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Category: Election 2013

No Beach for Buono

May. 24 Ashbritt Contract, Barbara Buono, Election 2013, Hurricane Sandy, Jersey Shore, Memorial Day 2 comments

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

Greeting from the Jersey ShoreChris Christie’s basking in the glory (albeit while wearing a rain poncho) of a reopened Jersey Shore this holiday weekend. The media coverage is intense and, frankly, the optics are pretty wonderful for an incumbent facing reelection in less than six months.

His challenger’s choice was a little bit less orthodox for the first day of the Shore’s biggest weekend. Barbara Buono spent her Friday in Spotswood, over 30 miles from Belmar’s beaches, accepting the endorsement of an obscure mayor.

I can appreciate the challenge associated with stealing the spotlight from Chris Christie. But to avoid the Shore altogether? You’re telling me not one TV station or newspaper would’ve worked her into the story had she decided to stroll the Belmar, Seaside Heights, Atlantic City or Ocean City boardwalks? And let’s face it… endorsements don’t matter very much. If you’re a GOP’er who lands a boatload of Dem nods? Sure. Picking up one Republican high five from the leader of a city of about 8,000 (in your home county, by the way) isn’t worth the trade off in my humble opinion.

Maybe this strange scheduling is deliberate; she’d likely have to answer some awkward questions. Buono’s own Sandy record is… how should we put this?… confused. She’s said that Christie “did his job” following the epic Hurricane rocked the Jersey Shore and portions of North Jersey while also complaining that Christie was too focused on the storm’s aftermath. Her most substantive contribution to the larger Sandy story was participating in an embarrassingly partisan Ashbritt contract hearing that – surprise! – ultimately went nowhere. 

I’m not going to lie: it’s pretty pathetic, Save Jerseyans. Like a bad tan line from a tan that you’re never going to get, bad weather or not, a full hour away in Spotswood.

Still No Plan from Buono

May. 23 Barbara Buono, Election 2013, State Senate 3 comments

By James Beattie | The Save Jersey Blog

TelevisionCampaign ads are a lot like zucchinis, Save Jerseyans: they reveal a lot, but often not everything.

Nevertheless, in her first slew of campaign 2013 ads (mostly online-only ones), Barbara Buono has done little but attack Governor Christie and, in her most recent release, educated the public on how to pronounce her last name (it is pronounced BWO-NO for all you kids out there).

I’m sure some focus-group believed it was a fun ad. However, we have yet to see an outline of a substantive solution to New Jersey’s problems from the challenger’s camp, leading one prominent New Jersey Democrat to wonder of the direction of the campaign:

They are just attacking Christie, which fine at first. But now there’s no education plan, no tax plan; there’s no thinking outside the box!”

CONTINUE READING….

Two Ads Diverged in a Yellow Wood

May. 22 Barbara Buono, Campaign Ads, Chris Christie, Election 2013 2 comments

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

If there were ever two campaign ads that, when compared side-by-side, told you everything you’d need to know about the respective candidates behind them, Save Jerseyans, then these ads are defintiely it!

Exhibit #1: Barbara Buono’s first televised ad of the 2013 cycle, “Another New Jersey,” is hitting the airwaves on Thursday morning in the NYC media market and it’s probably her best paid advertisement to date. But that’s not saying much. Veteran NJ political pundit/journalist Bob Ingle commented earlier Wednesday that “her ads have been dreadful.” Bob’s being very kind. Her latest web ad would be great fodder for SNL is anyone outside of Trenton knew and/or cared who she was. You be the judge concerning her latest attempt:

You can tell Buono’s team is trying to do a lot with a little. They need to introduce a virtually unknown candidate while simultaneously taking a shot at the incumbent; this type of contrast ad is extremely hard to pull off in an effective manner.

Exhibit #2: Meanwhile, not to be outdone by his underfunded challenger, Governor Chris Christie preempted Senator Buono with a brand new 30-second television spot, “Timeline,” that began airing statewide on Wednesday:

CONTINUE READING….

Meet Sam Khan

May. 22 Election 2013, Middlesex County 5 comments

2013 Meet the Candidates Series Continues, Week of May 19th

By Nicole Sanders | The Save Jersey Blog

Sam KhanIn my efforts to introduce candidates to the voting public, Save Jerseyans, I started a weekly column titled Meet the Candidates.  In essence, it’s a past day stump speech updated for the virtual world.

For this week’s column, I am honored to introduce to you the Edison Mayoral Candidate Sam Khan.

Khan is an Edison business owner who received his Undergraduate and Master’s degree from oversees. Upon arriving in America, he also attended New York Institute of Technology for a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.

My interview with candidate Khan is below the fold…

CONTINUE READING….

Buono’s Hypocrisy by the Numbers

May. 21 Barbara Buono, Election 2013, Property Taxes, Spending, state budget, Taxes 7 comments

A Detailed History of How Democrat Governors (and Their Legislative Allies) Destroyed New Jersey’s Fiscal Health

By Joe Sinagra | The Save Jersey Blog

A screenshot from Governor Chris Christie's first 2013 attack ad aimed at Barbara Buono's voting record.

