LETTER: Actions speak louder than freeholders’ words

This letter appeared in the Asbury Park Press over the weekend:

In seeing campaign signs for freeholders Lillian Burry and Gary Rich, I noticed their disingenuous slogan “Proven Leaders.”

When actions were taken on the freeholder board in 2009 to establish a county ethics board for addressing residents’ complaints, Burry opposed it in favor of self-policing.
She led the pack during some of Brookdale Community College’s darkest days. Year after year, Burry rubber-stamped funding requests with no questions asked.

During the first freeholder meeting after I left office in 2012, Rich seconded a motion in which the all-Republican board unanimously passed a resolution rescinding the county’s toughened pay-to-play laws. They wasted no time weakening the rules for political campaign contributions.

When a vote was taken in 2011 to approve a sitting mayor’s recently purchased 97-acre parcel of land for a taxpayer-funded open space grant, I was the lone freeholder to vote no. In 2013, both Burry and Rich voted to allocate $1.2 million to this mayor, Andrew Lucas of Manalapan, in exchange for preserving it as a farm (after he hosted a fundraiser for their previous campaign).

Later, an investigation by federal officials resulted in a jury trial handing down an 11-count conviction of Lucas based on illegal activities in acquiring the funding for the property. This year, Burry and Rich supported a resolution stating that public officials cannot participate in this publicly funded program. Really?

The residents of Monmouth County deserve proven leaders more than self-serving platitudes. Actions speak louder than words. On Nov. 4, reject the incumbents and vote for Larry Luttrell and Joe Grillo for freeholder.

Amy A. Mallet
Former Monmouth County freeholder

Letter: Lillian Burry is M.I.A. at FMERA Meetings

I received the following letter today and thought I'd share it:

(Lillian Burry MIA at FMERA meetings)

As I sat in the back row of this past Wednesday evening's FMERA (Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority) monthly meeting, it occurred to me that once again incumbent Freeholder Lillian Burry who is County Freeholder appointee on the board, was absent from yet another meeting.

I was shocked to discover that Freeholder Burry has not attended five out of the last six monthly FMERA meetings. In fact, she has missed the last three meetings in a row.

Those are more missed meetings than the three Mayors of Fort Monmouth's host towns (Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport) have missed COMBINED in 2014! I was even more dismayed to learn that rather than doing the job she is elected and paid to do, this month she instead was attending a political fundraiser for herself, starring TV personality Geraldo Rivera!

If Ms. Burry can not fulfill her obligations as the Freeholder representative to the FMERA Board, she should resign the position immediately.

As a resident of Eatontown, which is one of the three host towns, attendance at FMERA meetings is serious business. As it is, it’s hard for me to see any progress on my town's portion of Fort Monmouth - no new jobs, no tax ratables and nothing under contract. Then, to have Ms. Burry (who is asking for your vote this November) not even show up is a disgrace.

Zero accomplishments in Eatontown's section of Fort Monmouth and a Freeholder that does not show up at FMERA meetings in order to attend a political fundraiser - that's why I am voting for Larry Luttrell and Joe Grillo for Freeholder this year.

I am confident that Luttrell and Grillo will attend the required meetings and fight for the jobs we desperately need from Fort Monmouth's redevelopment efforts in all three towns.

Bob English
Eatontown

APP Editorial: Freeholders bear some blame for Lucas fiasco

If you have been keeping tabs on the Andrew Lucas land deal, the Asbury Park Press published a very important editorial today, which blames Freeholder Director Lillian Burry, Deputy Freeholder Director Gary Rich and the all-Republican Freeholder Board for the land deal between Manalapan's Republican former Mayor, Andrew Lucas and Monmouth County. Last week Lucas was just found guilty on all 11 counts for illegally obtaining the property.

This is what Democratic candidates for Monmouth County Freeholder Larry Luttrell and Joe Grillo have been campaigning on for months, this editorial collaborates what they have been saying all along and is important for their campaign.  The good ol' boy network that has been running the County for years needs to be stopped and ethical behavior by those we elect needs to be reinstated.

From the APP:

Former Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas was convicted last week of falsifying tax returns and fraudulently obtaining funds to purchase a piece of property that netted him nearly $1.2 million in farmland preservation taxpayer money. 

