Bongiorno: A Republican by any other name?

Middletown Mike...

By Mike Morris

Who needs Republicans when there are Democrats like this? Every town has one, a self–loathing, disgruntled Democrat. A person who is registered as a Democrat for the sole purpose of giving validity to their bashing of the Democratic party, their policies and candidates, in order to help the rival Republican organization. One can only speculate on their intentions or motivation.

Do these individuals feel that by supporting the opposition it will give themselves or some other family members special favors or advantages over other people if they are seeking a job with a municipality, or maybe a favorable variance or zoning change to help with a construction project? We can’t be sure.

What we do know though, is that these people participate in organized letter writing campaigns by either writing letters themselves or by lending their names to other people’s writings. These letters always seem to generally address the latest Republican talking points of the day.

In Middletown, this person resides in the heavily Republican section of Lincroft and his name is Dominick Bongiorno.

For the past six or so years, Mr. Bongiorno, a registered Democrat, has repeatedly written letters to local publications (this one included) critical of the local Democratic Party, it’s candidates and elected officials, always in an effort to praise the Republican establishment.

Letters from Mr. Bongiorno first started appearing during the 2002 campaign season. He praised and supported the local Republican incumbents, Mayor Patrick Parkinson and

Committeeman Raymond O’Grady over their Democratic opponents. In hindsight, I am sure that Mr. Bongiorno regretted his support after both men were later disgraced, Parkinson for settling a sexual harassment suite that was brought against him by the former township clerk and O’Grady for being sent to jail for taking bribes as a participant in Operation Bid Rig.

During 2007, Mr. Bongiorno turned his letter writing energies against newly elected Democratic Committeeman Patrick Short. Patrick Short, a West Point graduate and retired Army Lieutenant Colonel who was elected to the Township committee in 2006, to become the first Democrat to hold elective office in Middletown in twenty years.

Typical of other letters written about Mr. Short last year, Mr. Bongiorno’s were less than factual and filled with the current Middletown GOP talking points of the day.

A third letter written last October again parroted other Republican letters that appeared in print critical of the Middletown Democratic candidates and their campaign for office.

Mr. Bongiorno's most recent letter, which has been printed in the various local papers over the past few weeks, truly shows his partisan Republican roots. In his letter he now makes a feeble attack on the other Democrat sitting on the Township committee, Sean Byrnes.

His letter falsely accuses Mr. Byrnes of delaying the vote on a resolution against the new FEMA flood maps. If Mr. Bongiorno had been keeping up on the issue, instead of passing along Republican talking points and trying to politicize the issue, he would have read all about it in several articles that had been published in all of the local papers.

The reason for the delay in adopting the resolution was not Byrnes's fault. The changes in language that Mr. Byrnes and the rest of the committee had agreed to during the previous meeting were not there, which was the inclusion of Congressman Frank Pallone’s name to recognize his efforts in delaying the flood maps.

When the resolution came up for adoption Committeeman Brynes made a motion to include the compromised to language. The vote that night was split along party lines 2-2 because Deputy Mayor Pam Brightbill was not present and Mayor Scharfenberger and Committeeman Wilkens had for some reason, a problem the inclusion of Pallone’s name. It was then put off until the whole committee could be present at the next workshop meeting.

During the following workshop meeting, Committeeman Byrnes, in a true bi-partisan gesture, offered to include Assemblywoman Amy Handlin’s name in the resolution to recognize her efforts in leading a petition drive against the FEMA flood maps.

Mr. Byrnes’s amendment and suggestion to include both Middletown’s Federal and State representatives was ultimately included in the final FEMA resolution that was unanimously approved 5-0 by the Township committee.

Committeeman Sean Byrnes should be applauded for his bi-partisan efforts on behalf of Middletown, not scorned by partisan attempts like Mr. Bongiorno’s, to politicize a very important issue that affects residents of Middletown, but the whole Bayshore area as well as the country.

