Bayshore Journalista

My book's out now

2008-10-26T19:35:00.004-05:00

You can now order my book on Amazon.

In the next month or so there will be copies available in area Barnes & Noble stores and Foodtowns. (How awesome is it to get a book into grocery stores? So totally freakin' badass and awesome.)

I've done a good amount of readings in NYC lately and I'm hoping to arrange a few in Jersey soon. For event information and to learn more about the book, visit my writing site.

Why pick on all of Keansburg?

2008-06-01T09:47:00.003-05:00

The APP ran the following story today about the Keanburg Board of Ed meeting following the revelation of the Barbara Trzeszkowski buy-out fiasco:

Despite furor, no crowd at school board meeting

I call shenanigans.

Once you get into the story, you realize that there was indeed a packed house at the board meeting. Folks just didn't wait 2 1/2 hours for the board to get out of executive session and many left. Of course, the APP reporters had to stay there the entire time to get a story. (Though, not surprisingly, Courier reporters had no problem getting the school board prez's statement on a YouTube video before the meeting even began.)

I'm sure the APP reporters were none too pleased to sit around an auditorium all night waiting to get a story. However, that's their problem, not Keansburg's.

Any reporter worth his or her salt would have had enough contacts built up in the Bayshore and thus had an idea what was going to happen that night before it did. There is no reason to insinuate that the entire town doesn't give a damn what happens in their school system by publishing a tantrum-like response to a wasted few hours.

Based on my experience covering the Bayhore, I'd say the typical Keansburg resident is more involved and more knowledgeable than wealthier folks in bedroom communities.

The APP owes Keansburg an apology.

Buy my book

2008-05-28T13:02:00.005-05:00

I deliberately try to avoid mixing my literary endeavors with my Monmouth ramblings, but I have a book coming out and I owe my publisher some half-way decent local promotion.

My short story collection, The Suburban Swindle, is now available for pre-order direct from my publisher. The official publication date will be in the fall but copies ordered from the publisher should start shipping in a couple months.

Here are blurbs about the book:

"Sharp, bold, and deeply affecting, Jackie Corley's stories are like poetry made from the gritty stuff of hard-scrabble life. Dead garden snakes and forgotten video games, gravestone statues that seem to dance in the night: in Corley's able hands, the mundane, even the ugly, are transformed. The young men and women who struggle through her slim, piercing collection, stay with you long after you've finished reading; tough-talking and scarred, tattooed and tender, they search Corley's dirty, sparkling New Jersey streets for something always just out of reach.

"A fiercely original debut. Corley is a talent to watch."
-Scott Snyder, author of Voodoo Heart

"Finally a 20-something author who is neither precious nor coddled. Finally a young writer who writes about life as it actually is instead of some trust fund prick's fantasy of America. Jackie Corley is almost completely alone among the new set of writers in that she is actually telling stories about real humans. And she is telling them well, with the kind of immediacy that most young writers have had beaten out of them in MFA factories. Corley is original and unforgiving. I cannot say enough about Jackie Corley. She doesn't flinch. Read this book."
-Ian Spiegelman, author Welcome to Yesterday and Everyone's Burning

"I am tempted to compare Jackie Corley's writing to a strong cup of coffee. It wakes you up, it gets you addicted, and sometimes it's burning hot. Or I could say it's like whiskey--it's strong, it blurs your vision, and gives you the guts to face the hard truths and bitter pains of life. But forget about those liquid comparisons, because Corley's work is solid! The Suburban Swindle unleashes a new, bold, American voice that you'd be foolish to ignore."
-Kevin Sampsell, author of Creamy Bullets

NY Times takes Chris Christie down a notch or two

2008-02-13T15:35:00.005-05:00

Check out today's New York Times article.

Here are some choice excerpts:

In 2002, when Mr. Christie’s office won an indictment against the Essex County executive, James Treffinger, a popular Republican, he was not permitted to surrender like most elected officials who find themselves in similar circumstances. Instead, Mr. Treffinger, who was about to begin a campaign for the United States Senate, was arrested at gunpoint and spent more than six hours in handcuffs and leg shackles. ...

But politicians and lawyers involved in the corruption case say that they knew that an informant had secretly recorded Mr. Treffinger making a vulgar derogatory comment about Mr. Christie’s hulking frame, and some former Treffinger aides contend that his harsh treatment was a payback.

Okay, the guy apparently doesn't like people picking on his weight. Got it.

Mr. Christie’s critics say he well knows the political damage a candidate can suffer from even the specter of an investigation. When he ran for freeholder in the mid-1990s, he was sued for defamation for falsely accusing a political opponent of being the target of a criminal inquiry. Mr. Christie ultimately offered a public apology as part of a settlement.

Remind me again how a lawyer with little criminal law or trial experience who had to settle a defamation case winds up Jersey's U.S. attorney?

This isn't a knock on the fact that Christie has locked up dozens upon dozens of angry pols. I'd just never heard the defamation case part of the story before, which I think is somewhat, like, important since he's someone who is supposed to be upholding the law in the middle of a highly politicized environment.

DWI legislator

2008-02-12T13:02:00.000-05:00

The Star-Ledger has a solid editorial lambasting the Statehouse and Gov. Corzine for approving a measure to rename Route 23 for former Congressman Robert Roe.

Roe, who ironically served on the House Transportation Committee, caused a drunk driving accident in 1993 shortly after retiring from Congress.

You'd think this one would be a no-brainer.

Should Kyrillos run for Senate?

2008-02-12T08:44:00.000-05:00

PolitickerNJ.com posted a poll and 38% of those who took it said they wanted to see Joe Kyrillos run for U.S. Senate.

I can't wait to see him go for it.

Comment to Abe

2008-02-11T03:45:00.000-05:00

I wrote this comment on Honest Abe's blog, but I thought it was worth reposting:

William A. Newell said...
This might have something to do with that thing about getting Romney delegates on the June primary ballot.

I think that issue is over with unless Romney un-suspends his campaign, which isn't going to happen.

I wouldn't mind seeing Kyrillos enter the Senate race, just for the public scrutiny factor.

Keep in mind, I was barely 22 years old and two months on the job as a reporter when I dug up that info on the Matawan-Aberdeen Train Station project.

What do you think a seasoned opposition researcher is going to find?

IMHO, the APP has been relatively gentle with Kyrillos over the years. Understandably so: they're unwilling to go after Republicans in the Statehouse unless absolutely necessary, since Statehouse Dems have shown no means of being able to restrain themselves from spending.

But if any serious ethical questions or conflicts of interest are brought up during the course of a statewide campaign, I think the APP will be the ones to jump up and cut him down. They like to tend to their own backyard.

It's not going away

2008-02-07T14:38:00.000-05:00

Less than an hour after Mitt Romney suspended his campaign, PolitickerNJ.com reported that Adam Puharic wants Joe Kyrillos to run for U.S. Senate.

Just a reminder, please enjoy your Joe Kyrillos literature. Read it now, read it in November. It'll still be here.

R's can thank an anonymous blogger

2007-11-07T17:29:00.001-05:00

Not all anonymous Republican bloggers are of the Rasta variety.

One of the best untold stories of this election season, IMHO, is that the 'Farmer Karcher' item originally came from anonymous blogger Sen. Barry Goldwater way back in April.

Of course, it's very likely that Beck's team knew about Karcher's farming tax break for some time.

But it's also possible that Republicans owe a great big thanks to the proprietor of http://rankandfilemonmouthrepublican.blogspot.com.

Somewhere, a mysterious blogger is smiling.

CMR has a new post

2007-10-26T11:57:00.000-05:00

Concerned Monmouth Republican asks the following:

Q: Who has been involved in getting Alan Moretti his last three Employment Opportunities? (hint) (Please post the answers)

Q: Who has been involved in getting Mr. Puharic* his last three Employment Opportunities? (Please post the answers)

Q: Who has been involved in getting Scott Broschart* his last three Employment Opportunities? (hint) (Please post the answers)

From THE SLAMMER

2007-10-24T19:29:00.001-05:00

Scott Shanley has a good post on the Alan Moretti / Rastaman connection:

It appears to me that this Alan Moretti character was nothing more than a political hack hired to carry out certain deeds. But who does he work for and how soon is he going to spill this information to save himself?

The 27-year-old Rumson native's resume suggests that he had quite the political background and very well could have had a promising career ahead of him.

So much for all of that...

All things Monmouth Rastaman

2007-10-23T14:21:00.000-05:00

Alan Moretti, Rumson, has been identified as having a connection to the Monmouth Rastman blog (monmouthrastaman.blogspot.com).

Here are links to what's been blogged about Alan Moretti and the Rasta blog recently:

More Monmouth Musings
1. Meet the Rasta Man, at least one of them (the scoop)
2. It's certainly fitting.....

Honest Abe
1. MONMOUTH BUSTEDMAN (the history of Rastaman)

The Inside Clamdigger
1. Moretti is connected to "Rastaman"

Teddy Roosevelt
1. RASTA REVEALED

The Slammer
1. It was only a matter of time...

Who didn't see this article coming?

2007-06-10T14:04:00.000-05:00

Asbury Park Press: Did freeholder get ally a job?

Art Gallagher has his own take on the Tobia appointment controversy: Favoritism, Retribution,Courage and Corruption

Will Seward outs himself

2007-06-04T13:02:00.000-05:00

Yep, folks -- it's Art Gallagher. Not Geri Popkin. Not Jim Purcell. Not Mary Fran Lane. Highlands Republican Art Gallagher.

I think Art is owed a hearty congratulations for all the anonymous work he put in as Will Seward. I imagine he'll keep truckin' now that the cat is out of the bag and running around Monmouth County.

The info on the Anna Little write-in vote is here.

Blue Jersey on Chris Christie

2007-03-28T23:05:00.000-05:00

BlueJersey.com posted the following:

Of the 150 people we found who have been investigated, indicted or convicted [by Christie] only 33 are Republicans and 112 are Democrats.

So much for non-partisanship.

Not that I've ever been very convinced of Chris Christie's superpowers.

(Thanks to Blue Jersey for linking up to an earlier post. Also, thanks to On Our Radar for citing some of my info.)

Ronald Reagan's breaking news

2007-03-03T15:09:00.001-05:00

Monmouth Republican blogger Ronald Reagan is reporting that Sheriff Joe Oxley will not run for re-election.

UPDATE

The APP has confirmed the news first reported by blogger Ronald Reagan.

More wrangling in Freehold

2007-02-23T05:05:00.000-05:00

From today's APP: Barham, Little tangle at meeting

and the editorial: A medal for mettle

I'll refrain from my usual flip snarkiness. It's total unnecessary at this point. The tempers in Monmouth County have boiled to a level I didn't think possible. There's no need for my little blog to fan any flames.

Everyone breathe.

Fun with ELEC

2007-02-15T13:45:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since I've fiddled around with my trusty highlighter and ELEC documents. So I figured now was as good a time as ever to embark on some early spring cleaning.

