By Joe Hadden
These days it seems that in order to oppose someone politically, it is necessary to “ist” them. If they disagree with you they must be a fascist, communist, racist, sexist, socialist, etc. I don’t need to do that to voice my opposition to Assembly members Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey. Demonizing them is not necessary.
Mr. Houghtaling and Ms. Downey are not evil, they’re just incompetent as elected representatives. They voted yes on a budget that took state aid away from many school districts in LD11, including Ocean Township. During the LD11 debate, Mr. Houghtaling was asked if New Jersey should become a Sanctuary State since his party’s candidate for Governor said it should. Mr. Houghtaling responded that he didn’t have an opinion on the issue. I dare say he might be the only person in New Jersey who doesn’t. He still hasn’t come up with an answer. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: October 28th, 2017 | Author: admin | Filed under: 11th Legislative District, 2017 Elections, Monmouth County Life, Opinion | Tags: 11th Legislative District, 2017 elections, Eric Houghtaling, Joann Downey, Joe Hadden, Michael Whalen, Monmouth County News, New Jersey, Opinion, Rob Acerra | Comments Off on Opinion: Elect Rob Acerra and Michael Whelan to Assembly in the 11th District

DNC Deputy Chairman Keith Ellison preaching hate in Asbury Park, March 31, 2017. Vin Gopal and Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling, left, look on with approval
Congressman Keith Ellison, the Deputy Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, evoked the Holocaust on Monday, comparing illegal immigrants and their children to Jews in 1941 Germany. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: September 21st, 2017 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 11th Legislative District, 2017 Elections, Monmouth County, Monmouth County News, Monmouth Democrats, NJ Democrats, Vin Gopal | Tags: 11th Legislative District, 2017 Legislative election, Democratic National Committee, District 4 Coalition for Change, Eric Houghtaling, Joann Downey, Keith Ellison, LD 11, Monmouth County News, Monmouth Democrats, Opinion, Senator Jennifer Beck, Vin Gopal | 2 Comments »
Monmouth Dems Expand Relationship With Hate Group
Former Goldman Sachs banker Phil Murphy, the Democrat running for governor of New Jersey, does not want to talk about his plan to raise taxes by $1.3 billion. He also doesn’t want to talk about renewing the law that is keeping a lid on New Jersey property taxes which expires at the end of this year.
Murphy really doesn’t want Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, the GOP nominee for governor, to talk about taxes either. Murphy wants to talk the Confederate flag. He wants Guadagno to talk about it too, according to a report at NJ.com. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: September 7th, 2017 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 2017 Elections, 2017 NJ Gubernatorial Politics, Monmouth County News | Tags: 2017 elections, 2017 Legislative election, Confederate flag, District 4 Coalition for Change, Eric Houghtaling, Joann Downey, LD 11, LD 13, Middletown, Monmouth County News, Parker Space, Phil Murphy, Rebel flag, Tricia Maguire, Vin Gopal | 1 Comment »

LGBT activist Sue Fulton, a former Monmouth County freeholder candidate outside Senator Jennifer Beck’s office. Middletown Committee candidate Tricia Maguire looks on.
Monmouth County Democrats, led by former freeholder candidate Sue Fulton, Middletown committeewoman candidate Tricia Maguire, Red Bank Councilman Ed Zipprich and Councilwoman Kathy Horgan took the the streets of Red Bank on Saturday to protest Ocean Township Deputy Mayor Rob Acerra’s alleged use of a hot mess chicken emoji on the campaign facebook page of LD 11 Assembly Members Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey.
Acerra is one of the Republicans running against Houghtaling and Downey, along with Red Bank Councilman Michael Whelan. The protest took place outside Senator Jennifer Beck’s legislative office on Monmouth Street.
Houghtaling and Downey, who would rather their reelection campaign be about facebook emojis than their records in the Assembly as special interest puppets, both shared photos of the protesters holding handmade signs and rubber chickens on their personal facebook pages.
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Posted: August 29th, 2017 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 2017 Elections, Monmouth County News | Tags: 11th Legislative District, 13th legislative district, Brian Wilton, District 4 Coalition for Change, Ed Zipprich, Eric Houghtaling, Hot mess chicken emoji, Jennifer Beck, Joann Downey, Kathy Horgan, Margie Donlon, Mariel DiDato, Monmouth County News, Rob Acerra, Sean Byrnes, Sue Fulton, Tricia Maguire, Vin Gopal | 4 Comments »
Gopal and Weinberg condemn hot mess chicken cartoon, silent on District 4 Coalition For Change hate posts

screen grab from app.com
The Asbury Park Press has done an admirable job for most of this year focusing on New Jersey’s ridiculously high taxes, but as we are about to enter election season, the media outlet is apparently trying to help reelect liberal special interest puppets, Eric Houghtailing and Joann Downey, to the State Assembly. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: August 27th, 2017 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 2017 Elections, Monmouth County | Tags: 11th Legislative District, 2017 Legislative election, District 4 Coalition for Change, Eric Houghtaling, Facebook, Houghtaling and Downey, Jennifer Beck, Joann Downey, Loretta Weinberg, Mary Pat Angelini, Monmouth County News, Rob Acerra, Vin Gopal | 9 Comments »
Democrats punt on property tax reform
Trenton, NJ- Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, Jr. invoked a parliamentary rule on the floor of the Assembly on Thursday to force a vote on his bill that would remove the sunset provision on the arbitration cap of police and fireman salaries.
The arbitration cap was institution as part of the 2010 landmark property tax reform legislation that capped New Jersey property tax growth at 2% per year. The initial cap expired in 2014 and was renewed in 2014 with a sunset provision for the end of this year. O’Scanlon’s bill, A-2123,would make the 2% arbitration cap permanent.
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Posted: June 10th, 2017 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Declan O'Scanlon, Monmouth County News, New Jersey, NJ State Legislature, Property Taxes | Tags: Declan O'Scanlon, Eric Houghtaling, Interest Arbitration Cap, Joann Downey, Monmouth County News, New Jersey, Police and Firemen Salaries, Property Taxes | 1 Comment »

