| Written and distributed since 2003 by Donald Katz, Esq., Republican State Committeeman for Middlesex County and Counsel, Middlesex County Republican OrganizationMCRO SCREENING AND NOMINATING CONVENTION DATES SET FORTH BELOW IN THE CALENDAR – IF YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE PAY ATTENTION TO THE DATES If you want to participate in the selection of our Republican candidates, please pay attention to the dates and information in the Calendar, below. Our candidate selection process, culminating with our nominating convention, is the most democratic (note the small “d”), in the State of New Jersey. Any registered Republican, who timely pre-registered, (by the February 22nd deadline), is eligible to come out and vote for the candidates of their choice on Saturday, March 8th. Delegate Convention Registration forms will be provided to each GOP municipal chair shortly and you will be able to obtain a form from your chair and you also submit the form, with your registration fee, to your municipal chair for submittal by the deadline date. If for some reason you are not able to obtain a Convention Registration form in advance, which is preferable, you can show up, on February 8th and register and pay your registration fee, in person. (Note that those who can’t participate on a Saturday for religious reasons will be able to vote by sealed secret ballot in advance as long as they preregister.) This year we will screen for Governor, Assembly Candidates in the 7 Legislative Districts all or part of which are in Middlesex County, 3 County Commissioner Candidate, Sheriff and County Clerk. Also, in this cycle, we will be electing, in the June primary election, our Republican State Committeeman and State Committeewoman, to serve for four-year terms. As you know I am the current State Committeeman and I am running for re-election and I am asking you for your support. I am the longest serving State Committeeman on the state committee and I have been successfully elected and re-elected numerous times because I work hard and people know I do a good job. If you are interested in running or being considered to run for one of the open positions above the municipal level, (or you know someone who is), you, or they, should contact MCRO Chair, Rob Bengivenga, at 908-966-1491 or robert.bengivenga@gmail.com. We already have a number of candidates for several of the positions but more are always welcome. However, you should note that we have incumbent assembly people in Legislative Districts 12 and 21 so we are not looking for candidates in those districts/ There are also opportunities to run for local office in many of our municipalities and, if you or someone you know is interested, you or they should contact your local GOP municipal chair as soon as possible, since as I referenced last year, the Democrats in the Legislature and the Democrat governor put in place a new law increasing the petition signature requirements for most of our municipalities, so the sooner your candidates are selected, the more time you will have to obtain the necessary number of nominating petition signatures. POLITICAL TRIVIA: Here are some political trivia questions. I hope you enjoy them. The answers are below, immediately above the calendar: 1. Which First Lady attended Stanford University and spoke Mandarin? 2. George H. W. Bush praised volunteerism by referring to “a thousand” what? 3. Barack Obama is the only U.S. President born in Hawaii. True or False? 4. FDR was the first U.S. President born west of the Mississippi. True or False? 5. In what year did the construction of the White House begin? 6. Who said “speak softly and carry a big stick” regarding foreign policy? 7. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, True or False? REPUBLICAN WOMEN RUN ANNUAL REAGAN DAY EVENT ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD. ARE YOU COMING? The Middlesex County Republican Women’s Club is holding its annual Reagan Day on Sunday, February 23rd from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the Forsgate Country Club, 375 Forsgate Drive, Monroe Township. The cost, in advance, is $75.00 per person or $700.00 for a table of 10. If there is still space available there will be a higher price if you pay at the door. This is a fun event, with great speakers, a silent auction, a guess the jelly bean contest, Reagan memorabilia, sponsorship opportunities, etc. The MCRWC is also inviting the Republican gubernatorial candidates to attend. The MCRWC will also honor the winner of the Susan J. Tisiker Memorial Award for Exemplary Service. (As many of you know, Sue was my late wife, a co-founder, and long-time President of the MCRWC.) This Women’s Club event is so popular that it has been sold out on several occasions and it outgrew its first and second locations. The tickets are going