I'll be diving into the reports of Monmouth's ruling Republican Party and publishing what I find. Do contractors still contribute in spite of pay-to-play regulations? Are PACs and municipal organizations being used by the county GOP to navigate around pay-to-play regulations?

Let's start with the easy stuff.

Middletown

The Middletown Republican Committee received $7,200 from T&M Associates on October 2, 2006.

How this is not a blatant violation of the state's Pay-to-Play law is beyond me. This nifty little chart from ELEC tells me: "At the county-munic level, contributions of over $300 made to candidates holding office at the time of the awarding of the contract and to the political party committee to which such a candidate belongs in the year preceding the award of a contract are illegal."

T&M is once again Middletown engineering firm in 2007.

Aberdeen

I have to thank an anonymous tipster for pointing out the following information, which all bore true in the reports.

The Aberdeen Republican Committee received $7,200 from T&M Associates on October 23, 2006. (It is completely legal for the Aberdeen GOP to receive money from T&M since there are no Republicans currently serving on the Aberdeen Township Council and therefore couldn't vote on an engineering appointment for the town.)

Curiously, the Aberdeen GOP contributed $5,000 to the Monmouth GOP on October 24, 2006. That's right - the day after T&M contributed over $7K, $5K was wheeled over the county.

I say "wheeled" because T&M is an engineering firm for the county. They could not legally contribute to the Monmouth GOP (even though that didn't seem to stop the firm when it came to doing business in Middletown). Sending the money through the Aberdeen GOP's account essentially cleans the money, allowing T&M and the county GOP to violate the spirit of the pay-to-play regulations, though not the law.

Also of note is a contribution of $2,000 by Gibbons, Del Deo, Griffinger & Vecchione on November 11, 2006. (Gibbons, Del Deo is the county's bond counsel. Aberdeen Republicans can legally take money from Gibbons, Del Deo, but the county GOP cannot.)

Why might Gibbons, Del Deo be contributing to the losing Aberdeen GOP after the Nov. 7, 2006 elections, you might ask? I'd be curious to know that as well. What we do know is that the Aberdeen GOP was generous enough to put down a $3,000 deposit on December 23, 2006 for the county GOP's 2007 Lincoln Day dinner at the Addison (formerly the Garden Manor).

Interestingly enough, the contributions by Gibbons, Del Deo and T&M were the only major contributions received by the Aberdeen GOP last quarter. And, aside from $1,000 for what appears to be a municipal event, the only major expenses by the Aberdeen GOP were the Lincoln Day deposit and the contribution to the Monmouth County GOP.

Monmouth Photo Blog

2007-02-14T17:14:00.000-05:00

This blog has been around for awhile, but I just stumbled on it the other day.

It's got some great photos of Monmouth County: http://monmouthdailyphoto.wordpress.com

Here a blog, there a blog, everywhere a Monmouth GOP blog

2007-02-11T17:04:00.000-05:00

Ronald Reagan is posting again here: http://monmouthrepublicans.blogspot.com/

And there are two new bloggers:
http://datruthsquad.blogspot.com/
http://concernedmonmouthrepublican.blogspot.com/

In case you missed it...

2007-01-25T12:58:00.000-05:00

Former county reporter Nina Rizzo is back in action over at the APP.

So is Monmouth Mitt Romney central or something?

2007-01-24T01:53:00.000-05:00

A lot of familiar Monmouth faces and sides of faces in this video (via TVJersey.com:

So what does it say about Mitt Romney's presidential campaign if his base is the rapidly imploding Monmouth GOP?

It doesn't seem likely that Romney will win the nomination (or even make much of a dent in Jersey where even Republicans veer pretty left) so what's with the joined-to-the-Monmouth-hip phenomenon?

Will we see some interesting New England campaign contributions flowing into Monmouth coffers in the near future?

Merla article

2007-01-22T11:12:00.000-05:00

The APP has an excellent article about convicted ex-Keyport Mayor John Merla. Very well written article. Really captures Merla's personality.

Certainly, John Merla made the mistake of a lifetime, but I can't help but feel a tremendous sadness for Keyport and for Merla's two children (who are really thoughtful, well-mannered kids).

Former Brick mayor pleads guilty

2007-01-08T15:01:00.000-05:00

Read the APP article.

According to the charges, former Brick Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli accepted at least $5,000 from an unnamed developer who was seeking approval for a project in the township between 1998 and 2003.

Anybody have and idea who the developer is (comments will not be made public)? Will the unknown developer be held accountable for bribing a public official?

As the Monmouth GOP continues to implode...

2007-01-04T18:56:00.000-05:00

I came across an interesting forum string at NJ.com posted by what seems to be party insiders.

One poster suggests that the recent attacks on Freeholder Little come from the highest ranks of the party and that there's a movement to boot Little off the ticket and put Andrew Lucas on.

On the other side, a supporter of Adam Puharic's posted the following:

"Adam hasn't taken a moment off since the election and is doing everything he can to ensure that the party gets back to where it should be. Seeing problems before they happen and taking necessary action requires a man of integrity and a willingness to do what is right." [emphasis mine]

What in this wacky madcapped world of Monmouth politics will happen next?

-The ex-Courier aristocrat

Dear APP, what is going on?

2007-01-03T12:31:00.000-05:00

PoliticsNJ's rapid post-Kornacki decline brought a tiny little tear to my eye.

The catastrophe that the APP has become leaves me holding my head in my hands. This goes beyond Gannett's tendency to wave an arbitrary wand and go after whichever candidate or party suits their editorial fancy.

I've bit my lip for a while but I can't stand it any more: where in God's name has the APP's reporting gone? The only real news digging I've seen from the paper in the past few months has been coming out of Howell, but that's basically been it.

I mean Middletown is the biggest town in the APP's Monmouth coverage area and I haven't seen a story that wasn't a recycled press release come out in God knows how long. When does it become no-biggie to virtually ignore the biggest town in your coverage area? You don't see the Jersey Journal ever ignoring Jersey City or the Times of Trenton closing it's eyes to Hamilton, so why is it such a burden for actual reporting to get done in Middletown?

So is this just me whining or has anybody else noticed the same thing?

Little responds

2007-01-03T12:20:00.000-05:00

Will Seward has an exclusive with Anna Little in which the freeholder addresses the wild and wacky rumors floating around the web.

A note to readers: Blogging isn't a terribly sophisticated or substantial endeavor, but it can impact the news cycle (i.e. the half-dozen stories the APP has ripped off from Abe and Seward) or change the political landscape. IMHO, Bloggers have a personal obligation to present information substantiated by facts and trusted sources. It's a disservice to the reader to slap a pile of crap on the wall and hope it sticks or winds up legitimized through half-assed regurgitation of crap-as-fact (thanks Wally Edge!)

Knowledge is power

2006-11-15T05:22:00.000-05:00

In a guest column in The Independent titled 'Illegal immigration a grave threat to the United States', Deputy Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger enlightens the rest of us: "Gang activity and violence among illegal immigrants is also reaching crisis proportions. Some of the most notorious gangs of illegal immigrants and their progeny include SOK (Still Out Killing), HTO (Hispanics Taking Over), and JMC (Just Mobbing Crazy), to name a few."

Gosh, where would we all be without the jingoist, Christmas-saving superpowers of Gerry Scharfenberger? Why, our kids might grow up not properly fearing brown people. [/end sarcasm]

I never thought I'd be saying this, but can we go back to the time when Peter Carton could actually shut his half-wit lackeys up?

I'm not of the wide-open-borders contingent, I'm just of the being-a-municipal-officeholder-does-not-qualify-you-as-an-immigration-expert (unless you're Anna Little) set. Please, please, please work on the issues that are actually relevant to your office, not pet peeves like trans fats, over-stuffed geese or illegal immigration.

Will Seward's election analysis

2006-11-11T00:22:00.000-05:00

Will Seward over at More Monmouth Musings offered his explanation for why Andrew Lucas suffered a setback at the polls:

With no incumbents in the race, McMorrow's victory can be chalked up to name recognition, given that this is her second time out. The APP's endorsement no doubt helped, but was not decisive, as Anna Little's victory proves. The Republicans ♥ BARBARA McMORROW movement, rumored to be supported by both supporters of Joe DiBella and Lillian Burry, also was a factor. Not that the signs made a difference in and of themselves. They didn't. The signs were demonstrations that Republican support for Andrew Lucas was weak and divided.

That Lucas's support was weak and divided is only in part his own doing. He was selected, by one vote, by the reformers of the party, but then embraced the old guard in the chairman's race and continued to dance with both sides throughout the summer and most of the fall. He failed to identify himself as a reformer to an electorate that is still angry over the culture of corruption exposed by Operation Bid Rig. His weak endorsement on Anna Little's position on the county counsel fiasco came too late to be considered anything but pandering. He tried to cruise in by offending neither side. Not a bad strategy for a rookie, but not enough to carry the day in this environment.

Monmouth RastaMan's analysis

2006-11-10T19:17:00.000-05:00

The enigma that is Monmouth RastaMan offered this election analysis:

1. Middletown – The strongest GOP town other than Wall Township was in for a rude awakening. Voters rejected the local candidate and decided to be almost split and vote for a Democrat. Well that is bad and who ever was running that local campaign must be one of the worst political operatives in the state of New Jersey. This is like a Democrat losing in Newark. Which never happens! So hats off to the campaign manager and Mr. Sodon for running a terrible campaign.

Fred Niemann and Jack Morris sitting in a tree...

2006-11-10T05:20:00.000-05:00

And there comes a time when everything is illuminated...

From today's Asbury Park Press article:
IN TINTON FALLS: Project needs stormwater system overhaul
Development terms made tougher; group won't sue

"Fred Niemann, a lawyer representing Edgewood [Properties], could not be reached for comment."

Edgewood Properties is Jack Morris' company. Jack Morris is a business partner of former Middlesex Democratic boss and future inmate John Lynch. Jack Morris has also been identified as the unnamed developer listed in an indictment brought by the U.S. Attorney's office against an elected official; in the indictment the unnamed developer is accused of bribing the elected official via campaign contributions, including wheeled campaign contributions.

Jack Morris has not been charged by Chris Christie's folks over at U.S. Attorney's office, though the bribery-via-campaign contributions accusation was made public in the indictment several months ago.

For those who forget, Jack Morris and his companies have given over $50,000 in campaign contributions to Chris Christie family friend state Sen. Joe Kyrillos. Former Matawan mayor and current Freeholder Deputy Director Rob Clifton also received money from a PAC that had Morris as a top contributor (some might consider that particular contribution wheeled money and Clifton has since returned it).

Morris also contributed to the Monmouth County GOP and to one of those illustrious legal-but-ethically-questionable Mon. Cty. GOP PACs during the time Fred Niemann was chair.

And no, the Jack Morris-Aberdeen/Matawan
Train Station issue is not going away.

Bayshore elections

2006-11-07T17:13:00.000-05:00

In case you missed it, The Courier is doing some incredible election coverage on-line.

We're talking tons of exit polling going on.

