Middletown Committee Ready To Replace Steve Massell Tonight With Scharfenberger Son-in-Law

At tonight's meeting of the Middeltown Township Committee, the long anticipated replacement for Steve Massell will be appointed to finish his unexpired term.

For those not familiar, Committeeman Steve Massell, a realtor by profession, accepted an appointment  as a Commissioner of the Monmouth County Tax Board a few months back, but didn't officially resign from the Township Committee until last month. His new job is a paid position and reeks of patronage and cronyism.


The Middletown Republican Executive Committee presented the names of Patricia Snell, Anthony (Tony) Perry and Chris Aveta to the Township Committee, for consideration to replace Steve Massell, at the meeting tonight.

Who are these people you ask?

Not much is known about Patricia Snell other than she is a local realtor who seems to be relatively new to Middletown. Voting records indicated that she's only lived in town since 2012.

People familiar with the Middletown Board of Education, will recognize the name of Chris Aveta. Aveta is a longtime friend of Tony Fiore and both moved from Carteret to Middletown around the same time. He served 1 term on the board of education before being voted off by residents. He then spent the next two election cycles trying to get reelected to no avail. He was seen by many to be divisive and counterproductive. He wasn't an advocate for the students, rather he was a proponent for cutting the school budget under the mantra of "taxpayers" first. Sound familiar?

Anthony Perry's  claim to fame according to his LinkedIn profile is that he is currently the Chief of Staff  of State Senator Joe Kyrillos as well as being a member of the Middletown Planning Board. Not listed on LinkedIn, but I believe it's so, he is also a member of the Middletown Library Board.

What I see however, as Tony Perry's biggest accomplishment and advantage that makes him the front runner in replacing Steve Massell as a member of the Township Committee, is that he married Gerry Scharfenberger's daughter! That's right, he is the son-in-law of current mayor, Gerry Scharfenberger.  
Talk about cronyism with a sprinkle of nepotism thrown in. It's truly outrageous. Should Scharfenberger to even vote on this? Isn't it a conflict he should abstain from? Seems a bit unethical if he doesn't.

It just goes to show you that the Republicans in Middletown have been unchecked and in charge for far too long here in town. To even consider this, is to spit in the face of residents and shows that they feel entitled to do whatever they want whenever they wish to do it.

Out of the three choices, I vote for Patricia Snell. Sometimes the less we know about a person the better.


Here is the Agenda for tonight's meeting.

Christie's Civil Service Commission Ignores Constitution & State Law Regarding Promotions Process

For Immediate Release:
May 7, 2014

Putting Patronage, Corruption, Nepotism & Political Abuse Ahead of Protecting Taxpayers & Good Government… Let Alone Following The Law

(TRENTON, NEW JERSEY) – This morning, the New Jersey Civil Service Commission (CSC) voted to enact sweeping changes to the promotional process for non-uniformed state workers. In doing so, the Christie administration is seeking to gut modest taxpayer protections from political patronage. These measures have not only been on the books for over a century, but are so vital to fairness in public service that they’re written into the state's Constitution. The changes also allow the Christie Administration to gut veterans’ preference in promotions for most positions in State Government.

Today’s regressive action comes in spite of a binding resolution passed by the State Legislature in January – which prohibited the Christie Administration from enacting the rules. The CSC is not only ignoring the actions of the legislature, but also ignoring what is enshrined in the State Constitution, as well as what New Jersey Supreme Court says is the law of the land.

“It is inconceivable that the Christie Administration is granting itself permission to promote anyone it wants, while getting rid of oversight and objective standards for fairness,” said Seth Hahn, CWA Political and Legislative Director. “Their scheme blocks lanes of promotions for the deserving, while subjecting advancement to the whims of political pressure. This radical change is especially galling given all we know about what’s happened on Governor Christie’s watch in both various agencies around the state and his own office in the Statehouse. Today’s action has the potential to open the entirety of State Government to the abuse we’ve recently seen at the Port Authority.”

The CSC’s arrogance and inability to follow the law would expose every single New Jerseyan to higher taxes due to corruption, cronyism, nepotism and patronage….if they were able to get their way This would amount to a wholesale attack on working families, women, LGBT workers, disabled people and people of color. Thankfully, the Christie Administration will not be able to get away with this, as the state constitution says you cannot write regulations contrary to the intent of the statute. And the New Jersey legislature has already agreed and passed two concurrent resolutions.

As passed, today’s proposal would allow the CSC to lump workers into “broad bands” of job titles - limiting valuable public oversight of which employees are performing specific tasks. It would then replace promotions for workers based on objective qualifications and done based on a transparent and objective testing process with “advancement” through the employment “bands.” The “advancement” would be done solely at the discretion of management. It would not be subject to minimum qualifications requirements or public oversight. And it could allow politically-friendly workers to get ahead, at the expense of those who are deserving.

