Pass it on!

Our winning team, Peters, Lucas and Little, have a great commercial. Perhaps you've seen it on cable.

View it here, and pass it on.

Tommy Turns the Tables on The APP

Nice going Tom.

I can't wait to see the TriCity News.

Whoops! She did it again!

GOP freeholder returns $4,013 raised by party


“Integrity is the essence of everything successful.”
Richard Buckminster Fuller

Go Get'em Adam!

Monmouth County Republican Chairman Adam Puharic

ON ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, DEM BOOKKEEPER DEFENDS WHEELING-

1 Year Ago Dems Took Buckets of Outside Campaign Cash, Set to Do it Again -

Freehold Borough, NJ: Monmouth County Republican Chairman Adam Puharic today said that Monmouth Democrats are defending wheeling by attempting to redefine their practice of accepting excessive amounts of campaign cash raised from outside of the county in the final days of the campaign.

"The precedent has been set and I expect them to do it again this year," said Monmouth County Republican Chairman Adam Puharic. "Why else would their own bookkeeper look to defend this practice with only days to go in the campaign?"

In a letter to the editor yesterday, the Democrat treasurer charged with overseeing their party's finances defended wheeling and attempted to belittle the serious negative impact it has on elections. Last year, Monmouth Democrats wheeled in over $200,000 between October 26 and Election Day.

"They are attempting to mislead voters into thinking what they are about to do is acceptable," Puharic said. "The simple fact is they cannot escape from what they have done in the past. We are talking about taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from labor unions, special interest and Camden County party bosses, not grassroots contributions from family members."

In addition to taking over $80,000 from indicted former State Senator John Lynch, Democrats in Monmouth County received over $87,000 from labor unions outside of the county. The New York Council of Carpenters gave $25,000 to local Democrats last year and Camden County Democrat boss Joe Roberts rolled in $37,000.

"The proof is in the finance reports," said Puharic. "I find it hard to believe that New York labor bosses and political bosses from Camden County have a grassroots interest in Monmouth County. Instead of defending this they should join our calls to ban it and pledge not to do it again."

The practice of outside county party organizations and interest groups sending large sums of diverted contributions to impact a local race, known as "wheeling," is one of the most controversial issues in New Jersey politics today. Monmouth Democrats continue to reject GOP calls for campaign finance reforms.

Mystery solved

Why is the political environment in Howell radioactive?

It must be the water.

David Ern, Parkway Water's vice president, said, "The rate increase is necessary to cover the ongoing cost of purchasing water from the Brick Municipal Utility Authority, due to the shutdown of the company's Kirkwood-Cohansey wells in 2004 following the detection of naturally occurring radionuclides at levels above allowable (federal) limits."

The Gang, Part III

19 days to go and the Monmouth County Dems are still looking for tips.

Lenny Inzerillo got booted from their ticket for failing to file ELEC reports, even though the County Disorganization didn't file their's for 2005. Now we learn that Surrogate Candidate, Beverly Bova-Scarano didn't file hers for a failed municipal election in 2002.

Maybe Greg Gibadlo should demonstrate his extensive executive expertise fixing his party's operations before we trust him with the county.

Maybe Babs McMorrow should audit her party's books before we let her hire Charlie Fallon to audit the county.

And how about that PR operation. One would think that this time of year they would be trying to get as much free ink for their candidates as possible. Evidently there's free ink to go around. Chairman Vic, "The Humanitarian of the Year" is the headliner in The Courier this week, with a front page picture and a full page story espousing his generousity.

That Vic is generous is well known. What is puzzling is why he is hogging the spot light from his handpicked candidates, 19 days before the election.

A Big Bonehead Idea

Governor Corzine is again floating the idea of another sales tax increase as a solution to New Jersey's highest in the nation property taxes, according to the APP.

However, this time he wants to let local municipalities impose their own sales taxes while limiting property tax increases to 3% per year.

I could see how this might work for towns with big retail centers and car dealerships. Consumers from Matawan would be paying for the education of Eatontown children. But what about the towns without large centers of commerce to generate sales tax revenue? How many drinks would they have to sell at bars in Sea Bright to send a kid to Shore Regional.

I have a better idea Governor. Tell your ex-girlfriend the party is really over and the unions have to chip in to make the state more affordable. Tell Chairman Joe Crony that there's to be no more double dipping and that pensions are now based on the average compensation of all years of service, not just the last year or three. Tell new employees, sorry no pension, but you can have a 401K.

The Asbury Park Press gives new life to the floundering Dems

Bob Cullinane, right



Skip Hidlay


Meet the new driving force behind the Monmouth County Democratic Freeholder candidates' campaign; Asbury Park Managing Editor William "Skip" Hidlay, and adventure seeking reporter Bob Cullinane.

Back in late August, a divided Freeholder board, after months of study, voted to reappoint County Counsel Malcom Carton. Skip and Bob were not too happy. Neither was I. It was a bonehead move, politically and governmentally, perpetuated by the two Freeholders the Asbury Park Press unwittingly elected last year. As I said in my August 30th post, the boneheads ceded the moral high ground, and the good will of the APP, that our Chairman claimed with his Ethical Roadmap.

