Opinion: Elect Rob Acerra and Michael Whelan to Assembly in the 11th District

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 »

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Dems step up their hateful rhetoric

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 »

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Murphy would rather talk about Confederate flags than taxes

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 »

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Monmouth Dems Protest Hot Mess Chicken Emoji, Remain Silent On Hateful Rhetoric Of Their Supporters

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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Asbury Park Press Depicts Republican Assembly Candidate As Chicken

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 »

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O’Scanlon forces Assembly vote on property tax cap effectiveness

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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Beck Announces Her Selected Assembly Candidates In LD 11

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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2017 Predictions

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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Houghtaling votes to ban cat declawing

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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Republican Assembly Members Should Vote Against Gas Tax Hike

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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