Alternative Budget Plan Presented By Republicans Goes Ignored By Trenton Majority

A note from Senator Beck, Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon

As you may be aware, the New Jersey Legislature passed the State
budget last Monday.

An alternative budget plan presented by Republicans contained over $1
billion in spending cuts, funded transportation and contained none of
the backdoor tax increases in the Governors budget. Unfortunately,
that plan was once again ignored by the majority in Trenton. The
Governor’s budget might look good at first glance- after years of
Republicans calling for lower spending, the budget is about $600
million less than last year. But a closer review of the budget shows
that some of the “spending cuts” are actually tax increases in
disguise, and an opportunity to fund the state’s transportation needs
for the foreseeable future was missed.

Because of those backdoor tax increases and the failure to fund
transportation, we voted against the budget.

One of the “spending cuts” was a decrease in aid to municipalities. In
most cases, if your town gets less money from the state, then they’ll
have to raise your property taxes to make up the difference.

Another of the “spending cuts” was a reduction in the Homestead Rebate
for some and the elimination of it for others. Given that last year we
were told the program was sustainable for the foreseeable future, this
was particularly disappointing, and again, a tax increase for some.

The budget also included the extension of a $62 million energy tax
which was scheduled to expire. At a time when energy costs are
skyrocketing, allowing this tax to expire would have been welcome
relief for many, but it was extended.

When Republicans offered an alternative budget plan in May, a central
part of the plan was to dedicate over $500 million a year to fund the
Transportation Trust Fund, which pays for the major repairs to our
roadways and bridges. This would have eliminated the need for a gas
tax increase, a toll increase or any of the other costly and
controversial plans suggested by the Governor. Unfortunately, this
budget does nothing to address those needs, leaving an opening for the
Governor to bring his toll road scheme back from the dead.

The debate in Trenton has now changed from ‘Can we cut?’ to ‘Where can
we cut?’. That is a victory for all New Jersey taxpayers. There is
still much work to be done, however. The pension reforms we passed on
Monday were a step in the right direction, but not as strong as we
would have preferred. We still need to fund our transportation needs
without a massive toll or tax hike. We still need to monitor the
waste, fraud and abuse of tax dollars that sadly continues to this
day.

We will continue to be your voice in Trenton and fight for the reforms
which will stop the exodus of people from New Jersey.

Sincerely,

Senator Jennifer Beck

Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon

12th Legislative District

Tom Fitzsimmons
Communications Director
Legislative District 12

Senator Jennifer Beck
Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande
Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon

Manalapan: GOP Chairman McEnery re-elected for another 2 year term

It was an honor to nominate Steve McEnery during last week’s Manalapan Republican Executive Committee reorganization meeting. The Committee voted and affirmed Mr. McEnery for a third term as Municipal Chair.

Chairman McEnery has been probably the hardest working chairman Manalapan has had and is the only chairman to get local Republican’s elected in the past 10 years - Kudo’s!

Mr McEnery has worked steadfastly to not let individuals with big egos and petty agendas tear the party apart. I offer congrats to Chairman McEnery for a terrific job, and wish him well in his new two year term.

Republican Alternative Budget: A common-sense plan

BY TOM KEAN AND ALEX DeCROCE

Gov. Jon Corzine deserves credit for drawing a line in the sand and telling the members of his own party that, for the first time in six years, they must pass a state budget that reduces spending.

But Republicans in the Senate and General Assembly realize that New Jersey is enduring more than just a budget shortfall — it’s suffering from an affordability crisis.

Under the state Constitution, we have until June 30 to come up with a budget that addresses that crisis, not just patches over fiscal problems for one more year.

We need a budget that addresses affordability today. It’s become far more difficult to live in New Jersey because of rising fuel and food prices, a weakening economy that reduces incomes and, most important, some of the highest taxes in the nation.

During the last six years, state government has increased 101 state taxes and fees while freezing state aid to our municipalities and school districts, which resulted in dramatic property-tax increases, some in excess of 42 percent.

