Check out this story in the Asbury Park Press. It looks like there is going to be a real dog fight among Republicans in Ocean County for the vacant County Clerk's position. All the "underbosses" in George Gilmore's political machine are circling around like a pack of hungry dogs ready to pounce on one another over a large piece of red meat that fell off a meat wagon.
And what will the Democrats be doing while all this infighting is going on? According to the article, apparently, nothing. I have seen some items posted on other websites that the Traditional Republicans of Ocean County (TROOC) who managed 40% of the vote in this years primary, may put up an independent candidate which should make things interesting.
There is an irony to all this, however. Carl Block vacated the County Clerk's job to become the County Administrator at substantially higher pay and pension benefits. Block, who was double-dipping on state benefits as Mayor of Stafford, was thrown out of office last year by a coalition of Democrats and reform Republicans led by TROOC. If they get together again this year like they did last year, Gilmore & Co. will have to do some rather heavy lifting to GOTV if they want to keep absolute control of County government.
Earlier this week, longtime double-dipper Carl W. Block was appointed as the next Ocean County administrator. In accepting the job, Block said he will resign his elected office, that of county clerk. That is not a selfless act of public service: Block will earn $149,500 per year as administrator, 30 percent more than his $115,000 salary as clerk.
With public pensions based on the three highest years of one's salary, the new job will set him up nicely for retirement.
I'm sure the Governor is just waiting to use this as the latest example of abuses in the pension system, right.
That speaks poorly of the Ocean County freeholders' desire to find the best person for the job, rather than the person in best standing with Ocean County Republicans
If he's the person in best standing with the Ocean County Republicans, that speaks volumes in itself. Their bench did get shorter when Assemblyman Van Pelt went down on corruption charges, but apparently Block with all his past questions is just the man for the job. As the editorial notes, how would they even know if anyone was better for the job than Block because they never bothered to even look. Looking forward, Block moving to the County Administrator spot does create an opportunity for Democrats.
Check out this editorial in the Asbury Park Press condemning Ocean County's GOP bosses for choosing one of their own, County Clerk Carl Block, as County Administrator. Block's salary will go up substantially, as will his benefits under the current pension plan. Last year Block was defeated for re-election as Stafford mayor by a coalition of Democrats and reform Republicans opposed to Boss George Gilmore's stranglehold on county government.
The two Democratic candidates for freeholder have already condemned Block's appointment, and I saw a recent post on an internet blog from one of the reform Republican leaders indicating they may run as an independent candidate in the special election this November to fill the County Clerk's position vacated by Block. If there is an independent "tea party" candidate this could be an opportunity for Ocean County Dems to make some inroads in the GOP-controlled county government. Let's hope they don't blow it.
While they didn't pass a full dual office holding ban in the Legislature allowing people to be "grandfathered" in, the voters still have the ultimate say at the ballot box and this past Tuesday night they made the decision for Carl Block:
The major upset of the 2009 non-partisan municipal elections was the defeat of Carl Block, who has served as Mayor of Stafford (pop. 25,819) since 1983. Block lost by fifteen percentage points, 57%-42%, to John McMenamin, a former police lieutenant. Four incumbent Councilmembers allied with Block also lost their bids for re-election.
This is a stunning defeat for Republicans in a town where John McCain beat Barack Obama with 59% of the vote last year. Block is also the Ocean County Clerk, and an insider within the Ocean County GOP organization. McMenamin had the backing of Democrats, who backed GOP gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie's proposal to ban dual officeholding. Christie attended a fundraiser for Block in Stafford just days after announcing his plan, which would have forced Block to choose between his two jobs.
At least Christie won't have to explain his support for a dual office holder while he rips dual office holding at the same time anymore. The loss for Block also will cost Party boss George Gilmore some business apparently. McMenamin ran an aggressive campaign and also received help from Congressman John Adler. The campaign credited the victory to personal relationships putting them over the top:
"Because we had candidates who had been in town for 30 years, they knew everybody," said Seim, who holds a PhD in medicinal chemistry. "They sat down at the beginning of this campaign eight weeks ago and identified 1,500 voters they knew in town. When we say that 1,000 of those voters had not participated in the last election, we knew we would be competitive. Based on the last mayoral election, we knew we needed 1,000 extra votes to win."
Incumbents went down in Ocean County, Burlington County, Camden County. Incumbents retained their seats in Hackensack, Asbury Park, Tinton Falls, Monmouth Beach, Bordentown City and Passaic, among other places. I don't know if Healy is a good gauge in Jersey City because of the overwhelming fundraising advantage and it appears there were many factors in play in Hoboken. Here's what the APP editorial had to say about Block's loss today:
Whether motivated by a need for change, by the recognition of conflicts caused by multiple public jobs or by the campaigning of successful mayoral candidate and former police lieutenant John McMenamin, Stafford voters moved the state one step closer to ending dual officeholding.
Campaigns will be looking for the larger lessons from these races. Looking forward to the November elections, incumbents on the ballot may be trying to figure out if this is going to be a wave that can only be overcome in some areas by large fundraising. In a diary posted on the side, Dennis M pointed to the big news of this race and questioned what it might mean for November.Do you think there is a larger problem for incumbents on the ballot or were these races just a product of the local factors on the ground?
