Who Is Watch07748? Apparently It's Tony Perry

 That's a question that many have asked, including the Asbury Park Press.  It seems however, after Monday night's meeting of the Middletown Township Committee the answer is evident, Watch07748 is none other than Middletown Committeeman Tony Perry.

The video from Monday night's meeting is queued to where resident Jim Grenafege asked Tony Perry directly whether or not the anonymous email sent out two weeks ago by a fictitious group calling themselves, " Residents Against Over Development" attacking Democratic candidate Sean Byrnes, came from his campaign and if he had any knowledge of it before being sent to residents.  Perry's non answers are very telling.

Tony Perry did his best two-step to avoid answering the question as it was asked, " Were you, in any shape or form associated with that email?", What followed was a political non-answer by Perry that by the omission of a direct answer, confirms that he and his campaign was responsible for it. The exchange between Grenafege and Perry lasted several minutes and became a little heated due to frustrations over  non-answers (you can watch the exchange yourself, it's queued up to 2:13:35 of the video).

Bottomline here is that Tony Perry and the Middletown GOP where caught redhanded attempting to smear a rival candidate and through their own stupidity, it came back to bite them in the ass. Now Tony Perry and his buddies are backpedaling under the scrutiny of local media and outraged residents and trying to cover-up their tracks.

As I said before, the attempt of this little dirty-tricks email was underhanded and unethical. It also is in violation of campaign election laws for not being properly identified as coming from and paid for by Tony Perry's campaign. 

You can watch the entire 3 hour video ....  HERE.  The Public Comments portion of the meeting starts about 22 minutes in. A vast majority of those there to ask questions of the Township Committee were they to ask about the proposed sports complex being considered for Stevenson Park.

The Curious Case Of An Email And The October 1, 2018 Middletown Township Committee Meeting

I can't believe that I haven't posted about this earlier, but seeing how the Middletown Township Committee will be meeting tonight for the last time before the November 6th election, I thought that I better say my piece about this.

Over the weekend of September 29th, a mysterious email started to make the rounds to inboxes of Middletown residents. The email from a group calling themselves, "RESIDENTS AGAINST OVER DEVELOPMENT", warned about the over development of Middletown, specifically the Village 35 project that is being planned between Kings Highway and Kanes Lane, along Route 35. Upon closer inspection this email was nothing more than a thinly veiled attack on Middletown Democratic Candidate for Township Committee, Sean Byrnes.

No one seems to be sure exactly how many residents through out the township received this email (I personally did not receive it), but it's safe to say hundreds did. Through a little detective work and the process of elimination, it was determined that the common denominator between those that received this email was that all subscribed to the township's Alert system.

Not sure that this was the case, Sean Byrnes attended the Oct. 1st workshop meeting of the Township Committee and asked for assurances that the email which residents received 2 days earlier did not come from the township. More specifically, if anyone on the committee had knowledge of the email or if it came from anyone on the committee seeking election this year (the video below is queued to the start of Byrnes's question).

As you'd expect, everyone at the table denied any knowledge or involvement with the email. There was however, evidence to suggest otherwise.



The email from Resident Against Over Development was sent through the automated email service MailChimp. As part of the service, those that receive emails can opt-out from receiving emails by clicking on the link to unsubscribe. When the unsubscribe link was followed all the way through to completion, the link took the unsubscriber to the Twitter page of Committee person Tony Perry.

On October 5th, the Asbury Park Press jumped on the story and published, "Middletown official won't deny sending mysterious political email", in which Tony Perry wouldn't deny having any knowledge of the email previously. He also, unpromted, offered that the Township email lists are public record that anyone can access via an OPRA request.

After the Asbury Park Press's article was published, the local Middletown Patch published a follow-up report, "Middletown: OPRA Request Forced Us To Share Residents' Emails", where it's evident that after the Press's article came out, Township officials decided that the best course of action was to deny knowledge of the email and blame an anonymous OPRA request for the release of a list of township residents email addresses. When the Patch questioned Perry about any knowledge of who may have been behind the email and linked it back to his campaign Perry stated that, "he hires various political consultants to run his campaigns".