Two huge thumbs-up from the Bayshore Journalista to my former co-workers.

Election coverage

2006-11-07T14:33:00.000-05:00

I'm going to be doing regular election updates at my under-used Jersey Blog Beat blog starting at 7 p.m. tonight for NJ.com.

Tune in, folks.

Non-shocker

2006-11-01T05:05:00.000-05:00

The APP endorsed Gibadlo and McMorrow for the freeholder slots.

If the Dems can't win this year...

2006-10-29T14:28:00.000-05:00

With the APP launching an investigative piece a week before the election, they are posturing for a Democratic victory. My prediction is that the APP will wind up endorsing the Democratic freeholder candidates.

Whatever stutter steps the Democratic campaign initially had, the trickle-down Democratic-sweep effect everyone's predicting this year coupled with the generous boost Gannett has been giving the Monmouth Dems pretty much sets the Democrats up for a win in the county. Then again, that's what everyone said about last year too, so I could be wrong.

I think it's kind of cheap that the APP is putting Anna Little in a position to have to answer for the actions of other freeholders. But then again, the other freeholders made a HUGE, boneheaded move by reappointing Malcolm Carton.

Let me hear your 2006 predictions, folks.

A note on that 'It's a small world' ride...

2006-10-27T19:27:00.000-05:00

Turns out I graduated Haverford College with a Republican running for council in Manasquan: John T. Michals.

Haverford is a REALLY small school. Our average graduating class is about 300 happy vegan hippies. I would probably be considered one of the more conservative students, and that's really not saying very much. (Even with all the hippie-dom, it's an awesome liberal arts school with a great history.)

So I don't know what I'm more shocked by: that there's already someone from the class of '04 running for office in Monmouth or that a Republican went to Haverford.

Anywho, best of luck to John T. Michals and any 'Ford entering the political fray.

In my gmail...

2006-10-25T23:14:00.000-05:00

Michael Skudera sent me the following:

I read an article in a weekly paper that tells of a recently introduced ordinance by the Borough of Freehold to create a do-not knock registry.

The article explains, "Persons engaged in political, charitable or philanthropic canvassing will need to first obtain a permit." It further explains that an administrative cost will be charge to obtain this permit.

Free speech is a right, not a privilege in this great country. Passing a law that requires people to inform their government in advance that they plan on sharing religious or political views with other residents is a threat to democracy. You should not have to ask permission to exercise your first amendment rights.

If enacted, this law would subject anyone found to be violating it to a fine of up to $1,250 or imprisonment for up to 90 days. This would even include Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts trying to raise donations.

Recently the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia overturned a city ordinance that had similar provisions as the law trying to be passed in the Borough of Freehold. In 2002 the United States Supreme Court also issued a similar ruling protecting the rights of free speech.

In municipal government, ordinances are first introduced, and then placed on the agenda for a final vote at another meeting, giving time for public comment. I hope the elected officials in the Borough of Freehold do the right thing and remove the language that restricts free speech when this ordinance comes up for a final vote on November 6th. I would have not even voted for the introduction of this ordinance if it came up in my hometown.

Michael Skudera
Tinton Falls Councilman

Monmouth County Post

2006-09-18T04:12:00.000-05:00

The Courier's Matt McGrath goes hog-wild on Dan Gallic's new publication:

We at The Courier have one particular complaint to note. The paper stole our advertising disclaimer verbatim from our index. So, far as to mention that "The Courier is not responsible for errors."

The owner and publisher of the newspaper remained a mystery throughout Monday, until we received a call from former Monmouth County GOP Executive Director Dan Gallic.

Gallic said he was returning a call from us, but no one made a call to him, just to the Monmouth County Post earlier that day. The answering machine did not have an outgoing message for the number we dialed so we hung up the phone. I, in turn, called Gallic to apologize for any confusion because no one from our staff remembered calling him, but he said it was about the Monmouth County Post.

Mystery solved.

Who the heck is funding the Monmouth County Post anyway? Is Gallic associated with the Monmouth Republicans still? I know Abe, Will and most of the moderate Republicans were happy to see him go, but is he gone, sort of gone, we're-telling-the-press-that-he's-gone, or what?

Moran column

2006-09-17T04:05:00.000-05:00

The Star-Ledger's Tom Moran has a column about those crazy state Democrats.

However, the quote that made me laugh out loud was the one about Monmouth:

"In Monmouth County, where [Republicans] are in control, they've given us as much corruption as the Democrats. It's Hudson County with lawns."

The lawns part killed me.

Running for office in the age of MySpace

2006-08-31T15:03:00.000-05:00

I have a confession to make. I used to be a chronic bird flipper. I freely admit it. A few drinks in me at a concert or a book reading and up that finger would go. It's a juvenile habit, to be sure, but I think it's one a number of us have indulged in, especially in our early 20s.

The difference between a 40-year-old who enjoyed flipping the bird in his youth to a 20-year-old does, is that 20-year-olds now have digital cameras and phone cams to capture a rowdy night out. And, inevitably, they share those pictures on networking sites like MySpace, Friendster and Facebook.

When I was a reporter, some of my own bird-flipping shots were readily available to the amateur sleuth on some of those networking sites, as were some choice words on a blog I had intended to be read only by my high school and college friends. I've since deleted photos and entries and upped my privacy levels on those sites, but I wouldn't be surprised (given the number of people I've PO'ed) if a stray photo here or there has made on to a hard drive I didn't expect it to.

Now that 20-somethings are becoming mid-to-late 20-somethings and deciding to run for office, those stray internet picks that they may have forgotten about can come back to haunt them.

Some of you may have caught Will Seward's 'Gotcha' on a potential young Democratic Freeholder candidate (it's now removed). I met this person briefly at some event when I was a reporter and he's actually an incredibly well-meaning and very nice guy.

But there are a lot of nice 20-something guys and gals who may be hampered in their bid for public office because of pics they posted on networking sites becoming public.

I'm kind of curious about what happens when 20-somethings become 30-somethings and 40-somethings and start running for higher office. (In the Internet age, by the way, access to now-defunct sites is only a click away.)

One day we will have a guy or gal running for president and that guy or gal will have had a MySpace account in their youth. And on that MySpace account would have likely been college drinking shots, bird-flipping pics or any number of gleeful acts of debauchery caught on camera.

I'm just very curious as to what's going to happen in campaigning as people my age get older and their past is a click away from coming back to haunt them.

Verbal fisticuffs in Middletown

2006-08-16T15:44:00.000-05:00

Joe Caliendo gets all bad-ass on the APP.

I don't quite get the nature of the Republicans' ELEC complaint, as posted by Middletown Sewerage Authority Commissioner/failed state GOP exec. director/chief Peter Carton lapdog Brian Nelson. The argument seems to be that municipal parties can't give money to their candidates or something.

Perhaps not as vehemently as Caliendo, but I do agree that there was some major bungling by the APP, or like a total failure to click into the ELEC site.

This is the report of a money transaction that the Republicans say was not reported (i.e., the GOP is full of it and the APP failed to do any fact checking whatsoever):

(click to enlarge)

And here it is from the ELEC candidate's manual (page 7, under "Initial Election Fund Report"):

"In the event the committee is established within 5 months or less of the due date of the 29-day preelection report for the election in which the candidates or joint candidates are running, the committee will file a 29-day preelection report as the initial election fund report."

Translation: As long as the moolah is reported in Pat Short's 29-day preelection report (which isn't even due yet), he's in the clear ELEC wise.

Monmouth Dems kiss 2006 goodbye

2006-08-03T04:15:00.000-05:00

Those wacky GOP bloggers have caused some internal party strife on the other side of the aisle.

Are Inzerillo's unfiled reports an issue? Sure. Are the couple grand left unreported by Inzerillo a bigger deal than the $94,000 quarterly report the Monmouth County Democrats left unreported for a substantial period of time? I really don't think so.

Should I be worried or something?

2006-07-31T13:34:00.000-05:00

Thank God I save my ELEC documentation. I don't think I wrote anything so controversial to merit the lawyer trove. Most of what I blogged about was already out there. Now it's wait and see if anything interesting happens. The e-mail, as always, is jcorley@gmail.com.

Old unpublished article

2006-07-28T12:16:00.001-05:00

A dated Journalista: I wrote the article below circa the summer of 2004 (hence the McGreevey and Kushner references).

I shopped it around town and Al Sullivan used some of my info in an article he wrote for the Hudson Reporter. Al worked on the story for a couple of weeks but we wound up getting scooped by the Ledger. (The link to Ledger story has expired, but WhiteHouseForSale.org sums it up pretty well.)

The $144,000 in donations from the Christies to the New Jersey State Republican committee from 2001-2004 were generally ignored newspaper-wise for the juicier fact that "Since the summer of 2001, Todd Christie (Chris Christie's brother) and his wife have donated more than $400,000 to various GOP coffers. In comparison, the couple had donated less than $12,000 in the time before Chris began lobbying for the U.S. attorney's job." (WhiteHouseForSale.org)

Todd Christie came into $100 million in 2000 when Goldman Sachs purchased his firm, Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, hence his ability to donate large sums of money to the state and national GOP. However, his time at Spear, Leeds & Kellogg has since drawn some controversy. In April 2005, Todd Christie was one of 20 folks charged civilly by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for using "their positions with the New York Stock Exchange to enrich themselves and their companies at the expense of investors".

The New York Times' editorial from April 16, 2005 included this interesting bite: "We can't help but note that Todd Christie, the brother of Christopher Christie, the United States attorney for New Jersey, was among the 20 stock traders charged. But while 14 of the traders were charged with criminal fraud, Mr. Christie, a major donor to Republicans and the youngest brother of a prosecutor who has specialized in rooting out political corruption, faces only civil penalties and fines. ... Mr. Christie ranked fourth in the S.E.C. complaint among the 20 traders who earned the biggest profits at customers' expense. The top three were indicted, as were 11 traders lower down. We don't know whether this is a case of how nice it is to have big brothers in high places. But it doesn't look good."

Anyway, here's the thing I wrote in the summer of 2004. It wasn't written for Courier; it was a piece I was shopping around. There are a number of stylistic things I would change if I had written it today, but I'm not going to start nit-picking now.

Chris Christie's money trail

By JACKIE CORLEY

New Jersey's U.S. Attorney, Christopher J. Christie, has achieved a reputation as the Garden State's chief crusader for justice, racking up convictions against corrupt politicians and party fundraisers.

Recently, Charles Kushner, Governor Jim McGreevey's top Democratic money-maker, felt the sting of a Christie-led investigation. Kushner pled guilty in federal court on August 18 to 18 charges, including retaliating against a federal witness, violating campaign finance laws and filing false tax returns.

Christie has also been a vocal opponent of New Jersey's notorious pay-to-play political tactics in which campaign contributors are rewarded with jobs, tax breaks and other lucrative deals. Christie called such practices a hidden tax on residents.

While investigating shady political deals and fighting pay-to-play campaign donors, however, Christie has failed to discuss the $144,000 in campaign contributions he and his family have made to the New Jersey State Republican Committee (NJSRC).

