This is way bigger than the Church folks!
I have updated my candidate rundown. A lot has happened this campaign season so I figured I would share the information I have gathered. These are my own thoughts and opinions below. Updates are in a larger bolded font.
The messages keep pouring in. “Thank you so much for being a loud voice in town, WHO should I vote for?”
I am definitely not telling anyone who to vote for, but I am not afraid to share my thoughts and opinions.
Behind that curtain, we all get to vote for who we freely choose.
I won't give any names without the why to the who. So here it goes.
If you follow my blog and how I have voiced my concerns here in town, you will see that I share and link a lot of factual proof. So if this is your first time visiting, Welcome! And please know some other blog posts share more detailed information should there be something below you may not understand.
JANE AND AL
Front and center. The most positive, transparent, and willing to listen, evaluate, help, and support the people of Bradley Beach. They don’t have ties to politics. They are neighbors who simply volunteer for the sake of the town. It’s that simple. I continue to stand by this statement, as Jane and Al have shown the utmost professionalism, kindness, and transparency in discussing the Bradley Beach Borough issues throughout their campaign. They both have been very forward in sharing the most informative main issues here in town. Sewer infrastructure, Hotels and Motels regarding overdevelopment, AirBnB short-term rentals, and how disagreeing with the Mayor is ok because it welcomes resident input for a thriving community. They have taken to a campaign strategy of professionalism and integrity. They have not run a smear campaign. Unfortunately, it seems they had to correct some lies going around from some other smear campaigns. But JANE AND AL always come out on top. The most professional, kind, and transparent.
JANE DENOBLE - I am way impressed with Jane and so happy she is a successful, independent woman who, in my 12 years here, is probably the most hands-on, get-your-hands-dirty, volunteer. She is her own person and is a positive and uniting element of our community. Jane is a fine example of having her own mind and is a friend to all. Pay attention to those who have negative things to say now that she is running. Jane DeNoble is a perfect fit for what Bradley needs. Unity, Kindness, and Grace.
I have had the pleasure of talking to Jane a lot during this campaign season and I will say, what you see IS what you get.
Jane is the best example of being able to work with the Mayor and everyone. The Mayor tried to control her posting on social media, while requesting her to temper her freedom of speech, which he is quite known to do on many occasions. Instead, he retaliated against her by not renewing her volunteer position on the Shade Tree commission.
He appointed Tom Gavin instead, while not being a Bradley Beach, but a Belmar resident. Jane professionally handled the heated situation with the Mayor, kept the dialogue open and transparent, while receiving an outpouring of support from the community. Because of the wrongful termination by the mayor, he had no other choice but to reinstate the number one volunteer in Bradley Beach.
Isn’t this what we want in our town? Someone who takes a stand to do what is right. This proves that Jane has the ability to stand up against any lies, control, and dictatorial behavior, by the Mayor, for the people of Bradley Beach.
I recently asked Jane about the famous church question. “NO means NO if that's what the residents want," she said. I took the time to ask her for more information on this and she had such an eye-opening explanation. “We purchased this property over 2 years ago with the idea that this would be a grassroots project. The people would gather to paint and patch it, a resident offered free flooring for the entire place. People rejecting it now also wanted it back then being it was the picture-perfect grassroots community effort. But here we are 2 years later when then we didn't even know what Covid was. The cost of this project now is unimaginable for any of us. So NO, I will not vote in favor of this. I don't want it to cost the taxpayers another penny.”
It was also Jane who was the first to mention to me that we can also subdivide the land and sell it as individual lots, as that would be the best way to maximize the most profit out of selling this property.
AL GUBITOSI - An incumbent candidate I met early this spring, regarding the budget and he fought to save us $300k; that says everything. This is a friend and neighbor who has battled against political bullies because he asked a whole lot of questions, regarding and protecting OUR MONEY. Honestly, I have never seen someone work so hard for the sake of the people. When I ask Al a question, he usually has an answer, because he has already worked on it. Al has shown respect, politeness, and the most transparency, even having the current administration (mayor, business administrator, and attorney) trying to shut him down at many council meetings. He seems to be fighting a battle constantly, and for who, WE THE BRADLEY PEOPLE! I am strong about keeping Al in office because of his hard-working dedication and simply doing the RIGHT THING.
My additional comments on Al are simple because they are the most powerful. Al hit our budget so hard this year, to the point that the Mayor turned so strongly against him with a vengeance. Which we have all been sadly witnessing at every council meeting.
When I spoke with the Mayor about the budget, I was taken back by the horrible things he had to say about Al. All I wanted was answers about our budget.
Al gave me his time, attention, and details in understanding what I could about the budget. There is no disputing the facts, Al fought his tail off and saved $300k of our tax dollars! He also promises to keep FOLLOWING THE MONEY!
Ask yourselves:
Why would our administration stall the budget while ignoring Al's many questions regarding an extra three hundred thousand of our tax dollars?
Why are the Mayor and his endorsed candidates doing everything possible to smear Al and lie?
What has Al Gubitosi gotten close to, that politicians and special interests want him out?
When we have a sitting councilmember who is a long-term resident, neighbor to all, who is a financial professional, CPA, has a law degree, AND has saved us residents hundreds of thousands of dollars………RUN TO THE POLLS AND VOTE FOR AL!
PROTECTING OUR TAX DOLLARS IS THE BIGGEST PRIORITY!
RANDY BONNELL - is the next incumbent choice on my list. Randy has been sharing weekly informative topics and simply keeping people in the know. It shows that we have someone working for us and being transparent about it. Randy even battled super hard, on the council, in the previous administration, always putting Bradley Beach first. I could be wrong but from my perspective, Randy is a man of few words, so his tactic of sharing with the public has been so fitting. In my very few conversations with Randy, he is a “what you see is what you get” type of guy. To the point. No gossip. Lays it out. See ya later. Extremely sensible, the kind that makes me clear my throat and go “ok, I see your point” When I might be stuck in the gray he takes me right back to the black or white. He gets right down to making the best decisions for the town without any games.
What my thoughts were on Randy before, are exactly what he has shown this entire campaign season. No frills campaigning. To the point, don't waste our money, be fair, be honest and let's get it done! Those strengths are also exactly what the Mayor cannot handle. Because when the Mayor keeps on telling lies, Randy is right there to tell him that he is wrong!
I always urge residents to do their due diligence. Randy is definitely worth reaching out to. Here’s why. Randy is judged poorly because of his no-frills character and campaign. Some like to bring up old, tired, frivolous lawsuits that USE women for personal smearing of reputations during campaign season. As an independent woman myself, who has owned and run small businesses, I would be very precise and careful about claiming any type of harassment as I would never want to be seen in a leading administrative role as not being able to handle my position. I advise people to follow who really is behind these campaign season lawsuits, is it just the female???
Serious harassment is nothing to downplay, and we have seen how wide-ranged a topic it is and how used it has become, especially in political play. This type of despicable campaign use of harassment is what waters down serious situations in our society and workplaces.
People also forget that Randy has a wife and family. I urge people to not be blinded by headlines until they read and research the substance themselves. Again due diligence is very necessary.
Randy’s expertise in construction and engineering regarding the Borough’s very expensive maintenance is hands down why he has already served us so well in the past. He’s a no-nonsense guy and has the best interests of the Borough at heart. Yes, he does have one. Do your job as a resident and get to know him. You will be floored at how extremely knowledgeable he really is about our most important issues here in Bradley Beach.
JOHN WEBER - another incumbent I choose. You won't find someone more dedicated to protecting our oceanfront than John. He is involved in politics at the state level, and that isn’t my first choice, however, John has not been picked up by the dirty political machine at the local level because he is dedicated to serving Bradley Beach. John also battled super hard, on the council, in the previous administration. He never gave up standing for the people. Politics at a small-town level doesn't have to be dirty and John is a good example of that. John is not being swallowed by the agendas. He is willing to still vote up there for the people. I’d like to say John has done his best job in staying in line for Bradley Beach and the residents. My one request is a little more backbone when the battles are apparent. We the people want to see who is fighting for us through and through.
John runs as a confident candidate because he really puts Bradley Beach before politics. This year John has shown strength in confronting the Mayor's lies. John is a keep-the-peace guy and I always request him to stand stronger up against all the ugly coming from our leadership.
Just recently, John stood up for the volunteers of this town who were so grossly put down by Tim Sexsmith. I will assume that some of the parties who have supported John in the past, and now sit with the Mayor’s team, have been blindly led. I always tell people to follow the money.
There’s a beauty about being a non-partisan town and supporting John Weber is a big example of that. John has gained a lot of support from people who want no special interests, and want honesty and integrity.
So there were my top 4 and why!
Now c’mon, it won't be fair if I don’t give you why NOT on the other four. I’ll keep it short and simple as I don’t desire to speak negatively but rather just factual. And I’ve publicly stated the majority of these things already.
TOM GAVIN - simply should not be running. He did not reside here for the past year (which is legally necessary to run), nor were his 15 years as a Bradley Beach resident, (part of his campaign) a current 15 by any means. A certificate of occupancy is proof of that. Plain and simple. He should do the right thing and wait till the next go around. Instead, he keeps at it which only exposes he’s already starting on dishonesty. I also question, as a resident, why he hangs out in our boro offices regularly. I think Tom Gavin is a nice guy as I interacted with him in a school community setting. But being nice and doing right by the town is two different things. I raise a huge eyebrow as to why our administration in our day-to-day office would certify this person. This is one huge example of why I question a lot of agendas.
I witnessed Tom Gavin's behavior at the candidates' forum which now does not fall in line with my previous 'nice guy' comment. As I sat in the front row of the forum, I saw him confront Al Gubitosi while asking the moderator why a resident couldn’t video. He put his hands on his hips and his face became red while he demanded no video. This continued on for a bit as Tom was adamant about no recording of the forum.
This behavior didn't surprise me as he presents himself as a "nice guy", but his smear campaign tactics and his recent Facebook post, regarding the forum, against Jane DeNoble were very revealing.
Tom Gavin is pretty brazen regarding this election outcome. Expecting Jane's "fan club will have 3 years to pass around a mic and yell" at the council only confirms for me that he will follow Larry Fox's lead in sitting up there with disdain for the public.
Tom uses "15-year resident" as a coined campaign slogan for himself. However, he lived in Shrewsbury from 2008-2021. Then moved to Belmar, just last year, in 2021 until June of 2022 when he finally received his C/O here in town, (just about 5 months ago).
TAKE NOTE: Tom Gavin NEVER spoke out loud about where he lived within the last year, nor has he EVER challenged any one person who called him out for lying about his residency.
Can people really overlook these details and have someone of this nature represent us??
(For proof of his residency, please see this blog link)
DEB BRUYNELL - I do not know Ms. Bruynell personally, at all. Never have spoken with her. My only take on her, however, was watching the zoning meeting on the Cotler case.
Let me just brief you on that quickly. Cotler was a former councilman who built his second floor on his garage building illegally and beyond his approved original plans. Work was stopped and then the political machine let him keep it. (Actually, see Tom Gavin’s third floor, similar scenario) I won’t get started on my personal zoning experience. Let me just say my takeaway is, to be in with the favors and dirty deals, screams a lack of integrity.
Anyway, regarding Deb Bruynell. Go back to the Cotler case. November 19, 2020 and December 1, 2020, on youtube. She has someone with her in the room, on zoom, which is illegal. She is being told how to speak and how to vote. There was a complaint on the December video asking her to be removed because of it, and our land use attorney swore her back in saying she promised to basically be clean throughout the rest of the process. Well, by the time they got to vote, you hear an entire conversation of a man's voice telling her how to vote and for her to not give any explanation at all. I invite everyone to go watch those videos on youtube and see them for themselves. I know I am not voting someone in for any position after swearing under oath from being reprimanded to only do it again. It’s dirty, dishonest, and supported an illegal case to boot.
Here is one of the videos I mentioned regarding how Ms. Bryunell had voted with the influence of another person. You can fast forward to the end during the vote to see it. For a full understanding, you can watch from the beginning. (link to video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONHhMD336aE
As an actual update, this video clip below, of Ms. Bruynell's significant other, from the most recent council meeting, speaks for itself.
TIM SEXSMITH - I have to admit is like a heartache disappointment in a neighbor. This is a man I supported for council the first go around. I found him to be similar to Randy, simple and to the point, with an extra drop of kindness. However, the Lyin Larry debacle, which matched the digital fingerprint to his computer, as he did admit to… The serial OPRA requester disguised under Lyinlarry2021@gmail.com, in fact, came from his computer. He admitted it was him to Randy to then turn around and lie to the people. It stings. I don’t think he’s a bad guy. But there is absolutely no way I can vote him back in after that. It sits on a mound of lies and questions now without proper explanation and then to see him turn around on social media with his very telling meme innuendos and campaign posts. Even this morning another excuse in the paper, only makes the mound a mountain. Just sadly has no chance for my vote. His resignation and apology to the taxpayers would have been his best move. I believed he had it in him to do the right thing, but my hope candle flame is dimly lit these days.
In this short time, Tim Sexsmith has only devolved during his campaign while publicly smearing actual resident volunteers. Tim unanimously supported the Shade Tree Commission's ordinance until he was the resident to receive a violation to remove his tree.
This rant that Tim went on about, against volunteers, received a lot of public criticism. He only decided to apologize about a week later. Would be nice if he'd find it in his heart to do the same about the Lyin' Larry debacle. His behavior here has been anything but rational.
MEREDITH DEMARCO - I don’t know her personally. I briefly met her once at an in-town event to support people to vote. She gave a small intro of herself. Sweet and kind. Nothing negative to say at all about her. She did explain she has had a political background since college and that was enough for me. I prefer non-political neighborly people fighting for the town. These days being in politics isn’t a positive for me at all.
The Mayor also has chosen her to be someone he supports and sadly that speaks volumes for me too. It may not be her choice, but it solidifies my decision.
During this campaign season, Meredith DeMarco has told residents she is "running as an independent candidate, not on a slate." She also mentions that she is "an independent woman and won't speak for others, nor should anyone invest in words that don't come from me."
It is very interesting that Meredith DeMarco has not distanced herself from the Mayor's endorsement letter which was even paid for by "Larry Fox for Mayor". Ms. DeMarco has publicly acquiesced to Tom Gavin speaking on her behalf on social media, along with banners and paid smear campaign materials by other candidates. So if she is unwilling to publicly stand up for herself, as running independently, how can we expect that she will stand up for the people? Will she just continue to follow the Mayor's lead? It seems as though Meredith DeMarco will do anything to get this role by allowing campaign handlers to keep her from public meet and greets. It is very sad and disturbing that Meredith allowed the use of her name to smear friendships on campaign propaganda. If she can't stand up now, don't expect her to stand up later.
I am very transparent about why I don't appreciate our Mayor. He has sent an email to his insiders saying Jane, Al, Randy, and John are not good for the town, but we all know they aren’t good for his pockets, which makes them the best fit for Bradley Beach! Follow the money folks. Attend the council meetings or watch on the owl zoom and you’ll get to see who’s who.
Well, a lot has been going on since my last candidates' blog and I hope my updates make you think a little deeper.
We the people cannot dispute the facts. We have now seen the proof from Superior Court, Honorable Judge Lisa P. Thornton that our Mayor is trying to spend our money behind closed doors. He tied the hands of our council members upon entering those meetings where in one meeting negotiated the sale and programs of our sewers with our water company. In another meeting, the Mayor met with a developer and engineering firm in discussions of selling OUR public DPW land.
I personally believe that Mayor Fox is running this town as a dictator along with special interests and ideology over residents first. He wants full power and control of every little thing people say and do. Can you believe the Mayor actually called me personally at 9:30 pm one evening to try to get me to delete information that I posted on Facebook about the budget? Yes, he did! (I have a recording of it) He has done so with other residents as well. The Mayor's controlling behavior, disdain for the residents, and bullying tactics are really disturbing. So please ask yourself, do we want this town run by Mayor Larry Fox and his handpicked puppets/candidates?
You may be requesting no noise, but instead, imagine a quiet and fully controlled panel where what you say has no bearing. To quote our Mayor, "Thank you, next"...
It takes a small community to bring back our rights as a people. Voting just to quiet down the noise may be the biggest mistake anyone can make as you give away your power to a dictator and his minions to spend your tax dollars, making town decisions, without you even knowing it. We have the proof of this Mayor’s lead. Don’t be fooled by his political marketing.
Stay the course, stick with the facts. Fight for this community. Your power is still yours. Take it to the polls.
See you in the sand...or at the firehouse next week.
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