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June 24,2025 Letter to the Editor, This letter is in response to the article in the Asbury Park Press on June 20th regarding Camp Victory in South Toms River. I was quite appalled to read how Councilwoman Carla Kearney characterized her close association to this camp. Of all the individuals that made significant personal commitments of their time, talents, and money to provide an alternative form of recreation to our town’s children, one individual was conspicuously absent from the work if not from the talk, this was Councilwoman Carla Kearney. What Kearney did accomplish, was an amazing piece of politics. She managed to stage a walkout of camp workers the she hired without ever submitting demands to Management. She managed to have volunteer workers removed form the camp and turned the science of victimology into an art form, that garnered her the County Democratic Committees endorsement of her as the Democratic Mayoral Candidate and the top Democrat in South Toms River. This year she is once again verbally committed to the Camp Program, however, out of approx. a dozen Recreation Commission meetings; Councilwoman Kearney has attended only two. This would not be so shocking if Kearney were not the Official Liaison between the Recreation Commission and the Taxpayers. My advice to Councilwoman Kearney is this: you achieved a great political coup last year. Do not continue with and believe your own rhetoric, instead roll up your sleeves, pitch in and do some real work. You might find yourself more widely respected among your peers and the residents of our fine town might actually benefit from your tenure as Councilperson. Councilman Abraham Rodriguez
August 29, 2025 Letter to the Editor: I had the biggest chuckle this morning. I had just finished reading an article on this Website. It is a Website that likes to bash selected Politicians in Ocean County. Anyway, today there was a new article on there regarding several Referendum questions that Councilwoman Carla Kearney of South Toms River, who by the way is running for Mayor, wanted on the Ballot for the upcoming November Election. Why did I laugh about this you ask? Because Councilwoman Kearney has no clue as to how Government works. Let's start from the beginning. This "Plan" is called the "7 Point Plan", it wasn't just 3 questions as she would have you believe, but the other 4 questions were so ridiculous, that they weren't worth mentioning in this Website article. Kearney gave this to the Mayor and each Councilperson at the August 11th Caucus Meeting just as they were taking their seats. As the meeting was coming to a close, Kearney wanted Mayor & Council to read and pass this 7 Point Plan. Mayor Greitz had to explain to her that since it was just handed out to everyone, they would need time to go over it. The Mayor also had to tell Kearney that this Plan had to be put in the form of a Resolution. Kearney actually had to ask the Mayor how to do this, and then asked the Mayor to "e-mail" her instructions. Mind you she was asking this up on the Dais with the public present. I'm sorry, but I thought this was funny; here is a Councilwoman who has been in office for 2 years and still doesn't know how to write a resolution! And she is running for Mayor? Her excuse, "I am new at this." This is her excuse every time she does something wrong or stupid. Is this the type of person we want for Mayor?? Someone who doesn't know anything?? My personal opinion…NO, but that is just my opinion. This 7 Point Plan is the same plan that was presented to Mayor & Council almost 3 years ago by Councilman Steve Marshall & Councilman James Shewmake, right after they took office. Kearney stated, "This is a Program that she and Councilman Joseph Principato have been working very hard on." Let me tell you something, I know the person who wrote this Plan and I also have the Original copy from 3 years ago. Kearney and Principato didn't even bother to change the statistics from 3 years ago. Also, if Kearney and Principato worked so hard together on this, why then did Principato vote "no"?? The fact is Mayor George Greitz explained two years ago, in a credible and articulate Summary why this subject was under the jurisdiction of the Planning Board and not that of the Borough Council. If in fact Mrs. Kearney had been paying attention then, or for the eight months that she has been a member of the Planning Board she would know this. Similarly, if Mrs. Kearney had been paying attention to the world around her and not the one in her looking glass, she would have noticed the two high profile petitions in Berkeley and Dover Townships. The local reporting on this subject (including on the website promoting Kearney) read like a primer on how to get a question on the ballot by petition. A politician would have to be almost comatose to miss all of the free education going on in our local area. I have some advice for Councilwoman Carla Kearney, open your eyes and ears pay attention to your duties, and take your mind off of the free buffets and dinners you get at the expense of our local taxpayers. Donna Marshall
May 7, 2025 RE: robert haelig-promotional specialties-dover road-STR It came as no surprise reading that Mr. Robert Haelig (Dover Township’s self appointed political guru) was being accused by former Dover Township Committeeman Aldrich of tendering political paybacks. It seems that some Dover Township Republicans had once used Mr. Haelig’s services to promote their political campaigns and at some point chose not to do so. Use of Political Advertising Firms is a common and necessary prerequisite of Political Campaigning. This is especially true in larger Municipalities. Politicians have positions on issues and need to communicate these beliefs and opinions to the voting public. Robert Haelig in fact provides this service professionally in Ocean County. Should we except Mr. Haelig’s contention that if Dover Township Officials had just taken his political advice that all would be well in Dover Township? Certainly, taxes could have been lower, the land cleaner, and the roads less crowded, or is Mr. Haelig akin to the mechanist in the Emerald City, a small man hiding behind an attractive veneer, making the path difficult on those whom offend him in some way. It is more likely that we should accept Mr. Aldrich’s claim that Mr. Haelig is simply dispensing the sour grapes attendant to his not receiving the attractive paycheck available to those with the skill to run a competent political campaign. Mr. Haelig in this instance strikes us as an individual with the proverbial axe to grind. Our advice to the pundit in Mr. Haelig is this, accept your own councel, Run for office and provide a service to your community as Mr. Aldrich and his counterparts have done. Then you can write your opinions from a position of relative knowledge the South Toms River, NJ ARP