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Surf's Up For - Freeholder Candidate Margie Donlon

Over 300 Supporters Help Kick Off 2016 Monmouth County Campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 15, 2016

BELMAR MAYOR DOHERTY AND FARMINGDALE COUNCILMEMBER IMMEN KICKOFF FREEHOLDER CAMPAIGNS


BELMAR – Surrounded by over 300 supporters, including New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, State Democratic Party Chairman John Currie, U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone, Union County Sheriff and Former State Democratic Party Chairman Joe Cryan, Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes, Former US Senator Bob Torricelli, State Assemblyman Raj Mukherji (Hudson), State Assemblyman Jamel Holley (Union), State Assemblyman Daniel Benson (Mercer), State Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling (Monmouth), State Assemblyman Joann Downey (Monmouth), Former State Assemblyman Jason O'Donnell (Hudson), Middlesex County Freeholder Ken Armwood, Essex County Freeholder Leonard Luciano and mayors and councilmembers across Central New Jersey including Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik, Atlantic Highlands Mayor Randi LeGrice, Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long, Manasquan Mayor Ed Donovan, Aberdeen Mayor Fred Tagliarini, Matawan Mayor Joe Altomonte, Neptune Mayor Kevin McMillan, Spring Lake Mayor Jennifer Naughton, Lake Como Mayor Brian Wilton, Red Bank Mayor Pat Menna, Brick Township Mayor John Ducey and dozens of other councilmembers and mayors from across Central New Jersey, Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty and former Farmingdale Council member Carly Immen formally kicked off their campaign for the two seats that will be contested on Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders this November.

Doherty and Immen join Sheriff candidate Jeff Cantor and Surrogate candidate Vincent Solomeno as prospective candidates on the Democratic slate for Countywide office in November.

“We believe in putting people before politics,” said Mayor Doherty. “It’s that belief that has allowed us to attract great new businesses to Belmar that put people to work, help keep taxes down and provide tremendous destinations for residents and visitors alike. We have had no tax increases in Belmar in five years, while just last year the County freeholders raised property taxes millions of dollars on middle class families. That is simply unacceptable.”


“I’m not running for a cause or to protest something,” continued Doherty. “I’m running because it is becoming almost impossible to raise a family in Monmouth County with the skyrocketing county taxes. I’m running to help attract more businesses countywide and I’m running because more needs to be done to get Sandy impacted families countywide back in their homes. And our team is running to win.”

Matt Doherty has been Mayor of Belmar since January, 2011 and previously served as a Councilman in town starting in 2007. Since becoming Mayor, Belmar residents have yet to see a tax increase on the municipal level. He is a Financial Advisor for Metlife Premier client group of New Jersey in Wall. Mayor Doherty graduated Georgetown University with a BA in government in 1995 and went on to earn his Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University in 1997. He and his wife, Maggie, are raising their three children, Hannah, Claire and Séamus, in Belmar.

“County property taxes have continued to rise because Monmouth County government has had no checks and balances of late,” said Carly Immen. “Instead of running government the same way you would run your household or business finances the Freeholder Board has become a solely partisan operation consistently draining money from the pockets of middle class taxpayers. My husband and I are raising our family here in Monmouth County and there is nothing more important to me than ensuring that we get things back on track and moving in the right direction, and I believe that public service is the most direct route towards achieving that goal.”

Carly Immen proudly served as a member of the Farmingdale Borough Council and successfully formed a self-supporting Recreation Commission to bring community events and programs to residents of all ages, a first for Farmingdale. She also led the effort to build and install a Little Free Library in town and is currently active in the Farmingdale School PTA and as a Farmingdale Recreation Commission volunteer. She is the Marketing Director for the Atlantic Club and Milagro Spa and holds a Bachelors degree in English with a minor in political science. Carly is married to Kevin Immen, Director of Sales for United States Beverage and a United States Marine, and together they are raising three daughters, Charlotte, Mary Cate and Erin.

Jeff Cantor previously announced his candidacy for Monmouth County Sheriff. Cantor has been in the U.S. Army, both active and in the reserves, since 1985. He has served our country around the world, including deployments to Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. After starting as a Private First Class, Cantor rose through the ranks and has earned the rank of Colonel in the Army Reserves. He has also been a Councilman in Marlboro since 2004 where he has served as the Council liaison to the Police Department and as a member of the Local Emergency Planning Council. Cantor is also a licensed Emergency Medical Technician for the Township of Marlboro and has been a member of the Marlboro First Aid Squad since 1996, volunteering countless hours to protect and serve the population of Marlboro as well as the surrounding towns.