Andrew Lucas

The convictions, for wire fraud, loan application fraud, making false statements to the Internal Revenue Service, aggravated identity theft, obstruction of a grand jury investigation and falsification could land him in jail for decades when he is sentenced in January.

While officials at the county and local level were quick to distance themselves from Lucas, the whole fiasco could have been avoided if the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders had long ago barred elected and appointed officials from participating in the farmland preservation program. In classic “closing the barn door after the horses have left” fashion, the freeholders did not get around to that until April.

The farmland preservation funding Lucas received for his 97-acre Diamond Developers at Burke Farm sparked controversy as some politicians rightly insisted he should not have applied for the money while he was a sitting officeholder in Manalapan.

After purchasing the farm, Lucas applied for and received $694,800 from the state’s Farmland Preservation Program, $277,920 from Monmouth County’s open space fund, and $185,280 from Manalapan. Under the deal, Lucas was allowed to keep the farm but gave up any right to develop 96 of its 97 acres. While Lucas faces jail, Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry, who championed the deal from the beginning, now finds herself backpedaling at breakneck speed.

Burry said last week that the “guilty verdict against Andrew Lucas ... has nothing to do with the freeholders, the county or the farmland preservation program.” Lucas, she said, stands alone in that it was he who falsified the tax returns and fraudulently obtained funds to purchase the property.

Burry was not alone in acting as cheerleader for the deal. Manalapan Mayor Jordan Maskowitz and Committeewoman Susan Cohen also supported it from the beginning.
We are not buying Burry’s self-absolution....

Continue reading

Former Mayor Lucas Found Guilty in Land Deal; Democrats Call To Reinstate Ethics Board

Former Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas was found guilty on all 11 federal charges against him earlier today in his scheme that bilked Manalapan, Monmouth County and state residents of nearly $1.2 million of farmland preservation funds.  Lucas is now facing a long jail sentence in a federal penitentiary.

"A jury in federal court here has found former Manalapan mayor Andrew Lucas guilty of all charges in an indictment surrounding a questionable land deal that netted him nearly $1.2 million in taxpayer money.

The jury reached the verdict Thursday following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson.

Lucas, 37, remains free on a $500,000 bond, pending sentencing on Jan. 20, 2015, when he could face decades in federal prison..." - Asbury Park Press, 9/18/14

It should be noted that incumbent Freeholder candidates Lillian Burry and Gary Rich voted in favor of giving Lucas nearly $278K of Monmouth County open space funds. It's because of this and other alleged improprieties by the currently all Republican Monmouth County Freeholders Board that  Democrats are calling for the reinstatement of the short-lived Monmouth County Ethics Board.

"... Democratic candidates Joe Grillo and Larry Luttrell say the ethics board is needed to prevent recent scandals like the farmland preservation land deal involving former Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas and financial improprieties by former Brookdale Community College President Peter Burnham.

“The ethics board would be looking at any concerns or ethical issues in county government. It would be a place of redress,” Grillo said. “I think the freeholders owe it to the people we serve.”

Monmouth Democrats have been relentless in trying to pin those scandals and others to their opponents, Republican freeholder incumbents Lillian Burry and Gary Rich...."            - Asbury Park Press,  9/18/14

Letter: Rescind Mental Health Appointment

To the Editor,

As a former mental health counselor and school psychologist with a doctorate in rehabilitation counseling, I am dismayed and aghast that Freeholder Burry has appointed William Bucco, her former campaign manager, as the acting assistant director of Monmouth County's Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

Reportedly, Mr. Bucco has only an undergraduate degree in business and zero mental health experience. Mrs. Burry commented that he saved money in the last county job she gave him. Such bean -counting does not provide the much -needed empathic support to the clients of these county services.

The current county crisis of heroin addiction, homelessness and post-Sandy stress requires experienced, competent professionals to lead this critical division.

The appointment of Mr. Bucco needs to be rescinded.

Carolyn Schwebel, Director, Equalizers,
Advocates for People with Disabilities
Leonardo NJ

APP LETTER: Ex-Burry aide unqualified for post

The following letter was posted online over at the Asbury Park Press website earlier today. It hits the nail right on the head and points out exactly what's wrong with the Queen Bee of Monmouth County politics, Freeholder Lillian Burry and her lack of judgment towards the people she appoints to county postitions. It's political patronage at its worst.

