For interested residents who wish to make an informed decision about who to vote for in the upcoming school board elections the Middletown Board of Education will be holding a series of Candidate Forums starting tonight. These forums will be sponsored by various township organizations and are a good opportunity to meet and hear from the candidates that will be seeking election onto the Middletown Board of Education.
Those seeking election on to the School Board are:
Dawn Diorio
Leonora Caminiti
Gerald Wexelberg
Patricia Walsh
Michael Mascone
Chris Aveta
Vincent Brand
And will be sponsored by and take place at:
Organization: Lincroft PTA
Place: Lincroft Elementary School – All Purpose Room
Date: Wednesday, April 7
Time: 7:30 p.m
Organization: Middletown Republican Club
Place: Lincroft Inn
Date: Wednesday, April 14
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Organization: Middletown Mornings
Place: To be determined
Date: Friday, April 16
Time: 9:30 a.m.
An FYI for those that think partisen party politics should have no place in the education of our children should note that the ticket of Mascone, Aveta and Brand seems to have been put together by Mayor Scharfenberger and Deputy Mayor Fiore in an apparent effort to have more control over the school board.
All three candidates have ties to the Middeltown Soccer League and Deputy Mayor Fiore. The Middletown Soccer League supported the Mayor and Deputy Mayor’s efforts to have a sports complex built at West Front Street Park in Lincroft and now tht the plans for new turf fields in town have fallen through, all three have a vested interest in seeing that the artifical turf fields at both Middeltown High Schools are opened for the personal use of Middletown Soccer.
Deputy Mayor Fiore’s signature can be seen on both the Brand and Aveta petitions
MiddletownMike 
Is there no limit to the arrogance and impudence of this mayor and deputy mayor? Both of them seem to forget the oaths they have taken and do not hesitate to trample on the rights of the citizens of this community. No wonder we now have a lawyer front and center on the dais at TC meetings. Scharfenberger has "lawyered up". Since when was that lawyer elected to the township committee? If the table down front was good enough for Bernie Reilly,it's certainly good enough for Nelson. There is much to question today,isn't there?? It is important for every resident in this community to attend one of these meetings and it is especially important to make it your business to vote on April 20th. Put a stop to the intrusion of politics into the education of your children!!!!
If what you say is true, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor are no more corrupt than Middletown Mike, another Middletown resident who feels the need to taint the BOE race for his own needs.The Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Middletown Mike, Dawn Diorio, Leonora Caminiti, Gerald Wexelberg, Patricia Walsh, Michael Mascone, Chris Aveta, and Vincent Brand are all Middletown residents and taxpayers with children in the school system and one has as much right to voice his/her opinions as the other, so I think your attempt to pigeonhole these candidates is unfair and un-American. You don't know anything about them except that they also are involved with their kids' soccer club. Anything else is rumor and innuendo. You supposedly want unbiased truth and justice for everyone, but you take part in scare tactics & labeling, without knowing the facts, supposedly (?) to forward your agenda and candidates. Now I'm leaning away from your candidates and voting for these three. Good work.
What needs do I have and who are my candidates?I haven't publicly endorsed anyone for the school board because I feel that partisen politics have no place on the BOE. That is why I point out the connection between Mascone, Aveta and Brand with Deputy Mayor Fiore and the sports complex.
7:39 Bright! blaming someone else for your vote! I've heard it all now! Oh bright one.
The turn out tonight at the Lincroft School was rather light.There were 5 candidates who showed up. No Mascone and Brand had part of his lengthy statement read by the moderator who at times was not understandable. With the times being so serious I don't understand how 2 candidates who want to run for this extremely important position not show up for these events. Where's the dedication and commitment that is needed?These critical times require experience which wss quite obvious in the exchanges between the current BOE members and Mr. Aveta, but at least he showed up.I don't understand the comments from Anonymous above unless the person has a problem with you as the messenger. Facts are facts and our TC has no business endorsing/petitioning BOE candidates.
