Looking Behind, and Ahead
As the year 2000 closes we can look back with some satisfaction. Our county organization is stronger.
In the face of declining statewide membership, Monmouth County has retained its base. Indeed, we've grown a bit to 81 current, dues-paying members. We successfully launched "Shore Liberty", our county newsletter, in May. And we dramatically increased our outreach efforts.
Back in February we sponsored a successful public talk examining the racist origin of gun control. In April we held our first ever Open House. And on Dec. 8 we had yet another successful event: our first coffeehouse.
Better still, we garnered coverage for these events in newspapers throughout the county. Readers of the Asbury Park Press, Atlanticville, The Coaster, TriCity News, The Courier, Shore View, The Two River Times and the Times at the Jersey Shore read about our activities. And these are only the papers I personally saw.
Our new county secretary Lou Elwell has proven to be one of our strongest assets. His witty, insightful columns have given us a voice in the Asbury Park Press, the Star-Ledger, Tri-City News and the Ocean County Observer.
All of this came in addition to our regular schedule of activities such as our booth at the Monmouth County Fair and the Ocean Grove Community Flea Market, a dramatically increased presence in both the "New Jersey Libertarian" and the "LP News" and the continued success of "Third Point of View" and our county website, our thanks going to Shad Woolley and Robert Hull respectively for those outstanding tools.
We can also draw satisfaction from the performance of Len Flynn, our Freeholder candidate, who garnered 3,126 votes (1.36%) in a very tight election year. And we can draw encouragement from now having an Election Coordinator, Richard J. Edgar, for the battles ahead.
To be sure, not everything was on the plus side of the ledger. Our presidential and senate races were disappointing. But even there we saw daily cable TV ads throughout the county for our candidates in addition to a heartening array of lawn signs.
In short, we're in good shape for the new year. It won't be a walk in
the park. Our finances are still precarious and the hunt for candidates is
as difficult as ever. But we're strong. We're fighting. And we're moving
ahead.
Pat Bontempo
County Chair