 From the APP:

William Bucco of Aberdeen, a 28-year-old campaign treasurer for Freeholder Lillian Burry’s 2011 re-election campaign, should not have been appointed as acting assistant director of the Monmouth County Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

Monmouth County is facing a heroin epidemic and we need competent experts, not political socialites to assist residents battling addiction. Bucco lacks the background necessary to help implement the complex solutions we need to reduce harm and save lives.

Has everyone forgotten that Bucco’s predecessor as Burry’s campaign treasurer was attorney John Cantalupo of Colts Neck? Cantalupo resigned after he came under scrutiny in relation to the corruption that took place at Brookdale Community College while he was employed as attorney for the college board of trustees.

Burry pushed the corrupt Lucas farm deal that resulted in her political ally, former Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas, being given $1.2 million in county farmland preservation funds. Lucas has since been arrested by the FBI and is under federal criminal indictment on financial fraud charges relating to the deal.

Burry and the Republican Party have broken the taxpayer trust. We need new leaders and a federal criminal investigation to put a stop to these incidents that have made our local government look like a “Sopranos” episode.

Justin Cooke
Middletown and Colorado

Monmouth County Freeholders Backtrack on Dirty Lucas Land Deal

For Immediate Release: 


MANALAPAN - The Monmouth County Freeholder Board has backtracked in their recent unanimous vote to exclude elected officials from New Jersey’s farmland preservation programs.

Freeholder Director Lillian Burry and her board have been harshly criticized for releasing $1.2 million in taxpayer money to Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas [R], under the semblance of an Open Space land grant. Mr. Lucas is now under an 11-count indictment because of the $1.2 million deal.

In October of 2011, Lucas hosted a fundraiser for Freeholder Lillian Burry on the very property that was awaiting funding by her and the Republican Freeholders. Freeholder Burry has since been criticized by fellow Freeholders for supporting the release of the funds, which passed on a 3-2 vote. Republican Freeholders Gary Rich and Serena DiMaso voted to release the money to Lucas, while John Curley and Thomas Arnone voted against.

Joe Grillo, candidate for Monmouth County Freeholder, stated “Freeholders Burry and Rich are doing a typical political flip-flop. Eight months ago, they voted for something that was clearly unethical. Now that our money is already gone, they admit what they did should be illegal.”

Candidate for Monmouth County Freeholder Larry Luttrell stated, “By passing this resolution, Freeholder Burry admitted that she was wrong to funnel $1.2 million in taxpayer money to Lucas. We cannot let a career politician like Lillian Burry get away with this.”

Monmouth Republican Leader and Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas Arrested Today

For Immediate Release:
February 7, 2014


The following is a statement from Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal regarding news today of the 11 count indictment of former Manalapan Mayor and Republican Party Leader Andrew Lucas.

Mayor Andrew Lucas

"Today, we see yet another example of corruption from the Monmouth County Republican Party. Former Manalapan mayor Andrew Lucas is in federal custody today on an 11 count indictment for fraud, identity theft and obstruction of justice, among other charges.

The scandal involves the use of taxpayer funded programs for a land deal that funneled $1.2 Million dollars directly into the pockets of Lucas - with the help of the local and County Republican politicians. In order to receive the money, the deal was approved by the Republican controlled Monmouth County Freeholder Board.

We demand answers from Freeholder Board and especially career politician Lillian Burry, who endorsed and voted to approve the deal. Burry raised thousands of dollars at a fundraiser sponsored by Lucas on the very property that was up for consideration by the Freeholder Board.

We need change on the Freeholder Board in order to stop the pattern of corruption and taxpayer abuse.

###


Please see coverage in past few hours

http://www.app.com/article/20140207/NJNEWS14/302070102/Andrew-Lucas-Manalapan-mayor?odyssey=mod|breaking|text|Frontpage

http://www.politickernj.com/71344/monmouth-dems-react-arrest-gop-former-mayor-manalapan

http://www.tribtown.com/view/story/af91a3fd37f04c8a95dddc5c2ab209bd/NJ--Former-Mayor-Indicted

http://holmdel-hazlet.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/former-manalapan-mayor-andrew-lucas-arrested

http://www.oceancountysignal.com/2014/02/07/former-republican-mayor-of-manalapan-arrested-for-falsifying-tax-returns/

http://www.politickernj.com/71341/fbi-take-former-manalapan-mayor-custody-11-count-indictment

http://longbranch.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/former-manalapan-mayor-andrew-lucas-arrested

Monmouth County Library To Host "Kabow!" Comic Con On Sunday September 23rd

("Wonder Woman" Lillian Burry)

"We're excited to be hosting our first Comic-Con," said Freeholder Lillian G. Burry, who is the liaison to the Monmouth County Library and who is an admitted devotee of the DC Comic superheroine Wonder Woman. "Whether you like DC or Marvel comics, Star Wars or amine/graphic novels, there will be something at the Library's Comic-Con for all ages."