Michael Whelan, Rob Acerra and Jennifer Beck
Senator Jennifer Beck announced that she has selected Ocean Township Deputy Mayor Rob Acerra and Red Bank Councilman Michael Whelan as the Assembly candidates who will seek to unseat rookie Democrat Assembly members Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey in the 11th legislative district this November.
Before a crowd of over 600 Republicans at the annual Monmouth GOP Lincoln Day dinner in Freehold Township on Friday night, Beck thanked the many potential candidates who she interviewed for the GOP nominations for Assembly in the 11th legislative district and announce that she, Acerra and Whelan would start their door to door campaign the following morning.
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Posted: March 6th, 2017 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Monmouth County News | Tags: 11th Legislative District, 2017 Legislative election, Eric Houghtaling, Joann Downey, LD 11, Michael Whelan, Monmouth County News, Rob Acerra, Senator Jennifer Beck | 6 Comments »

Joe Piscopo
In a repeat of Super Bowl I, the Green Bay Packers will defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LI. America will be great again.
Jared Kushner will buy Twitter.
The U.S. Supreme Court will reject Senator Robert Menendez’s arguments that constitutional separation of powers prohibits the Justice Department from prosecuting a New Jersey Senator for using the influence of his office in exchange for gifts and favors from a Florida businessman. Menendez will step down from the Senate as part of a deal that excludes prison and a felony record.
Governor Chris Christie will appoint NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney to complete Menendez’s term in the U.S. Senate.
Republican Joe Piscopo will defeat Democrat Phil Murphy to become the Governor of New Jersey.
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Posted: January 2nd, 2017 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Monmouth County News, New Jersey, Predictions | Tags: 2017 Predictions, Chris Christie, Christopher Sciliano, Declan O'Scanlon, Eric Houghtaling, Frank LaRocca, Gary Rich, Gerry Scharfenberger, Jared Kushner, Jeff Cantor, Jennifer Beck, Joann Downey, Joe Kyrillos, Joe Piscopo, John Bennett, Jon Hornik, Jonathan Hornik, Lillian Burry, Mary Pat Angelini, Monmouth County News, Mt Mitchell, New Jersey, Robert Menendez, Serena DiMaso, Steve Sweeney, Tom Arnone, Vin Gopal, Vincent Solomeno | 7 Comments »

photo courtesy of Freya’s Cat Resuce
Freshman Assemlyman Eric Houghtaling wants to ban New Jersey veterinarians from declawing cats.
The assemblyman from Neptune Township is a member of the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. The committee passed bill A3899, a bill that prohibits the surgical declawing of cats and other animals, 3-1 with one abstention, on Monday. Houghtaling voted in favor of the bill, which if passed in the full Assembly and Senate and signed by the Governor, would make New Jersey the only state that bans the procedure.
The proposed law exempts declawing cats for therapeutic and medically necessary procedures. Violators, both veterinarians and pet owners seeking the procedure will be subject to a fine of $1000 or six months in jail in the bill becomes law.
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Posted: November 17th, 2016 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Monmouth County, Monmouth County News, NJ State Legislature | Tags: A3899, Assemblyman Eric Hougtaling, Cat declawing ban, Declawing cats, Eric Houghtaling, Freya's Cat Rescue, freyascatrescue.org, Lorraine Valente, Monmouth County News, New Jersey Legislature | 4 Comments »
By Art Gallagher
This column is for my Republican friends in the Assembly, especially those from Monmouth County.
Dave Rible, Rob Clifton, Sean Kean, Monmouth Republican Assembly Members who voted for gas tax in June, and Declan O’Scanlon who didn’t vote, should join Amy Handlin and Ronald Dancer, Republicans who represent parts of Monmouth and voted NO in June, in voting NO on Wednesday or whenever the bill that Governor Christie, Senate President Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto agreed to on Friday comes up for a vote.
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Posted: October 3rd, 2016 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 2017 NJ Gubernatorial Politics, Amy Handlin, Chris Christie, Dave Rible, Declan O'Scanlon, Monmouth County, Monmouth County News, New Jersey, NJ GOP, NJ Politics, NJ State Legislature, Opinion, Vin Gopal | Tags: Amy Handln, Art Gallagher, Caroline Casagrande, Chris Christie, Dave Rible, Eric Houghtaling, Joann Downey, Mary Pat Angelini, New Jersey, NJ Gas Tax, Opinion, Rob Clifton, Ronald Dancer, Sean Kean, Steve Sweeney, Vin Gopal, Vincent Prieto | 5 Comments »