fast. Therefore, if you want to attend and not risk being shut out of the event, buy your tickets as soon as possible online at: https://tinyurl.com/reaganday25, or send your check, payable to MCRWC, to PO Box 5374, Old Bridge, New Jersey 08857. This is the Women’s Club’s primary fundraising event of the year. Over the years, they have donated tens of thousands of dollars to Republican candidates in Middlesex County and run and funded an annual Campaign School, which has benefited active Republicans, candidates, and organizations from throughout Middlesex County. You can help them continue these and other activities by attending this event and getting others to attend. Detailed information is outlined in the Calendar, below. “SECRET ELECTIONS” COMING UP IN FEBRUARY IN SOME OF OUR TOWNS. LOCAL FIRE DISTRICT ELECTIONS WILL BE HELD ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15 Fire District Elections will be held this coming February, on Saturday, February 15, from 2:00 to 9:00 pm in the following Middlesex County municipalities: East Brunswick, Jamesburg, Monroe, Old Bridge, Piscataway, Plainsboro, South Brunswick, and Woodbridge. If you live in one of those municipalities, you will have an election without the benefit of mailed sample ballots, advertising, (except for the minimum legally required legal advertising), anything even telling the voters where the polling place is located and, in most instances, without the Fire Districts even mentioning the date of their election on their website, let alone including the names of the candidates running or their budget to be adopted at the election on their website. Not surprisingly, the voter turnout is often less than 50 votes and, what passes for a hotly contested race, could easily draw perhaps a hundred votes. A turnout of perhaps 2% of the registered voters is not uncommon, although since the people who are on the permanent vote-by-mail ballot list automatically receive ballots for the fire district elections, sometimes more people are voting. If you or someone you know may be interested in running for Fire District Commissioner in your district, the deadline for filing a petition to run is January 17, which is 29 days prior to the date of the Fire District Election, (as per NJS 40A:14-71), and requires a minimum of 10 signatures of qualified voters on the petition. ANSWERS TO POLITICAL TRIVIA: 1. Lou Hoover. Herbert Hoover met Lou Henry when they were both studying geology at Stanford University. They married in 1899; she then joined him on a work trip to China, where she learned to speak and write Mandarin. The couple traveled the world for 14 years as Mr. Hoover worked as a mining engineer. Mrs. Hoover also published her translation of a 1565 manual on mining from Latin into English. 2. Points of Light. First used in his 1988 speech accepting the Republican nomination for President, “a thousand points of light” was how then-Vice President George Bush envisioned an America powered by volunteers, as opposed to the government. “This is America: The Knights of Columbus, the Grange, Hadassah … a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky,” Bush said. 3. True. Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii — only two years after Hawaii became a state. The 44th U.S. President is the only one born outside of the contiguous United States. 4. False. It took 31 Presidents to elect a person born west of the Mississippi River. That person was Herbert C. Hoover, a native of West Branch, Iowa. The small prairie town is located about 45 miles from the Illinois border and the Mississippi River. Since Hoover’s time, a handful of other Presidents have been born in the West, but he remains the only Iowan. 5. 1792. The construction of the White House started in 1792, and it was first occupied by President John Adams in 1800. The total cost was $232,372. 6. Theodore Roosevelt. Big stick policy refers to an aphorism often said by the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt; “speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far”. The American press during his time, as well as many modern historians today, used the term “big stick” to describe the foreign policy positions during his administration. Roosevelt described his style of foreign policy as “the exercise of intelligent forethought and of decisive action sufficiently far in advance of any likely crisis”. The idea is negotiating peacefully but also having strength in case things go wrong. 