Furthermore, since the testing process is the only place that veterans’ preference exists in New Jersey Civil Service, it replaces a clear commitment to our state’s veterans with a “trust me” system. Management would merely be directed to weigh veterans status in their own minds when making decisions about advancement.
Today’s action comes despite a binding legislative resolution that was passed in January that prohibits the Governor from adopting the proposal. The legislature used a little-known provision of the State Constitution, enacted by voters in 1992, that allows the legislature to prohibit or invalidate regulations or rules proposed or enacted by the Executive. The procedure required two votes of the legislature, and an open public hearing.
Not only is today’s adoption of the rule likely illegal, it most likely runs afoul of the State Constitution. Article VII, Section 1, paragraph 2 requires that state promotions shall be made and veterans’ preference shall be protected by an open and competitive testing process, “as far as practable.”

This morning’s CSC vote comes despite widespread condemnation from Civil Rights organizations, veterans, people with disabilities, women’s organizations and public watchdogs. It also comes after more than a year of the Christie Administration refusing public input. Last year, they held a single public hearing in Trenton at 3 pm on a workday in the middle of the week – in a room that could only seat thirty people. Even worse, not a single Civil Service Commissioner attended this meeting to discuss 96 pages of new rules marking the most radical changes since the inception of civil service. Since then, Christie’s Commission has steadfastly refused requests from thousands of people for additional hearings. They’ve stonewalled, even though previous Administrations – both Republicans and Democrats – have granted more hearings for changes far less sweeping. The state legislature held two oversight hearings and requested someone from Civil Service attend. Both times the invitations were denied.

It’s no surprise the Christie Administration has failed to be transparent on this issue. Because Christie’s latest scheme will create more patronage and corruption at all levels of government. It undermines promotions for the deserving and subjects promotions to the whims of political pressure. Simply put, Christie’s proposal hands power over to politicians and backroom players, at the expense of both good government and New Jersey’s taxpayers. However, their attempts to do so will be moribund as it is simply against the law to make these radical changes.

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The Communications Workers of America (AFL-CIO) represents both private sector and public workers. CWA represents more than 70,000 working families in New Jersey, including over 40,000 state workers, 15,000 county and municipal workers, and thousands of workers in the telecommunications, airlines, health care and direct care industries. It represents thousands of public workers both in Civil Service jurisdictions and those that have not adopted Civil Service.

“GOP-HARMONY” TAKES REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS FROM SINGLES TO SOUL MATES

For Immediate Release:
New Jersey Democratic State Committee

Two Former Prosecutors With History of Abusing Crony Contracts and Undermining Economy Connect in Garden State

(Trenton) – Today, Chris Christie and his date on the campaign trail, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, are showcasing their affection for cronyism and fiscal mismanagement. Even Christie’s campaign spokesman says of the governor's relationship with Martinez, "having her on the trail is going to help us tell our story.”

Indeed, Christie and Martinez have a lot in common. Both governors are former prosecutors with records of abusing their official powers to reward their political allies and tank their state economies. Martinez, who Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics included on its "Worst Governors in America" list, is one of only a few governors with a record of job creation that is actually worse than that of "America's most overrated governor," Chris Christie.

Just four years ago, Christie was under fire for receiving tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from federal contractors, Stern & Kilcullen; for hiring his supervisor, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, to whom he gave a job worth as much as $52 million; and for assigning a lucrative position to the former U.S. attorney who spared Christie’s brother Todd a federal indictment in a messy investigation into 15 Wall Street trading specialists that allegedly cheated clients through some tricky trading moves. According to the New York Times, "Mr. Christie ranked fourth in the S.E.C. complaint among the 20 traders who earned the biggest profits at customers' expense. The top three were indicted, as were 11 traders lower down.” Christie’s brother Todd was not.

Meanwhile, Susana Martinez, a former district attorney, was giving out about $477,000 to employees for "out of-cycle salary increases," nearly three times as much as any other district attorney in her state.” Martinez paid many of her employees using federal grant money from a program run by the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal agencies.

In addition, from 2003 to 2005, Martinez’s office purchased more than $60,000 in office supplies without a contract or competitive bidding process from a company owned by one of her top deputies. After being told by the Department of Finance to stop buying supplies from her employee, she bought from that employee’s niece.

“Ironically, six years ago Chris Christie might have campaigned on the promise of putting people like Susana Martinez in jail. Of course, that would have been disingenuous because he too enjoys abusing the system to protect his family and enrich his friends,” said Lizette Delgado-Polanco, Vice Chair of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. “But that’s the Chris Christie record: pledging one thing and then applying a different set of rules to himself, all while burdening middle class families. We are pleased that Governors Martinez and Christie have found each other, but it’s time for New Jersey's middle class families to move in a new direction and to elect Barbara Buono on November 5th.”

