Boden sworn-in as Keansburg's mayor

Mayor Artie Boden is now the top elected official in Keansburg. Artie has been a great elected official in the borough, who ran on the same ticket as Councilman Jimmy Cocuzza awhile back. He follows in the footsteps of Mayor Lisa Strydio, who did a wonderful job at this very demanding office.

Also joining the Keansburg Borough Council is borough businessman Anthony DePompa, who has been a staunch communtiy advocate for many years.

Best of luck to Artie, George, Lisa, Jimmy and Anthony. The council has done some great work in recent years and has every opportunity of continuing this proud tradition with the latest version of the governing body.

Best of luck to outgoing Deputy Mayor Drew Murray, for his years of service on behalf of the town.

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Short draws support from Bayshore neighbors

Among those at last night's Middletown Committee meeting were Matawan Borough Councilman Joseph "Bud" Mullaney and Keansburg Borough Deputy Mayor Andrew "Drew" Murray.

I noticed these two guys in the room and asked why they were there: Both said they were there to support Middletown Committeeman Patrick Short.

Mr. Mullaney said he finds Mr. Short's work very worthy, despite the challenges Mr. Short faces on the committee.

Mr. Murray said Mr. Short deserves a lot of credit for what he is doing on committee in the face of resistance to his ideas. Of some note is that both Mr. Mullaney and Mr. Murray are Democrats.

Middletown Democratic Chairman Joe Caliendo said he appreciated both men showing up to support Short. But what is interesting is the fact that both of these guys are from out of town. This is not run of the mill in Democrats. What does it mean? There are tea leaves for such things, but the Bayshore Democratic Club has, by all reports I've heard, been better attended than in recent years. I know that most of the group is comprised of people from Middletown, but there has been some support from Bayshore towns, prominently Aberdeen, Highlands and Hazlet.

"Mutual support" was a theme from the old Bayshore Republican Conference. In its heyday, the BRC left a big mark where it came to cross support. My question: Does this mean the Bayshore Democratic Club is picking up momentum? Maybe too early to tell but an interesting thought for inside people.