Christie learned on September 10, 2001 he would receive the Presidential appointment and was sworn into office January 17, 2002. Early on, many New Jersey politicians questioned the selection, citing Christie's lack of experience: Christie had never tried a criminal case before becoming New Jersey's U.S. Attorney.

Despite early criticism, Christie struck out on such a fierce campaign of battling corruption that his name is currently being touted in Garden State Republican circles as a possible gubernatorial candidate in 2005 -- or earlier, should McGreevey bow to GOP pressure and resign immediately so a special election can take place this November.

New Jersey Republicans certainly have a lot to be grateful for in Chris Christie, and not just in the investigations that have whittled McGreevey's poll numbers down these past few months.

Campaign finance records from the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) reveal that before 2001, Christie made two contributions to the NJSRC, totaling a mere $800. From 2001 until 2004, however, Christie and his family donated $144,000 to the committee.

In May and June of 2001, at a time when state Republicans were still deciding who would become New Jersey's next U.S. Attorney, Christie and his family, including his brother Todd Christie and his sister-in-law Theresa Christie, donated $74,000 to the NJSRC.

A month after Christie took the oath of office for U.S. Attorney, his brother donated another $20,000 to the committee. Todd Christie would continue the trend in 2003 and 2004, donating $50,000 to the NJSRC during that time.

Todd Christie was the chief executive of Goldman Sachs' New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) specialist arm, Spear, Leeds & Kellogg. On March 21, 2003 he was nominated to the NYSE's board; in less than a week, he was ousted from his position at Spear, Leeds & Kellogg and withdrew his nomination to the exchange's board. No public explanation was given for the sudden departure.

In addition to the direct contributions from the Christie family, business associates of Christopher and Todd Christie have donated generously to the NJSRC and its chairman, State Senator Joe Kyrillos (R-Monmouth) over the past few years.

Members of Christie's former law firm, Dughi, Hewitt and Palatucci, and Todd Christie's former investment firm Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, contributed $11,000 to the New Jersey State Republican Committee in 2001.

On October 21, 2001, 17 employees from Spear, Leeds & Kellogg donated a total of $14,000 to Kyrillos' campaign coffers. During his three-year tenure as committee chair, Kyrillos has received $30,850 from the Christies and their associates for his local campaigns.

While state U.S. Attorney positions are appointed by the President, leading state party officials hold the cards as to what names get sent to the White House, according to an aide at the Governor's Office who would not release his name.

Timothy A. White, political director of the NJSRC, denied that the committee has any influence over federal appointments, saying the NJSRC focuses its efforts strictly on campaigns at the federal and municipal.

However, Michael Drewniak, public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark, acknowledged that closed-door politicking influences how the state's U.S. Attorney post is chosen.

"Honestly, there's a lot of deal making involved," Drewniak said.

When asked directly if state politicians and organizations have a say in the appointment, Drewniak said, "I don't want to go there."

Christie family 2002-2004 contributions

2006-07-27T20:12:00.000-05:00

2002

2003

2004

Christie family 2001 pre-appointment contributions

2006-07-27T19:37:00.000-05:00

Question

2006-07-26T16:16:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty curious: does anyone know what this WMUA probe is really all about? Like the juicy behind-the-scenes stuff?

Not much new to report on the Bayshore Journalista-front. I work nights, which has been doing all sorts of wackiness to my person. Progress is slow but steady on the novel writing, determined little tortoise that I am. Wish I could move faster than continental drift but some things take time, I guess.

I want to shed some of this blogging boredom and post something interesting. So in that spirit, here is the U.S. Attorney Chris Christie & co. money trail I've chirped about but never really got around to posting. In the next couple days, I'll put up screen grabs of the ELEC reports.

Christie family and the NJ Republican State Committee PAC

* Before 2001, Chris Christie donated $800 to the NJ Republican State Committee. (His relatives didn't donate to the state committee before 2001.)
* From 2001 to 2004, Christie and his family donated $144,000 to the NJ Republican State Committee. $74,000 of that was donated about three months before he learned of his appointment.

Christie Donations to NJ Republican Committee 2000
August 8, 2000: $400, Christopher Christie
October 12, 2000: $400, Christopher Christie

Christie Donations to NJ Republican Committee 2001 (pre-appointment)
May 23, 2001: $10,000, Christopher Christie
June 13, 2001: $32,000, Todd Christie (brother)
June 13, 2001: $32,000, Theresa Christie (wife of Todd)

September 10, 2001: Chris Christie learned of his appointment as U.S. Attorney. He never tried a criminal case before being appointed.

Christie Donations to NJ Republican Committee 2002-2004 (post-appointment)
February 21, 2002: $20,000, Todd Christie
January 31, 2003: $25,000, Todd Christie
February 12, 2004: $25,000, Todd Christie

*Note: This isn't a judgment on the U.S. Attorney, who has done an admirable job in focusing on the state's corruption. These are just black-and-white money facts. Make of them what you will. I just think it's better to exist in an atmosphere of full disclosure.

Minute-by-minute via the voice in my Treo

2006-06-13T18:43:00.000-05:00

9:07 p.m.: It's official -- Adam Puharic won.

9:00 p.m.: The vote is being still being tallied, from what I'm hearing. Apparently, the winner has to be a plurality not a majority.

7:55 p.m.: Folks are voting. Middletown also has a strong turn-out.

7:40 p.m.: The convention has started and the word on the street is that Noreen Kelly's faction of Howell has turned out en masse. The vibe is that Puharic has the votes.

Puharic should take a closer look at his associates

2006-06-13T10:52:00.000-05:00

In Bayshore Journalista chairman opinion news...

Former Freeholder Ed Stominski and Mel Hood are wonderful men. However, they do not have the votes to win the chairmanship. Their base of votes will pull from Jim Giannell's, and thus elect Adam Puharic chairman. It will be unfortunate if their legacy becomes that of spoilers in one of the most important elections the Monmouth County GOP has faced.

And then the news that Adam Puharic may be considering Scott Broschart as MC GOP executive director. Jim Purcell reported it first, but I heard it from a different and highly reliable source as well.

I find this greatly disturbing for a number of reasons. One of which happens to be allegations about Broschart's campaign financing, which were investigated by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, though Broschart was never charged with any crime or violation.

But there is also an incident I never put out there in the public record that I feel compelled to reveal now.

During the time I was a reporter, I received a tip that Broschart had allegedly been stalking two Democrats who were possibly in a relationship.

I readily admit to a certain level of deception in what happened next, but I felt it was necessary to uncover whether stalking had or had not occurred. I called Mr. Broschart under the auspices of having an interest level in the nature of the two Democrats' relationship.

Mr. Broschart said he had done "some investigating" into the matter and sounded pretty eager to show me what he had in possession.

The next day Mr. Broschart came to Courier with photographs of the woman's car at her home as well as two letters disparaging the individuals. Mr. Broschart said he had not taken the photographs or written the letters himself, but had received them in the mail from an anonymous source. I found this difficult to believe, as did others at the office.

The two individuals involved -- who were not in elected office -- suffered other indignities by a correspondent or correspondents who remained anonymous. The nature of these would turn your stomach, but for the sake of preserving the identity of these individuals, I can't go into specific details.

This story is pretty well known among party leaders.

If one of Adam Puharic's first decisions as GOP leader is to select Broschart as executive director, the party is on the road to total disaster. And it speaks a great deal to Adam Puharic's fitness as a potential chairman that he would allegedly associate with such people.

On losing one's blogging inspiration... and getting it back

2006-06-09T16:04:00.000-05:00

I got to hand it to the Monmouth Republicans lately. As Fred's reign waned and it looked like grassroots reform was actually on the horizon, you guys got down right boring to blog about. And the Monmouth Democrats? Well, when they arrive out of their perpetual press paralysis perhaps they'll be interesting to blog about some time soon.

But I've found my blogging inspiration again, folks, with visions of future ELEC reports dancing in my head.

Given Adam Puharic's statements to PoliticsNJ, the TRT and the general county bees buzz-buzzing around, it looks like we're in for Fred redux (and I somehow think that Gibbons, Del Dio will be reaping the bond benefits into infinitum. Municipal marinas for everyone, darlings!).

There's an inherent elitism in dismissing the recent grassroots voting by the county committee in favor of a return to executive committee-only voting, and I find it greatly disturbing. The only ones who stand to benefit from such a position are those whose mortgages and mansions are tied up in county and municipal jobs.

And the only way to effectively support such a system is a return to questionable fundraising tactics, of the developers and engineers and attorneys and contractors paving the way and having the say so.

But it looks like this is the road the Monmouth GOP is destined to stay on. The reform-minded will vote for Ed Stominski and Jim Giannell, effectively splitting their vote and diffusing any chance of actual change.

I respect Ed Stominski and Mel Hood a great deal but I believe Jim Giannell has proven he can organize the party and bring solid candidates to the forefront and should be the county's next chairman. I believe that Ed Stominski and Mel Hood can serve a vital role in fundraising for the party and should be a part of any new executive committee.

However if some compromise isn't reached among Ed, Mel and Jim, I believe all three will be left out in the cold, as well as a significant portion of the dedicated county committee members.

But if my premonition is correct and the committee goes for Fred redux, I have a feeling I won't be at as much of a loss for my future Monmouth blogging.

O'Grady found guilty

2006-06-08T11:13:00.000-05:00

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060608/NEWS/60608005

Guess the whole no-defense defense strategy didn't work.

I was as interested in seeing Mr. Azzolina, Peter Carton and Joe Kyrillos take the stand as anyone else. I guess O'Grady's team ultimately decided that the Palughi drama presented enough evidence of reasonable doubt that they didn't need to go down the super-witness list road.

But obviously, the jury thought otherwise.

Giannell's in the race

2006-05-18T13:15:00.000-05:00

Giannell enters race for Monmouth County GOP chairman (APP)

It's official: Fred's reign is dead

2006-05-11T10:25:00.000-05:00

GOP chief Niemann to step down

I think the Monmouth Republican bloggers like Honest Abe and Will Seward deserve a hardy round of applause. I think the blogs played a large part in unmasking Niemann's incompetence as a leader. No one should underestimate the role Abe and Will played in what will inevitably become a stronger Republican Party.

And, of some note, the APP article includes ELEC numbers first confirmed by Abe, including the fact that Lynch associates Jack "I didn't bribe DeLisa" Morris and Jack "Why'd I get involved with Lynch in the first place" Westlake have been recent contributors to a party PAC.

By the by, just a personal opinion, but I think some people in this county will have a lot to worry about if Morris decides to spill whatever beans he has to the FBI. And the fact that neither Morris nor Westlake have been arrested--even after the DeLisa FBI's indictment said the pair (unnamed but outed by newspapers) allegedly bribed DeLisa using ELEC funds and money--gives me the vague suspicion that they may have already pulled a Palughi and gone state's witness.