Sorry, but I just couldn't pass this one up!

Seeing how I'm somewhat of a comic book geek myself, i'd bet just about anything that until recently, Freeholder Lillian Burry had absolutely no clue who Wonder Woman is, what her backstory was and whether Wonder Woman belonged to the DC Universe or the Marvel Universe cast of comic book heros.

Nevertheless, if I wasn't already scheduled to work that day, I'd be at the Library before it opened letting my inner child imagine what it would be like to really have superpowers while exploring the tables and talking to those in attendance.
--------------
The KAPOW! Comic-Con: A Celebration of Comic Books and Superheroes at the Monmouth County Library will be held at Library Headquarters in Manalapan on Sunday, Sept. 23, beginning at 1 p.m.

"Come join the fun as we welcome patrons of all ages to the Monmouth County Library Comic-Con - a captivating celebration of popular culture that will pay homage to superheroes, comic book characters and the authors and illustrators who create them," said Renee B. Swartz, chair of the Monmouth County Library Commission.  

The September 23 event will include:

Jonathan Maberry

-- A keynote talk by Jonathan Maberry, a multiple Bram Stoker award-winning author, as well as a freelance comic book writer for Marvel Comics. 

-- A podcast by Mike and Ming of AMC-TV's Comic Book Men who will also  judge the Costume Contest. Kids of all ages can also meet Batman, Robin and Batgirl, and see the Batmobile!

-- A radio play, Batman, the Dark Detective, will be performed by Raconteur Radio.

-- A lesson in the ways of The Force by actor David Engel, as the Jedi Master.

-- Plus an expo of comic book writers and illustrators will open after the featured performers.  

This event is free, open to the public and family-friendly. Come dressed: there will be a costume parade with prizes. Library Headquarters is located at 125 Symmes Drive in Manalapan.   

GOP Freeholder Lillian Burry Fails Monmouth Taxpayers Over Brookdale College Scandal

By Vin Gopal, Chairman of the Monmouth County Democrats
Cross posted from Middletown Patch

Earlier this summer, Brookdale Community College President Peter Burnham pled guilty of stealing tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money. The web of corruption surrounding this case is just another example of Monmouth County Republican cronies profiting at the taxpayers’ expense.

Mr. Burnham, along with Brookdale Community College’s then-Board President Howard Birsdall and Brookdale’s Board Attorney John Cantalupo, were all close allies and major political supporters of the Republican Party establishment here in Monmouth County.

Mr. Cantalupo served as Freeholder Lillian Burry’s close confidant and official Campaign Treasurer in her 2005 and 2008 Freeholder campaigns.

In this same time period, Mr. Cantalupo negotiated the terms of Peter Burnham’s lavish Brookdale contracts.

This represents a clear conflict of interest, given that Mr. Cantalupo was Freeholder Burry’s right-hand man. Perhaps this is why Freeholder Burry sat silently on the sidelines as the truth about Mr. Burnham's theft was being exposed.

As a result of the Republican-controlled Freeholder Board’s lack of oversight, student tuition increased at Brookdale Community College -- while their college president profited immensely.

This is what happens when a chief advisor for the Republican Freeholders is negotiating salary contracts on behalf of a College President that is funded by these same Republican Freeholders.

It is time for Monmouth County taxpayers to unite against the Good Ol’ Boys Network here in Monmouth County.

Monmouth County Dems Release Statement Following Former Brookdale Community College President Peter Burnham Guilty Plea In Court Today

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monmouth County Democratic Organization
Tuesday, July 24th 2012

The following is a statement from Chairman Vin Gopal on behalf of the Monmouth County Democratic Organization regarding today’s guilty plea:

“Earlier today, Brookdale Community College President Peter Burnham pled guilty of stealing tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money. The web of corruption surrounding this case is just another example of Monmouth County Republican cronies profiting at the taxpayers’ expense.”