A screenshot from Governor Chris Christie’s first 2013 attack ad aimed at Barbara Buono’s voting record.

Yes, we have the highest taxes due to the last two previous administrations. Have you ever wondered why?

Barbara Buono can spin all she likes! Let’s take our time to examine how we got here, figure by figure, just in case there’s any confusion:

Corzine and McGreevey combined added over 154 tax increases. A budget that was in the toilet, the state was going broke, and Corzine was writing checks knowing the well was running dry. On July 15, 2006, the sales tax was raised from 6% to 7% that was supposed to fund our rebates and the following year there was no rebate. So we funded our own rebate and, the following year, there wasn’t any money as a result.

Tax and spend, spend and tax with Barbara Buono supporting the tax increases all along the way. Now she is running on a platform of. . . cutting taxes?

In July of 2009, Corzine boasted that “13,000 private sector jobs were added last month because of our business-friendly policies,” when in actuality the state lost 3,100 jobs in June of 2009. Jon Corzine claimed he created 13,000 jobs, but his actions after his inauguration proved that facts often speak differently than rhetoric. Faced with an unemployment toll that rose to 9.2 percent, the Corzine administration spin was that the loss of jobs in June was the smallest since the recession began. Yet there were thousands of unemployed who were already standing in line, long before Chris Christie was even thinking of running for Governor.

Corzine extended the 4% corporate tax surcharge and raised taxes by 25 % on liquor. His Lt. Governor pick, Loretta Weinberg, had voted for every tax increase that ex-Governor Jim McGreevey wished for and every tax increase that Jon Corzine proposed; she was never interested in cutting government expenditures or standing up to government unions. Instead, she has consistently supported ever-increasing government expansions.

With the beginning of the recession in December 2007, New Jersey already lost 150,100 jobs…

CONTINUE READING….

Kryillos Confident, Working It Hard

May. 20 Election 2013, Joe Kyrillos, Monmouth County, State Senate 1 comment

By Art Gallagher | MoreMonmouthMusings.com

Kyrillos campaigningState Senator Joe Kyrillos said he won the U.S. Senate primary without the Bayshore Tea Party support, “by the largest margin in half a century,” and that he is confident that 13th legislative district Republicans will nominate him for another term in the June 4th primary election.

“We’re working hard,” Kyrillos said of himself and his running mates, “probably harder than we need to, but it is energizing and gratifying to meet with so many constituents.”

Kyrillos left the Golden, Arnone and DiMaso Armed Forces Day ‘friend raiser’ yesterday to hit the streets of Atlantic Highlands with Mayor Fred Rast.

CONTINUE READING…

What’s in a Name?

May. 20 Barbara Buono, Election 2013, State Senate 12 comments

New Buono Ad Reflects a Campaign That’s Hitting Rock Bottom

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

Barbara Buono (BWOH’-noh) & Co. is really reaching now, Save Jerseyans. And it isn’t even quite Memorial Day Weekend yet. 

Check out the new ad that she dropped today:

How painful was THAT to watch? I understand the impulse: only about 20% of New Jerseyans know enough about her to form an opinion according to the latest polling. Still… really? This is how she’s choosing to spend her extremely limited funds? 

That being said, I don’t agree with Brendan Byrne; dropping out isn’t a realistic option for her party right now. But if your Blogger-in-Chief was advising the hapless Middlesex senator (can you imagine?), I would definitely tell her to start shopping for a new campaign team (and a substantive theme) right about now, because this campaign is sooo horrible that Buono may not want anyone to remember her name by the time it’s mercifully over.

Serving Party? Or New Jersey?

May. 20 Atlantic City, Atlantic County, Cape May County, Election 2013, Frank Balles, Hurricane Sandy, Jeff Van Drew, Jersey Shore, Jim Whelan, South Jersey, State Senate, Steve Sweeney 4 comments

OPINION: Van Drew And Whelan Need To Call Out Sweeney Over Holding Up Sandy Recovery

By Irwin M. Fletcher | The Save Jersey Blog

Democratic State Senator Jim Whelan (D-Atlantic City)

Democratic State Senator Jim Whelan (D-Atlantic City)

Folks, as you may’ve picked up by now, I am not of fan of how Steve Sweeney threw Sandy recovery under the bus for political reasons.

And as ticked as I am at Sen. Sweeney for kicking hurricane victims while they are down, I’m getting just as annoyed with the Jersey Shore’s Democratic state senators, two men who’ve had fantastic access to Sweeney’s ear yet haven’t said a word in their constituents’ defense.

Jeff Van Drew and Jim Whelan represent two districts that got hit very hard by Superstorm Sandy. Their districts are still rebuilding. Businesses are still working on opening their doors, hopefully in time for Memorial Day Weekend but in many cases that’s an unrealistic aspiration. Damaged houses are waiting to become homes again once. People are scared that the summer season will be a total bust, and that their livelihoods will go bust, too.

Yet both Whelan and Van Drew haven’t made a single peep, criticism, or call for action. I guess you can compliment Van Drew and Whelan for their party loyalty if you value such a thing since they’ve put the Democratic Party ahead of their constituents trying to rebuild.

CONTINUE READING….