That's not a very convincing denial. To blame this on various "political consultants" running his campaign is weak and shows what kind of backbone Tony Perry has; one that's crooked and spineless. I suppose though I shouldn't expect anything different from someone who was appointed to his seat on the Township Committee by his father-in-law, Gerry Scharfenberger.

The attempt to deceive Middletown residents by sending out an anonymous, dirty trick email, thinly disguised as an anti-development appeal is underhanded and unethical. Middletown Republicans must be truly afraid of losing control of the township committee this year, to have been so desperate to send this kind of email to hundreds or thousands of residents, hoping that it would swing a few votes in their favor.

It also shows the lack of character of Tony Perry and those currently running Middletown. If Tony Perry continues to refuse to take ownership of this and would rather continue to cover it up after tonight's Committee meeting, where I'm sure he'll be asked about it, then he doesn't deserve to be elected and hold office in Middletown or anywhere else for that matter.

The Slate Is Set; Sean Byrnes Joins Tricia Maguire & Danielle Walsh As Candidates For Middletown Township Committee

The Middletown Democrats have informed me that they are very happy to have former Township Committeeman Sean Byrnes, join Tricia Maguire and Danielle Walsh, as a candidate on their ticket this fall.

Recently the Middletown Township Committee appointed Patricia Snell to the fill the vacant seat on the dais that opened when acting Mayor Stephanie Murray resigned. As a result, 3 seats are up for grabs this Fall. This election will determine who controls the Township Committee, Democrats or Republicans, next year.

The Middletown Democrats will be making a formal announcement soon concerning this year's candidates for Middletown Township Committee.

Video: Byrnes Rages On Against Monmouth County Reliability Project

Middletown resident Sean Byrnes, is running for the NJ State Senate in LD13 and will be a much needed advocate for the people in the district.

In this video he talks about his efforts to help the community group, Residents Against Giant Electric (RAGE) with it's fight against the Monmouth County Reliability Project (MCRP) and JCP&L



I have taken concrete practical steps to stop this project and help @RAGE 2016. In Trenton I will stand up for our neighborhoods which would be permanently scarred by this project, and for residents worried about having transmission lines in their back yards.

Mariel DiDato, State Assembly Candidate (LD13) Answers 10 Questions

I came up with these candidate questions several years ago and have been asking those running for the State Assembly, State Senate and County Freeholder ever since, if they would be kind enough to answer them. Today, I'm posting the response from Hazlet's Mariel DiDato, candidate for NJ State Assembly in 13th Legislative District. In the coming days I'll post the responses from her running mates Tom Giaimo and Sean Byrnes. I'm also hoping to have responses from Freeholder candidates Margie Donlon and Brian Wilton. - MM


What is your motivation for seeking a seat in the NJ State Assembly and can you tell us a little about yourself?

I am a crisis response advocate for victims of domestic and sexual violence, and also a grassroots organizer who has fought to get state funding restored to family planning healthcare. Since the cuts to family planning healthcare, bacterial STI infection rates in Monmouth County have risen by 50%. My motivation for running is because our current representatives in the 13th District are making legislative decisions based on party politics, and not based on science, best practices, and what is beneficial for their constituents. This is not how government should operate, and it is not how we move our state forward.

As you meet residents throughout your district what seems to be the greatest concerns they are expressing and how do you plan to address them?

Mariel DiDato

The greatest concerns I have seen are economic issues (property taxes & college affordability), the opioid epidemic, and issues concerning our environment. Municipal consolidation and shared services is one of the most viable options for providing property tax relief. We must provide more financial incentives and flexibility for towns looking to consolidate. Additionally, we need to get a hold on the rising cost of tuition, and possibly impose a cap on interest rates for student loans. 7%, 8%, 11% loans are astronomically high for a group of people who are expected to work for free or in low-wage internships after college, especially with tuition becoming increasingly expensive.

In regard to the opioid epidemic, we need better quality rehabilitation centers and recovery programs that middle and working class people can access. Currently, those suffering from addiction have two options – fly down to Florida (if you have health insurance and a bit of cash) or try your luck at a sub-par rehabilitation center in New Jersey. There is no reason why we cannot have quality, highly regulated rehabilitation centers in our state. To pay for it, we can start by holding pharmaceutical companies accountable, and taxing them on the revenue that they receive from their opioid sales. We can then use that revenue to improve the quality of our rehab centers by expanding the available recovery programs, the length of an inpatient stay, and the number of beds that we have.

Lastly, we need to do all we can at the state and local levels to compensate for the cuts to the EPA by the federal administration. We need to make sure our Shore Protection Master Plan is up to date, and that our Shore Protection Fund is fully funded. We need to prohibit oil and gas companies from drilling off of the Jersey Shore, and we need to work to ensure that we lead the way in environmental sustainability.

What do you hope to accomplish once you are elected to the State Assembly?

I have a number of goals I would like to accomplish in the Assembly. First, I want to restore state funding to family planning healthcare. Additionally, we need to do more to address interpersonal violence in our state. I will to introduce legislation to start having conversations in our public schools about consent, interpersonal violence, and the local resources available to survivors. Right now, there is a big push to have these conversations on college campuses, and that is a great start. But we know that if we wait till college to have these conversations, we are waiting until it’s too late.

I would also like to introduce the legislation I referred to above; imposing a tax on pharmaceutical companies for their opioid sales and using that revenue to improve our rehab centers in New Jersey. We can also be doing more to regulate those centers, by requiring recovery programs offer additional resources other than an AA and NA-derived program. Recovery is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and our centers should reflect that while put the latest science (which considers addiction a disease) at the forefront of those recovery programs.

Lastly, I hope to make this state more affordable for all generations by encouraging municipal consolidation and creating regulations to prevent banks from taking advantage of students seeking higher education.

What is it that makes your district unique and how does that uniqueness impact your campaign?

The 13th legislative district is composed of towns that range from extremely wealthy like Rumson to those undergoing serious economic stress like Keansburg. The policy preferences and concerns of all of these towns are not always in alignment in some areas, and one of the unique challenges for this district is ensuring that all constituents have their voices heard. Our current representation has failed to balance the needs of every constituent in our district.

If elected, how would your professional background enhance your ability to be an effective State Assembly representative?

Effective legislators are people who listen to constituents in times of personal crisis while helping them navigate the, at times, difficult bureaucracy of our state. My experience as a Crisis Response Advocate has prepared me for this role.

Do you have any thoughts on how to contain the growth of state government?

We can start by consolidating municipal services and incentivizing shared service agreements between towns. I would support regular audits on the state level to see which services provided at the state, county, and municipal level are duplicative and unnecessary.

Is there any aspect of state government that you believe there is a need to be expanded upon?

I believe that our state government is big enough, and that the issue facing us in this regard is ensuring that our state government is nimble enough to respond to the issues facing New Jersey’s residents. I believe that as we cut down on wasteful duplicative spending, we can re-allocate those resources to combatting the opioid epidemic plaguing our state. We need to ensure that those who have become addicted to opioids receive treatment, but we must also ensure that state and local law enforcement have the tools they need to address this concern on the ground level.

Why should residents of your district trust you to represent them in the legislature?

I am not the typical politician. Unlike my opponents, politics has never been my career. I am running because our representatives have failed to listen or represent us. My experience as a crisis response advocate has been to listen to people in their time of need and ensure their voices are heard by those who need to listen. In Trenton, I will do the same for every voice in our district.

What does it mean to be a Democrat today?

Being a Democrat today means to support policies which provide for equal opportunity for every person in New Jersey

Is there anything that is important to you that has not been asked that you would like to address?

Yes. I believe that the Monmouth County Reliability Project is a bad idea for our towns, and a bad idea for NJ Transit. Placing steel towers as high as 210 feet tall under 100 feet from residential properties will hurt the property values of homeowners. I also do not see how the project can be completed without serious impacting the ability of NJ Transit to continue commuter rail services along the line which so many of us rely on. I understand that First Energy and JCP&L find the guaranteed rate of return promised them by our Federal Government to be attractive, but that does not give them the right to harm the quality of life of residents throughout our district.

