Hard Work and Success
It took a lot of hard work on the part of many people -- and a fight with the New Jersey Republican Party -- but we succeeded in getting a particularly strong Libertarian Party slate on the ballot this November for Monmouth County.
For the third year in a row we will contest the seats up for election on the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Our standard-bearers will be Jennifer Carter and Richard J. Edgar, Jr., both of Cream Ridge. Joining them will be our Sheriff candidate Howard J. Boucher of Lincroft, making this the second consecutive election in which we'll have someone running for that office.
This means we'll be contesting every county office on the ballot with the exception of Surrogate. As I've noted before, having candidates for county offices is particularly important since they appear on the ballot in literally every voting district in Monmouth County.
On the state level, Robert Hull of Wall and Dr. John M. Taylor of Highlands will be our candidates for the State Assembly in the 11th District. After redistricting, the 11th now consists of Allenhurst, Asbury Park, Atlantic Highlands, Avon, Belmar, Bradley Beach, Brielle, Deal, Eatontown, Highlands, Interlaken, Loch Arbour, Long Branch, Monmouth Beach, Neptune City, Neptune Twp., Ocean, Rumson, Sea Bright, Sea Girt, South Belmar, Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights, Wall and West Long Branch.
The fight with the GOP came in the 13th District where the Republicans challenged the nominating petition of our Assembly candidate Diane Hittner of Old Bridge, the only Middlesex County town in the 13th. The rest of the district consists of Aberdeen, Hazlet, Holmdel, Keansburg, Keyport, Matawan, Middletown and Union Beach.
Although they tried, Hittner successfully defended her petition against a lawyer from the law firm hired by the GOP, who was accompanied by a representative of the Republican State Committee, on July 11 at a hearing held in both Freehold and New Brunswick. Their desperation was evidenced when they actually challenged the signature of her husband even after Hittner offered to show them his voter registration card which she had brought to the hearing.
Hittner's victory did result in some nice publicity in local weeklies, such as the Atlantic Highlands Herald and the Suburban, as well as a mention on the popular state political news website politicsnj.com. It was also picked up by Libertarian Clips, the national news service of the Advocates for Self Government, giving it even wider exposure.
The Republican challenge came about because of an anticipated close race in the 13th District. This means if Hittner scores well in November we can anticipate even greater publicity.
All our candidates need your continued support, in November and now. Please visit the Candidates page on this website to learn how you can contact them. If nothing else, a letter to the editor of your local paper expressing your support will go far. Just check out the Commentary page for addresses, including convenient E-mail addresses.
Pat Bontempo
County Chair