Independent Candidate for NJ State Assembly District 13, Sean Dunne

For the benefit of those who live in New Jersey’s 13th Legislative District and in the spirit of being “fair and balanced”, I thought that I should let people know that there is a 3rd party candidate seeking to upset Republicans Amy Handlin or Fred Thompson for their seat in the State Assembly.

Holmdel resident Sean Dunne is running as an Independent this year.

Sean sent me an email, reaching out, in hopes that I would give him and his campaign a mention. He said a few nice things about me and the MiddletownMike blog in his email (let’s just say he knows how to be politically correct).

I responded back to Mr. Dunne by letting him know upfront that I was a democrat and that I would be supporting his Democratic opponents Jim Grenafege and Bob Brown while I pointing out to him that his positions on the issues weren’t that different from Jim’s and Bob’s.

He responded with some nice words of understanding and goods words for both Jim and Bob and added:

“You and I do have something in common. We both want Handlin out. I personally think Thompson has been there far too long, and I just think that Handlin has done nothing, besides raise fines for underage drinking at the arts center. Here’s my point: If Handlin rushed out legislation to punish underage drinking after the unfortunate event at the Arts Center, why has she not done anything meaningful to punish corruption when it happened right under her nose? I have noticed that Democrats do focus on Handlin, and I can understand why….”

So with that, I decided I would thank him for his good words and tell you a little about him and his campaign.

His “bio”, which can be read at his website www.votedunne.org states;

“…Sean grew up in Monmouth County, New Jersey. He attended Monmouth County schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. After graduating from James Madison University, Sean moved to Ireland where he lived for nearly ten years. He completed postgraduate work that led to the completion of his Doctorate in Sociology in July, 2008….”

On the issues, Sean would like to see mandatory minimum sentences for corrupt politicians and term limits. He would like to end the careers of political entrepreneurs – those who see public office as a financial opportunity and he feels that members of the State Assembly are over paid for the part-time work that they do. He feels that at $45,000 a year, Assembly members are over paid. Their salaries should be immediately cut to $35,000 which would save the State $800,000 annually.

Sean Dunne also sent along this letter to the editor that he wished for me to post:

As an Independent Candidate for State Assembly in District 13, I have
had the opportunity to speak with many people who live in our area.
Many are disenchanted and disillusioned by the rotten corruption that
sits at the heart of New Jersey politics. No amount of advertising
from Republicans or Democrats is capable of convincing voters that
either party has taken the necessary steps to prevent the corrupt
practices that several members of both parties have engaged in
throughout the years.

Albert Einstein told us that “The world is a dangerous place, not
because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do
nothing”. I’ve asked the people at their doorsteps if Assemblyman
Thompson or Assemblywoman Handlin of this District have done anything
to end the culture of corruption in New Jersey. Their answer has
consistently been, “no”. Voters can do something about the corruption
that raises the already high cost of living in our state. They can
vote for an Independent that will fight the rancid corruption that has
been found within both political parties. I ask all readers who also
believe that Republicans and Democrats “look on and do nothing” about
the issue of corruption to join our fight and vote Sean Dunne for
State Assembly on November 3rd.

Dr. Sean Dunne

I would like to wish my new friend Sean Dunne good luck in his quest for the State Assembly. His positions on issues are not that much different from my own thinking and those of his Democratic opponents. In the future it would be nice if Sean Dunne, Jim Grenafege and Bob Brown could work together to help solve issues that effect the 13th district and New Jersey as a whole.

Video: Grenafege For Assembly

State Assembly Candidate for 13th Legislative District, Democrat James Grenafege, released a new campaign video today.

Grenafege, a Middletowntown resident, is running to unseat Republican Amy Handlin from her cushy assembly seat in Trenton.

The video contains a brief biographical profile on Mr. Grenafege and details some of the issues that he feels are important to residents in the 13th district as well as the State.

Job Creation, Leadership, Ethics and the Environment are just a few of the issues that Jim Grenafege cares about.

To find out more about James Grenafege and where he stands on the issues, vist the candidates website www.assembly13.org

Amy Handlin the "Paper Tiger"

The following letter was sent to my by Jim Grenafege, Democratic Candidate for 13th Legislative State Assembly District.

