Blogfinger

Derel Stroud was just sworn in to replace Nick Williams who resigned. Photo from Stroud’s Linkedin page.

Neptune Committee left to right: Kevin McMillan, Robert Lane, Tassie York (Mayor), Derel Stroud, and Keith Cafferty, all Democrats. This photo was from his swearing in Feb 12, 2024. Derel’s Mom is also in the photo.

By Paul Goldfinger, MD, Blogfinger.net.  Ocean Grove, NJ, USA

The turnover at the Neptune Committee has been startling lately.  Michael Brantley died and was replaced by Kevin McMillan who had been a Committeeman before but had been  dumped by his own party.  In December he took office again.

Tassie York replaced Carol Rizzo in 2022 and then was elected on her own last year. Now she is Mayor.  We wrote about her–that link is below.

Committeeman Stroud  is replacing Nicholas Williams who resigned for medical reasons.

Derel Stroud, 38 years old, was chosen over two other candidates recommended by  the local Democratic party. He has an impressive background including his current membership on the Neptune Board of  Adjustment.

I suspect that there are few Grovers who have heard of Stroud.  He has been involved in politics at the State level currently being an aide to US Rep. Bonnie Watson. He is a graduate of Seton Hall University (political science) and he has an Associates degree  from Brookdale Community  College in Criminal Justice

A variety of media has covered Stroud’s Neptune appointment, but instead of headlining him, they have injected race into the story of the Neptune Committee.  A number of media reports called Stroud’s appointment a “Historic milestone in Neptune”  because now the Committee has a “Black majority” with 3 of 5 being African-American.

TAPinto said, “In a historic move for Neptune Township, the Township Committee has appointed Zoning Board of Adjustment member Derel Stroud.”

The Coaster’s headline says, “Historic Decision in Neptune”   According to the Coaster, only one person commented in his behalf at the meeting. But maybe that wasn’t a problem because Stroud was approved by all 4 committee members.

This attempt by media to turn Stroud’s appointment into a racial issue goes along with other tendencies we have seen recently.

On January 15, the Asbury Park Press headline read:  “One of 18 children becomes the first Black woman mayor of Neptune; here is what she will do”.  So gender and race were presented as her main virtues.

The Coaster proclaimed on its front page that  the “New mayor is a Black woman.”

Here is a link to our post about this issue:

Race bubbles to the top at Neptune Committee

Stroud was not about to follow those leads. Instead he focused on his values in becoming a Township leader.  He said, quoted in the Coaster, “Nobody tells me what do. I make decisions for myself. With that said, you can’t get anywhere without working together.”

He also said, “Hold me accountable. My integrity is there. I am available, accessible and approachable. Reach out to me about anything and don’t ever feel like you are not heard.”

This racial element in the media  is unfortunate. The Neptune Committee has had two African American men on their board for years, and I never heard any discussion about their race.  We all know that Neptune has many African American citizens, but so what?  There has been very little racial tension in this town that I could see. The census showed that about 30% of the population in the Township is black.

There are some concerns which I have noted, but they have never come to the surface for discussion.  One is that Neptune is racially segregated, but that is due to socioeconomic factors. Crime/poverty  and drugs have appeared in that community, but law enforcement is doing its job.

I have attended a Neptune Board of Education meeting with Charles Layton, and the determination for a fine education here was evident. Jean and I have photographed the NHS graduation at the Great Auditorium on a number of occasions, and we have been impressed to meet many of the bright graduates of all races.

So hopefully those media attempts to turn this into a racial  controversy will quickly dissolve into reality.

Blogfinger invited Comm. Stroud to be interviewed by me to see if he has any ideas about Ocean Grove.  Until now, despite our nearly 5 million hits since our founding, only two Neptune Committeemen were willing to talk to us on Blogfinger:  Mary Beth Jahn and Eric Houghtaling.

I’m sure all Neptune citizens will wish Derel Stroud luck in his new endeavor.

HARRY NILSSON: