff and administrators fawn over the School Board members. They know who “butters their bread”. The teachers strike a couple of years ago was an embarrassment and a stain on Middletown. They gave into teacher demands instead of taking stand for the tax payers. Marlboro just approved 4.5% raises over 5 years for their teachers in this economy. In this economy, who is getting a guaranteed 20% raise over five years? Do you think Middletown teachers are going to ask for less when their contract expires next year?

We are not affiliated with any of the four new candidates. Could they be any worse? We can vote for three candidates. There are three new people running together: Chris Aveta, Vincent Brand and Michael Mascone. Gerald Wexelberg is also new but running with the incumbents so we can only assume that he will maintain the status quo of the existing board members he has chosen to run with. The three incumbents that are running are Lenora Caminiti, Dawn Diorio and Patricia Walsh. Only vote for the non-incumbents. Let’s try to get three existing members replaced by three new faces with fresh ideas. We have seen what the incumbents have done or not done over the years. If the new candidates maintain the status quo they will know that their days on the board will be numbered as well.

In the last two November elections the people said they wanted a change. A vocal majority was tired of 8 years of George Bush and voted in Barak Obama. A vocal majority was tired of 4 years of Jon Corzine and voted in Chris Christie. Regardless of your party affiliation the country has shown it is fed up with people that treat us like sheep. There is a “Tea Party Movement” and politicians are scrambling. Some are resigning because they know they will not get reelected. Others are willing to work across party lines to address the concerns of the people. Politicians are starting to feel the pressure of the wave of under represented voters.

We feel we represent the silent majority of voters. If we can make a stand and get three new people on the school board it will make the remaining School Board Members take notice and send a message to start representing the tax payers and start making the right choices or you will be voted out next time! If we do not take a stand and send a message we are telling them to give the teachers big raises, non-contribution pensions, premier heath care plans and golden parachute retirement plans. Show those not up for reelection they must change their ways. Make them accountable! There are nine School Board Members. We could have and entirely new board in just three years. Only vote no and only for the new members. This will show the unity we have for this cause.

Christie inherited a huge deficit. For years we had timid leadership and year-to-year stop gap measures to avoid dealing with a systemic fiscal crisis in the state. We now have a politician with a backbone. Christie made a tough decision to cut the schools budget and has placed the responsibility of getting our schools to be more fiscally prudent on the lower levels of government. He has told the local government to look at all cost cutting measures, renegotiate union contracts, and increase contributions to their benefits before raising property taxes. He took the surplus Middletown had and people are upset. Why weren’t we upset when they were over taxing us for years to build that surplus?

The mayor and the township committee will take notice of this and know that Middletown residents are not going to sit quietly while our tax dollars are misspent. We can make the people in charge see that we are not going to sit quietly while they misuse our tax dollars. Maybe they will start spending our tax dollars more wisely. If the budget is successfully voted down it will go to the township committee. They will then see what is needed and what can be trimmed. If they see that a strong majority voted no and ousted the incumbents they will get the idea we are fed up!

Go to www.datauniverse.com and look up the salaries of any public worker by inputting their name and see for yourself. Superintendent Bilbao ($176K) makes more than Governor Christie ($175K). Is it harder to run the Middletown schools than the entire state? The Middletown School District has 16 District Administrators, Directors, and Supervisors in total. There are too many layers of bureaucracy with high paying jobs. Four District Administrators (>$580K), two Business Office Administrators (>$173K), four District Directors (>$470K), four Directors (>$384), and two District Supervisors (>$156K). In total last year they made over $1.8 million of our tax dollars. Some teachers made close to $100K for a nine month job. For just 184 days worked that is over $500 a day or $10K a month. Last year our school budget was $144.3 million. 81%, $114 million, went to administrators and teacher salaries and benefits. Only 19% of the budget is left. This must get divided among facilities, utilities, transportation, building maintenance, legal, insurance, supplies, and lastly our children.

A strong voter turnout to say no and oust incumbent board members will give those who negotiate teacher contracts the leverage to take a stand against the teachers union. They will know the community is behind them and we are sick of big yearly raises, premier health care plans, non-contribution pension plans, and retirement packages that are out of touch with the private sector and the state of the economy. If you are lucky enough to have a job you have probably had to forgo a raise, make contributions to your health care plan, and save for your own retirement through a 401K plan. The current system of pay and benefits is unsustainable!

Those in charge claim to have a “going green initiative” but instead they cut busing causing more parents to drive their children to school. Does this make any sense to you? We have all driven by the schools or heard the horror stories of the school parking lots. Doesn’t matter if you go to an elementary school or a high school the traffic jams and rude behavior is the same. If they truly wanted to “Go Green” they would bus more children! We have seen how kids on one side of the street get bussing but the neighbor across the street doesn’t. Or half of a development gets bussing because they are past a certain mileage criteria but the other half does not. Are half full buses cost effective?

We have all seen the waste and misuse. Schools closed for teacher’s conventions and professional days. Excessive early dismissal days used to meet the minimum required time to be counted as a full day. Underestimating the number of snow days that would be needed. Unnecessary snow days declared when the rest of Monmouth Counties schools were open. Deciding to cancel spring break days to make up for those snow days three days prior to the vacation giving parents little time to change plans. Does it make sense for our children to make up days with substitute teachers because most staff is absent? Ask your children how much school work was made up those two days. Ask them if they played games and how many movies were shown during those two days. Money spent to install air conditioning in our elementary schools when they are in school three weeks of the summer season. Was this for the students or for the teachers? Cell phone towers, to be located on school property, voted on by the board without properly notifying the parents first. The mismanagement of HS North turf field was an embarrassment that we had to read about in the newspaper daily. School board members who get their children’s school to adjust the extra curricular activities to conform to their interests. School Board members have ties to teacher’s union. When there was a vacancy on the board due to an untimely death of a member the board happened to choose the retired Nut Swamp Principal’s husband, Daniel Skelton, to fill that position. Ironic how the board determined he was the most qualified candidate to fill that vacancy of all those who applied. It is time to have board members that have Middletown families’ best interests in mind not just their families.

Part of the historic $787 billion Federal Economic Stimulus Package included $11.3 billion for federal aid to enhance special education programs. Middletown used $1.3 million of the $2.7 million grant to expand the kindergartens to full day. They used a loop hole in the law to replace local tax dollars earmarked for special education. If you have a special needs child this really hits home!

Teachers benefit package has been described as the best in the nation so why don’t our schools rank better compared to other states? Our children used to get a standardized national exam annually. We could see how our children ranked across the nation. Now the district lets teachers give an informal assessment and a state test that lets us know if our children are “proficient”. Our children will not get a national standardized test until they take the SAT in their junior year of high school. Are we being given vague testing information to mask how our children are actually performing?

Getting a job as a teacher in Middletown has become not what you know but who you know. There is a waiting list of qualified candidates eager to grab the “golden ring” of benefits that the teachers are given. Shocking to find out that Thompson Middle School hired an influential local sports business owner who also works as an actor/comedian with no teaching experience to be a long term social studies substitute. Were there no qualified candidates with a background in history available? Don’t our children deserve the most qualified candidate that our tax dollars can buy? If we are going to give someone a job that has great benefits they should at least be the most qualified candidate available to educate our children in that subject area. Is the district looking for the most qualified teachers to educate our children?

I am sure that a teacher, administrator or school board member will eventually obtain a copy of this e-mail and use the districts resources or e-mail addresses to send out some propaganda to justify the truths contained in this e-mail. Consider the source. The rebuttal to this email will contain claims that our schools are “top rated”. Yes our schools are good but that is because we live in a middle class community where parents take an active role in their children’s education. We have all seen how parents are intimidated and afraid to voice any opposition because they fear that our children will suffer the retribution. The school board, administrators, and faculty should be respected, not feared. We should not have to live in fear of those we trust to educate our children! When you are inside the voting booth it is only you and our conscience.

We urge you to forward this e-mail to every Middletown resident you know. We all take the time to forward silly emails, jokes and links to UTube videos. As a conservative estimate; if this email is received by 100 frustrated families and they each forward it to 5 like minded families we will have reached 500 families. If those 500 families forward it to 5 like minded families we have reached 2500 families. If both parents vote no we have 5000 votes against higher property taxes. If you have an elderly neighbor print it out and give them a copy. Most importantly take the time and vote! A strong turn out will send an even stronger message!

If you do not vote or vote yes you are part of the problem. If we vote no and vote in new members we can be part of the solution!

RIP Bob Franks

Former Congressman Bob Franks died yesterday evening at age 58 after a brief battle with an aggressive form of cancer, according to a report in the Star Ledger.

Governor Chris Christie issued the following statement on Franks' passing:

“Bob Franks was an American Patriot. Bob loved his country, he loved New Jersey, he loved public service and he loved his family.

“Not only was Bob a great Assemblyman and Congressman, but he was also an outstanding political leader for the Republican Party. He provided tireless leadership to our party and our state and, as a result, trained his successors—the next generation of New Jersey’s and America’s public servants. He saw that as part of his duty as a leader and it was truly one of the joys of his life.

“Mary Pat and I are truly saddened by the tragedy of his passing and the inconceivable void it leaves for Fran and their three beautiful children. We will be praying for them and we ask all New Jerseyans to pray for Bob and his family during this extraordinarily sad time.”

Assemblyman Dave Rible remembers Franks for his leadership, compassion and bi-partisanship. "From the time I first met him while he was running for Congress in 1992 to just last year when he came to Long Branch with his daughter to read to sick children, Bob Franks was a gentleman and a genuine leader. Throughout his career Bob an example for other public servants to follow. He will be sorely missed. My thought and prayers are with him and his family."

NAVY ANNOUNCES END OF PLANS TO HOUSE CIVILIANS ON EARLE

Senator Jennifer Beck, Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande are very pleased with the Navy’s recent decision to suspend any actions concerning moving civilians onto the weapons depot and to negotiate a buyout with the developer of the Laurelwood Housing Area in good faith.

Today it was announced that the Navy has reversed its decision to allow civilians to move into the 300-unit housing development, formerly used to house military families, that resides within the boundaries of Naval Weapons Stations Earle.

“We’ve been working on this for such a long time,” said Casagrande, “and it is truly gratifying to see that the Navy is finally coming around. Our end goal has always been making sure that unvetted civilians did not have unhindered access onto the property at Earle. Myself, Senator Beck and Assemblyman O’Scanlon have made every effort at the State level to stop this from taking place, because we have believed all along that it was a risky plan. Of course Congressman Chris Smith also deserves quite a bit of credit, having made this one of his personal causes.”

“From the time I was elected to office,” said O’Scanlon, “the plan for civilians to live on Earle has been of great concern to me, as well as my constituents. Allowing an influx of 300 new civilian families into the area, and all that entails, is a great burden to place on municipalities which are already having to make difficult decisions in the face of a dire economic forecast. We are talking about serious financial and security risks. I’m glad to see that the Navy may finally be recognizing the importance of keeping civilians away from such a sensitive area.”

“We hope that today’s announcement means that the Navy is taking our security concerns seriously and admitting that this is a flawed plan,” said Beck, “It is important that they are willing to take the necessary steps to make sure that civilian housing is never permitted on a military base such as this. The contract that the Navy signed with the developer states that it must provide unimpeded access to the very heart of the largest ammunitions depot on the East Coast for the civilians who would be renting these homes. This was a bad plan from the start and it is about time the Navy took heed of what officials at all levels of government have said about the many potential security problems it could bring.”

In 1988, the Navy signed a contract with a developer to build 300 housing units on NWS Earle for use as military housing, the ownership of which would be retained by the developer while receiving an annual lease payment from the Navy, with the caveat that in April 2010 the property would revert back to the developer to rent.

