Letter: Keady Candidacy Stands For Social Justice

The expressed opinions or views of this letter does not necessarily represent the opinion of the MiddletownMike blog:

Dear Editor,

I first met Jim Keady while he was working full-time as an activist for the rights of Nike sweatshop workers in Indonesia. Over the years, I have followed his journey from activist collegiate Men’s Soccer Coach, to Asbury Park City Councilman to Restauranteur.

(Jim Keady, Candidate 30th Assembly District)

Given Jim’s history of doing the right thing, it wasn’t surprising that he was the one to stand up to Governor Christie on the lack of Sandy relief at a Town Hall meeting in Belmar. Governor Christie showed his true colors by bullying Jim Keady (a former elected official) for asking questions.

Jim Keady is now running as a Democrat for State Assembly District 30. I know that with Jim Keady and his running mate Jimmy Esposito of Lakewood, our state has a unique chance to bring two dedicated advocates of social justice into our lawmaking process.

I hope Jon Bon Jovi and his wife Dorthea also support Keady, as I believe he could be a strong advocate in the legislature to support the goals of their generous philanthropy that continues to help so many.



Eric Hafner
Toms River

Christie Town Hall Meeting

I was in attendance today for Governor Chris Christie's town hall meeting in Port Monmouth and as I stated earlier the event would make more news for what wasn't discussed as opposed to what was.

The hall of VFW Post 2179 was packed with members of the media from all over tri-state region;  camera crews and reporters from NY, NJ and Philadelphia along with various national news outlets and blogs where there along with a few hundred Hurricane Sandy survivors looking for answers.

Sandy victims wanted to know when they could expect some real help getting back into their homes 16 months after the storm, while the media was curious if someone would ask the governor about the George Washington Bridge scandal that has engulfed his administration for the past month.

The media left the hall scratching its head, wondering why no one asked about Bridgegate ( I did have my hand raised to ask but wasn't called upon) and many of the Sandy survivors left scratching their heads still wondering what they needed to do to get back into their homes.

The governor took the opportunity to bash President Obama, Congress, FEMA and Democrats in the State Legislature for the slow response and lack of help for needy Sandy survivors. When a gentleman tried to ask a question about why the governor wasted over $50 million on private companies to oversee sandy relief efforts instead of getting the money directly to those that needed it the most, the governor made his best post-bridgegate attempt to not talk down to the person who asked the question but made it pretty clear  he thought it was a stupid question.

And that was pretty much it, nothing news worthy as it would pertain to the various scandals circling the governor's administration came to light.

I'm sure that if you look around the internet or watch the evening news tonight you'll read or watch pretty much the same (maybe with a little more detail) as what I've posted here.

 For those who were looking for answers, there were few to be had. For those that had questions that weren't asked there will be other opportunities to do so.

Here are a few pictures that I took of today's town hall:

 

Will 3rd Time Be A Charm? Christie Town Hall Set For Thursday

If at first they don't succeed, try, try again...

After twice canceling his Town Hall meeting in Middletown due to inclement weather, Governor Christie is giving it one more try on Thursday to get in the 110th town hall event of his administration. And lucky for me, I'm off and will be able to attend.

For those interested in attending, the town hall takes place at the Middletown VFW Post 2179 in Port Monmouth and doors will open at 10 a.m., with the event starting at 12:30 p.m. Seating is on a first come, first serve basis and open to the public.

According to weather reports Thursday will be a mostly sunny day with a high temperature of 47 degrees. If the weather forecast holds as planned I'd say its a safe bet that the governor get the town hall in as scheduled this time.


As I stated in my earlier posts announcing Christie's arrival in Middletown, this Town Hall will be the first Town Hall meeting since the Bridgegate lane closure scandal and accusations of using Hurricane Sandy aid money to extract political endorsements from Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer and others, engulfed his administration last month. And while we know what Governor Christie intends to talk about (Superstorm Sandy relief and recovery efforts) it's what he won't be talking about that will be on a lot of people's mind.