While Chris Christie’s New Jersey has languished under increased property tax burdens and high unemployment, and ranks 44th in job creation, Susana Martinez’s New Mexico ranks dead last – a sinful statistic. Of course, the dirty little secret is that Governors Christie and Martinez continue to engage in risky business when it comes to the public trust.

Besides scheduling a $24 million dollar special election that resulted in voter confusion and the lowest voter turnout ever, Christie has been busy allegedly quashing an investigation into a political ally, funneling money through national Republican organizations to avoid the state’s pay-to-pay laws, avoiding questions about "potentially illegal" closures of access lanes to the George Washington Bridge, awarding shady no bid contracts for hurricane Sandy recovery -- just a few examples of what may be considered, in the words of Mitt Romney’s background checkers, among “the garish controversies” in Christie’s past.

By comparison, Martinez’s administration is mired in her own controversies for financing an alligator hunting trip for two state police officers. The officers had planned a six-day hunting trip to Louisiana as a vacation, but, because the first gentleman, Martinez's husband, decided to attend, the officers collected their regular pay plus overtime. The officers were paid about $1,100 each, and taxpayers chipped in $630 in gasoline to fuel the state vehicle.

In addition, the former head of Martinez’s political action committee announced her compliance with questioning by the Federal Bureau of Investigation related to a controversial lease extension for the Downs at Albuquerque, a racetrack and casino. Despite objections, the New Mexico State Fair Commission used some creative procedural moves to approve a new 25-year lease for the facility after people connected to the Downs at Albuquerque ponied up more than $70,000 to Martinez's campaign.

Indeed, Susana Martinez's tenure as governor helps tell the story of Chris Christie's record. Sadly, that record is of scandalous corruption and failed economic policies.

CWA Testifies Against Christie Civil Service Changes

For Immediate Release:
Monday, May 13th, 2013

“Broad Banding Titles” Would Open Civil Service to Patronage, Corruption & Nepotism With No Public Input

(NEW JERSEY) – Today, Communications Workers of America’s New Jersey State Director Hetty Rosenstein is testifying at a State Government Committee hearing on Governor Chris Christie’s scheme to gut Civil Service and eliminate most competitive promotions with nearly no public input. The hearing will be held at 11 am in Statehouse Committee Room 16 and was called by Committee Chair, Assemblywoman Linda Stender. Others representing those hurt by this wrong-headed proposal – such as the disabled, veterans, LGBT and people of color– will testify, as well.

“Broad banding” titles would hurt hundreds of thousands of workers, as well as expose every single New Jerseyan to higher taxes due to corruption, cronyism, nepotism and patronage. The plan is a wholesale attack on New Jersey’s working families, women, the disabled and people of color. Moreover, it will virtually eliminate veterans’ preference in hiring and promotions.

“This latest Christie scheme will create more patronage and more corruption at all levels by subjecting Civil Service promotions to the whims of political pressure,” said Hetty Rosenstein, CWA NJ State Director. “Christie’s proposal erodes basic worker protections by gutting a long-standing, transparent, objective system of merit-based promotions. Disabled workers, veterans, LGBT workers, women, workers of color and older workers will all have a major barrier to discrimination dismantled. Amazingly, this is the most radical civil service change in half-a-century, yet the first time requests for public hearings have been flatly denied.”

Governor Christie’s proposal essentially abolishes nearly all objective and transparent measures for promotions and replaces them with "advancement” that will be open to political pressure at all levels of government – municipal, county and state. The Civil Service Commission is seeking to bypass mandated requirements by "broad banding" titles, even though New Jersey’s Constitution requires public jobs be awarded through a competitive testing process wherever possible. Now, management would have latitude to unilaterally “advance” favored workers through the band – based solely on managerial assessment – rather than requiring competitive examination or any formal testing procedures. This would eliminate objective, transparent measures – such as lists of promotion-eligible workers and public postings of who was awarded the position. Moreover, since veterans preference is tied to promotions, this scheme virtually eliminates veterans preference for promotions.

The Christie Administration held a single public hearing in Trenton on the proposal at 3pm on April 10th - a workday. It was virtually impossible for workers opposed to Christie’s proposal to have their voices heard. Those people directly affected deserve a true public process and an opportunity to have their concerns addressed their concerns. Even several legislators, with more flexible schedules, had difficulty attending this sole hearing. Christie has continuously denied requests for more hearings at times and locations when working people all over the state can have a chance to be heard. So, CWA launched a petition for supporters to call on the Civil Service Commission to schedule additional public hearings locations, dates and times. The petition can be viewed and signed at www.cwanj.org.

The Communications Workers of America (AFL-CIO) represents both private sector and public workers. CWA represents more than 70,000 working families in New Jersey, including over 40,000 state workers, 15,000 county and municipal workers, and thousands of workers in the telecommunications, airlines, health care and direct care industries. It represents thousands of public workers both in Civil Service jurisdictions and those that have not adopted Civil Service.