Democrats will win with integrity

The problem with politics is that it's easy for people to lose sight of what they're in it for in the first place. This Peter Carton issue with Chuck Fallon is a good example of that.

"Win at all cost" can mean "win at the expense of the truth" or "win with a bunch of lies if you have to just win." I'm not that7 kind of campaigner and neither is anyone in the Middletown Demcoratic Party.

When Middletown Democrats win, we're going to do it with integrity and with honesty. Democrats have waited for a long time, so it is good that this year there's finally going to be an end to the waiting with the election of Patrick Short to the Middletown Committee.

A fair story in the Press

I think Alison Herget wrote a very fair story in the Press today about this whole mess that Peter Carton started with Chuck Fallon.

The long and short of it is that Peter Carton sent out a release saying that Chuck had been arrested and convicted of bribing a Hudson County official and, of course, he has never done that.

Carton won't even apologize for it.

The Democrats are going to see about a complaint to the Bar over this situation.

FRIDAY PRESS RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION

August 26, 2006

POC: Joe Caliendo
Chairman, Middletown Democrats
Tel: (732) 299-6470
Email: joe_caliendo@yahoo.com
Blog: www.democratscalling.blogspot.com

IS NEWARK LAW FIRM MAKING IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MIDDLETOWN REPUBLICANS?

MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP (MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ): According to Middletown Democratic Chairman Joe Caliendo, he has serious concerns that the Newark law firm of Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger and Vecchione is making in-kind contributions to the Middletown Republican Party.

"Brian M. Nelson is a Middletown Sewer Authority commissioner, who earns pay, pension and benefits from Middletown. He is also employed full-time by the legal
firm of Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger and Vecchione in Newark, the law firm that holds all the bonding work in Middletown. Nelson has put out press releases on behalf of the Middletown GOP," Caliendo said. "The Middletown Democratic Party wants to know if Nelson's public relations work is a contribution tothe Middletown GOP by the firm."

"Mr. Nelson is a lobbyist among other things, used to working in the public relations arena," Caliendo said. "If this work on behalf of the Republican Party is on the company's time, then that means this is an in-kind contribution by his firm."

"Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger and Vecchione are one of the largest Democratic law firms in the state of New Jersey," Caliendo said. "I do not understand why they have hired Middletown Republican Chairman Peter Carton and allowed him to behave this way in public office."

Caliendo said that Carton has worked against the two-party system throughout the county. "Carton has worked to ensure that only one-party rule is in place in Middletown most especially. The law firm gets all the bonding work, and as chairman of the Republican Party, Carton selects all of the candidates for office, all of the people who sit on boards, and the committee with all of the politicians he creates bond at nearly every meeting of the governing body," Caliendo said.

"Peter Carton has made sure that Brian Nelson gets a soft appointment on the Sewer Authority and gets his pension," Caliendo said. "So, Carton is a political boss, a political appointee, a vendor and who knows what else in this township."

"This is corruption, pure and simple, and the heart of it is right here in Middletown Township," Caliendo said. "It has to end, but right now I want to find out
if this law firm authorized this Brian Nelson to do public relations for the local Republican Party here."

Caliendo said he would be following up with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission with regard to this.

SUNDAY PRESS RELEASE

Here's what the Middletown Democrats sent out on Sunday about this Carton and Herget issue. I think this party has made itself clear.

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION

August 20, 2006

POC: Joe Caliendo
Chairman, Middletown Democrats
POC: 732-299-6470
Email: joe_caliendo@yahoo.com
Blog: www.democratscalling.blogspot.com

CARTON, HERGET LEVEL FALSE ELEC CHARGES

MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP (MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ): In a move that is a bit early in the season, but not entirely unexpected, Middletown GOP Chairman Peter Carton has announced allegation of ELEC wrongdoing by the Middletown Democratic candidate and it was announced by the Asbury Park Press's Reporter Alison Herget last week.

"The Middletown Democrats, Candidate for Committee Patrick Short and myself did nothing wrong in ELEC reporting or anythng else," Caliendo stated.

However, those charges will likely not be resolved by the election in November, but Miss Herget will have the option to keep referring to them throughout the campaign in her "stories" in the APP. "Carton decided, Miss Herget typed and that's how I see it," Caliendo said.

This is despite the fact that Mr. Carton has been leveling charges for years against the Middletown Democrats (before, during and after elections) and he has yet to score one single legitimate complaint with ELEC. "Carton is trying to use ELEC for headlines to win a campaign he is going to lose, and Miss Herget is trying to make a name for herself while making friends with the Middletown Republicans and that is all it is in my book," Caliendo said.

This month, after Miss Herget wrote a story given by Carton about new ELEC allegations on August 7 on the front page of the "Our Town" section of the APP, without asking one question of Middletown Democratic Chairman Joe Caliendo (who is responsible for ELEC filing for the club and the candidate) she allowed Mr. Carton a one-way shot making accusations of wrongdoing. "I wonder how much press the Democrats are going to get in January or so when this thing is
decided in our favor?" Caliendo asked.

In an August 11 story in the APP, where she allowed comment by Caliendo, she further allowed Mr. Carton to continue making claims that he provided no proof for with regard to any ELEC wrongdoing.

"I think it's pretty clear that Pete Carton is getting hit pretty hard by the things his Township Committee is doing up there: deluxe healthcare packages for themselves, appointing crony friends every chance they get to township boards (and giving them benefits, pensions and pay to boot), bonding the town to death at darn near every session because Carton's company is the bond firm, threatening to condemn taxpayers property for ridiculous reasons, spending millions on lavish and unncecessary projects...well the list goes on but you get the point," Caliendo said.

With Democrat for Committee Patrick Short fighting eminent domain in River Plaza, helping to save a family farm in New Monmouth and joining the fight against the Lincroft Sports Complex, as well as taking up the fight to end flooding in the Bayshore sections of Middletown, Caliendo said. He noted that Carton's candidate for the committee "isn't looking as competitive so this is the way a lawyer-boss tries to make points -- accuse without likely resolution of something that this party, myself and this candidate are absolutely not guilty of," Caliendo said.

The veteran Middletown Demcoratic boss said this effort by Carton has been "significantly aided by the APP's Alison Herget, against any principles of fair
play, unbiased coverage or even common sense, I think," Caliendo said.

"I have asked Miss Herget to give Middletown Democrats fair coverage in this election, or simply to stop covering it if she finds she cannot seperate any other loyalties she may or may not have to the Republican Party or specifically the Middletown Republican Party," Caliendo said. "Miss Herget does not have the right to tamper with an election in Middletown, whether she covers it for the Asbury Park Press or
anyone else."

Caliendo explained that Carton had in his inner circle former Committeeman Ray O'Grady, who was convicted of federal corruption charges, as well as former Committeeman Pat Parkinson, who was sued by the former town clerk for sexual harassment. Parkinson settled the case out of court with the former clerk, and
Parkinson settled that case with town money and his lawyers were paid for by the town. "Why wasn't that a story for Miss Herget?" Caliendo asked.

Caliendo reiterated his position that the Middletown Democrats, Candidate for Committee Pat Short and himself have done nothing wrong. Caliendo said, "Pete
Carton is having a tough election and made a baseless ELEC complaint and that is an example of why false ELEC complaints should be a crime. As for Miss Herget, I think she has a preference in this election and I believe she's made that pretty clear through her work."

###

I AM NOT GOING TO LET THIS GO

Peter Carton using the Asbury Park Press to throw a frivolous ELEC complaint against the Demcoratic Candidate this year, Patrick Short, is a campaign tactic. Maybe it's a cheap one but it's a tactic all the same.

This complaint is bogus. The reporting by Alison Herget is bogus and I plan on making that as clear as a bell through this contest.

I think Miss Herget has stepped over the line of journalism, into public relations for the Middletown Republican Club. They've been known to get friendly reporters jobs before. I'm not saying that is why Miss Herget wrote what she did, I am just saying that it has happened.

I will not allow them to slander this club or this candidate or myself through this campaign so I am not letting it go in August. If I do, every single story this Herget person writes in September and October wil lreflect the accusations and the "pending charges" with ELEC.

Well, if she writes that she better write that it is our assertion the complaint is frivolous and that I think she is a tainted reporter. I don't mind reporting with FACTS, and TWO SIDES of the story. But ONE SIDE and FALSE ALLEGATIONS are not going to fly with me and they will not fly with the Middletown Democrats.

I will be issuing another press release within a day about this. But I do not want anyone to mistake the Middletown Democratic Party's position on this issue at all. I will not see the Asbury Park Press throw ANOTHER election to the Republicans by false reporting, bad reporting or any other kind of reporting and sit idly by.

It is time to stand up against Republicans and Bad Reporting

Every year, Republicans and the media they own in this county try to find a way to stop two-party government. Sometimes they are successful and sometimes they are not.

In 2001, the Asbury Park Press covered up the Parkinson Sex Harassment Lawsuit, which was filed against Committeeman Parkinson by the former Town Clerk, Rosa Garcia. The Press refused to print the lawsuit at the time, because Former Mayor Parkinson, who was also a Candidate and Committeeman at the time, said no suit existed. This happened despite the fact that Rosa Garcia attorney had served the Township with a Notice of Tort and that Notice had been sent to every Newspaper in the North Monmouth Area. That year, Beverly Bova-Scarano lost election by 30 votes and Parkinson and his running mate, Ray O'Grady, won their seats.

So rather than have honest Democrats on the Committee, the Republican Party got someone who would later be convicted of Federal Corruption Charges (O'Grady) and someone who spent an "UNDISCLOSED" amount of public money defending himself from the Clerk and her sex harassment charges (Parkinson). Parkinson had town attornies bought and paid for by the town.

In 2002, the Asbury Park Press refused to cover the Banfield Building. The property used to belong to a big Republican contributor, who couldn't unload the thing to anyone but his Republican friends that he donated to for years. The building didn't have a business plan, and there was no clear way to see how it would make money and STILL NOTHING HAS CHANGED. Originally Former Mayor Rosemarie Peters said the building was "structurally sound" but the Township has spent $ 9 MILLION making it 'more structurally sound' I guess. The building was supposed to open in 2003 and now it's 2006 and it's STILL NOT OPEN. AND THAT IS NOT NEWS TO THE PRESS OR TO ITS MIDDLETOWN REPORTER, ALISON HERGET.

EVERY YEAR the Middletown Republicans walk around telling THE BIG LIE -- something they can get away with -- whether it's a promise there will be a Middletown Prescription Plan (that was Committeewoman Peters), or the Committee is going to go out and Fight Terrorism (that was Committeeman Scharfenberger), or that someone lived in Middletown and didn't (that was Committeeman Wilkens) or that they are going to build a sports complex and everyone loves it, but they actually don't (that is Mayor Hall), the Asbury Park Press doesn't cover anything that can damage the Middletown Republicans, and that means the Republicans have Alison Herget and the Asbury Park Press on a short leash. Alison Herget isn't the only reporter the Republicans have had by the short hairs, but she's the latest one. This year though and every year after this, I am sick of it. I am sick of defending myself from false allegations while the Asbury Park Press ignores or covers up real ones. I am sick of one-way reporting and I am not alone. SO from now on the Middletown Democrats will not just ignore bad press coverage, inaccurate stories about us, no research in stories against us, irresponsible quotes that have no basis in fact, or stories that hit us but do not even have quotes from us about allegations that are untrue.

This year isn't the time for Democrats to move farther apart, it is the time to woprk more closely with each other to return two-party government and honesty to Town Hall, no matter what newspaper, reporter or other party wants different. Government shouldn't be about lining your pockets, no matter what Peter Carton, Alison Herget or anyone else think or want to do.

A LETTER TO ALISON HERGET

I have sent Alison Herget, from the Asbury Park Press, a letter I want to share with every Democrat in Middletown. The fact is that the Middletown Democrats are a target, by the Republican Administration and its newspaper. It is not a time to back away from the truth, it is a time to make the truth clear and that is what I am doing, with no bones about it. Here it is:

Miss Herget:

I hope that, with this latest bull you have allowed
Peter Carton to throw on the Middletown Democrats,
that you will ensure this matter gets EQUALLY
publicized when this party and when Patrick Short are
vindicated by ELEC.

Then maybe the Middletown Democrats can get the same
press by being right that Peter Carton got by being
wrong.

This is especially in light of the fact that you have
overlooked absolutely every issue attendant to Peter
Carton and his multiple office holding, the fact that
his executive committee sits on nearly every paid
position in Middletown, the fact that his firm is
bonding this township to death because he is the
political boss of Middletown.

You have overlooked the Banfield Building, which was
supposed to be completed in 2003 and at a price of $5
MILLION. Now the building is still not open and it is
costing Middletown residents $9 MILLION for a building
that does not even have a purpose but is somehow
suppopsed to earn that back.

These are not the stories you have focused on. You
have not looked into Joe Kyrillos's campaign ELEC
problems, and these dwarf anyone's. You have not
looked into ANY Republican's ELEC problems. No -- you
have chosen to go on the allegations of Peter Carton
without even researching this matter or even asking me
for a quote during the first article on the front page
of the Our Town Section.

All I have to say is that if you are going to follow
this story up, I hope you have a lot more than Peter
Carton talking about how Democrats shouldn't be
elected in Middletown, which is what you have so far.
He is throwing around "rule of law" and all that
garbage but there has been nothing from ELEC and EVERY
ELEC complaint he has filed over the years has gone
NOWHERE. But YOU have decided to give him this great
amount of credibility THIS year despite that
performance. Or is it that you are looking to
interfere with the outcome of a political contest and
somehow make your name. Well, Miss, you are making it
alright, as a Republican-biased journalist, and if you
are not going to cover this race in a fair manner then
do not cover it at all because that would at least be
fairer.

I do not intend to sit by and see this party, this
candidate or myself maligned by your newspaper either
directly or through someone else's quotes for the
sport of it. But this is what has happened so far.

Joe Caliendo
Chairman
Middletown Democrats
Cell: (732) 299-6470

Pete Carton probably has a friend in Alison Herget

The APP's Alison Herget wrote a story that included some of the Democratic side to the ELEC nonsense the Republican Chairman, Peter Carton, got big headlines for in the August 11th paper (where it was on the front page of the "Our Towns" section).

But at the end of the story, she let Carton get away with saying that the Democrats are doing something wrong and every year we "get away with it." Well, did this lady ever stop and wonder: If we are "getting away with it" every year that is proved because every year Carton files an ELEC complaint that has NO MERIT whatsoever?

EVERY YEAR the Middletown Democrats are accused of something by Carton and EVERY YEAR we are clean. And, it is for THAT REASON I am proposing that frivolous and groundless ELEC complaints be A CRIME in this state. Yet, none of that made it into the story. i wrote press releases and letetrs to the editor about it. The Star-Ledger is printing that letter, not the Press and that is nowhere in the story by Miss Herget.

Carton said at the end of the story he is going to "Push" ELEC on this investigation. But this guy has been pushing ELEC to try and find something wrong with the Middletown Democrats for years and there isn't because we aren't doing anything wrong, and most especially I am not doing anything wrong. So there's a newspaper reporter letting this guy get away with hitting the Democrats with ABSOLUTELY NO PROOF AT ALL. And, THAT is supposed to be from the "Best Newspaper" in the state. Well, if it isn't the Ledger, it's not the best paper in the state, the way I see it.

You know, it's all well and good for a young reporter to come in and want to make a big name for herself. But this Alison Herget is trying to make her big name on harassing and slanting stories against Democrats now. Pete Carton and the Republicans have a lot of great connections, and reporters have been known to enjoy some of those connections. I don't know if this is a case where this Alison Herget is a Republican or if she is looking toward her next job or she just wants to take up with a side and try to throw an election with her pen. Whatever it is, I do not think that Alison Hedrget is an unbiased reporter. The Democrats may have to work with her, but i do not believe we are going to get a square deal from this one at all.

A reporter is "crusading" if they find some dirt and put it out to the people. But what is it when there is no dirt, the reporter puts out big headlines about how there is and there is no merit whatsoever to the people who are accusing the Democrats of dirt. Miss Herget hasn't said what law we broke, what tranbsaction was wrong, or had anyone but Peter Carton tell her this Middletown Democratic Party is doing anything wrong. So, her chief witness is the Republican Chairman of the town.

This is the same Republican Chairman who would lose his place on the Sewer Authority if Democrats won. He is the same Chairman whose company would not be chosen as bond counsel if Democrats won. This Chairman would no longer pick appointees to sit on ther towns boards and commissions and Miss Herget, who is supposed to be some big deal out of Penn State, evidently didn't catch that.

She also didn't catch the fact that Federal felon Ray O'Grady was from Carton's inner circle, and so was Pat Parkinson (who settled out of court with the old clerk for sexual harassment charges). She's crusading alright, I don't know in what direction. Maybe instead of cornering the bad guys she's just going after people who DIDN'T do anything wrong.

WHY ISN'T IT A CRIME TO REPORT UNFOUNDED ELEC COMPLAINTS?

The Middletown Democratic Party was unnecessarily smeared by the Republican munciipal chairman picking up a telephone and complaining about Democrats to an Asbury Park Press reporter. Whether the reporter didn't know enough to call me or didn't want to call me to respond isn't as important as the fact that when Peter Carton called the Asbury Park Press, he wanted a story done about a complaint he did not yet file with ELEC and he got it.

Of course, I fully expect Carton to file a complaint, because he does it every year. And, every year, there is nothing to his complaints, and ELEC determines this but only AFTER Mr. Carton gets his headlines in the Asbury Park Press, if the Middletown reporter at the time can be nudged into it by him. So he makes out, in the midst of a campaign, he gets a big splash, the other side is never reporterd (for what reason I have no idea) and his party and his candidate earn a cheap victory that Middletown Democrats cannot guard against no matter how right we are about the issue and no matter how available I am to the media.

Why shouldn't it be a crime to make a false ELEC complaint? Why shouldn't it be against the law to use ELEC's name for the purpose of advancing one candidate's agenda in an unfounded way?

I am not going to advocate for running a campaign based on smoke and mirrors. Patrick Short will stick to the issues. He was called about this APP article, but he is a candidate, with basically not that much to do with his ELEC accounts. The APP reporter blind sided him and didn't call me and here we are in the APP again with Carton going on about nothing, but with a headline behind him while he is doing it.

It would be a lot different if it were an offense, maybe even a criminal one, to render an unsubstantiated ELEC complaint or to publicly announce one that has no merit. I could certainly live with that. If a party has to win office using those kind of ridiculous tricks, then the people aren't getting much of a candidate. And, if a reporter has to resort to these kinds of stories then they should take a hard look at what they are doing to earn their pay every week. But there is nothing to be done about the media, it will report what it will.

It's just that locally, the APP seems very determined to report about allegations by Republicans against Democrats, but shy about reporting the reverse. For that matter, even in this case, I doubt if the Middletown Democrats are going to get a chance to get a story that tells their side of it (even though there should never have been a story about Carton's unfiled ELEC complaint in the first place in my opinion).

But we'll do the best we can and that is a lot better than doing nothing at all. The daily is already taking sides. When the APP took only Carton's side of this then it disregarded not only my voice, but the voice of every member of the Democratic Party in this township. I guess that's OK with them. I guess they're not interested in every side of something, at least not Democrats.

CALIENDO ANSWERS CARTON, APP

For Democrats in Middletown, all I have to say is that it is that time of year again. The Fall is coming, as well as the campaign, and again the APP is lining up with the Middletown Republican Party to try and make it another Republican year.

This time not only was I not called but there wasn't any problem whatsoever with our ELEC account. So, once again, the APP has let Peter Carton have a lot of fun at the expense of the Middletown Democratic Party, only this time it was as much a surprise to me as all of you.

In the meantime, this is what I have sent out to everyone and their brother, in this state, in other states, in the academic community and throughout the Legislature on both sides of the aisle because if this party cannot be heard the same way as the Republican Party then we are just going to have to make our own trails to make sure we are heard.

Here's what I said...

CALIENDO ANSWERS CHARGE BY MIDDLETOWN GOP BOSS, APP

MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP (MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ): In response
to a public allegation made by Middletown Republican
Boss Peter Carton regarding campaign contributions to Democrat for Middletown Committee Patrick Short,
Middletown Democratic Chairman Joe Caliendo refutes
any allegation of any wrongdoing or error.

“This is more of the same for Peter Carton,” Caliendo
said. “Every year, he makes it an institution to say
there is some problem with our ELEC accountability
when there isn’t. The only reason he does it is for
quick headlines in the Asbury Park Press and every
year he gets it without there being anything to it.
So, there’s no problem with our ELEC account but the
newspaper prints the allegation without printing the
fact that there’s nothing there later on. And, at this
point, there isn’t even a complaint to ELEC. So, why
was there a story about something that wasn’t a
complaint and why wasn’t I contacted about anything by
the APP before they printed in the newspaper on August
11th?”

In the Aug. 11 edition, reporter Alison Herget printed
a story about this entitled “Were Campaign Funds
Reported?” on the cover of the “Our Towns” section.

“The funds are reported because it was from our reports from ELEC that Carton is making his baseless
and ridiculous public claim,” Caliendo said. “There is
nothing wrong with our ELEC reporting, now or ever.”

“Why the APP reported this without my side in the
first place is absolutely absurd,” Caliendo said.
“This is especially true given the fact it is not the
Middletown Democrats who had someone: A. convicted of
federal corruption charges by the FBI and US
Attorney’s Office from their party; B. sued civilly
for sexual harassment charges by a former town clerk
from their party; or C. a present mayor who lied to
every resident in Lincroft about the fact the
committee was going ahead with a sports complex in
their backyard and didn’t bother to tell anyone until
it was almost too late."

“Peter Carton knows this is the year he loses,”
Caliendo said. “He’s scared about losing control
because this year — this year — there will be a
Middletown Democrat elected who will be watching the
store,” Caliendo said. “No more free passes on all the
bonding he wants. He’s already bonded this township up
to its neck in $85 million in debt or 23 percent of
our tax dollar here.”

Caliendo explained that Carton and his law firm
currently represent the township as its bond counsel
and, when Patrick Short wins in November, “the free
ride is over for Mr. Carton and his firm.”

“Now, I want to go back to that part in the article
where Carton said his allegations are
‘non-political,’” Caliendo said. “Are you kidding me?”

TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR SEPT. 9 EVENT!

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