It's only a matter of time, friends. Morris had a lot bigger projects around here than a West Long Branch Walgreens. And there was a lot more ELEC money flowing around these here parts than to just DeLisa and Zambrano.

Bookmark this

2006-04-19T09:24:00.000-05:00

Jersey Blog Beat

I should be starting this baby up soon.

Blogging was something I've kind of taken for granted -- I've done it since college and so have most of my friends. It was like scratching an itch. I didn't appreciate how democratic and even Darwinian the nature of blogging is. Anybody can make a blog and have their voices heard, but adroit bloggers like good ol' Abe see their posts read on constant refresh-dial.

In the aftermath of the Monmouth Blog wars, in which the county's cadre of Republican bloggers were referred to as "terrorists" by their flumoxed party chairman, the roles blogs play in Jersey politics, news and communities became something of great interest to me.

I'll be leaving my thoughts on Monmouth politics to this blog, though. The NJ.com blog is going to look at a wider swath of blogging and technology issues in Jersey and how they affect our cultural climate.

So I hope to post there very shortly and get these wheels a'rollin'.

Live in fear. Or something.

Somebody's got some explaining to do

2006-04-17T22:19:00.000-05:00

A few of my favorite folks from my reporting days of yore have got quite the hot tamale on their hands:

Star-Ledger News Log

The corruption probe into the business dealings of former state Sen. John Lynch inched nearer to the Democratic Party powerbroker today with new allegations that two of Lynch’s closest associates paid elected officials for their votes on a controversial Monmouth County project.
...
The indictment does not identify the builder or his associate by name, but township records related to the project and campaign contributions indicate they are Jack Westlake and Jack Morris, two of Lynch’s longtime business partners and close friends.

In search of a name...

2006-04-14T12:35:00.000-05:00

There will (hopefully) be a new blog adventure soon.

I was very impressed at how adroitly Monmouth's Republicans took to utilizing blog technology and websites. I think a fair argument could be made that the blogs played a role in the party's selection of it's November slate for freeholder.

So, somewhat in that spirit, I want to write a blog about New Jersey blogs and the subculture that seems to surround them. Part of it will be basically recapping the blog entries heard 'round the Garden State aon a daily basis.

The only name for this theoretical blog I could come up with so far is "The Meta-tator" but that's just way too pretentious for a Jersey blog.

Think, think, think. I come up with the best names (or the somewhat non-sucky names) when I actually don't think too much about them. I'm turning the tables to you guys: help me pick a blog name.

Brilliant move time...

2006-03-31T06:00:00.000-05:00

The Mon. Dems didn't bother to file a 4th quarter 2005 ELEC return, according to the APP. (By the by, the 1ST QUARTER 2006 should have been filed March 15.)

Their exec. dir. didn't even know about the missing report.

Don't worry R's, if the D's can't even figure out how to submit a piece of paper on time they're certainly not going to be able to take advantage of this little mess you find your party into now.

EDIT: That sounded rather cranky (or snarky, as the hipsters say), didn't it? That wasn't my intention. I shouldn't post at 6 a.m., 10 minutes after rolling out of bed.

I'm exasperated by the state of both political parties in Monmouth, though I think the R's have a much better chance of pulling the club back together by November than the D's do. You guys have a solid infrastructure, built over decades, and the blogger revolution shows your ability to adapt and find unique means of party support. The D's still haven't figured out how to file paperwork on time, and that's unfortunate because there is a palpable feeling amound Dems that "this is the year."

I'm going to de-fry from Monmouth-area shenanigans for awhile, though I can't imagine I'll be able to refrain from throwing in my two-cents as election time heats up.

Non-reporter status means I'm back in private citizen-ville. I think I enjoyed being entitled to my personal opinions a little too much after 20 long months of having to bite my lip.

It's been a helluva ride, but I think I'm going to enjoy being something other than "that Jackie," "that [former] Courier reporter," or "that opportunistic bitch" for awhile.

I'd like to start a new blog soon, some kind of repository of general commentary and news items about blogging in New Jersey.

And maybe this'll become a place where I can write news-y articles about the Bayshore whenever I get nostalgic (with source documents embeded in the post when they are referenced--that could be interesting). I'm not quite sure yet. I'm just getting a tad restless in terms of my blogging "style" as it were and I want to switch things up.

Laughing way too hard

2006-03-28T19:02:00.000-05:00

You Republican bloggers, you. Look what one of you guys made:

Fred Laden

Drop(ping) Dead Fred

2006-03-28T08:58:00.000-05:00

From today's APP article:

Niemann said he chose the [terrorist] analogy to illustrate what he called the "underground and covert" nature of a faction in the county party that he claims is small, yet subversive.

"These individuals never disclose themselves. They communicate by way of blogs, gossip and rumor," Niemann said. "I know who they are. But I believe in the (Ronald) Reagan commandment: Do not publicly criticize anyone in your party."

Oh you subversive little Republicans you! Be careful, though -- he knows who you are. ...and he's right behind you! RUN!!

Is it me, or is Fred getting a little more of the gestapo in him everyday? Look into my eyes: Thou shalt not critize crooked party leaders. Repeat 50 times or until the whip stops stinging. That's it, now you're a good party follower.

The word I'm hearing is that Fred won't make it till June. I don't know if that's realistic, but the APP is certainly readying the target. Like John Bennett and Ed Stominski before him, Niemann's shaping up to be this year's APP sacrificial Republican.

What's there left to say? Niemann should be glad he was able to make as much money at the county's expense as he has because there doesn't seem to be much more coming down the pike anytime soon.

Internet Fascism

2006-03-17T22:02:00.000-05:00

As if to coincide with Sunshine Week, Internet aficionados ride the ebb and flow of attempts to undermine free speech by gestapo politians who skipped one too many American History 101 classes.

(See Bill of Rights, Amendment 1. Those first ten are biggies, like the main principles you're supposed protect. ~~But I understand if you're just too busy keeping NJ affordable and its government clean.~~ Oh, forget it.)

Anywho, The Jersey Journal reports that GetNJ.com has been banned on City Hall computers in Jersey City because posts on the site's forums have been critical of the current administration. (Link via Abe )

And let's not forget the genius move by Assemblyman Peter Biondi, who proposed an Internet civility bill requiring posters to blogs and forums to provide their real names and addresses to site hosts before said posters would be legally allowed to write anything. He got the bright idea after some apparently rude posts appeared on NJ.com's Somerset forum. Thankfully, the woefully ignorant bill has died on the vine.

(Regarding the necessity of anonymity during certain public discourse, I suggest Assemblyman Biondi add the Federalist Papers to his reading list.)

Are people down-right rude in their anonymous postings? Quite frequently.

But, of course, we've tackled all the important issues in New Jersey like obscene property taxes, poorly funded and S-1701-shackled school districts, corrupt politicians and/or their megalomaniacal developer buddies, etc. etc. and now we can turn our attention to regulating the behavior of our fellow man.

All righty folks, I'm off on a commuter test-drive to Jersey City. Let's see exactly how long the traffic will kick my butt for.

Sunshine Week

2006-03-14T21:40:00.000-05:00

Jeff Jarvis writes:

Sunshine
It’s Sunshine Week and this is the sunshine medium. I wish every blogger would file a FOIA this week or go to town hall and get the salaries and expense accounts of all their local officials to put up online or go after Congress to finally put themselves under the Freedom of Information Act like the rest of government.

That sounds like a great idea. I've been contemplating posting a "Bond-o-meter" for Middletown's happy-go-lucky bonding spending sprees (also known as Middletown Township Committee meetings). Lord knows that meter would spin.

Boss Blogging

2006-03-13T21:09:00.000-05:00

(Potential risk of being too meta...)

My very-soon-to-be-boss writes:

The Jersey Side A Weblog by John Shabe
Thursday, March 09, 2006

I Hired A Blogger

Jackie Corley, The Bayshore Journalista, will be joining NJ.com soon.

We're hiring her because she's smart and talented and will bring a lot to our Web site. But I found her because of her Weblog.

John's being overly kind but the Journalista sure as hell ain't one to turn down a free compliment.

I'll be entering the Internet-savvy halls of NJ.com in the very near future. Today was my last official day at Courier. It was pretty bittersweet for me. I have a lot of good memories there and we certainly received an unexpected burst of good news today, but I'm very much looking forward to what's coming up around the bend. (The cliches, dear God, make her stop with the cliches!)

By the by, NJ.com has a new frontpage design that I think has a really clean and user-friendly look to it. Check it out.

Courier wins two first place NJPA awards

2006-03-13T16:05:00.000-05:00

The Courier is very excited to announce that two of our staff members won first place awards in the New Jersey Press Association Better Newspaper Contest.

Robert P. Kelly Award
(for a first-year reporter)
Matthew McGrath, Reporter, The Courier
"Pallone Secures Major Funding," December 29, 2005

Front Page Layout
Jason Silverio, Production Chief, The Courier
"The Trenton Marathon," April 14, 2005
"Broschart Under Fire," September 8, 2005

Infection: The Courier Story

2006-03-08T15:14:00.000-05:00

Whatever you do, don't veer your vehicle in the direction of the Evil Clown anytime soon. This bronchial monstrosity has punched almost every employee square in the jaw. If you venture to open the door to our offices you'll be greeted with the percussion of half a dozen coughing minstrels.

I didn't move from my bed Sunday or Monday. Personally, I'm most fond of the little elves with molten lava-soled shoes tap dancing on the backs of my eyes. Quite a way to spend my last few days at the paper.

I'm going to go sleep this thing off another decade or so.

Party Time!

2006-03-02T16:03:00.000-05:00

My co-workers are going to give me a proper send-off Saturday night at one of my favorite watering-holes.

I want it to be a fun time for all and, naturally, the more the merrier. Therefore, if you're reading this, you're invited to join all of us and have a most excellent evening.

The basics:

Where: TJK Stadium
260 Beachway
Keansburg

When: Saturday, March 4 @ 7 p.m.

Come one, come all.

It's so hard to say goodbye...

2006-02-27T19:49:00.000-05:00

...but sometimes you have to.

After spending the past 20 months or so employed at The Courier, I've accepted a position as associate producer of NJ.com and SILive.com, both of which are a division of Advance.net, a Newhouse company.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity, and I'm equally grateful for everything I've learned during my time at The Courier. The level of freedom I was afforded at the paper taught me how to think outside the box (hence, this blog) and make the most of the tools available to me (hence, The Courier's web site).

I don't think I would have been able to learn as much or given as many opportunities if I had started at any other weekly publication.

The Courier is a second family to me. I'm going to miss everybody at the paper and $10 says I get a little misty-eyed on my last day. But I'm incredibly excited about the brave new frontier I'm heading out upon.

Congrats to Anna Little!

2006-02-26T11:57:00.000-05:00

It's Freeholder Little, folks. Abe has the detailed stats and the APP has quite an excellent article about the vote.