“Mr. Burnham, along with Brookdale Community College’s then Board President William Birsdall and Brookdale’s Board Attorney John Cantalupo were all close allies and major political supporters of the Republican Party establishment here in Monmouth County. Mr. Cantalupo served as Freeholder Lillian Burry’s close confidant and official Campaign Treasurer in her 2005 and 2008 Freeholder campaigns. In this same time period, Mr. Cantalupo negotiated the terms of Peter Burnham’s lavish Brookdale contracts. This represents a clear conflict of interest, given that Mr. Cantalupo was Freeholder Burry’s right hand man. Perhaps this is why Freeholder Burry sat silently on the sidelines as the truth about Mr. Burnhams theft was being exposed.”

“As a result of the Republican-controlled Freeholder Board’s lack of oversight, student tuition increased at Brookdale Community College while their college president profited immensely. This is what happens when a chief advisor for the Republican Freeholders is negotiating salary contracts on behalf of a College President that is funded by these same Republican Freeholders. It is time for Monmouth County taxpayers to unite against the Good Ol’ Boys Network here in Monmouth County”

This Is What I was Talking About: ARTHUR Z. KAMIN: Bring out the brooms at Brookdale

Just the other day I posted, Cantalupo's Resignation From Brookdale Exposes Shady Ties To Lillian Burry and County. The post was about the ties between former Freeholder Director Lillian Burry and Brookdale Community College lawyer John Cantalupo, who finally resigned from the college's Board of Trustees last Friday in the weak of the Peter Burnham scandal.

In today's Asbury Park Press the commentary written by Arthur Z. Kamin states pretty much exactly what I had stated in my earlier post. It's all there almost verbatim, how Cantalupo was Lillian Burry's campaign treasurer, how Cantalupo helped negotiate Burnham's generous employment contract and how Lillian Burry sits on the college board of school estimates which is responsible for approving contracts and budgets for the college.

I'm glad to see that someone else picked up on it and has connected the dots. I think the next one to step down after Jacob S. Elkes, the Vice -chairman of the College Board of Trustees, as Mr. Kamin has called for would be Lillian Burry herself.

Burry should step down from her position as a Monmouth County Freeholder and not seek re-election this November. Too many disturbing and questionable ethical revelations about Burry have been surfacing over the past few months that need closer examination from county residents.

Below is what Arthur Kamin wrote in today's APP:

It’s been almost one weekly bombshell after another in the aftermath of the Brookdale Community College scandal that forced the school’s president, Peter F. Burnham, to resign in disgrace amid allegations of improper spending habits.

It raised anew serious questions about whether its board of trustees was doing an effective job of oversight or just sleepily rubber-stamping for payment Burnham’s excessive vouchers. The county prosecutor’s office is now investigating how the money was spent. There is no word yet from that office on when the probe will be completed.

So far, under strong pressure to quit, the high-level Brookdale resignation casualties, in separate actions, have been the board of trustees chairman Howard C. Birdsall, a 23-year veteran of the board, and the board’s multi-faceted attorney, John M. Cantalupo, who served for two years. Cantalupo took new heat last week when it was reported in the Asbury Park Press that he had been serving as Republican Freeholder Lillian G. Burry’s campaign treasurer.

But wait. Could that be right? Freeholder Burry’s campaign treasurer, a political position?

Didn’t Cantalupo serve as the attorney representing the Brookdale board of trustees and as general counsel for the college? And didn’t Cantalupo help negotiate the generous contract with Burnham that included lavish pay and perks at the same time the board was weighing an 8.2 percent tuition increase?

And don’t the freeholders, of which Burry is the former board director, appoint most of the Brookdale trustees? Don’t the trustees, in turn, appoint the attorney? Doesn’t Burry sit on the board of school estimate that votes on budgets that include the contracts of the president and the attorney? Wasn’t Burry a strong supporter of Burnham?

Is there anything wrong here? Is this a potential conflict of interest for Burry? Doesn’t it raise ethical concerns for Burry to have the Brookdale attorney as her campaign treasurer, often said to be her spokesman, at political fundraisers?