Jim Grenafege is responding to a letter written by his opponent for the State Assembly seat, incumbent Republican Amy Handlin, which appeared in the Asbury Park Press on July 19th 2009:

An Asbury Park Press editorial, July 19, 2009, “Cut flood risk by fixing levees” focused on Assemblywomen Handlin’s ineffective letter writing effort to get federal and state government agencies to upgrade the levee protection system in the Bayshore area.

June 2008, FEMA held a public meeting for Bayshore residents. Congressman Pallone participated. Ms. Handlin failed to attend. She failed to fulfill her obligation to serve and listen to her constituents. She missed an opportunity to partner with Mr. Pallone — one of the “regions federal representatives” who could have supported her efforts to improve the levee.

June 2009, Handlin “fired off a letter” to FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers and other officials in an attempt to “rattle some cages”. She waited over a year –just three months before the maps were to be implemented — before lamely pulling the trigger on her pen. Letters, even if wrapped around bricks, do not rattle bureaucratic cages.

Handlin says, “An insurance policy is a piece of paper. It doesn’t hold back a flood.” Nor will her letters hold back the September 25 flood of new and higher insurance premiums for municipalities and 4300 affected Bayshore area residents.

Upgrading the levees is critical. Requiring property owners to carry the full financial burden of the premiums associated with the revised flood zone maps is unreasonable and unfair, especially in these economic times.

Primary lien holders – usually banks or mortgage companies — benefit from insurance coverage; they should help pay. Legislation requiring primary lien holders to subsidize insurance premiums, without passing the cost on to the property owners, is needed. Insurance companies collecting the premiums should be required to dedicate a significant portion of the premiums toward flood control management.

James Grenafege

NJ State Legislative District 13, Candidate

Campaign Video For Bob Brown, Candidate for Assembly Dsitrict 13, Is On The Web

Democratic candidate for State Assembly, Robert “Bob” Brown, is an attorney and retired Old Bridge police officer who was wounded in the line of duty. He is running in the 13th district against Republican incumbents Sam Thompson and Amy Handlin.

He has a short biographical campaign video that has recently been posted on the web, you can watch it below:

To learn more about Bob Brown and his runningmate, Middletown’s Jim Grenafege, and the issues that they will be fighting for check out their website www.assembly13.org

Middletown’s Scharfenberger to seek 13th District Assembly Seat

This is big news that means there is a huge shake up going on in Monmouth County. I just heard from a very reliable source that Middletown’s Deputy Mayor, Gerry Scharfenberger, will be running for Amy Handlin’s Assembly seat in the 13th District.

How is this possible? It seems that there is a major plan brewing to regain Middletown for the GOP. NJ State Senator and Middletown resident Joe Kyrillos will be seeking the Lt. Governorship on the line with his long time buddy Chris Christie. The plan then has fellow Middletown resident ,Assemblywoman Amy Handlin, seeking Kyrillos’s seat in the State Senate for the 13th district. Scharfenberger will then fill Handlin’s seat in the Assembly.

This is all geared toward getting out strong GOP support in Middletown to elect Steve Massel to the township committee, which would then give the Middletown GOP their super majority once again and silence democratic opposition to their doings in Middletown.

I’ll have more on this later.

Morehead To Announce Candidacy for 13th District

Matt Morehead, Chairman of the Monmouth County Bayshore Young Democrats, has just announced that he will be seeking the Democratic Party line to challenge Republican Amy Handlin in the 13th NJ Legislative District Assembly race this year.

 The Middletown resident  will be appearing at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft to announce his intent to run for public office.

The press event will take place from noon to 1 p.m. in the Student Life Center’s Navesink II Room.

Will he actually get the go ahead from the Monmouth Democrats? It’s hard to say, but I wouldn’t rule it out. After all I haven’t heard of anyone else that is willing to run against Handlin as of yet.

Matt Morehead is a fresh face that has worked very hard over the past couple of years to bring attention to youth issues. He could put up a very good fight if given the chance.

 
 Caption: Matt Morehead with Victory Scudiery and Brookdale Democratic Club President