Jeff Cantor has been awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal (3rd award), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal (3rd award), Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal (2nd award), Kosovo Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Medal (2nd award); He has also been awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Combat Action Badge and the Basic Parachutist Badge.

Vincent Solomeno announced his candidacy for Monmouth County Surrogate last week. Raised in Union Beach, Solomeno graduated from the Marine Academy of Science and Technology (M.A.S.T.) at Sandy Hook before earning his Bachelor of Science from the University of Scranton. He is the recipient of the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship and J. William Fulbright Scholarship. As a Fulbright Scholar, he received a Master of Arts from the University of Amsterdam for his study of the roots of radicalization in Muslim and non-Muslim communities in the Netherlands.

Solomeno is a Captain in the New Jersey Army National Guard. He has served as an Engineer platoon leader, logistics manager, rear detachment commander, and public affairs officer. From 2010 - 2014, Solomeno was the full time Command Historian of the New Jersey National Guard. He returned in September 2015 from an overseas deployment to Central and Southwest Asia. A recipient of the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal, he was called to active duty during and after Superstorm Sandy, working in devastated communities across Monmouth County.

In addition to his service on the Hazlet Land Use Board, Vincent Solomeno is a trustee of the New Jersey Civil War Heritage Association, a member of the American Legion, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), the Netherland-America Foundation, and Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Keyport.

3 Years Later Brophy Was Right To Oppose Federal Detainees Held At Monmouth County Jail

Democratic Freeholder candidate Brian Froelich, wrote a letter that appeared in the Asbury Park Press over the weekend that stated how 2010 Monmouth County Sheriff candidate, Eric Brophy, was correct to oppose housing federal detainees in our county jail sighting the need for excessive overtime and other costs associated with it.

Now 3 years later, Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden, has decided to end the program that he championed as a money saver for the county, sighting excessive overtime costs and other expenses as his reason to end the program! Go figure...

Here's the letter:

The Asbury Park Press and the Monmouth County Republicans were wrong again.

When Democrat Eric Brophy ran against Republican incumbent Shaun Golden for sheriff in 2010, he said that housing federal detainees in the Monmouth County Jail for the federal government was causing expensive overtime, costing the county money, and should be stopped. Golden disagreed.

The Press endorsed Golden on that basis and said: “Brophy argues the county is losing money by housing federal detainees, saying it costs $179 per day to house an inmate, while the federal reimbursement rate is only $105. Golden’s argument that the county actually saves money … is more convincing.”

On Monday, Sheriff Golden’s office reported it would stop housing federal detainees in order to reduce corrections officers’ overtime and save money.

Now, if Golden and Republican freeholders would also stop hiring double-dipping pensioners, they might get close to saving the taxpayers what Democrat Brophy and others would have been saving taxpayers for the last three years.

Brian Froelich

Democratic candidate for freeholder

        

Monmouth Democrats Have Spoken And The Candidates Are...

Monmouth County Democratic Convention

There weren't many surprises tonight at the Monmouth County Democratic Convention, where the only decision that delegates needed to make was who would get to take on Republican Chris Smith in the new 4th Congressional District.

For delegates that live in the 4th district they had to choose between Red Bank Attorney Patricia Bennett or semi-retired businessman Brian Froelich, both presented themselves well and gave inspired introductions of themselves. When the votes were counted it was Brian Froelich who earned the Party nod over Bennett and will take on Chris Smith in November.

Brian Froelich

Congressman Frank Pallone was also at tonight's Convention accepting the Monmouth Democrats endorsement for himself and Senator Robert Menendez. Pallone spoke about the importance of democratic values and the differences between the proposed federal budget President Obama presented to Congress a number of weeks ago and the one that Rep Paul Ryan and the Republicans presented yesterday, he said that was a clear difference between the two. The President's budget wants to invest in things like infrastructure and education, while the Republican budget wants to cut taxes for the wealthy, decrease education spending and eliminate Medicare and Medicaid for seniors and the working poor.