Cantalupo, in the May 14 issue of the Press, said he resigned as Burry’s campaign treasurer because he didn’t want to serve as a “political distraction for the most outstanding freeholder in Monmouth County.”

Interestingly, I asked Burry before the resignation if Cantalupo was serving as her campaign treasurer. She and her chief administrative assistant never replied to my e-mails. Neither did Cantalupo, who I also queried about the treasurer role and what it entailed. Bill Bucco, who described himself as Burry’s campaign spokesman, asked that any questions relating to her campaign be directed to him. But he did not reply to my questions about the Cantalupo campaign post. So much for transparency.

To their credit, Freeholder Deputy Director John P. Curley, a Republican, and Freeholder Amy A. Mallet, a Democrat, repeatedly called for Cantalupo to resign as Brookdale attorney. Curley said he was “very concerned” that Cantalupo was working for Burry as her campaign treasurer. Mallet questioned whether it was ethical for Burry to sit at the board of school estimate table deciding on the attorney’s fees.

There is no question that the freeholders now will have to grapple with the way Burry handled this matter — especially the fact that she would not disclose the Cantalupo link and kept the other freeholders in the dark on the issue. It was poor judgment on her part.

But now it’s time for another bombshell to drop. This one should come with the resignation of Jacob S. Elkes, the former board vice chairman who is serving as its interim chairman. He is a 16-year veteran of the board.

Elkes, like Birdsall, was part of the institution’s leadership vacuum that permitted the Burnham mess to take place. It’s time for him to go. The rest of this sleepy board should make plans to depart in an orderly fashion.

On his way out, Elkes should take with him the law firm of Wilentz, Goldman and Spitzer that gave Brookdale Cantalupo. It’s time for a complete culture change at the college and a new law firm, without any freeholder connections. There is no shortage of good law firms to choose from in Monmouth County.

Cantalupo's Resignation From Brookdale Exposes Shady Ties To Lillian Burry and County

Over the weekend, front page news on the cover of the Asbury Park Press announced the resignation of Brookdale Community College Lawyer John Cantalupo.

Cantalupo job as legal counsel for Brookdale, came under intense fire from Freeholders Amy Mallett and John Curley over the past few months, when the contract details of Brookdale's former President, Peter Burnham, came to light back in February after he criticized the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders for funding cuts that would have lead to an 8% tuition hike(since rescinded). Both Amy Mallet and Curley called for Cantalupo's, as well as Howard Birdsall's (Brookdale Board of Trustees President), resignation at the time.

Some at the time questioned why former Freeholder Director Lillian Burry, remained silent on the subject and seemed to be overly supportive of Burnham. Little did they know that Burry's support for Burnham and silence on demands for Broodale trustees to step down, was driven by guilt through association rather than a need to hear the facts first.

As I first pointed out back in April, John Cantalupo and Howard Birdsall both were/are so intertwined within Monmouth County through political donations and public contracts, that Burry must have felt it wasn't in her best interest to speak out publicly against them at the time.

I also pointed out that Cantalupo is a close personal friend of Burry's and was until this past week, acting as her campaign treasurer for a number of years. During Cantalupo's tenure as Brookdale's lawyer, he negotiated the terms Peter Burnham's Brookdale contracts. Given Cantalupo's status as personal friend and campaign treasurer, I found it hard to believe that Burry had no idea of over the years, what was contained in Burnham's employment contracts.

And here's why:

Lillian Burry has sat on the Board of School Estimate since she has been a Freeholder. The Board of Estimate is comprised of three Freeholders and two Trustees and it is their responsibility to look over the budgets presented to them by college's board of trustees. Burry consistently voted for the college's budgets and sang songs of praise year after year, never finding flaws. These budgets contained all expenses including presidents and attorney's contracts.

Ethically, she should never have had a seat at that table knowing her relationship with Cantalupo. She has been supporting and is embedded in all that is wrong with this system, which is interesting when you read how Cantalupo praised her, “She’s a great lady and has the highest ethical standards,” in the APP article that announced his resignation as the attorney representing the Board of Trustees and General Counsel for Brookdale.

It should be noted that Freeholder Mallet recently attended the Board of School Estimate meeting and reminded them that she called for the resignation of John Cantalupo in early April. She copied an email to all Freeholders and Board of Trustees members about it but never received a response from anyone.