There's plenty of room to cut education spending

Steven Malanga of the Manhattan Institute is a keen observer of New Jersey's fiscal excesses. He has a great column in today's NY Post that I was going to point to, but our friends at InTheLobby beat me to it while I was busy repossessing trucks.

Here's the gist:

From 2001-2009 school enrollment in New Jersey increased by 38,000 students, 3%.

Full time school hiring jumped by 28,000, 14%.

"That's right: Jersey's schools have added three-quarters of an employee for every new student -- during a period of deep fiscal pain for the state. Most of the new hires were teachers -- which is more than one new instructional worker for every two new students."

Governor Christie is doing the right thing by forcing a reversal of this trend. But for the political landscape he could cut deeper. Anyone who tells you (or tells your kids to tell you) differently has their hands in your pocket.

Freeholders pass budget that raises taxes 2.6%

Over the objections of citizens calling for a flat budget, the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders approved a $305 million tax levy, a 2.6% increase, in a bi-partisan 4-1 vote, according to the Asbury Park Press.

Republican Freeholder John Curley was the lone vote against the increase. He said, "our residents have cut back on spending and so should we. We are taxing the people of this county to death, and it is unacceptable," according to the APP.

Halfacre Will Seek 2nd Term as Fair Haven Mayor

Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre told MoreMonmouthMusings that he has the support of the Fair Haven GOP committee to seek another term as mayor of his home town.

"I love serving my community as Mayor and I am pleased that the opportunity for another term was still available," said Halfacre who recently conceded the race for the CD 12 nomination to Princeton venture capitalist Scott Sipprelle.

Freeholders are set to raise taxes

The Asbury Park Press reports that the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders is set to adopt a budget tonight that raises taxes $7.8 million, or 2.6%.

I find this to be a major disappointment, especially coming from a Republican controlled Freeholder board.

We have more government that we can afford. I urge my friends in Freehold to find at least $8,000,000 more to cut.

Board of Education Elections

Monmouth County voters who wish to vote in their Board of Education elections by mail can download an application to do so here. Your application must be received at the county clerk's office by April 13. Do it now.

Not surprisingly, the Middletown election has garnered attention here at MMM since the What if we had an election and nobody came? post yesterday.

This is what I've learned so far from the comments and from driving around town:

Based on the comments and the signs I've seen around town I'm guessing that there are 7 candidates running for three seats.

The incumbents appear to be Pat Walsh, and two women named Diorio and Caminiti.

Diorio and Caminitti are running with someone named Wexelberg, according to their signs. But Walsh supporters, the status quo folk, also like Dorio and Caminiti.

Pat Walsh has the best signs. They are the easiest to read. She's running alone. Either she's decided her best shot at re-election is if her friends bullet vote her or the other incumbents think she's a liability. Could be both.

Dorio, Caminiti and Wexelberg have lousy signs. They are hard to read and look like ads for Key Lime Pie.

None of the incumbents have "Re-elect" on their signs. They probably figure that voters think it is time for a change so they will deceive them by omission.


The challengers are Brand, Aveta and Mascone. BAM. They have the worst signs. The sign doesn't look too bad in this photo, but only dog walkers can read it on the road. The lettering is too small for joggers to comprehend.

Commenters who like Pat Walsh don't like BAM and want to make an issue that they came from Carteret or some place else north of the Raritan Bay. I'm liking BAM already, even though their signs are terrible. One or more of the BAM team likes soccer.

Frequent commenter "stopthesocialists" likes BAM.

Middletown Mike doesn't like BAM because, he says, Gerry Scharfenberger and Tony Fiore recrutied them to run, helped them get their petitions signed and because Brand is a stand up comic. Mike can always be counted on the carry Walsh's water.

Mike says the Republicans are running the BAM campaign. That can't be true. BAM would have had much better signs if the Republicans were running the campaign.

I like Gerry and Tony, don't care much for soccer, but comedy is good. The new board is going to need a sense of humour. So far so good for BAM.

Here come the shrill comments from the Walsh supporters....(both of them).

