Gopal wants Freeholders to be called County Commissioners

State Senator and honorary volunteer firefighter Vin Gopal finds the term “freeholder” offensive and, for Monmouth County voters in particular, confusing.

Gopal co-sponsored a last minute change–a substitution– in legislation that passed in the Senate last week which, if passed in the Assembly and signed by Governor Murphy, will mandate that the name of the office of Freeholder be changed to County Commissioner. Read the rest of this entry »

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Rick Hibell replaces Gerry Scharfenberger on Middletown Township Committee

Rick W. Hibell was appointed to the Middletown Township Committee on Tuesday, February 20.  He replaces Gerry Scharfenberger who resigned from the Committee upon being selected to the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

A native of the Belford section of the Township, Hibell is a former Fire Chief and a member of the Planning Board.  He is the owner of E-Z Docks Marine Construction.

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Murphy fires Scharfenberger for skipping his press conference

Freeholder Gerry Scharfenberger takes the Oath of Office on Feb 3.

Republican Freeholder Gerry Scharfenberger was fired from his job in the Murphy administration this afternoon. PoliticsDW broke the story.

“I paid the price for not attending the press conference,” Scharfenberger said when reached by MMM.  The freeholder was referring to Governor Murphy’s event in Marlboro last week to promote his scheme to convert property taxes into charitable donations as workaround to the new federal tax law which caps the deduction for state and local taxes at $10,000.  Murphy claimed bi-partisan support for the scheme, but only five Democrat mayors from Monmouth County showed up to support the governor.

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Scharfenberger sworn in as Monmouth County Freeholder

Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon issues the Oath of Office to Freeholder Gerry Scharfenberger as his family looks on.

Freehold Township- Gerry Scharfenberger of Middletown was sworn in as a Monmouth County Freeholder on Saturday immediately after the Republican County Committee elected him by acclamation to fill the vacancy on the Board that occurred when Serena DiMaso took office in the State Assembly last month. Read the rest of this entry »

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Lunging Larry Luttrell to seek Democrat nomination for Monmouth County Freeholder

Democratic Freeholder Candidate Lawrence Luttrell at the 2014 Four Seasons debate in Manalapan. photo by Rhoda Chodosh

Larry ‘The Lunger’ Luttrell , a Democrat lawyer from Holmdel, is running for Monmouth County Freeholder for the third time, according to  report at InsiderNJ.

Luttrell earned the moniker The Lunger as a freeholder candidate in 2014.  During a debate at the Four Seasons Club House in Manalapan, Luttrell jumped from his seat and lunged towards Freeholder Lillian Burry when she asked him, “Is your name Pinocchio?” in response to a comment he made distorting her record.

This year maybe we’ll call Luttrell The Masochist because he apparently likes to be beaten.   In addition to losing his freeholder race to Burry in 2014, he lost to Serena DiMaso in 2013.  He lost a bid to be elected to the Holmdel Township Committee in 2012 and again last year.

All those beatings earned Luttrell’s wife, Renee, a five year term on the Monmouth County Tax Board. Read the rest of this entry »

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Scharfenberger and Kiley are taking nothing and no one for granted

GOP Freeholder candidates Gerry Scharfenberger and Sue Kiley in Ocean Township.

On paper they are unopposed for the Monmouth GOP nominations for freeholder to be awarded on Saturday morning at iPlayAmerica in Freehold Township.  But former Middletown Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger and Hazlet Deputy Mayor Sue Kiley are taking no chances and are campaigning as if they were in competitive races.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Scharfenberger running for DiMaso’s freeholder seat, Kiley seeking GOP nomination for full freeholder term

Sue Kiley and Gerry Scharfenberger are likely GOP running mates for Monmouth County Freeholder

Middletown Township Committeeman Gerry Scharfenberger is the only declared candidate for the Monmouth County Freeholder seat vacated by Serena DiMaso taking office as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly.  The Monmouth County Republican County Committee is scheduled to fill the vacancy in a special election/convention on February 3 at iPlayAmerica in Freehold Township.

Hazlet Deputy Mayor Sue Kiley is seeking the GOP nomination for the full freeholder term of the seat currently held by disgraced Freeholder John P. Curley.  That nomination is will also be awarded on February 3.  Kiley is the only known candidate circulating petitions for the nomination as required by the Party By-Laws. Read the rest of this entry »

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Political Predictions for 2018

National  Politics:

Defying historical trends and mainstream media polling, the Republican Party will expand its majority in the both U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.  Congressman Frank Pallone will not become a Committee Chairman.

President Donald Trump’s personal approval ratings will hover between 35-45%.  His job approval rating will exceed 50% nationally and in NJ as the economy continues to grow and as threats from ISIS and North Korea are neutralized. Read the rest of this entry »

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Curley Harassment Probe Cost $24K

Freeholder John P. Curley

The investigation into disgraced Freeholder John P. Curley’s harassment of Monmouth County employees cost taxpayers $24,075.00, according to documents obtained by MMM via OPRA request.

Former Acting Associate Supreme Court Justice Mary Catherine Cuff commenced the investigation by reviewing the County’s Anti-Discrimination policy on June 15, 2017, according to her invoice dated November 14, 2017.   Judge Cuff conducted four interviews in July and three interviews in August.   She spent 7.25 hours reviewing tape of Board meetings during the month of August. Read the rest of this entry »

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Curley will not have Republican support for reelection next year

John P. Curley’s harassment of Monmouth County employees which resulted in his censure and reprimand by his fellow Freeholder last week, has put the County GOP in the position of choosing two new freeholder candidates in 2018.

In a letter sent yesterday to GOP leaders and elected officials, Chairman Shaun Golden made it clear that Curley will not have the Party’s support for reelection in 2018: Read the rest of this entry »

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