The combination of higher taxes, rising cost of living and a stagnant private-sector economy has led people to flee New Jersey for more affordable states. Those who left New Jersey took $7.9 billion in income with them — money that could have been reinvested in schools, bridges and other priorities that would have benefited our children.

The Republicans’ top priority in crafting an alternative to the governor’s budget was to make our state more affordable — to ensure that New Jersey families aren’t broken up by the exit of our children looking for jobs or senior citizens searching for homes they can afford on a fixed income.

This meant providing property- tax relief and boosting our economy so we can attract higher-paying jobs and dynamic new industries. We wanted to head off higher gas taxes or tolls that the Democrats say they may impose later this year. It’s time to restrain the urge to tax and do more to reduce the property-tax burden.

While the Corzine budget proposal reduces spending, it does so largely on the backs of the middle class. The governor’s budget cuts tax rebates, slashes municipal aid needed to keep property taxes in check, lowers funding for hospitals that provide charity care and reduces financial aid for outstanding college students.

We’d rather eliminate wasteful or unnecessary spending.

To fix the affordability crisis, we developed a long-term reform plan to put and keep our state on track. We looked at programs that were slated for huge increases in aid with no apparent justification.

When we dug deeper, we found these murky programs were full of waste, inefficiency and abuse — often documented by members of the governor’s own administration.

The programs were scaled back to find $1.32 billion in savings that could be spent on New Jerseyans’ priorities, not the State House’s.

We restored $525 million in property-tax relief. This includes $375 million that Gov. Corzine cut from the property-tax rebate program and $150 million in municipal aid cuts that would have resulted in dramatic property-tax increases. The cuts would have been borne only by people in small towns, regardless of the residents’ incomes.

We also proposed dedicating $500 million in permanent funding for state transportation projects, eliminating the need for any of the governor’s proposed toll or gas tax hikes.

Approximately $100 million will be set aside as a surplus or to pay down debt. The remaining $195 million will be used to help restore aid to vital programs the governor proposed cutting, including funding for hospitals and nursing homes, elimination of a proposed co-pay for Medicaid recipients, and restoration of higher education assistance programs for the most deserving scholars in the state.

We aimed to suggest cuts that were fair to everyone. The governor dismissed us out of hand. In doing so, he is putting his support behind programs that have been shown to be laden with pork for the politically connected.

We urge him to take another look. We’re ready to work with him and any member of the Legislature who thinks that an affordable New Jersey is more critical than reward ing the politically powerful.

We also urge the governor to champion our long-term reform proposals to make Trenton more accountable. They include caps on the growth of spending, voter approval of all debt and a two-thirds super-majority vote of the Legislature to raise taxes. We’d grant citizens the power to propose their own reforms through initiative and referendum.

We also propose reforms to bring state pensions and benefits more in line with those of the private sector. We take aim at the pension fraud and abuse reported over and over in the state’s newspapers.

Finally, we’d jump-start the economy and create jobs with an economic development plan that would make it far easier for businesses to get help and grow.

This common-sense strategy would make New Jersey more affordable and state government more accountable. We have listened to New Jerseyans. We think we have come up with a way to help citizens get more of what they want from government.

Learn more about our common-sense plan. And Sign The Petition. >

Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean represents the 21st Legislative District. Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce represents the 26th Legislative District.

Manalapan: Green, Garcia win right to run on Republican line

By Kathy Baratta at the News Transcript

The voters have spoken and in doing so whittled a field of four Republican candidates down to two who will run against a pair of Democrats in November.

There will be two seats on the Township Committee on the November ballot. The seats carry three-year terms.

Ryan Green and William Garcia defeated Kalman “Butch” Budai and Steven Johnson in the June 3 Republican primary. According to Manalapan municipal clerk RoseAnn Weeden, the final vote tally was: Green, 474 votes, Garcia, 444 votes, Budai, 378 votes, and Johnson 363 votes.

Green thanked the voters of Manalapan for their support in the primary election. He said he wanted to congratulate Johnson and Budai on a tough primary campaign.

