Post by admin on Mar 24, 2009 9:29:11 GMT -5
www.app.com/article/20090324/NEWS01/903240338/1001/NEWSFRONT
Monmouth County Freeholder Director Barbara J. McMorrow has all but wrapped up the endorsement of county Democratic leaders for her re-election bid, having overcome earlier policy differences with her colleagues on the Board of Freeholders. No candidates have emerged to challenge McMorrow for the party's backing for a second term.
The two major political parties will award their endorsements Saturday for the June primary elections. One freeholder board seat is at stake in the November general election.
McMorrow has voted with party members on all major issues faced by the freeholder board in recent weeks, a change from earlier in the year when she occasionally broke from two fellow Democrats, John D'Amico Jr. and Amy A. Mallet.
But McMorrow joined D'Amico and Mallet to outgun the two Republican freeholders when the board voted to keep open the Youth Detention Center, establish an ethics committee and fill the county emergency management coordinator job with a patronage hire.
McMorrow said Monday, though, there were no political aspects to her votes.
"Regarding the ethics committee, I said I was interested in hearing what (the new committee's members) have to say," she said. "There is no expenditure of money related to their giving us a report, and their report is informational only and is nonbinding.
"I still remain strong in my statement that there is no money in the budget to fund the position of inspector general."
"My decision on the Youth Detention Center was based on the opinions given by every juvenile justice professional and advocate," McMorrow said. "The New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission would have the final say in closure. That's important because no other large county with a population of the size of Monmouth has closed its YDC."
McMorrow said she favored the administration changes — which included hiring Glenn Mason, a defeated Democratic candidate for freeholder last year, for the emergency management job — in part because it created payroll savings.
"The appointments made two weeks ago were a mixture. Some were reappointed, some were promoted from within, and some were new appointments. Each person appointed came in at a lower salary than his or her predecessor," McMorrow said.
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D'Amico and Mallet support McMorrow's re-election.
Mallet said, "Having worked with her for the past 10 weeks, I am very impressed with her abilities, which I can now see firsthand. She is one of the hardest-working people I've met and is a true and honest public servant. I certainly expect her to get the party endorsement and to succeed in November."
County Democratic Party officials will meet at a miniconvention at 9 a.m. at the hall of Union Local 2250, 30 Wikoff Place, Red Bank. The format of the convention is expected to be similar to previous years, with more than 250 delegates made up of municipal party chairmen and vice chairmen, Democratic club presidents, holders of municipal elected office and at-large delegates deciding on the freeholder endorsement.
Monmouth County Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Oxley has asked a GOP screening committee to meet the same morning to make a recommendation from among four freeholder candidates: Spring Lake Borough Councilman Gary J. Rich, former Atlantic Highlands Borough Councilwoman Kim Spatola, former Red Bank Borough Councilman John P. Curley and Manalapan resident Joseph Ficalora.
Holmdel resident Stan Rosenthal said he plans to run for freeholder as an independent.
The petition filing and acceptance deadline for primary election candidates is April 6. June 2 is the date of the primary and also the filing deadline for independent candidates for the general election, which this year is Nov. 3.
Monmouth County Freeholder Director Barbara J. McMorrow has all but wrapped up the endorsement of county Democratic leaders for her re-election bid, having overcome earlier policy differences with her colleagues on the Board of Freeholders. No candidates have emerged to challenge McMorrow for the party's backing for a second term.
The two major political parties will award their endorsements Saturday for the June primary elections. One freeholder board seat is at stake in the November general election.
McMorrow has voted with party members on all major issues faced by the freeholder board in recent weeks, a change from earlier in the year when she occasionally broke from two fellow Democrats, John D'Amico Jr. and Amy A. Mallet.
But McMorrow joined D'Amico and Mallet to outgun the two Republican freeholders when the board voted to keep open the Youth Detention Center, establish an ethics committee and fill the county emergency management coordinator job with a patronage hire.
McMorrow said Monday, though, there were no political aspects to her votes.
"Regarding the ethics committee, I said I was interested in hearing what (the new committee's members) have to say," she said. "There is no expenditure of money related to their giving us a report, and their report is informational only and is nonbinding.
"I still remain strong in my statement that there is no money in the budget to fund the position of inspector general."
"My decision on the Youth Detention Center was based on the opinions given by every juvenile justice professional and advocate," McMorrow said. "The New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission would have the final say in closure. That's important because no other large county with a population of the size of Monmouth has closed its YDC."
McMorrow said she favored the administration changes — which included hiring Glenn Mason, a defeated Democratic candidate for freeholder last year, for the emergency management job — in part because it created payroll savings.
"The appointments made two weeks ago were a mixture. Some were reappointed, some were promoted from within, and some were new appointments. Each person appointed came in at a lower salary than his or her predecessor," McMorrow said.
(2 of 2)
D'Amico and Mallet support McMorrow's re-election.
Mallet said, "Having worked with her for the past 10 weeks, I am very impressed with her abilities, which I can now see firsthand. She is one of the hardest-working people I've met and is a true and honest public servant. I certainly expect her to get the party endorsement and to succeed in November."
County Democratic Party officials will meet at a miniconvention at 9 a.m. at the hall of Union Local 2250, 30 Wikoff Place, Red Bank. The format of the convention is expected to be similar to previous years, with more than 250 delegates made up of municipal party chairmen and vice chairmen, Democratic club presidents, holders of municipal elected office and at-large delegates deciding on the freeholder endorsement.
Monmouth County Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Oxley has asked a GOP screening committee to meet the same morning to make a recommendation from among four freeholder candidates: Spring Lake Borough Councilman Gary J. Rich, former Atlantic Highlands Borough Councilwoman Kim Spatola, former Red Bank Borough Councilman John P. Curley and Manalapan resident Joseph Ficalora.
Holmdel resident Stan Rosenthal said he plans to run for freeholder as an independent.
The petition filing and acceptance deadline for primary election candidates is April 6. June 2 is the date of the primary and also the filing deadline for independent candidates for the general election, which this year is Nov. 3.