I am an on-again, off-again resident and extremely frequent (like, every weekend) visitor to Stafford Township, and I have been well aware of the campaign pitting Carl Block against a reform team - especially since you couldn't stand outside the house in the nice weather last weekend without meeting candidates from one or the other side. I believe there are two reasons Block, long-time Mayor and Ocean County Clerk, finally lost - one, his reign, though once in step with the resident's dreams of managed growth, has recently veered into some pretty grandiose big-box developments which came with BIG tax deferrals, and two, the departure of long-time Block nemesis Wes Bell from this vale of tears allowed for the fielding of a slate of opposition candidates that wasn't led by a certifiable nut-job.
Keep in mind that this is deep, deep Republican territory - and that a slate of independents, Democrats and Republicans just defeated a slate led by a deeply entrenched Republican mayor of 26 years' or so duration. That's big - and I think it may (may!) say something positive about the chances of other Democrats in Southern Ocean county this November.
Generally speaking, political challengers don't deserve to unseat incumbents unless they can present a compelling case for why they could do a better job.
In the Ocean County clerk's race, incumbent Carl Block, who is opposed by Democratic Mayor Jason Varano of Berkeley, has made the case for why he shouldn't be re-elected all by himself.
If you think that's bad, just wait. They offer a pretty good, very brief summary of why Block shouldn't get another term in office:
There are lots of reasons to send Block packing. Taken individually, some of them may not warrant repudiating him on Election Day. But taken together, a pattern emerges - of self-interest, partisanship, entitlement, slackness with tax dollars and violation of the public trust.
Ouch. Follow me below the fold as they take apart Block and his actions.
The Ocean County Clerk's office is now, evidently, broadcasting in HD!
Democrats on Friday fired another campaign salvo at Ocean County Clerk Carl W. Block by releasing records showing that he spent $227,000 on expenses such as a flat-screen plasma television and $400 to frame a portrait of Freeholder John P. "Jack" Kelly.
The 47-inch TV cost $2,200 and Block also spent $540 to have a Howard Miller wall clock in his outer office repaired. It still doesn't work.
"It was here when I got here; it's still here," Block said on a recent tour of his office. "Like I said, I would like to get rid of it. There's probably a bill in there trying to repair it. As you can see, it's not something you would easily know how to repair. I didn't buy it; it's not mine. I haven't done anything with it."
The expenses were paid from the clerk's dedicated trust fund.
I'll repeat the items again, because they bear repeating. $2,200 on a flat screen TV, $400 to frame a portrait, and $540 to fix a clock that still doesn't work.
Berkeley mayor, Ocean County Clerk candidate, and general up-and-coming Democrat Jason Varano brought up the issue during an endorsement meeting in the Clerk's race with the Asbury Park Press:
Varano had first raised the issue of the trust fund during an appearance with Block before an Asbury Park Press editorial board meeting last month. He accused Block of mismanaging the trust fund, an account supported by revenue from service fees assessed to members of the public to process mortgages, deeds and passport applications. The money is separate from Block's annual $3.4 million budget, funded by county taxpayers through the Board of Freeholders.
The Varano campaign has argued that Block should not have spent almost $25,000 on travel since 2006 or $250,000 in about the same time period on what it says are frivolous expenses outside his office's five-year capital improvement plan.
Fixing an ornamental clock or purchasing a plasma TV linked to a laptop computer broadcasting a Power Point presentation in the lobby of the clerk's office is not in the spirit of the statute governing the fund, Democrats contend.
Carl Block is the well-liked Republican Ocean County Clerk. You'll recall Ocean County Republicans have made their brand calling out high taxes and crusading for eliminating wasteful spending.
To be sure, there are legitimate expenses from which to draw money from this fund. The frivolous expenses that appear here beg the question: how else was taxpayer money wasted? Were there other such expenses? Inappropriate taxpayer-funded travel? Carl Block and the Ocean County Clerk's office should publicly disclose all expenditure documents associated with this fund, just as a precaution.
The office of Ocean County Clerk Carl Block has a dedicated trust fund and his opponent, Democrat Jason Varano came to the Asbury Park Press Editorial meeting saying that someone needs to take another look at the books:
That account is supported by service fees collected when mortgages, deeds and passport applications are filed with the office. The money is apart from and in addition to the clerk's annual budget, which is funded by county taxpayers through the Board of Freeholders. Unlike budgeted items, the money in the dedicated trust fund is carried from one fiscal year to the next.
"This is an account I think that needs to be audited. I think it needs to be addressed. This is an account that is hard to find within the freeholders' budget," Varano said. "To me, it was very hidden. It's a fee-based account that is for an additional filing fee for when mortgages are filed, deeds are recorded . . . which goes into a dedicated trust account."
Block defended some of the charges from Varano, who himself was already focusing on what he saw as another problem in the Clerk's office:
"There were also over 3,000 hours of overtime last year in this office," Varano said at the meeting.
One employee alone had 800 hours of overtime, and another had 700 hours of overtime, he said.
Block did not deny that the cost of doing business has increased since he was first elected county clerk in 2003. Nevertheless, he said, he was taking steps to rein in overtime costs, which he said were the result of a busy election calendar this year, including the first stand alone February presidential primary.
From the tenor of the article, it looks like Block wasn't really prepared for the charges to come his way and was caught flatfooted. Block did respond following the meeting, but was left playing catch up defending the actions of his office.