In Trenton I will fight with every fiber of my being to ensure that this project is not completed, and that residents from our towns are protected from future attempts by companies like First Energy and JCP&L.


You can find out more about Mariel DiDato on her website didato4njassembly.com 

Letter: LD13 Candidates Brynes, Giaimo & DiDato; Not Career Politicians

To the editor:

Recently, I’ve been knocking on strangers’ doors. I haven't done this since I got too old to Trick or Treat. But I have started again, this time to communicate with my neighbors about the strong 13th Legislative District candidates who are running for office: Sean Byrnes for state Senate and Tom Giaimo and Mariel DiDato for state Assembly.

Unlike their career-politician opponents, Byrnes, Giaimo and DiDato have all worked hard to help their communities as private citizens.

Byrnes, a former active Coast Guard officer, has served on the boards of many nonprofits including the YMCA, the Parker Family Health Clinic and currently the board of the Monmouth County SPCA. He counsels small businesses and nonprofits on how best to grow. Byrnes also volunteers time and money for R.A.G.E (Residents Against Giant Electric), and has filed a lawsuit on its behalf. Giaimo volunteered tens of thousands of dollars of his firm’s legal services to the victims of superstorm Sandy. Mariel DiDato volunteers as a crisis response advocate who helps the victims of sexual and domestic violence understand their options as they pursue justice.

Many of us are dissatisfied with what career politicians have done in Trenton and in Washington. We also want to send a message to Capitol Hill. Our most powerful way to voice that dissatisfaction is with our vote.

Liz deBeer
Fair Haven

Letter: Byrnes – The People Over Party Candidate

The following letter appeared on the Atlantic Highlands Herald:



What is a Republican or Democrat to do this November? Both parties have long ago forgotten middle-America in their chase for big money from their extremes? And now neither party is even able to define their own positions on the issues; while Republicans have elected a liberal president and now reels to define itself and Democrats have ‘descended into a tug of war between extreme and moderate’ for control of their own party (NY Times).

Sean Byrnes

The answer - We MUST vote for the candidate that is not beholden to party politics or special interests, one who possesses the values, ethics, and integrity that we demand of our leaders and who also has demonstrated positions on the issues that will drive our state economy, regardless of party affiliation.

For NJ Senate District 13, Sean Byrnes is this candidate. A veteran, he is smart, articulate, experienced with the Law, honest, ethical, and has a long resume of leadership at organizations that bolster the ‘little guy’.

And Byrnes has taken $0 from corporate backers!! He is not beholden to anybody but US, with no hidden agenda to prevent him from working to see our State the best it can be.

His slogan, People over Party, reflects his candidacy. Byrnes will enact laws to grow our economy and that allow US to participate in this growth, and that are reflective of our diverse population.

When the Parties don’t speak for you anymore, vote for the guy that does – Sean Byrnes!



Tim Watters
President
Hoffman Equipment Co.
Piscataway, NJ

Byrnes, Giaimo & DiDato LD13 Rock N' Rally

Please join Phil Murphy, Congressman Pallone, and singer Phoebe Ryan for a Rock N' Rally!

Click here to RSVP: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/rocknrally

Byrnes: People over Party

Please join our next State Senator Sean Byrnes for his People over Party Pig Roast on Sept 22nd 6-9pm!

Click here to RSVP: http://www.monmouthdems.org/byrnes_for_senate_pig_roast_fundraiser

LD13 Day of Action

Join our Freeholder candidates Brian Wilton and Margie Wilton with our LD13 candidates, Sean Byrnes, Mariel DiDato, and Tom Giaimo for their day of action!

RSVP .... HERE

Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon's 'NO' Vote on Pay Equality: A Backhand to the Face of Women Seeking Pay Equality With Men

Legislator Seeks Promotion to Senate After Incredulous, Incomprehensible Votes Affecting Women's Equality, Children's Safety

By Monmouth Watchdog

Here he goes again.

It’s getting to be a monotonous drone of a drumbeat with Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon’s mind boggling, head scratching, dangerous votes in the Assembly. The vote: a "NO" vote regarding women's pay equality. It may be a "NO" vote-- but a significant "NO" vote that was decided and voted upon without much notice in March of 2016.