What if we held elections and nobody came?

Imagine there was a branch of government that was responsible for the most important task in the world and was also responsible for 60% of your property tax bill.

Imagine that the members of the governing board were elected annually and that their budget was subject to voter approval.

Imagine that two weeks before the election few voters knew who the candidates were, how much the budget was and what it was funding.

Imagine that less than 10% of citizens voted in those elections.

With such lax oversight by the people paying the bills, I imagine that such a branch of government would be very expensive. Employees would have high pay, generous benefits, a lot of time off and hefty pensions. The employees jobs would be protected for life.

Two weeks from today New Jersey will hold its Board of Education elections.

Do you know who the candidates are? Do you know how much the budget is and what it funds? Do you know where the polling places are and what time they are open?

Chances are you don't know the answers to all of those questions. They are not easy to find, even in this information age.

A Google search for "Board of Education candidates, Middletown, NJ" did not produce any names.

If the County Clerk's web site has information about polling places, budgets or candidates, I couldn't find it.

A reader informed me that Pat Walsh is running for re-election in Middletown. There's extra incentive to vote this year.

Candidates for any Monmouth County Board of Education are welcome to use this web site to there message out. Anyone with information about candidates and budgets is welcome to send it in.

Let's make an impact in the next two weeks.

MIDDLETOWN MAYOR PROPOSES DECISIVE ACTION ON BUDGET

A 12-Point Plan To Save Property Taxpayers From
Bearing Burden of New Jersey’s Economic Turmoil

MIDDLETOWN - As New Jersey’s financial crisis continues to take its toll on municipalities, Middletown Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger is proposing decisive action to address a significant projected shortfall in Middletown’s budget this fiscal year.

Steep cuts in state aid, a decline in Township revenues, spiraling health care costs, a wave of early retirements resulting from pension and benefit reforms, the continued application of unfunded mandates by the state, and extraordinary snow removal and roadway repair costs have combined to create the most difficult financial conditions the Township of Middletown has likely ever faced.

“It is clear that present financial conditions call for drastic action, requiring that everything be put on the table—including significant reductions in the Township’s workforce,” said Mayor Scharfenberger. “While the municipal portion of the budget only makes up approximately 20% of our property tax bills and we have already reduced the Township’s workforce by 15% through attrition, we simply cannot allow the burden on property taxpayers to grow any further in this economy.”

“We must take unprecedented steps to cut spending and reshape the way the Township operates,” continued Scharfenberger. “These proposals are difficult, yet essential if we are to survive these uncertain times. I feel the Township will emerge stronger for having taken these measures and remain on solid financial footing for the future.”

“We, however, need the state to provide us with additional tools that require statutory and regulatory changes, such as the elimination of COAH and civil service reforms,” concluded Scharfenberger.

IMMEDIATE PROPOSED ACTIONS

1. Across the board 10-15% reduction in operations and expenditures by all departments, including immediate planning for reductions in workforce.

2. Outsource fire safety inspections through shared services agreement.

3. Outsource public assistance functions with County.

4. Immediately impose application of 1.5% contribution of total salary by all employees for health benefits coverage on top of pre-existing contributions upon effective date of recently signed reforms by Governor Christie.

5. Immediately impose application of cap on all unused sick and vacation day payouts upon retirement to $15,000 for positions not already subject to such caps upon effective date of recently signed reforms by Governor Christie.

6. Demand a 0% increase in salary for all employees for 2010.

7. Expedite sale or transfer of operations of Middletown Swim Club and other surplus properties via public auctions.

8. Account for all forfeited contributions in LOSAP program to cover 2010 contribution.

9. Impose 5 to 10 unpaid furlough days during summer months.

10. Require Township Administrator’s approval on all purchase orders in excess of $1,000.00.

11. Explore the transfer of all parks maintenance to Department of Public Works.

12. Suspend or eliminate all non-essential services, including the cancellation of all outstanding unused bonds authorized but for those for essential roadway resurfacing and reconstruction.