Mayor Mary Beth Jahn. File photo.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
On June 5, 2012, Mary Beth Jahn won a bitter primary election for Committeeman, largely due to votes by Ocean Grove Democrats. Blogfinger covered her victory and posted a photo of Grovers celebrating. She was popular in the Grove, largely because she was the only Committeeman who would participate in Blogfinger dialogues.
On June 23, 2012, an article appeared in Blogfinger about the North End project. Here is a quote from that post:
“Although Neptune Township previously approved a plan that would allow for between 70 and 80 new condos along Wesley Lake near the boardwalk, Jahn told the Ocean Grove Home Owners Association on Saturday that the plan might now be scaled back dramatically.
“Many of the members seemed elated when Jahn spoke of ‘the condos [the developers] think they’re going to build,’ and then added, ‘I think they are going to build 12 single-family homes.’
“Ever since the Township Committee formally approved a redevelopment plan in 2008, many Ocean Grovers have regretted and feared its implementation, an opinion Jahn has shared. At the time, she called the plan ‘a travesty’ and a detriment to the quality of life of OG residents. Now that she is all but assured of reelection in November, Jahn is predicting that the plan could be changed during negotiations between the developers and the Township Committee. Jahn and Mayor Randy Bishop are the Township Committee’s designated negotiators in those talks.”
On October 12, 2012, we posted a long and detailed piece about the North End. In that post we said, “It appears to us that three of the five current Committee members should be willing now to further reduce the size of this project. Those three would be Bishop, Jahn and Eric Houghtaling. As a majority, they have the power.”
On October 24, 2012 prior to her reelection as a Committeewoman, Mary Beth Jahn said this on Blogfinger, “As I’m one of the negotiators for the Township for this project, I’m legally restricted from saying anything other than what I have previously stated publicly: I oppose the redevelopment plan that was approved for a hotel and condos. I believe this project should be held to the existing zoning requirements of 12 single-family homes. I was the only Township Committee member to vote “no” on the redevelopment plan and I continue to hold that position. (If anyone needs copies of my public comments from the dais during this vote to fact-check me, file an OPRA request with Rick Cuttrell and ask for the audiotape.)
“I don’t mind being the only person to vote “no,” because everyone pretty much knows I’m a huge pain in the patootie about things I don’t believe to be in the best interest of residents (also said from the dais and audio taped). This should be the first of some very spirited discussions.
“And that is all I am legally able to say . . .”
In November 2012, she wins a three year term and she gets the most votes in Ocean Grove of the 4 Committee candidates.
On November 8, 2012, Jahn told Blogfinger that she is “very grateful” to those Ocean Grove citizens who “really made it possible for me to win the primary and thus to make it to the general election.” She said that Ocean Grove has a “special place” in her heart.
That was the last we heard from her about supporting a take-down of the NERP on the grounds that it would be a “travesty”—something bad for our town.
Now she is the Mayor and she still is a member of the negotiating sub-committee of the Township which is supposed to be working on the long-promised re-developers agreement between the Township and the re-developers
But she didn’t even attend a recent important meeting about the North End, she refused to answer questions about the subject when asked by a Grover at two Committee meetings, and she continues to be mute on the subject.
Something happened to change her mind and to silence her on this issue. She owes the people of Ocean Grove an explanation.
THE ANDREWS SISTERS:
She did what she thought she had to do — to get the people’s vote. That’s what most politicians do. This behavior shouldn’t be surprising, but none the less — it is still disappointing.
Mary Beth has not been active with anything the Township is doing. Missed a number of meetings as the Mayor and has been having trouble staying focused when she is there.
I hope that if it is a health issue, it can be resolved in a short amount of time. the Township needs a person to move Neptune forward and to be aware of all that is going on and stay on top of things.
I have not seen this in 2015 at all.
I believe, Mary Beth Jahn’s position on the North End in 2012 was honest and sincere, and this position led her on a collision course with the reality of politics.