Congressman Frank Pallone

 For the Monmouth County Freeholder race former Hazlet Mayor Kevin Lavan and last year's Freeholder Candidate Bill Shea, were unopposed for the Party's nod. It was announced that Kevin Lavan would be seeking to fill the unexpired term up for grabs against newly appointed Freeholder Serena Dimaso, while Bill Shea will be looking to fill the full term against current Freeholder Director John Curley.  

Kevin Lavan and Bill Shea

And rounding out the ticket it will be Rumson's Michael Steinhorn who will be running for Monmouth County Clerk for the Democrats.

Michael Steinhorn

Those that participated in tonight's Convention were enthusiastic and felted that they were putting forward an extremely strong ticket, they left feeling united behind the candidates and vowed to work hard on the behalf of each one knowing that the political landscape is shaping up on both the national and local levels, to be a big fight about values and the roll of government in our lives.

Solomeno First To Throw His Hat In The Ring For Dems In Monmouth County Freeholders Race

Hazlet Resident Vincent Solomeno, has become the first Monmouth County Democrat to officiall announce his intentions to seek the Party nod to run along side Freeholder John D'Amico.

Solomeno made his announcement with a brief posting on his Facebook page that simply stated "Vincent Solomeno is running for monmouth county freeholder." this afternoon after posting earlier in the week that he had a big announcement to make on Friday.

Last night he posted the following Youtube video:



For those of you who do not know Vincent, he was named one of “50 Rising Stars in New Jersey Politics” by Politicker New Jersey, he has managed or worked on local, state, and national campaigns. He has worked for Congressman Frank Pallone.

In 2006, Vincent became a Truman Scholar and in 2007, he was selected as a J. William Fulbright Scholar to the Netherlands where he earned a Master of Arts in European Studies at the University of Amsterdam. A Distinguished Military Graduate (DMG), he is a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve and is training to become a Combat Engineer.

So when Vincent has an opinion about something it's worth listening to, he is not some loony liberal trying to push mandates down our throats. He is an extremely intelligent and distinguished member of the Monmouth County community who's thoughts and ideas should be considered.

Middletown Committeeman Sean Byrnes Confirms Monmouth County Freeholder Bid

After hearing the news earlier today that Middletown's Sean Byrnes was going to seek the Monmouth County Democratic line for Freeholder in order to fill the vacancy left on the ticket by the sudden decision of Freeholder Director Barbara McMorrow not to seek re-election, I was stunned. I never expected it, I had never heard from Sean Byrnes or anyone else for that matter, that he ever considered or was even interested in higher office.

As one of two Democratic Committeeman currently serving on Middletown's Township Committee (the other being Patrick Short), Sean Byrnes has made a true difference in bringing transparency and openness to Town Hall. It will be Middletown's lose if Byrnes wins the open Freeholder seat in November.

I reached out to Committeeman Byrnes to ask if he had any comments about his intentions to seek the Democratic party line for the open Freeholder seat up for grabs.

Here is his reply:

"It is all happening a little too quickly. I wasn’t looking to be a candidate, but I was asked. I have mixed feelings. I am just starting to make change in Middletown and make progress. Part of me would like to continue on that path. On the other hand, sometime opportunities come suddenly and you have to be willing to take the plunge. It is far from certain I will get the nod at the convention, so we’ll see."

"... I guess I would say that I have mixed feelings. I do have specific things I would like to accomplish in Middletown. I have just started the Strategic Planning Committee and the Recreation Committee to implement the Master Plan. I am looking forward to the working on those committees. I feel like I have been able to shift the focus and agenda of the Township Committee in the right direction, especially from a budget perspective, so I am reluctant to leave before completing that work. However, the County Government needs reform after so many years of one party control. While last year brought the winds of change to County Government, I don’t want to see us lose the opportunity to continue the changes that Barbara McMorrow and the Democratic Freeholders have started. If control slips back into Republican hands, then I believe we will have missed a significant opportunity for change for the better."

Sean Byrnes will make a great Freeholder candidate, he is smart and always thinks first before answering a question. The man does his homework and believes that the "devil is in the details". I can not think of another person in Monmouth County that would be a better candidate. I think that the Republican challenger, John Curley will have a very difficult road ahead of him if Byrnes is in fact chosen to lead the Monmouth County ticket on Saturday.

I wish him well in his efforts.