Want you to know Brand and Mascone never showed at the Lincroft School last night. Brand sent a lengthy letter to try and support his candidacy but if he was truly serious he should be willing to face the public. and rebuttal of his statements. What a joke!!
Is Mascone even a real candidate? He failed to respond to the first 2 Forums that were scheduled. The first Forum was canceled due to lack of participation. Not even a Yes or a No. If you are running for something as important to our kid's future as the Board of Ed, you should have the time and decency to respond to the invitations to the Candidate Forums. Makes me wonder if he is serious. Will he remember to go the Board meetings?
Seems Vinny Brand is hiding his agenda. He has a bio out that does not really say much about his views on education and running a district. Not sure if he supports the proposed budget or not. If he showed up at the forum, maybe we would have a chance to get to know him. I did view the video that Middletown Mike posted where he made fun of his child smoking pot in his bedroom. Not really something I would be laughing about. What I do know is not too good. I am also concerned that some our kids maybe be added into his comedy act. I believe most BOE meetings are in the evening, and I am worried that might be difficult with his schedule.
Seems to me like Middletown mike is a lefty democrat. He's seen here smiling with that creep of a senator Menendez. For me then the choice is easy. Whomever Middletown mike opposes, I support. That means I'll be voting for Mayor Scharfenberger's ticket (a mayor I respect for his opposition to COAH mandates on low income housing in Middletown). LETS GO Michael Mascone, Chris Aveta and Vincent Brand !!
This issue is not about COAH…it's about the education of this township's kids.The mayor in this town spouts whatever is convenient for his own agenda. A petty politician who has certainly shown his stripes lately with the WFS sports complex proposal and trying to field a slate of totally unqualified candidates for the BOE .This man is more a joker that the joker from a comedy club who exhibits no class at all!! Just what we need on the BOE (sarcastic).The people see this mayor for just what he is….all about himself and always has been,make no mistake about that. To try to use the kids in this town is the lowest move yet!Anyone fooled by any of this ,better think again. It's your kids education at stake here.November will be time to get rid of the mayor or maybe the primary will help with that issue!
Mike – you are a total shill for the democrats, who are you trying to kid. We can't afford your ideas anymore, don;'t you get – we have had it!
Dude,This has nothing to do with if i'm a shill for the Dems or not!This is about what is right for the children of Middletown, which includes my kids.Nothing more will be gained if the BOE budget is defeated, it will only lead to more layoffs, cuts in sports programs and after school activities.The strength or weakness of a towns school system is a major incentive or determining factor for whether or not people wish to move into or out of a community. Middletown's school system was one of the major factors behind Forbes magazine naming Middletown one of the top 100 places to live in the US a few years ago.Now due to that and other factors Middletown doesn't even rank in the top 160 places to live in all of NJ according to NJ monthly magazine I don't want politics playing a roll in my children's education. The local GOP tried that a few years ago with their "back to basics" crowd and it was a dismal failure.And if you look at simular sized towns around the state, Middletown schools budget is smaller and more efficent than them… ex. Freehold, Toms River….
When you speak of "back to basics"….Mike the possible author of that just released letter promoting the current "mayor's slate" was one of that"back to basics slate" ! Currently that person still swills at the public trough in this town.Can't help but see the hypocrisy of all this crap being force fed to the citizens of this community by the antics of these individuals in their self serving endeavors!!!
OH, BOY! Don't get me started on the Back To Basics people! They ruined my youngest daughter's education in elementary school with 35 in a class at River Plaza in her third grade! 29 in her fourth grade! Those were two years of nothing but dittos. What else could they do with that many in a class? My older kids had a better quality education with project based learning.Who am I voting for? I am voting for the ones who cared enough to show up at the candidate forums!And Middletown should be sick to death of politically backed people whether Rep. or Dem.! Politics has NO place on the SB.
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