In the past, members of the Middletown Democratic Party have made numerous attempts to talk with and invite Mr. Bongiorno to their gatherings and Mr. Bongiorno has declined those invitations. It is quite obvious therefore that Mr. Bongiorno is conveniently a Democrat by label only. And for reasons only known to him, has decided that it is in his best interest to parrot and spread the local GOP propaganda.

For more on Middletown Mike, click on the headline and go to his blog.

"Middletown Mike" joins Monmouth blogosphere

Middletown resident Mike Morris, an avowed County Democrat, has taken to the blogosphere in Monmouth. Personally, I think it's great to have a Democratic blogger in the midst of what has become a GOP-dominated area of communication. I have known Mike for some years, and find that he is someone who is a great guy and a family man before he is a political type. So, I expect to see some really great perspectives coming out of "Middletown Mike."

Letter from Mike Morris about town government

EDITORIAL NOTE: I received a letter in yesterday from Middletown resident Mike Morris. I encourage folks to write on in. It's always good to get more voices involved with the community. Thanks, Mike, and please keep sending them in.

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Much like their Republican counterparts down in Washington DC, the Middletown GOP is devoid of ideas and is morally bankrupt. Mayor Scharfenberger, Deputy Mayor Brightbill and Middletown GOP candidate for Township Committee Anthony Fiore and many of their cronies and supporters, such as Middletown Republican County Committee members Michael Vitkansas, Cathy Rogers and James L. Hinckley, or GOP supporters like Kathy Russo and Kira Nelsen, must rely on secrecy, deception, lies, finger pointing, character assassination and name calling to cover up their inequities. Whether it is an ongoing attempt to discredit their Democratic colleagues on the township committee, Patrick Short and Sean Brynes, or the ongoing smear campaigns against community stalwarts’ former Assemblyman Joe Azzolina or former chairperson for the Middletown Human Rights Commission Carolyn Schwebel and township citizens like Don Watson, their policies and actions speak volumes about their integrity and character.

The Middletown GOPers are content with their borrow, spend then tax policies. They have refused to listen to or consider proposals to eliminate the need for tax increases from Patrick Short and Sean Byrnes or take seriously the input of township residents when it comes to the ongoing budget process. Instead, Michael Vitkansas recently wrote that he was “outraged” at the thought that residents could possibly know better then his GOP leadership, when it comes to formulating an operating budget for the township. Mayor Scharfenberger also wrote recently that “proposals by Mr. Byrnes and Mr. Short, after a collective scrutiny by all involved in the process, it was determined that they would have decreased revenue in the township, but would have increased the size of the budget by several million dollars”.

Mr. Mayor, a few questions please, who was involved in collectively scrutinizing Mr. Byrnes and Short’s proposals? It certainly did not include Byrnes or Short because they expressed shock upon reading your comments.

How is it possible to have open, transparent government and trust in our elected officials when secrecy and deception is the norm for the Middletown GOP?

Mayor Scharfenberger and his fellow Middletown republicans need to stop blaming Trenton for the mess that is Middletown’s budget. Reduced state aid, pension funding and other mandates affect every town in the State, not just Middletown. Middletown needs to learn how to deal with it. It is time to cut spending, not increase it and live within our means. Practically doubling the township debt ($48 million - $80 million) from 2003 to 2008 and dolling out a 35% raise to the Township Clerk, are not examples of fiscal conservatism that the Mayor wants everyone to believe that they practice.

At a recent public meeting in the Oak Hill section of town, Mr. Scharfenberger again showed the lack of ideas and vision that is missing from the Middletown GOP. Again the Mayor attempted to link the proposed “Town Centre” project with the Middletown Democratic Party, telling the attendees that if you vote for a democrat, then Town Centre will definitely be built. As we know, this is a total falsehood; at no time has any Democratic candidate supported the Town Centre project. Anyone with the slightest knowledge of the history behind the fight against Town Centre knows that Democratic Committeeman Patrick Short lead the fight against its development. As a result of this fight, the republican leadership, which had originally proposed the project to Mr. Azzolina and given it’s blessing to the project back in the 1990’s, were compelled to stop the project, which has since lead to a costly legal battle between the Township and former Assemblyman Azzolina.

If Town Centre is built it will be as a result of this legal battle, not by the support of the Democratic Party.

The retaliatory and mean spirited attacks against Carolyn Schwebel are a disgrace. As a member and Chairperson for the Middletown Human Rights Commission for close to twenty years, she dedicated herself to the service of helping others less fortunate then herself, only to be dropped from the commission because she questioned why Middletown had failed to comply with changes that where agreed to in order to settle a lawsuit, which pertained to the Americans with Disabilities Act in 2007. Being a disabled person herself, Mrs. Schwebel was fulfilling her duties to ensure that Middletown was accessible to all individuals not just the more fortunate.

Mayor Scharfenberger’s personnel attacks against Don Watson and anyone who would dare to question or point out the Middletown GOP hypocrisy is totally unprofessional and shows his lack of moral fortitude. Instead of directly answering question that are raised, the Mayor and his Republican colleagues feel that it is necessary to continually address old news, in an attempt to discredit the legitimate concerns of Mr. Watson and other dissenting voices.

Is this the type of leadership that the citizens of Middletown voted for or deserve?

I can go on and on about the wasteful spending and the costly pet projects that are buried deep within the Township budget, much of which is hidden throughout various line items in the budget with little or no explanation. Is it any wonder then, why it is so difficult to get a proper answer from our elected GOP officials? If this practice is the model for which the League of Municipalities recommends to its members to follow, I have to wonder then who is watching out for the taxpayer?

It is truly sad to see that those who campaigned on a “New Faces, New Ideas” platform 3 years ago have nothing new to offer those that they represent. The only thing that is offered is more of the same type of government that the people of Middletown do not want.

Letter from Mike Morris about fiscal crisis

The Inside Clamdigger has received another letter for the blog, and here it is:

Budgetary Crisis Looming for Middletown

"A budgetary crisis is looming in Middletown. There is a $3 million shortfall in revenues and the republican leaders of the committee, Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger and Deputy–Mayor Pam Brightbill, are unwilling to make the hard choices necessary to ensure that there is no municipal tax increase this year. Budget cuts and other cost saving ideas have been routinely dismissed and ridiculed when presented by democratic committeemen Patrick Short and Sean Brynes.

"Why is it not possible to trim 5% from the proposed $60 Million township municipal budget? Freezing all non-essential township overtime is a good start yet more needs to be done. Services rendered to the Middletown Arts Center and the Middletown Swim Club should be charged back to these entities. The township funds the Middletown Library, but yet has no control over its operation. And why is it necessary to give Heidi Abs, the Township Clerk, a 35% salary increase during this time? These are points that need to be addressed.

"In my opinion, the Mayor needs to instruct all department heads (except Chief of Police), to submit budgets that reflect a 5% decrease in spending from last year, in addition to a wage freeze wherever union contracts are not in question. I would also suggest a hiring freeze to keep staff at current levels, ensuring that there are no further increases to current salary, pension and healthcare costs to the township. Simply freezing theses budgets at last year’s levels is not enough.

"Programs or services that are the same or similar to those that are offered by the county or state should be eliminated. If services are temporarily affected then so be it, the township residents will understand if it means that their taxes will not be increased.

"Middletown republicans have been entrenched throughout the township government for over twenty years, feelings of entitlement run deep and no one wants to give up their piece of the pie. Is there any wonder then, why it is so hard for the Mayor and Deputy–Mayor to make the hard choices that are needed to balance this year’s municipal budget?

"It is time for Mayor Scharfenberger to end the rhetoric, stop blaming Trenton for Middletown’s problems. After all, if Monmouth county can pass a budget with no increase, so too can Middletown."

-- Michael Morris, Geary Drive, Middletown NJ, 07748

Thanks for sending the letter Mike, and keep them coming.

Clamdigger's Note -- A few notes on letters for readers: Looks like The Inside Clamdigger is going to do letters also. Please bear this in mind, sign anything that is sent in and remember that everything has to be confirmed before publication. No profanities, and no personal assaults on anyone. I will reserve the right to pull any letter I believe are unsuitable, but I certainly do not mind if anyone disagrees with any opinion I offer.