(I’d like to echo those words- it was surely a tough campaign and they should keep their heads high!)

“Both sides gave it their all and I wanted to acknowledge that,” he said.

Green said he is “excited about the future and looking forward to the campaign in the fall; to discussing he issues and keeping the campaign positive.”

Green is currently a member of the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education. If he is elected to the Township Committee in November he will have to give up his seat on the school board.

Garcia thanked voters for showing confidence in him and Green.

“I am honored that my fellow Republicans have validated the support that the Manalapan Republican County Committee showed back in March. That my finance education, my 20-plus years in financial services and my unbiased perspective on our issues will allow me to serve my community well.

“I look forward to working with my running mate Ryan Green to continue the dialogue of ways to cut waste and provide the residents with the most efficient service possible. I want to thank my township neighbors for their support during this primary, and I look forward to the next leg of this race as I represent them in November’s general election,” Garcia said.

Speaking about his and Budai’s loss, Johnson said he wanted nonetheless to address the hard work of their supporters.

“I want to thank all of our supporters for a great effort. There are too many to name, but they are all quality people who never asked for recognition in the first place. Our supporters just asked us to be honest and express their desire to change the current direction of our errant Township Committee.

“Now, I want to especially thank Butch Budai for being a stand-up guy who really cares about Manalapan like I do. There are great things in store for him in the future and I am honored to have had him as a running mate,” Johnson said.

Budai said he had no comment on the results.

Green and Garcia will face Democrats Michelle Roth and Donald Holland in the general election in November. Roth is a member of the Township Committee and is serving as Manalapan’s mayor in 2008.

Roth and Holland were not challenged in the Democratic primary. Roth received 811 votes and Holland received 799 votes
in the June 3 primary.

Manalapan: GOP Primary-VOTE COLUMN 1 - GREEN/GARCIA for County Endorsed Candidates

ON TUESDAY, VOTE FOR THE COUNTY ENDORSED CANDIDATES… VOTE COLUMN 1 - GREEN & GARCIA

(Some quotes taken from Sat’s APP article by Alesha Williams Boyd)

Two local GOP County Committee nominees (Garcia and Green) and their challengers (Kalman and Johnson) face off at the polls on Tuesday. Here’s the Candidates:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steve Johnson, 54; in the office automation service industry; wife, Helene Leeder-Johnson; member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and the Community Alliance; director of the Republican Club. (3rd in votes from the nominating committee)

William “Bill” Garcia, 42; 20 years in financial services, currently a project manager. He and wife, Donna, have two girls, 17 and 15, and a 10-year-old son. He is a coach in the Manalapan Baseball Association, Donna is active in son’s PTA. As a fairly new (2 years) resident, Bill brings fresh unbiased perspective to our most important issues. (2nd in votes from the nominating committee)

Ryan D. Green, 28; school social worker in Perth Amboy schools; engaged to be married; member of the Board of Education, Manalapan Zoning Board of Adjustment, and the Mayor’s Council for Special Needs. (1st in votes from the nominating committee)

Kalman Budai, 50; president of a ceramic tile company; wife, Michelle; a daughter, 25, son, 21; member of the Summer Recreation Committee, Transportation Committee, President of Manalapan Republican Club (last in nominating votes from the nominating committee), director of Manalapan Recreation Volleyball

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kalman “Butch” Budai and Steve Johnson are challenging the County Committee nominees, Ryan D. Green and William “Bill” Garcia. Two three-year terms on the Township Committee are up for grabs in November.

Johnson said he and Budai will better serve the township as “longtime Manalapan volunteers that have worked hard for our families and for the township. Our opponents just got involved this year.”

(however, a particular someone was kicked off the Recreation committee - exactly how does one get “kicked-off” a volunteer committee?)

“You need to have people that have a certain level of trust built up in the community,” Johnson said.

Interesting: Johnson is past Manalapan Republican President, Kalman is current Manalapan Republican President - YET: lost out to Garcia and Green -What does that tell you?

But Johnson and Budai contend they would be these people, with hopes of bringing in more ratables to offset taxes and improve commuter conditions if elected. (in response to Green’s comment: “I don’t think people are going to dwell on who’s had the title longest. I think they’re going to look at who’s the best person for the job.”)

Also:

Green and Garcia said their goals also include ensuring quality of life is protected in the development of the Village at Manalapan, which has been stalled due to traffic and redesign plans.

“right now (traffic) is a burden on our residents and the last thing they want to do is sit in traffic from 15 minutes to a half hour to even more,” Garcia said. “That’s got to be addressed first and foremost. The next step is to look at how much it is going to cost as far as services required — police and everything related to operating a huge project like that.”

However, Johnson said the project, as long as it remains within the scope of what zoning allows, could be a boon for the township.

“We need commercial businesses bringing in revenue and other sources of revenue to offset what taxpayers have to pay,” Johnson said. “That’s the only way you’re going to get taxes to come down.

“We have a master plan and we should be looking into getting businesses in that conform to our plan,” Johnson said. “But you have to actively look for them. You can’t just hope they show up some day.”

In my interpretation - Kalman and Johnson would likely have every intention on pandering to developers - totally AGAINST what many many residents express: “PROTECT THE BEAUTY OF OUR OPEN SPACE” of course, this is only my opinion and the opinion of others I speak to.

ON TUESDAY, VOTE FOR THE COUNTY ENDORSED CANDIDATES… VOTE COLUMN 1 - GREEN & GARCIA

Censorship in schools is teaching a wrong lesson about our democracy

Interesting read by CHARLES C. HAYNES from APP.com

After 12 years of censorship and regimentation, many high school students will graduate this spring with little or no idea about what it means to be a free, active and engaged citizen in a democracy.

When they march across the stage to get their diploma, let’s hope someone slips them a copy of the First Amendment — with instructions on how to use it.

Far too many public school officials are afraid of freedom and avoid anything that looks like democracy. Under the heading of “safety and discipline,” administrators censor student religious and political speech, shut down student newspapers and limit student government to discussions about decorations at the prom.

Fortunately, a growing number of brave students defy the odds and take seriously what they hear about free speech in civics class.

Earlier this month, Heather Gillman won her fight when a federal judge ruled that her Florida high school violated the First Amendment by prohibiting students from displaying any symbol of support for gay rights, including rainbow stickers.

And last month, Alexander Nuxoll won the right to express the opposite viewpoint when the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that his suburban Chicago school must allow him to wear a “Be Happy, Not Gay” T-shirt while his civil rights case proceeds.

Of course, students don’t always win in court. In fact, they often lose. On May 12, Kimberly Jacobs lost her battle to wear a religious message on her shirt when a 9th Circuit panel upheld a Nevada school district’s dress code prohibiting messages, including political or religious expression, on student uniforms.

But win or lose, students shouldn’t need to call a lawyer in the first place. Public schools are supposed to be places that teach and model what it means to be a citizen in a democracy, especially what it means to use the basic freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Instead, many school officials are convinced that keeping order means ordering students to leave their religious and political convictions at the schoolhouse door.

Yes, schools have an important interest in maintaining safety and discipline. Schools can and should prohibit speech that is obscene or defamatory or promotes illegal activity. And schools may draw the line at student speech that can be shown to cause a substantial disruption in the school.

But the widespread practice of censoring the political and religious views of students simply because their speech might offend someone or might be controversial contradicts everything schools are supposed to teach about freedom of expression.

Students have become canaries in the free-speech coal mine: We can predict the future health of freedom of speech in America by looking at how public schools live up to — or fail to live up to — the First Amendment.

Right now, there are a lot of sick canaries out there. It’s no mystery why so many young people tune out public-policy debates, stay home from the polls and become cynical about their government.

Not all school officials make the false choice between security and freedom. In a small number of schools across the nation, students are given a real voice in the life of the school. Federal Hocking High School in Ohio and Fairview Elementary School in California are two stellar examples.

The challenge is for schools to promote freedom through lessons in civic responsibility. This includes, among other things, involving students in decision-making, teaching peer mediation of conflicts, encouraging a free student press, offering instruction in the ethical use of the Internet and integrating lessons in civic character across the curriculum.

Here’s a concept: Freedom works. Freedom and democracy, not censorship and repression, create safer schools for students — and ensure a more secure society for us all.

Freedom also takes work. Many school officials complain that in this era of high-stakes testing they don’t have time for such “extras” as supporting meaningful student government, promoting student journalism or creating opportunities for student engagement in public policy and service.

But if we can send young people to fight and die in the name of freedom and democracy abroad, surely we can take time to practice freedom and democracy at home.

Charles C. Haynes is senior scholar at the First Amendment Center, Arlington, Va.

Trzeszkowski contract on hold; NJ to look at contracts of other school superintendents

By Gregory J. Volpe • GANNETT STATE BUREAU

As part of the fallout over the nearly $741,000 buyout package for one outgoing schools superintendent, the state Department of Education will review contracts for schools chiefs in the 31 Abbott districts and has rejected one recently signed in Plainfield, Gov. Corzine announced Wednesday.

Corzine requested a review of superintendents’ contracts after it was reported that outgoing Keansburg Schools Superintendent Barbara A. Trzeszkowski was to receive nearly $741,000 in severance and unused sick and vacation time.

Keansburg Board of Education members said at their meeting Tuesday that her contract is on hold until a compromise deal can be reached. The state is seeking a court injunction to stop the payments that Corzine has called “an outrageous abuse.” The injunction was not filed Wednesday.

Trzeszkowski is set to collect $556,290 in severance pay — calculated by multiplying her monthly salary by the number of years she has worked for the district — and another $184,586 for unused sick and vacation days.

Those payments do not include Trzeszkowski’s state pension pay of $115,600 a year that she earned in 38 years in Keansburg.

Corzine had authorized seeking the court injunction because, he said, the deal seemed inappropriate when dollars for schools are scarce.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, Corzine said state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy will review superintendent contracts for the state’s 31 poorest districts, which include Keansburg.

One of those contracts, set to begin July 1, has already been rejected after Union County Superintendent Carmen M. Centuolo learned that Plainfield signed a four-year pact with a new superintendent, Steven Gallon III, without submitting it for review.

“They did not follow the proper procedure in terms of the contract process,” Department of Education spokeswoman Kathryn Forsyth said. “It wasn’t sent to the county superintendent. There was no review.”

State Sen. Jennifer Beck, R-Monmouth, on Wednesday accused Corzine of sleeping at the fiscal switch in overseeing the state’s Abbott districts.

Citing the State Commission of Investigation’s 2006 report “Questionable and Hidden Compensation for Public School Administrators,” Beck said Corzine had failed to take any corrective action since then, adopting, she says, a “hands off” policy.

“Governor Corzine’s shameless posturing in regards to the Keansburg School Superintendent severance package is outrageous,” Beck said in a prepared statement.

Corzine said he was “troubled” by the Plainfield contract, although it remained unclear Wednesday night what exactly was wrong with the contract. A statement from the governor’s office mentioned “questionable provisions” that included travel, meals and lodging, relocation expenses, life insurance and sick leave.

The only specific examples that Forsyth could provide were that the contract didn’t include a recently enacted $15,000 cap on sick leave and included a provision for the board to pay for Gallon’s medical exam even if he chose his own doctor.

Gallon, an educator from Miami whose contract will pay him $198,000 in the first year, said he was reworking the contract so it complies with state law. He said he wasn’t notified that it was rejected Wednesday.

“I’m working with the board to make sure that we’re in compliance with all the provisions of state statute,” Gallon said. “We want to do that so we can get about the business of educating and uplifting the children of Plainfield.”