The country club is still alive and well here in Monmouth County and anyone who thinks otherwise is either delusional or uninformed. The only way to change is is to support Freeholder Mallet's petition to impose term limits on county board and commission appointees, many of whom are political insiders who have sat on these boards for twenty or more years. Having people serve on such boards for such lengths of time only leads to graft, corruption and complacency and this needs to end.

Sign the petition Here

Burnham Quits As Brookdale College President

I know I'm a little late on this so I won't spend a lot of time here discussing it, but by now everyone knows that Brookdale College President Peter Burnham resigned from his position Tuesday with a black cloud hovering over his head.

There is a lot of finger pointing going around between the the Monmouth County Freeholders and Brookdale's Board of Trustees as to who was responsible for overseeing the reimbursement of Burnham college expenses and his generous perks.

Freeholder Lillian Burry before Tuesday was quite on Burnham's plight, until she was quoted as saying, "He disgraced himself in the eyes of his students, in the eyes of his peers, in the eyes of everyone who believed in his vision for Brookdale and every Monmouth County taxpayer, he has to be held accountable for his actions.''

And Freeholder John Curley, who's job it is as a Freeholder to oversee the goings on at the college and who exposed Burnham's contract to the public after Burnham called out the Freeholders for being responsible for a proposed 8% hike in tuition and fees last month, chimed in as well according to the Asbury Park Press:

...Freeholder John P. Curley said he was pleased that Burnham resigned. Now it's time for the college board and its attorney to step down as well, he said, adding that the public does not have faith in the college leadership anymore.

"They are policing themselves at this point and that's unacceptable,'' Curley said....

What I find unacceptable in that quote is that fact that it has been Curley's job and others, who have been the liaison between the the college board and the Freeholders, to police and oversee what the college board does on behalf of tax payers. Curley and others should have been acting as the police, watching over and policing the college's board of trustees instead of maintaining a hands off policy expecting the board of trustees to do what was right for students and county tax payers.

The only Freeholder that has come out of this situation unscathed seems to be Freeholder Amy Mallet, who when she heard of Burnham's extravagant contract and perks called for the immediate resignation of the college board's President Howard Birdsall.

Jersey Scandal - Could Another Operation Bid Rig Be Far Behind In Monmouth County?

Quote of the Day

"A campaign at war with itself cannot fight its opponent effectively."

-- GOP strategist Ed Rollins, writing for CNN, using the presidential campaigns of Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. John McCain as examples. 

 Locally you can also add the feud between Republican Monmouth County Freeholder Candidates, Lillian Burry and John Curly, into his example.

Monmouth Republican Freeholder Candidates at Odds

Back on Sept. 25th I posted about the bad blood and animosity between the two Monmouth County Republican Freeholder Candidates, Lillian Bury and John Curly. I mentioned how Burry and Curly did not get along and that the both could not stand each other. I also mentioned that Curly was snubbed by Burry and was not invited to a fundraiser of hers.

Well, it seems as though the bad relations between the two have been noticed by others. The Asbury Park Press's Bob Jordan wrote about it in yesterday's paper:

"Republican Lillian G. Burry is running for another term as a Monmouth County freeholder, but don't go to the Burry campaign Web site's five pages of text and 21 pictures if you want to learn about her running mate.

That's because John P. Curley isn't mentioned on the site or included in any of the photographs. Indeed, there is no hint that the Republicans have a two-candidate ticket in the Nov. 4 county elections.

The county elections annually feature heated Democrat versus Republican contests, but this year's version has added Republican vs. Republican fireworks."...

This obvious split between the republican ticket should be a boost to their democratic rivals Glenn Mason and Amy Mallet, dissention amongst the ranks this close to an election is never good. Lets see if Mason and Mallet can capitalize on it.

Freeholder Burry Snubs Curly

Monmouth County Freeholder Director Lillian Burry and her Republican running mate John Curly, are at odds. It seems as though, their dislike for each other is starting to get in the way of their campaign.

The animosity between the two has been widely know now for a while I am told, neither one seems to think that the other is electable.  

As a result of this bad blood, I am told that John Curly is not welcome at any of Burry's fundraisers  such as the private shindig she had last weekend.

Burry will have her kickoff campaign fundraiser next week at Donald Trump's new Shadow Isle Golf Club in Colts Neck and word has it that she has told Curly to stay away.