It should be noted that in his blog, Ronald Reagan (the blogger most in the Mon. Cty. blogging world say is MC GOP Chairman Fred Niemann or is-he-or-isn't-he former MC GOP Exec. Director Dan Gallic) is already talking about possible April convention challenges and a June primary. Wow, somebody's sore.

Was the whole mandatory "no primary" question asked of the candidates or does that only apply when the powers that be support the selected candidate?

Hey, at least they made the vote tallies public this time, and the count itself didn't mysteriously "disappear" later when candidates wanted to review the results. That whole we're-hiding-the-vote-count-for your-sake dog won't hunt more than once (especially not with a pool of candidates that had some bright lawyers in it).

EDIT (6:30 p.m.): Ronald Reagan has edited out the suggestions of convention challenges and a June primary. It's easy to see why.

Courier: The Blog

2006-02-21T11:06:00.000-05:00

The Courier's editorial staff blog has been born. Lord knows where this'll lead. It should be a good time, though.

Download This

2006-02-20T21:10:00.000-05:00

Google Earth

You won't regret it.

Red Bank woman gone missing from Aberdeen

2006-02-20T16:50:00.000-05:00

This hasn't gotten much attention in the newspapers, so please pass this along. (I just found out about it earlier this afternoon.)

Red Bank woman gone missing from Aberdeen (Courier).

Christine Caroline Edwards suffers from schizophrenia and went missing from her sister's home 10 days ago. Those with any information should contact the Aberdeen Police Department at (732) 566-2054.

SERC Announcement

2006-02-20T13:47:00.000-05:00

Assemblyman Sean T. Kean and Republican freeholder candidate Tom De Seno have announced the formation of the South Eastern Republican Conference.

Press Release at The Courier.

In Blogs Heard 'Round the Bayshore...

2006-02-19T23:52:00.000-05:00

No more anonymous comments. Abe has thrown his hands up at the Howell-anche and is only allowing those who sign-up for a Blogger.com name to post comments on his site, much to the chagrin of those Monmouth Republican committee members who have made Abe's page their homepage and follow the comment-posting fray.

William Seward has endorsed Anna Little for freeholder.

...and Monmouth Democrats are still without pseudonymous blogs of dead Democrat standard-bearers.

The APP Blogs

2006-02-17T00:07:00.000-05:00

The APP editorial board has gotten a handle on this blogging phenomenon.

Be wary. When editors and publishers learn about blogs, all hell can break loose.

Thompson Park Fire

2006-02-15T12:34:00.000-05:00

PRESS RELEASE:
Subcontractors completing renovation work blamed for Thompson Park fire

Uh-oh. Somebody's in trouble.

As the Bayshore turns...

2006-02-08T13:34:00.000-05:00

It's been quite the week in Bayshore/Monmouth news and politics, and I'm not quite sure whether to make heads or tails of it, so I'll just sit back and watch.

1) Middletown Superintendent David L. Witmer suspended

Middletown was a-buzz with the news that Witmer was suspended from his duties last week. The Board of Ed kept mum on the reasons until yesterday when charges were filed with the state Department of Education alleging that Witmer misappropriated his vacation and sick leave time.

2) Matawan Borough Council meeting

There was a bit of verbal sparring at the Matawan Borough Council meeting last. I'll refrain from talking about in depth since I plan on writing an article about it for next week. I will say that Councilman Paul Buccellato read a statement last night alleging that a family member of one of the new Democratic council members attempted to obtain confidential insurance information from municipal employees.

3) Keyport

Mayor John Merla was indicted on new charges earlier this week. At the council meeting, members of the governing body again asked Merla to resign. Merla has maintained his innocence.

There was also a big to-do during the public comments portion of the meeting by a Planning Board member about inaccuracies in news reports by an area newspaper (nope, not The Courier).

(An aside: As a reporter there are bound to be a group of people who like you and group of people who really hate you. It's kind of a bad idea to firebomb an entire town and have everyone aching for your spleen. ...but, hey, that's just my opinion.)

4) Monmouth County

TWO people have thrown their hats in the ring to challenge Fred Niemann. Out of personal curiosity, does anybody know how many municipal chairmen and county freeholders actually support Niemann these days?

...anywho, I will be up in the northern part of the state tomorrow, so the website update may be slightly delayed. I'm keeping my lips zipped as to why, but wish me luck.

Those Monmouth Republicans like blogging...

2006-01-31T15:04:00.000-05:00

Here's two new blogs by one new blogger: http://www.monmouthbylaws.blogspot.com and http://monmouthrepublicans.blogspot.com/

Antonucci runs for Handlin's seat

2006-01-31T14:26:00.000-05:00

After much behind-the-scenes speculation, Bridget Antonucci has officially announced that she will be seeking Assemblywoman Amy Handlin's freeholder seat.

The Courier received the following e-mail today: [PRESS RELEASE]

More Random Web Rambling

2006-01-26T22:58:00.000-05:00

The Courier's website has been added to Google News. Quite cool. Looks like it's bringing in a bunch-o-hits, too.

More Courier Web Features

2006-01-23T22:50:00.000-05:00

A tad obsessed with my paper's website? You bet I am. I'm tweaking this thing or adding new scripts entirely every day. Here are some of the new features that I'm particularly excited about:

Chatroom: No, I don't really think people are going to be running over to our site for the joy of on-line chatrooms. Basically, some officials have expressed interest in reaching out to constituents in a more interactive way. Say Councilman X wants to open himself up to a dialogue with citizens. We set that a time and a date when Councilman X will be logged on to the chatroom to answer your questions and concerns. Naturally, the time and date would be advertised well in advance. (And the chatroom program allows an administrator to ban certain users who get fresh.)

Sports Photos: Our sports editor has a pretty kickin' camera and, sadly, not enough sports pages to publish all the fantastic sports shots he gets. Apparently, a good number of parents inquire about getting to look at game photos. Dear ol' Ed Collins is now able to upload particular shots for parents and readers to view, as well as purchase as larger prints.

Archives: Our past issues are in the process of getting archived. We've got several years digitally archived before typing in past issues becomes a necessity. (I raise my coffee cup to the notion of summer interns.) At any rate, the issues are getting archived onto the website and are available for a yearly subscription fee of $50 that includes a one-year subsciption to the print edition of The Courier.

Courier bloggers

2006-01-21T20:04:00.000-05:00

I'm very glad to say that Matt McGrath is back Off the Record.

And don't forget the original Courier blogger, our circulation manager and sports writer extraordinaire, Mike Kenny.

And some blogging advice for those considering: Honest Abe has discovered that if you make any mention of Howell whatsoever, your hit counter will self-destruct.

Interesting comment

2006-01-19T19:58:00.000-05:00

I think this comment deserves it's own post:

The Big Professor 7:57 pm

You people amaze me. You ridicule Senator Lynch and vilify him. For your information, Senator Lynch is the best legislator to have served this state.

The Lynches, père et fils, have contributed greatly to the city they call home, New Brunswick, and to Middlesex County in toto. New Brunswick is a city on the move. A visit here will show new buildings under construction. Indeed, the State of New Jersey is a better place for their having served. It is why there is a bridge named in the elder John Lynch's honor.

Monmouth County's petty tyrants would receive an education observing the statesmen we are honored to have here in Middlesex County.

Many gloat over the unfortunate circumstance of the younger Lynch being investigated by Bush's Federal Bureau of Investigation. This is a politically motivated vendetta. John Lynch will be vindicated, and one day will return to public office. How fortuitous for our state if one day there is a Governor John Lynch!

Certainly you will delete this comment. So be it!

What do you say, Monmouth County -- do we want to be Middlesex?

---

On an unrelated note, a big thanks to Keyport Councilman Joe Weddick for pointing out that it is in fact 2006 and not 2005, despite what The Courier's website indexes listed. I credit my critical thinking skills for the time travel experiment.

Off to Trenton...oh never mind

2006-01-19T08:12:00.000-05:00

The boss is without car, so I have to join in clearing up that DEP mess today. Joy of all freaking, red tape, bothersome, bureacratic joys. Till then, I'm Ric Cartman, signing off. Don't sully Abe's blog. Just e-mail me if you need to go off the hook.

"It's only paranoia if they're not out to get you."

Edit: Looks like we're looking at an afternoon visit. I'm going to get the new issue posted on-line in the meantime.

Double Edit: Purcell got caught up in meetings and phone calls so no Trenton today. Hopefully his car'll be fixed so I don't have to log miles on my vehicle.

Nevertheless, I want to keep that Cartman picture up. It's way cool.

Retaliation Time

2006-01-18T15:33:00.000-05:00

I wish we could get past such things, but when you feel somewhat threatened, I believe you are entitled to make it known. (Then again, I likely would have never created this blog had certain incidents that made me feel threatened not occurred during the time I was investigating the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station project.)

Some strange happenings in the past two days:

1) Holmdel Mayor Serena DiMaso asked the Holmdel Clerk's office to pull legal advertisements from The Courier and place them in the APP, which charges nearly double what we charge. (This extra cost will, of course, go to taxpayers.)

2) We haven't had a dark room at The Courier's office building in about eight years (and thus haven't had to file any chemical-disposal permits with the DEP since that time). Yesterday we received a letter marked "Urgent: Second Notice" (we never received a first notice) stating that we needed to file permits in order to comply with storm water management rules. Apparently, we were mysteriously put back on a state list (e.g. newspapers/publications with dark rooms that handle certain chemicals) with the DEP that we haven't been on for eight years.

I believe this is more than just coincidence. I believe this is retaliation for the reporting we presented to the public this summer.

RE: 1)
This is coming on the heels of an accusation by Ms. DiMaso that a recording of Mr. Kyrillos that we included in a story that ran several months ago was doctored by Terence Wall.

Last week, Ms. DiMaso told an area newspaper that the audio tape of Sen. Kyrillos presented in The Courier's article about a Keansburg development was manufactured by Mr. Wall. I find this highly offensive to me as a journalist. I take a great deal of pride in my work. And I would never present evidence that I had any suspicion was manufactured. (And I'm a pretty damn cynical and suspicious person.)

The audio tape was, in fact, not a tape at all, but a voice mail message that could not have been tampered with. I might add that Mr. Kyrillos, Mr. Wall and other Keansburg officials all acknowledged the existence of the recorded message. The only debate as to the recording was whether or not it was evidence of influence peddling or not. I make no judgment as to that. It is for residents to listen to and make their own determination. Mr. Wall did not bring this recording to The Courier's attention. I heard rumors of its existence and filed an OPRA request with the borough specifically asking for it. I tape recorded this message as it was played from Mr. Wall's voicemail.

I have nothing against Ms. DiMaso. In fact, before Mr. Wall's allegations of a tape of Ms. DiMaso making religious slurs came to light in print, I was considering running a story about it. I ultimately decided against doing so before I was presented with the tape because such allegations, once made, leave a mark whether they are established as true or not. I told this to Ms. DiMaso and she thanked me.

The legals are readily accesible on-line, if the township requests such, and at no extra cost to the township. Despite our ownership's disagreements with Middletown Township in recent years, Middletown never made any attempt to pull our legal advertisements because publishing them in a daily newspaper would come at a significant cost to the taxpayer. The only municipal government to attempt to pull our legal advertisements before was the UFC majority in Keansburg under former Mayor Michael Minervini at a time that The Courier was at odds with that administration. The borough's attorney advised the council that such a retaliatory action was not legal and it was subsequently dropped.

The only reason, in my opinion, that Ms. DiMaso would have for advocating to pull legal advertisements from The Courier is political retaliation for us daring to publish articles describing potential conflicts of interest by Mr. Kyrillos.

Again, I want to emphasize that the cost of this will be passed on to taxpayers.

RE 2)
I find it very strange that we were suddenly put back on a list that we haven't been put on for eight years. I believe that, as well, may likely be an act of retaliation. The DEP's explanations to us as to how we mysteriously came to be put back on this list have been lacking thus far.

Silly bloggers

2006-01-17T22:08:00.000-05:00

It seems this little Monmouth County blogging party has really exploded.

For all the insightful debate, quite a bit of silliness has erupted. I'll certainly admit my part in the ruckus. Nevertheless, there's nothing I've said here that I wouldn't say to some one face-to-face.

I never expected quite as many eyes to see this blog as there apparently have been. And I must say that I never took blogging very seriously. (I really just wanted to list my source documents so that people could make up their own minds as to the issues I was reporting.)

This little post is just to say that I'll be weighing my words in the blogosphere much more carefully from now on. The silliness was fun but I believe I've missed quite a number of opportunities to write more interesting commentary.

So, in the interest of getting back on topic, I'd like to post this Monmouth-related political question (and I'm dead serious about this):

When do you think Jen Beck's gonna run for governor?

I'm pretty skeptical when it comes to public officials, and I thought that both Panter and Morgan were excellent legislators the past two years, but I'm very impressed with Jen Beck.

The pre-filing of a repeal of S-1701 was a homerun, in my book. Anyone involved with (or involved with reporting on) boards of education knows what a disaster the bill has been for school districts. And yet nothing was really done about it at the state level. Beck could have sat back for a breather after a pretty stressful post-election period, but she didn't. She took on an issue that affects anyone with a child or (in my case) a young sibling still in the public school system. Her pre-filing showed that she has her finger on the pulse of New Jersey. I'm really eager to see what she's going to accomplish in the years to come.

So, yeah, I'm skipping right past the speculation of whether or not Beck's going to run for state Sen. Ellen Karcher's position and heading probably 10 years down the pike: Do you think we're going to see a Gov. Beck?

The Courier conspiracy

2006-01-17T17:31:00.000-05:00

Matt's take on The Courier conspiracy.

Editor for a day

2006-01-17T12:45:00.000-05:00

Doug Irvin to the Journalista: "It's like having a substitute teacher."

Web stats

2006-01-16T10:19:00.001-05:00

I checked The Courier's more detailed web stats this morning and made a pretty funny discovery.

You get three guesses as to who visits The Courier's website more than its staff does. (One hint: the person isn't in politics.)

Web Wildfire

2006-01-15T20:15:00.000-05:00

Monmouth Republicans are taking to blogs like wildfire.

Two new bloggers have joined the ranks:

1) William H. Seward (who hasn't posted yet, but who has left comments on both mine and Honest Abe's blog)
2) Lew Alcindor

Me thinks this year's Republican Lincoln Day Dinner will produce a number of conversations about the party's masked bloggers.

Monmouth Democrats seem to be getting their butts kicked solidly in the blog department, leaving the alias "Action Jackson" just begging to be used.

Fatigue

2006-01-14T09:50:00.000-05:00

I need to post a bunch of source documents for the Lynch story since I promised to do that right after the New Year. I doubt anybody's pining away for a new set of dull ELEC report posts, but, essentially, this blog is supposed to exist just to house my source docs. Anyway, just wanted to say I haven't forgotten, I've just been incredibly fatigued by all the work on this website redesign business. It might take a few more weeks, but I'll get there.

I found this comment yesterday on a post on TheMediaDrop.com about that infamous pulled story:

Oh dear - NOT FOUND!
So much for a pub trying to hold back a story.
Jackie Corley is a very talented writer who works for a paper that does not appreciate her talents. They are only interested in Jackie fronting the agenda they are churning out. It is my hope that she tires of this nonsense and find work at a reputable paper where she will allowed to grow into the writer she's destined to be.

Posted by: FreedomOfSpeech at January 1, 2006 05:13 PM

I love how I'm perceived as being in the clutches of some cloaked, nefarious organization. Naturally, because I'm 23 and lacking a pair of testicles, I'm too ignorant to make my own decisions or avoid having naivete block any and all rational thought.

...or maybe The Courier conspiracy theories aren't what they're cracked up to be. Maybe I was actually the one who lobbied hard for the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station story to see the light of day. Maybe Joe Azzolina and Jim Purcell are actually generous, honest and decent human beings. (And maybe the people who make such grand judgments on them should actually have a conversation with them or at least see them in person before frothing at the mouth.) Maybe the people who work at Courier love the place and the work they do. Maybe these Courier staffer blogs exist because the place is much more open and honest than other newsrooms. Maybe the reporters believe that we're given much more independence in the storylines we pursue and how we pursue them than our peers are.

I learned absolutely everything I know about journalism from my time at The Courier. If I'm a decent writer, it has everything to do with Jim Purcell, Shom Sengupta and Darlene Franklin.

Courier web features

2006-01-11T16:12:00.000-05:00

All righty...

My head has been buried in my computer while I tinkered with coding this week.

In addition to articles being archived, the redesigned site includes a calendar of Bayshore area events and comment threads on news articles. (The comment threads will be monitored for profanity, libel, content, etc. IP addresses will be logged in our database and we'll be able to block certain IP's from posting, should posters get out of line.)

Check it out.

*Edit*
An internal search engine function was added, as well.

Courier website, II

2006-01-05T21:53:00.000-05:00

The Courier's website has gotten a facelift, complete with RSS feed for you Firefox-loving technorati types.

The site will continue to be tweaked and prodded, with a lot more information added to it over the next couple of days.

Bayshore-Courier.com

UPDATE: If you have a PayPal account, you can now order your subscription to The Courier on-line. If you have any questions about it, contact our Circulation Manager Michael Kenny at (732) 957-0070 or circulation@bayshorenews.com.

The Mystery of Honest Abe

2006-01-04T11:35:00.000-05:00

I wanted to post this comment left on my blog by Honest Abe because I thought it was pretty hysterical:

Some of the theories that I've heard are that I'm Fred Niemann, Wally Edge(!), Dan Gallic or Joe DiBella. I even heard that I was you!

I remain anonymous because, in addition to the independence it allows me, it also doesn't identify me with any one part of the county, i. e., Western Monmouth, Bayshore, Coastal, etc. Also I can travel freely at events like Lincoln Day, the Finance Gala or a Federation luncheon or Affiliated dinner. I try to keep my finger on the pulse and my ear to the ground; sometimes it's better when people don't realize they're talking to Honest Abe.

Honest Abe's anonymity makes this blog-o-sphere so much more fun. He provides an interesting and thoughtfully measured voice on Monmouth County politics. I imagine some imitators will be cropping up as his popularity grows but I somehow doubt that they will be more insightful or intelligent than the posts Honest Abe has offered up.

Nevertheless, the more voices, the better. I encourage anyone and everyone to add their unique style to the fray by trying out blog technology. May the best blog get the most hits.

Courier website

2006-01-04T08:13:00.000-05:00

I'll have The Courier's website back up and running tomorrow evening with a new template. I'll be selling the ownership of BayshoreNews.com (for the big $25 it cost me) to the paper and I'll no longer have any affiliation with that domain name.

For the time being, my source documents will be hosted on BayshoreNews.com until I find another option. My blog will still be available right here at www.bayshorenews.blogspot.com

Bayshore-Courier.com will continue to be your link to The Courier, but BayshoreNews.com will be hosting the files.

Basically, just keep the Bayshore-Courier.com bookmark if you have it.

A new site feature: The Courier will enter the 21st century of website technology with a MySQL database. That means that we'll have the ability to digitally archive articles as well as have an RSS feed (eventually). The RSS feed is what many blogs and newspaper sites use to have news syndicated on certain search engines.

Art Kamin is da bomb, Part II

2006-01-03T15:41:00.000-05:00

Corzine must reject power grab on fort reuse (APP)

(A very interesting editorial by one of my favorite journalists.)

NY Times

2006-01-02T18:03:00.000-05:00

Very interesting piece in the NY Times yesterday:

In New Jersey, Party Bosses Meld Politics and Business
(use BugMeNot.com for a username and password)

John Lynch, Jack Morris, etc., etc.

The word on Monmouth blogs gets 'round

2005-12-29T14:07:00.000-05:00

NJ.com: Old Bridge Forum

Lynch’s role and intrigues in Monmouth County

2005-12-28T14:19:00.000-05:00

(Published in the December 22 issue of The Courier.)

Lynch’s role and intrigues in Monmouth County

By JACKIE CORLEY

Are the losses of Monmouth Democrats in part caused by an internal split that has been orchestrated by forces outside the county?

For years state Democratic leaders have been looking at Monmouth as a county with a Republican vice-grip upon it that could be broken. The demographics seemed obvious: Monmouth is not Hudson County, where 42.5 percent of registered voters are Democrats, or Sussex County, where 34.2 percent of registered voters are Republicans, as of 2005.

What the Numbers Say

Contrasted to the rest of the state, Monmouth has the largest percentage of unaffiliated voters compared to its base of registered voters. Out of 396,047 registered voters in Monmouth County, 256,154 or 64.7 percent were unaffiliated with either the Republican or Democratic parties, as of June 2005.

Additionally, the percentage of registered Democrats compared to the percentage of registered Republicans within the county voting bloc is third closest in the state; only Burlington and Bergen counties have a tighter spread percentage between Democrats or Republicans. When it comes to affiliated voters in Monmouth County, 65,390 or 16.5 percent of total registered voters aligned themselves with the Democratic Party, while 73,117 or 18.5 percent of total registered voters have aligned themselves with the Republican Party.

The demographics being what they are, how has Monmouth remained a Republican stronghold for decades?

The well-oiled machinery of the Republican Party plays no small part. And while the county Republicans have had their share of squabbles, such as the ouster of long-time Monmouth Republican Chairman Bill Dowd in June 2004, any issues have remained largely internal.

In the Monmouth County Democratic Party, struggles for the heart of the organization have come as much from neighboring Middlesex County and former state Sen. John Lynch, D-Middlesex, as they have from within.

Additionally, as the Monmouth County Democratic Organization faced internal challenges for the party leadership in recent years, challenges often well-funded by a Political Action Committee (PAC) controlled by Lynch, money from Lynch’s business partners have found its way into Monmouth Republican coffers.

Lynch: ‘Invader’ from the North?

The day after this year’s November General Election, FBI officers raided the Tinton Falls offices, located at Suite 10 on 1 Executive Drive, of Lynch and his business partner, Jack Westlake.

