Setting: I had just parked my car across from Firemen’s Park when I noticed a Biden sign stuck into the grassy strip adjacent to the park, at the corner of Main Avenue and Delaware. It occurred to me that such sign placement might be illegal. I also noticed that the sign was placed next to the doggie poop and garbage pails. What’s with the messaging?
Sincee the election is only 104 days away, it might be good to look into the rules. I called the Neptune Police:
Me: I was wondering if there is an ordinance against putting up political signs by the park.
Officer: I don’t know. Why don’t you call Town Hall.
Me: What department should I ask for?
Officer: Try the Election Board.
Me: Do they have an Election Board over there?
Officer: Don’t know..
Me–my next call is to the Township Clerk who does know.
Clerk: You can only place such signs on your own property, but not on public places such as parks…
Me: As he explains the rules, I see a woman on a bike stop by the sign, pull it out of the ground, and proceed to ride away with it. I was on the phone in the park, so I said goodby to the Clerk and called out to her asking what she is doing.
She: This sign was stolen from my front yard. I am an avid Democrat and I want it back.
Me: I’m Blogfinger and I would like to know for an article. (She’s a fan….FOB)
She: OK, but no photos.
Woman walking by says to her, “You should put more signs up. We need to do something about what’s going on.”
She: OK. I already have 3 signs like that
Me: What do you think of the sign placement here, right next to the poop pails? I wonder if this is an anti-Biden statement. Or is it a pro Biden statement by someone who has no dogs?
She: I don’t know about those pails. I have no dogs. I’m a part timer here; we also have a home in Hoboken.
Me: (telling her the rules.) …and, if anyone wants to complain about a misplaced political sign, they can call the Mother Ship and ask for Code Enforcement.
Then she rode off, managing her bike with one hand, and the sign in the other, deftly steering along the inner park path.
VOTE NOV 8, 2016. Click to enlarge. Look for Lake Avenue on this CMA map. The CMA may support the NERP, but they know where Lake Avenue is. Note that the map excludes the North End and the Lake Avenue route after Pilgrim Pathway.
This Blogfinger post began its life in December 2015, but we have updated it today.
In a November 2015 Blogfinger poll, 88% of respondents said that they did not trust the Neptune Township Committee to do what is fair and just for Ocean Grove. 310 respondents voted. 9% said they did trust them, while the rest were unsure.
On January 1, 2016, a new version of the 5 person Neptune Township Committee was sworn in. Returning were Dr. Michael Brantley (newly re-elected), Kevin McMillan (incumbent and new Mayor) and Randy Bishop (incumbent.)
Taking the place of Mary Beth Jahn was Nicholas Williams (newly elected.) Carol Rizzo of Ocean Grove was later appointed to take the place of Eric Houghtaling.
Recently Robert Lane was chosen to take Randy Bishop’s seat after he was appointed to a County job.
Mary Beth Jahn had not been re-nominated to run again in 2015 by the Monmouth County Democrats. Her exclusion resulted in the nomination and election of Williams who vowed never to speak to Blogfinger on the record.
Eric Houghtaling, who was sympathetic to OG, vacated his his seat in early 2016 as he moved up to the State Assembly resulting in Rizzo’s appointment.
Recently Committeeman Brantley was photographed showing new developers the North End, suggesting that he has no intention of killing the NERP and restoring single family home zoning to all of Ocean Grove. Why would he and the others on the Committee be so determined to turn the North End into Asbury Park South? Good golly Miss Molly—-Oh dear, what can the matter be?
So, in 2016, Neptune Township remains the most Democratic town in Monmouth County. But the Republicans currently have two candidates running for Township Committee.
Some say that party politics are not important in local elections, but don’t believe it. If you look at the Facebook page of Brantley and Williams, after winning last November, they said, “Democratic residents of Neptune. This was a victory for you.” Where does that leave the rest of us? Do those Committeemen represent all of us? It doesn’t look like that.
At Blogfinger our New Year’s wish was that the newly reshuffled Committee, headed by a new Mayor, would take a fresh look at the way Ocean Grove citizens have been treated by the Township. We need transparency and fairness. We need to know that our local government is acting in the best interest of the people of Ocean Grove regarding OG issues and that they do not have other agendas. What do you think?
So far, the 2016 Committee doesn’t look any different compared to the prior edition as it pertains to topics of concern in the Grove.
In 2015 Blogfinger said that it would ignore politics in Neptune Township with the exception of the ongoing horror show called the North End Redevelopment Plan (NERP.) But that topic has yielded a wide variety of concerns which we have been following, and some of them are seriously troublesome as you know if you have been reading BF. If not, use our search engine at the top right of our home page and type in “North End.”
On Nov. 8, two Republicans will face two Democrats to see who will fill two available seats on the Township Committee.
We don’t know if the two current Democratic candidates Carol Rizzo and Robert Lane will be willing to provide clarity and share their ideas about OG issues. We suspect that the Democratic hierarchy will try to shut them down.
Nor do we know if the Republican candidates Mike Fornino and Candy Storey will have anything to say about these complicated matters either.
The people of OG need a dialogue with our elected officials, instead of just talking to each other. Perhaps a bipartisan Committee would at least be more transparent and open to a variety of new ideas for the Grove.
If any of the candidates want to address Grovarian issues on Blogfinger, we would be interested in posting those opinions. The last Committeeman who did so was Mary Beth Jahn, and she offered a wonderful breath of fresh air in an atmosphere that has been full of cloudy, stale, polluted air.
Blogfinger will not endorse any candidates. But we will try to provide information about candidates, and you can decide for yourself.
In the last general election (2015), there were 2, 281 registered voters in the Grove. Neptune as a whole had 18,175. The voting turnout overall was 24% but it should be much higher this year. For Committee in 2015, the two Democrats, Brantley and Williams won, beating the two Republicans Harris and Sheehan. But in Ocean Grove, the Republicans obtained 529 votes vs 446 for the Dems. Grovers must plan to vote in larger numbers if they are to get the attention of all these candidates.
For those of you who enjoy the minutiae of local politics, check our this 2012 Charles Layton piece on the subject:
