By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @ Blogfinger
Dr.Michael Brantley, Neptune Township Committeeman (D) is the new Mayor. During the last election he ran for an 11th district State Senate seat held by Jennifer Beck. He received 40% of the vote.
In 2012 ( 10/27/12) he visited Ocean Grove for an HOA candidates event. This is what we reported that day, “Dr. Michael Brantley stressed his experience and integrity. He was proud that the Township government had been downsized by 21 workers over the last five years. Dr. Brantley is from Asbury Park originally, but he has lived in Neptune Township for many years. He has been active on the Wesley Lake Commission where he solved a vexing problem as to how to save money on the dumping of dredged gunk. The Committeeman also said that he has been listening to the complaints of Grovers regarding the North End project, and that those opinions ‘have not fallen on deaf ears.'”
This is what we reported when he came to town (9/28/13) regarding his Senate quest: “Neptune Twp. Committeeman Michael Brantley (D) candidate for NJ Senate, told us that ‘I never live to be a politician.’ Dr. Brantley wants to be elected based on his personal qualities. He said, ‘It boils down to the kind of person you are. I want to help my community.’ “
I thought that being a good person is not a bad criterion for election. He also promoted more gun control through better background checks, raising the minimum wage and enhanced healthcare for women. Unfortunately he went on to say that women have more health problems because of their estrogens.
We wish Dr. Brantley well in his job as Mayor. We also wish that he would speak to the people of Ocean Grove more often. He is one of three current members of the Committee who never offered information to the citizens of Ocean Grove via Blogfinger. Committeeman Eric Houghtaling, who just relinquished the Mayor’s job, has been helpful to us whenever we have sought accurate and thoughtful information. Mary Beth Jahn used to be a huge help to us on BF, and we are grateful for that. But recently we haven’t heard from her.
Of course, helping Blogfinger is not a criteria for doing a good job in office, but we had over 500,000 visits last year, mostly from Grovers or friends of the Grove. Why not participate? Don’ t they want to reach out and communicate with the folks?
Paul, I can see an interesting POLL GUESTION for your readers,
Where would you prefer to live: Ocean Grove or Spring Lake?
Perhaps its just me, but I do not see any connection whatsoever between what goes on in OG and what goes on in Neptune. Neptune is another planet (no pun intended). If OG turns into Spring Lake (we should get that lucky), I think that would be great for OG and great for Neptune (as they would yield higher property taxes from us). The LAST thing we need is more hotels and multi-unit housing for which there is no parking and which brings traffic and outsiders into our town.
Fighting for the interests of the Grove is fighting for Neptune. Tourists, investors. But I hope OG does not make the mistake of just building private, single-family homes in the Grove. Neptune needs hotels and tourism to build a sustainable community. If we turn into Deal or Spring Lake — ghost towns where the rich visit twice a year — Neptune could be in real trouble.
While it would be great if the new Mayor would participate on Blogfinger, or if other Council members participated, it would be almost as good just to know that they regularly visit and read the comments so they can be aware of what’s on the minds of Ocean Grovers.
I also hope that someone on the CMA or OGHOA (or both) visits the new Mayor and let’s him know what our top 3-4 priorities are. Hopefully these include strong police presence, dealing with the 4 or 5 worst derelict houses/buildings, fixing Wesley Lake, and assuring a much more modest and thoughtful North End redevelopment than what the developers now want to inflict on our humble community.