The pair's Monmouth offices house Alma Ltd., Executive Continental Inc. and the New Directions Through Responsible Leadership PAC, according to Election Law Enforcement Committee (ELEC) reports.

In recent interviews conducted by daily newspapers in the state, Lynch has stated that he and Westlake share control of Executive Continental, a subsidiary of Alma Ltd., which was incorporated by Westlake.

Lynch, considered a heavy-hitter in Middlesex politics, was a political mentor to former Gov. James McGreevey before the pair severed ties in the early 2000s. Lynch's own career in elected office ended in 2001 when he retired from the New Jersey Senate.

Labels in the press, such as "king-maker" and "de facto boss," have followed Lynch into retirement. These labels, Lynch has said publicly, are what he believes have drawn the FBI to investigate his business dealings.

Area residents may have been surprised to learn of Lynch’s presence in Monmouth following the FBI raid, when it made headlines in the media.

However, Lynch has had an involvement in Monmouth County politics for a number of years, and the belief that Lynch has been pining for a foothold in Monmouth County is an open secret in the Monmouth County Democratic Organization.

“He’s wanted influence in Monmouth County, no doubt about it,” Middletown Democratic Chairman Joe Caliendo said.

Caliendo said the challenges to Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Victor Scudiery's leadership in recent years were anchored in Lynch's desire to extend his sphere of influence into Monmouth County.

One of the most prominent turf battles for the Monmouth County Democratic Party occurred in 2003. That was when Scudiery supported state Sen. Ellen Karcher, 12th District, in a contentious primary battle against Oceanport Mayor Gordon Gemma, who received significant backing by Lynch. Also that year, Assemblyman Robert Morgan, D-Monmouth, was challenged by Fair Haven business owner Amy Mallet in the 2003 race. The New Directions PAC funded Gemma and Mallet’s failed primary attempt to the tune of $14,400.

Also, a 2000 race for the Monmouth County Democratic chairmanship pitted Red Bank Mayor Ed McKenna against Scudiery. McKenna received $5,000 from the New Directions PAC for the ultimately unsuccessful attempt. Lynch's PAC has continued to support McKenna's role as a Democratic leader in Monmouth County, contributing $9,700 to the Red Bank Democratic Party and $2,500 to the Monmouth County Council of Democrat Leaders PAC, a committee McKenna is affiliated with, since 2002.

Lynch's support for McKenna has been reciprocated, with the Red Bank Democratic Party, McKenna and his law firm contributing at least $5,500 since 2002.

Additionally, some specific municipal Democratic parties in Monmouth County have received funding from New Directions Through Responsible Leadership on more than one occasion since the PAC’s inception. In addition to the Red Bank Democratic Party, these municipal parties include: the Atlantic Highlands Democratic Party, the Manalapan Democratic Party and the West Long Branch Democratic Party.

As for Monmouth County Legislative District races, the Democratic candidates in the 13th District received $3,000 since 1999, with $500 coming from Executive Continental to Assembly candidates Patrick Gillespie and Alex DeSevo in 1999; $2,000 from the New Directions PAC to state senatorial candidate Bill Flynn in 2003; and $500 to Flynn and his Assembly running mates, Leonard Inzerillo and Thomas Perry, also in 2003. No contributions were made to the 2005 Democratic 13th District race, in which candidate Michael Dasaro, who ran with Flynn, made considerable issue of the financial relationship between developer Jack Morris, also a Lynch partner in a Brick land deal, and state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos, R-Monmouth.

In addition to the campaign funds contributed to Gemma and Mallet in the 12th District primary race, then assembly-candidate Gemma and running mate William Scherer received $2,000 from Alma Ltd. in 2001; Karcher received $2,000 from Westlake and $2,000 from the New Directions PAC in the 2003 general election; and Morgan and Assemblyman Michael Panter, D-Monmouth, received $500 from New Directions in 2004.

In the 11th District, Assembly candidate Matthew Doherty received $500 from the New Directions PAC this year.

During the time that Lynch made his presence known in Monmouth through contributions from New Directions, the 2000 and 2003 challenges to Scudiery’s leadership occurred, as did a stunted attempt by McKenna’s law partner and Democratic fundraiser Michael DuPont, who considered running for the chairman post in 2004.

And though individual Monmouth Democrats and municipal campaigns have benefited from Lynch's fundraising capabilities, his PAC has not financially supported the Monmouth County Democratic Organization to the same level as it has other county Democratic organizations throughout the state. The Monmouth County Democratic Party received $5,000 from the PAC since 2001, while southern neighbor Ocean County, also a heavily Republican-controlled part of the state, received $84,500 for its Democratic organization and northern neighbor Middlesex County, Lynch's home territory, received $133,000 for its Democratic organization.

Lynch: A Monmouth Republican Supporter?

While the fact that a PAC under Lynch's control would not contribute funds to a county leadership it has taken exception to is not unusual, what does stand out in ELEC reports listing Suite 10 at 1 Executive Drive as home to numerous campaign contributions are the funds given to the Monmouth County Republican Party by Alma Ltd.

Lynch has publicly stated to other news outlets that Westlake consulted with him about forming Alma Ltd. during the early 1990s. Lynch and Westlake subsequently decided that Westlake alone would incorporate Alma Ltd. and a subsidiary company, later called Executive Continental, Inc., would be formed out of Alma Ltd. to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest for Lynch, who was still a state senator at the time.

Nevertheless, Alma Ltd. has become a significant source of funds for the Democratic Party, in much the same way that the New Directions PAC listed at the same address had.

Of the $125,450 contributed to campaigns and political organizations by Alma Ltd., with 94 percent of such donations being made between 1998 and 2005, $106,500 went to Democratic candidates and committees.

Alma Ltd., however, has not neglected Republicans: $18,900 in contributions were made to state Republicans. Of the $18,900 in Republican contributions from Alma Ltd., $12,400 went to Monmouth County Republicans.

The Monmouth County Republican Party received a total of $5,500 in annual donations made between 1999 and 2004. The contributions stood in the $650 to $750 range until August 2004, when a $2,000 donation was made. This compares to $3,000 in total contributions to the Monmouth County Democratic Party by Alma Ltd., made between 2002 and 2004.

Other contributions to Monmouth County Republicans by Alma Ltd. include: $650 total to Assemblyman Steve Corodemus, R-Monmouth, in contributions made between 1998 and 1999; $1,800 total to former state Sen. John Bennett, R-Monmouth, in contributions made between 1999 and 2002; and $3,800 to Kyrillos, a former New Jersey State Republican Committee chairman, made between 2000 and 2005.

Kyrillos came under fire this summer when it was revealed that, while counseling Democrat-controlled Aberdeen Township and then-Republican-controlled Matawan Borough for a resolution to the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station redevelopment project, he had accepted over $50,000 from Jack Morris in campaign contributions. Morris is a Middlesex-based developer and a Lynch business partner whose company, the Columbia Group, was ultimately selected by the Matawan Borough Council as its designated redeveloper.

Morris has been a very successful fundraiser for Middlesex Democrats in recent years. Since 2000, Morris and his companies have contributed over $500,000 to Democrats and Democratic political organizations throughout the state. Of that money, at least $140,000 has gone to the Middlesex County Democratic Organization, ELEC reports.

Why would the leader of the New Jersey State Republican Party be accepting funds so closely associated with the so-called Middlesex County Democratic boss, a man who has been doing everything in his power to defeat Middlesex Republicans? Kyrillos has not returned calls to this office to answer questions for this article.

Kyrillos was chairman of the state’s Republican Party from 2001 to 2004.

Middlesex Republicans' Up-hill Battle

For years, Middlesex Republicans have been fighting an up-hill battle to raise funds in a county where the Middlesex Democratic Party is largely in control of the area's municipal and county-wide offices. Subsequently, Middlesex Democrats have been able to draw on the generosity of numerous professional services firms and developers to fill its political coffers.

Is the Middlesex Republican Party destined to minority status because of the financial power of the Middlesex Democratic organization, or has a dry fund-raising well kept the Middlesex Republicans from encroaching on Democratic territory? The question may bit of a "chicken or the egg" scenario, but the Middlesex County Republican Committee has seen little in terms of funding by the state to even put the question to the test.

Middlesex had the second largest base of undeclared voters in the state (Bergen County had claims to first place) at the height of Kyrillos' tenure as state Republican leader in 2002. Nevertheless, the county organization saw only approximately $28,000 in contributions and in-kind contributions from the state party from mid-2001 to 2005.

In total, approximately $2,016,000 has been contributed or given as in-kind contributions to county organizations during that time, with $45,000 of that money being expended since Tom Wilson took over the reins as state Republican chairman in December 2004.

Therefore, the $28,000 amount places Middlesex County 13th out of 19 counties that received money from the state for the county party organization and county-wide races during that time period. (Hunterdon and Sussex counties, both heavily Republican, relied on internal fundraising alone to finance their races.) The counties out-ranking Middlesex in terms of state GOP spending included Democratic powerhouses Essex, Union, Camden and Hudson. Counties that saw less funds from the state than Middlesex from June 2001 to 2005 Cape May, Morris, Atlantic, Salem, Warren and Mercer.

Neighboring Monmouth and Ocean counties were at the top end of the spectrum, receiving approximately $232,000 and $136,000 respectively from the state during that time. Notably, all the donations and in-kind contributions that came to Monmouth from the state between June 2001 and 2005 were made after Fred Niemann replaced Dowd as Monmouth County Republican chairman.

Today, both the Monmouth County Democratic and Republican parties are experiencing change. What direction these changes take may ultimately be tied to Lynch’s involvement in both parties and Kyrillos’ involvement with Lynch.

(A request for an interview with Sen. Lynch was not answered by this article’s deadline.)

Thanks to Honest Abe

2005-12-27T17:00:00.000-05:00

http://gop-of-mc.blogspot.com/2005/12/party-lines-and-county-lines-ii.html

Thanks for taking the time to read the paper this week, as well as offering an insightful response. I'll be posting the story shortly and the source documents after the New Year.

Courier's 50 years

2005-12-27T15:45:00.000-05:00

In preparation for a 50-year anniversary section, The Courier staff has been scanning our old archives quite feverishly.

The issues Matthew Gill used to put out were incredible. And, let me say, the words "controversial" and "The Courier" go back a loooong way.

Some of the highlights:

1) Matt Gill successfully sued Middletown Township in 1970 AND 1980... and publicized the entire thing week after week in the paper

2) Best headline (published in the December 6, 1979 issue): "Caller threatens to kill Courier reporter as shooting death controversy continues" (and upon seeing that headline, Purcell remarked, "That's just Thursday.")

3) The headline "__(insert an official's name)__ under fire" has appeared a number of times on the front page of the paper

...some things change, some things stay the same.

Proud to be from Monmouth

2005-12-23T08:53:00.000-05:00

Domestic partners get pension benefit (APP)

Monmouth's freeholders deserve praise for taking this step forward.