7. False. The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776 but the delegates did not begin signing until August 2. UPDATED CALENDAR What follows is an updated calendar. If you have any municipal or countywide fundraisers or functions you would like me to include in my e-mail calendar from time to time, please contact me at dkatzlaw@aol.com. Please note that organizations and campaigns sometimes provide added information, change dates, or cancel events, which information I include in this calendar if I receive the information in time. Therefore, if you plan to attend an event, please make sure you review the calendar listing in my latest e-mail and, to the extent you may not have pre-registered for the particular event so the sponsoring group will be able to contact you about any changes, you may want to check with eh sponsoring group before you go, to make sure the information has not changed. Also, please be aware that these e-mails are not official MCRO notices or mailings, they are just something I do, voluntarily, to help our Republican Party. January 20 (Monday ) – Middlesex County Republican Women’s Club Inauguration Watch Party, American Legion, 148 Major Road, Monmouth Junction. Lunch and Dessert (Further information added when available.) January 21 (Tuesday 7:00 pm – ) – Middlesex County Republican Women’s Club Meeting. East Brunswick Library, 2 Civic Center Drive, (off Ryder’s Lane), East Brunswick. February 7 (Friday) – Date by which names, addresses, e-mail addresses and phone numbers of proposed bonus voters to be placed on the MCRO Screening Committee are to be submitted to MCRO Chairman Robert Bengivenga, Jr., so that, pursuant to the MCRO by-laws, he may select the “bonus votes … based upon the recommendations from the affected Municipal Committee.” February 7 (Friday) – Deadline by which people who want to be delegates to the MCRO Candidate Nominating Convention must be registered Republicans February 15 (Saturday) – Fire District Election (In those municipalities with Fire Districts) February 19 (Wednesday) – Deadline by which candidates for all offices above the municipal level must notify the MCRO Chairman Robert Bengivenga, Jr. in writing of their candidacy and to obtain a candidate questionnaire. February 22 (Saturday 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm) – Registration forms and fees for MCRO Candidate Nominating Convention delegates are to be turned in to the Registration Committee. Location: 499 Plainfield Avenue, 2nd Floor, Edison. February 23 (Sunday 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm) – Middlesex County Republican Women’s Club’s Reagan Day Event. Forsgate Country Club, 375 Forsgate Drive, Monroe Township. $75.00 per person or $700.00 for a table of 10, in advance. Pay at: https://tinyurl.com/reaganday25 or mail a check payable to MCRWC to PO Box 5274, Old Bridge, NJ 08857. (If any space is still available, the price will be higher if paid at the door.) February 24 (Monday) – Deadline for candidates to return their completed candidate questionnaires to the MCRO Chairman so that copies may be distributed to the MCRO Screening Committee members. February 26 (Wednesday 5:45 pm Doors Open, 6:00 pm Start ) – MCRO Screening Committee Meeting. Location: George Bush Senior Center, Old Bridge Municipal Complex, Route 516 and Cottrell Road, Old Bridge. March 1 (Saturday 2:00 pm) – MCRO Credentials Committee convenes to hear any appeals of MCRO Candidate Nominating Convention delegate eligibility determinations. Location: Grace Reformed Church Hall, 2815 Woodbridge Avenue, Edison. (Anyone ruled ineligible must bring written proof from the Middlesex County Board of Elections that he or she was a registered Republican voter in Middlesex County as of February 7). March 8 (Saturday, Registration 8:30 am – 10:00 am, Start 10:00 am) – Middlesex County Republican Organization Nominating Convention. Forsgate Country Club, 375 Forsgate Drive, Monroe Township. Please forward this information to any Middlesex County Republican, or other individuals, who you think might be interested in seeing it, but before you forward it, make sure you delete the ‘unsubscribe” link at the bottom of this e-mail, otherwise one of the people you forward it to may unsubscribe you and the program will not let me add you back to my mailing list. Further, if you know of any Middlesex County Republicans who would like to receive periodic reports about Republican-related information I believe might be interesting or useful, please have them send me, Donald Katz, an e-mail to dkatzlaw@aol.com, and I will add them to my e-mail list. By the same token, if you ever wish to be removed from my e-mail list, click “unsubscribe” at the foot of this e-mail. Donald Katz, Esq. Republican State Committeeman – Middlesex County and Counsel, Middlesex County Republican Organization dkatzlaw@aol.com 119 Leeds Lane Monroe Township, NJ 08831 (C) 908-227-9239 Copyright © 2024 Donald Katz, All rights reserved, except forwarding of entire newsletter to Republicans is permitted and encouraged and excerpts may be used for non-commercial purposes provided the excerpts are attributed to Donald Katz |
MIDDLESEX COUNTY GOP UPDATE