Until now, O'Scanlon's vote has gone undetected and unannounced on any of O’Scanlon’s media press announcements, online and Facebook page posts. Matter of fact, this might be the first place where his constituents are aware of his votes. Why? Because Declan O’Scanlon—a self-proclaimed “straight shooter”— with this particular vote, slaps the face of our mothers, sisters and daughters. It places a foot—like a throttle—upon the necks of women, who only desire what their male counterparts have in the workplace: pay equality!

Currently, females earn approximately 20% less than their male counterparts doing exact or similar work. Equality in pay would greatly aid two- income couples seeking to pay bills, and raise a family, without children suffering. It would greatly aid young women—with children--ran by struggling single mother households.

How can any legislator be against this? Well, Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, through his vote, has indicated he is against a bill that concerns equal pay for women and addressing workplace discrimination and retaliation issues.

Thankfully, and despite O’Scanlon’s “NO” vote, the bill, A-2750, passed by a margin of 54 to 14 (with 12 legislators inexplicably not voting). A similar bill (S-992), passed in the Senate by a margin of 28 to 4 (with 8 inexplicably not voting).

The bill—after passing both houses, was vetoed by Governor Chris Christie.

The protections to women—barring Christie’s veto—would have provided women with the following workplace safeguards:

1. Prohibit unequal pay for “substantially similar” work, under the Law Against Discrimination (LAD). The legislation would make it unlawful for an employer to pay a rate of compensation, including benefits, to an employee of one sex less than the rate paid to an employee of the other sex for substantially similar work when viewed as a composite of skill, effort and responsibility, unless specific conditions apply.

2. Require different rates of compensation be justified by factors other than sex. The bill permits an employer to pay a different rate of compensation if the employer demonstrates that the differential is made pursuant to a seniority system, a merit system, or is based on legitimate, bona fide factors other than sex, such as training, education, experience, or the quantity or quality of production. It requires that each factor is applied reasonably, that one or more of the factors account for the entire wage differential, and that the factor or factors do not perpetuate a sex-based differential in compensation, are job-related and based upon legitimate business necessities. Comparison of wage rates would be based on those in all of an employer’s operations or facilities.

3. Restart statute of limitations for each instance of discrimination. Provides that a discriminatory compensation decision or other employment practice that is unlawful under the LAD occurs each time that compensation is paid in furtherance of that discriminatory decision or practice – effectively making each paycheck another instance of discrimination, reflecting the language in the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. In addition, the bill provides that liability shall accrue and an aggrieved person may obtain relief for back pay for the entire period of time in which the violation has been continuous, if the violation continues to occur within the statute of limitations. This provision is stronger than the federal Lilly Ledbetter Act, which has a two-year cap on back pay.

4. Prohibit employer retaliation against employee for disclosing compensation. Employers could not take reprisals against an employee for disclosing information about the job title, occupational category, and rate of compensation of any employees or former employees, as well as other information. It would prohibit an employer from requiring an employee or prospective employee to forgo rights to make or request those disclosures

5. Require transparency in state contracting. Requires contractors to provide information on gender, race, job title, occupational category and compensation, and to report certain changes during the course of the contract; information must be filed with Labor Commissioner and Division of Civil Rights. The bill requires disclosure to employees and their authorized representatives upon request.

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, a former Little Silver councilman, is seeking the Senate seat from the retiring Joe Kyrillos. He is the CEO of FSD Enterprises in Red Bank. His firm negotiates with wireless communications companies on behalf of government entities. His recent votes in the Assembly have caused controversy, consternation and angst regarding his vote to raise the tax on gasoline; his horrendous voting record on public safety issues affecting law enforcement officers, and being the ONLY Assemblyman in the state legislature--out of 80--that voted AGAINST enhanced penalties for drunk drivers operating with minors as passengers.

His opponent, Democrat Sean Byrnes of Middletown, is a former Middletown committeeman; veteran with the US Coast Guard, and attorney.

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This is the opinion of the Monmouth Watchdog.