Corzine Orders School Chief Contract Review (yeah right)

From our friends at NJ101.5

The state has begun reviewing superintendent contracts in the state’s poorest school districts.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine says he has asked the state education commissioner to ensure the contracts comply with state law and efficiently spend taxpayer money.

The state’s 31 poorest districts receive heavy state funding (like 80% - shouldn’t that come with state oversight?)

Corzine’s move on Wednesday comes after outcry surrounding a $740,000 severance package for the Keansburg superintendent. Corzine has asked the state attorney general to seek an injunction preventing the money from being paid.

But the administration says it began reviewing some contracts in April as a result of new state fiscal regulations, even rejecting a new Plainfield superintendent contract for provisions that provided payments for travel, meals, lodging, life insurance and sick leave reimbursement.

Gov. Corzine pushes Legislation to borrow yet more… $2.5B for school construction. (I guess losing $6B is not enough)

NJ101.5 Radio - Millenium Radio

Governor Jon Corzine insists that requiring voter approval prior to State borrowing is crucial if New Jersey wants to right its fiscal ship. The concept was even one part of Corzine’s doomed four-part toll hike plan, but the Governor is still adamant about the borrowing aspect. This has some wondering why Corzine wants to borrow $2.5 billion for school construction without first asking the voters.

Yesterday in Newark, Corzine pushed legislation to let the state borrow $2.5 billion to restart school construction (the reason that the $6 billion School Construction Corp was created). The move is being questioned by Democrats and Republicans. The program stems from a state Supreme Court order directing that new schools be built in some of the state’s poorest districts. The Governor has informed the high court he would push lawmakers to approve an additional $2.5 billion by June 30 to restart the program, but legislators have yet to schedule action on any bills.

“The program sets aside funding from the (State) income tax to support the bonds,” says Corzine. “Not to just issue bonds with no means of paying for them.” He warns the voters could turn down the borrowing plan, “and then it will either be a choice of whether you raise taxes or crowd out something else in the budget.”

In a March budget hearing, State Senator Gerry Cardinale asked acting State Treasurer Dave Rousseau, “How do you justify what seems to be a split personality with respect to this issue in that it’s bad, but we’re going to do it once more?”

“We were under a court mandate to go back to the court in January with a plan to come up with $2.5 billion worth of money for school construction,” answered Rousseau. “What the Governor has said is for that $2.5 billion that he has talked about that he will pledge to dedicate a portion of the (State) income tax which is already used for property tax relief, to help pay those bonds.”

Cardinale says, “I think it might be wise in this instance to ignore the court throwing us into a position where we are either going to bankrupt the State or we’re going to bankrupt our residents.”

The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee has already unanimously approved legislation that would expand State voter approval requirements for issuing public debt. The resolution would place a question on this November’s ballot that would amend the State Constitution to prohibit the State Legislature from enacting any law that authorizes any State agency or independent authority to borrow money that will be paid back with an annual appropriation unless that borrowing is approved by the voters. The full Senate has yet to act on the proposal.

State Senator Leonard Lance is one of the sponsors. He says, “The reason we’re in the fiscal mess we’re in in New Jersey is that for the last ten years we have borrowed unconscionably billions and billions of dollars without voter approval and we have to cut it out……We have dug a tremendous hole in New Jersey by borrowing without voter approval and the way to get out of that hole is to stop digging.”

“Unchecked state borrowing is what has gotten us into our financial crisis in the first place,” says co-sponsor, State Senator Ray Lesniak. “We’ve relied far too much on budget gimmicks and pushed off our financial obligations to future generations. Loopholes that allow State agencies to borrow without voter approval need to be closed if we are going to move forward.”

State Senator Barbara Buono, a Democrat like Corzine is another co-sponsor. She says, “This is an essential step in restoring New Jersey’s long-term financial health……It’s time to cut up the credit cards and borrow only for those projects that have broad public support.” Bouno says she’s “bewildered” by Corzine’s Wednesday event, “It seems violative of the spirit and the intent of the
proposed change.”