For the most part I admire the APP, and their parent, Gannet. More than most, they are holding greedy politicians feet to the fire and exposing waste, fraud and abuse in government throughout their coverage areas. They have done more to reform government in New Jersey than perhaps any other single person or entity. But this time, they have let their emotions and their agenda get the better of them. They should be first and foremost journalists, reporting the facts and reasonable analysis. This week they got it wrong.

They are not stupid, so I assume they know that their coverage of the Monmouth County legal bills is distorted. They have to know that the reforms voted on in August are not reflected in the year to date numbers that they are reporting. Obviously, this week they are up to something other than reporting the news. They are out to influence the upcoming Freeholder elections, "sadly," they say. That the boneheads made another bonehead move by insisting that Cullinane's questions be submitted in writing does not justify Skip, Bob and the rest abandoning their journalistic integrity.

More importantly, what the APP is up to is counter productive to their own agenda. The APP unwittingly gave us the boneheads who are thwarting reform. Now they are unwittingly consolidating the boneheads' power, at least for another year.

By trying to defeat Andrew Lucas and Anna Little, the APP is playing into the hands of the old Republican guard. Neither Anna nor Andrew were the candidates of choice of the party establishment. The rank and file of the Monmouth County Republican party are leading the revolution for better county government, and the APP is about to snuff out those efforts.

Andrew and Anna are the most competent candidates, and they are reformers. Anna voted against the reappointment of Carton and has asked every department head in the county government to prepare budgets with 5% and 10% cuts, in an effort to make our county more affordable. Andrew has proposed a hiring freeze.

What have the Democratic candidates proposed? Barbara McMorrow has proposed an independent audit to find savings. Newflash: There's an independent audit every year. J. Gregory Gibadlo has proposed selling a county golf course to raise money for teen recreation. These two are clueless, and the boneheads will run circles around them while the Trenton Democrats will move in next year with truckloads of cash and attempt to take over our county and legislative seats. As of now, about the only patronage the Monmouth County Dems have is the Matawan Motor Vehicle office. Does the APP really think there will be a reduction in county spending if Trenton takes over?

If the APP would pay attention to the candidates, their track records and their proposals, instead of their party designation, there is no question who they would endorse; Andrew Lucas and Anna Little.

There is no question the APP will influence this election. Before this week's angry distortions by the APP, Andrew and Anna were for all practical purposes running unopposed. The APP has made it a race despite the fact that the Dem campaign deservedly couldn't get any traction. Hopefully, Skip and his team will wake up and smell the coffee. "Sadly," I fear they won't.

Now we have a race for good government. Our opponents are the APP, who is unwittingly playing into the hands of the Old Republican Guard, and two inept Democratic candidates.

Now that we have a race, we can no longer afford to be polite and promote the illusion of party unity. Our candidates and their team need to take a page from Amy Handlin's playbook and unabashedly declare themselves the reformers that they already are.

The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight, Part Deux

UPDATE

The site now includes a link to candidate info and a list of their contributors., but only those who gave less than $300. I guess they are reading this blog. They will probably have a more complete list by the end of the day.

Need a laugh? Check out the new and improved Monmouth Democratic Party website

Is Vic a candidate? One would think so. But the narrative quickly invites you to "visit each link where you will find information on our Surrogate Candidate - Beverly Bova-Scarano, our Freeholder Candidates - Barbara McMorrow and Greg Gibadlo..." Well, I visited the links, and couldn't find any info on the candidates.

Their press release section is very amusing. After reading the release dated today with the headline "Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics " I was left wondering if that headline was intended to be an accurate description of the release. The release starts with the assertion that "Wheeling" is not taking out of county money, because a first year political science student would know that. Huh? I think these folks could benefit from a conversation with a Brookdale or Monmouth Freshman.

The release goes on..."The Republicans think that by simply mentioning the name “Lynch” that they can point the finger at the Democrats and distract voters from the real issues in this election. What they want is the press and the people to forget about the fact that the Monmouth County Democrats, as an organization, did not take one dime from Lynch and in fact gave the Monmouth County Republican Committee $400 – and that both of these facts are easily proven by simply checking the ELEC website

OK, maybe the organization didn't take a dime from Lynch, but candidates on both sides did. That money should be donated to charity.

I looked all through the Monmouth County Dems ELEC reports, even the ones they forgot to file on time, and I can't find where the Monmouth County Dems gave the Monmouth County GOP $400. Can someone find it for me? I know, I'm being picky. Shame on me for reading what you said, instead of what you meant to say. That only works in marriage.

My nomination for the best gaffe on the site goes to the press release announcing the Superhighway to Ethical Reform:

2)Full disclosure on the Monmouth Dems website, www.monmouthdems.com of all campaign contributions, even those under the $300 reporting threshold.

OK, where is it? Can someone find it for me?

Our fine Chairman, Adam Puharic, pledged in his Ethical Roadmap to post the Monmouth GOP ELEC reports on the party's website. There is it, you can't miss it.

As Dem Surrogate candidate Beverly Scarano was quoted as saying in one of the releases, "Saying that things will change has never worked in the past..."

What's your favorite gaffe?