Under the resolution, voter approval would not be required if the debt is undertaken by an independent non-State agency and repaid by a third party or if the source of revenue used to repay the debt is required to be appropriated by the State Constitution.

The State Supreme Court has ruled the State must fund the building of schools in the so-called Abbott districts. The Governor says, “I think that we potentially have a constitutional conflict coming that could delay this process an extraordinarily long period of time.”

“The Supreme Court has permitted in the past borrowing without voter approval for school construction, but it certainly has never required that we fund new schools that way,” says Lance. He adds, “We could have a pay-as-you-go system, several hundred million dollars a year for a decade or so. That is preferable to me than borrowing and certainly borrowing without voter approval.”

Manalapan: Candidates vie for GOP nomination

GOP PRIMARY IS TUESDAY JUNE 3rd.

*** VOTE COLUMN 1***

for the true,

nominated Republican candidates

best suited to serve the people of Manalapan

From Left to Right: Kalman Budai, Steven Johnson, Ryan Green, William Garcia

BY KATHY BARATTA Staff Writer

Four residents are continuing their campaign to secure the Manalapan Republican Party

nomination in the June 3 primary and earn a place on the November general election ballot.

Two three-year terms on the Manalapan Township Committee will be up for grabs in the November general election.

The Manalapan Republican County Committee has nominated Ryan Green andWilliam Garcia to run for seats on the committee. They are being challenged in the primary by Kalman “Butch” Budai and Steven Johnson.

The Manalapan Democratic County Committee has nominated Township Committeewoman Michelle Roth, who is serving as Manalapan’s mayor this year, and Donald Holland to run for seats on the committee. Roth and Holland are unchallenged in the primary.

Individuals who are eligible to vote in the June 3 Republican primary are those people who are already registered as a Republican, or any unaffiliated individual who shows up at the polls on Election Day and registers as a Republican, according to Municipal Clerk Rose Ann Weeden.

Weeden said that after the primary election, people who switched from unaffiliated to Republican in order to vote in the primary may reregister as unaffiliated.

Polls will be open between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. June 3 at the municipality’s regular polling places.

Green, 28, is a 20-year resident of Manalapan. He is a school social worker with the Perth Amboy School District in Middlesex County. Green is a member of the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education. If he wins the June 3 primary and is eventually elected to the Township Committee in November, he will have to resign from the school board.

Garcia, 42, is a project manager for a major financial institution in New York City. He has lived in Manalapan for two years.

Budai, 50, has been a resident of Manalapan for 12 years. He is the owner of a ceramic tile company. Prior to that he was a dispatcher for the Suburban Transit Bus Company.

Johnson, 54, is employed in the office automation business, He has been a Manalapan resident for 11 years. He said that in the past he has been responsible for managing a staff of 50 people and a business operating budget of $30 million.

•••

Budai and Johnson, who sought the Republican County Committee nomination but did not receive it, said they decided to mount a primary challenge and run for the Township Committee because Green and Garcia are, in their words, candidates “in name only.” They said neither man was a registered Republican until February.

Green and Garcia responded to that broadside.

According to Green, who grew up in Manalapan and was re-elected to a second term on the school board in April, he had always kept his political registration as unaffiliated because he felt doing so would “leave the politics out of the school board, where I don’t believe they belong.”

However, Green said he has always been a Republican “philosophically” - a term Garcia also embraced when told that was how Green had put it - and has always voted Republican.

Speaking about his voting record on the school board, Green said, “I think my voting record as a fiscal conservative while on the board speaks to my Republican mind-set.”

Garcia said when he moved to Manalapan from Queens, N.Y., in 2006, he registered as a Republican when he registered his motor vehicles and took care of other tasks. At least, he said he thought he had done so. He said it was not until he was looking into voting in the upcoming presidential election that he found out his voting registration had not been properly filed and he was listed in his voter affiliation as unaffiliated.

Garcia said he has been a registered Republican since he was 18. He said he explained all this to the selection committee at the time of his interview “and they were OK with it once it was explained.”

•••

All four men who are running for a seat on the public body that governs Manalapan were asked to name something they like about the community.

Garcia said it was the “good schools and spaciousness” that hooked him when he was looking for a New Jersey community to move his family into; that and the fact his wife had family in the area made it a marriage of suburban ideals and commuter convenience, given Manalapan’s proximity to Wall Street via public transportation.

Green said that given the fact that he grew up in Manalapan, he thought it would be almost impossible to instantly come up with a particular observation. Then he recounted something that happened in the past few weeks that reminded him how much he loves living in Manalapan and is looking forward to raising a family here.

He said shortly after moving into the home in the Yorktowne development where he now resides, there was a knock on the door. Green, who will be married in June, said he almost could not believe it, but “it was a neighbor from the block with an apple pie who just wanted to say ‘welcome to the neighborhood.’ It’s people like that who remind you what a great place Manalapan is to live.”

Johnson also mentioned the people who make up the community, but said there are other things he likes aboutManalapan.

“I like that we have Monmouth Battlefield State Park. I like that we have a fourtime championship cheerleading squad and I like that we have the western branch of theMonmouth County Library.”

Budai, who has been a member of several committees and boards, including the Manalapan Recreation Advisory Board, said some of the highlights of Manalapan are manifested in its recreation center and programs.

“Manalapan’s ball fields are state-ofthe art and the best in the county, if not the state,” he said, while also alluding to what he called the spirit of the community and its residents, particularly those who volunteer for municipal boards and committees.

“We have the best volunteers and our police department is second to none. It’s just the spirit of the community; it’s everybody from the youngsters to the seniors,” Budai said.

•••

Budai said he believes his experience as a business owner would serve him well as an elected official. He said his previous employment with Suburban Transit would give him an understanding of issues facing commuters and transportation companies.

Speaking about municipal finances, Budai said he would examine each municipal department to look at the staffing levels and the efficiency of the department with an eye on trimming costs.

Johnson said he would concentrate on finalizing plans for The Village at Manalapan, a 500,000-square-foot retail-commercial complex planned for the intersection of Millhurst Road and Route 33. The project received preliminary approval from the Planning Board more than a year ago but has never gotten off the ground for a variety of reasons.

“We should be concentrating on getting these ratables instead of spending a million bucks on a sports field,” Johnson said, alluding to the construction of an $800,000 artificial turf playing field of which he has been critical.

Garcia said his professional expertise would serve him well in reviewing a municipal budget “to see where our money is being spent and how we could make operations more efficient.”

However, said Garcia, “I would never advocate cuts that would adversely affect our safety and services.”

He said he would focus attention on the types of service contracts the township has on all of its equipment in an effort to see if there can be consolidation and savings.

“It is the little things that add up,” he said.

•••

All four candidates were asked why they should be the person Republicans choose on June 3 to run for a seat on the Township Committee in November.

“First and foremost, I am a husband and a father involved in community activities. I am one of my neighbors. I am not a politician,” Garcia said. “Bill Garcia was born a Republican and a fiscal conservative. My blood is Republican and I want smaller government.”

Green said his experience on the Manalapan Englishtown school board gives him a leg up because of that unique perspective and because the school district has been working with Manalapan to develop a shared services agreement. Green said he has been involved with the development of that agreement.

“I have the right experience at the right time,” he said, adding that one area he would examine as a member of the Township Committee would be the administration salaries for Manalapan’s summer recreation program, which he said have been increased for 2008.

Speaking about himself and Budai, Johnson said, “We are experienced, hardworking people dedicated to the town. That is who should be running in the general election.”

Budai said if he is elected to the Township Committee, he will not take municipal health benefits. He estimated that decision would save taxpayers between $15,000 and $17,000 per year.

Johnson also decried taxpayers paying for health benefits for the members of the governing body. He said Township Committee members should get their health insurance through their place of employment and not expect the taxpayers to pay for health benefits for what is basically a part-time job.