January 24, 2010 Newsletter/Blog Post - Chairman Leo Announces Retirement

LEO ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT AS CHAIR AT END OF TERM, THOMPSON ANNOUNCES FOR CHAIR

At the Middlesex County Republican Organization Holliday Party held earlier in the week, MCRO Chair Joseph P. Leo, before a standing room only crowd, announced that he was retiring from the chairmanship at the end of his term in June. Subsequently, Assemblyman Samuel Thompson announced that he was running for the position.

As of June, Joe Leo will have served as chair for 8 years and has served as county chair for longer than all but a handful of the other New Jersey GOP county chairs. Over his time as chair, the Republican share of the vote countywide has increased fairly consistently, culminating, this past election, with Chris Christie carrying Middlesex County and Republicans winning 22 local offices - the most we have done in any single year since the early 1970s. In his announcement, Joe emphasized that he would continue to active in the organization.

Assemblyman Sam Thompson, PhD, previously served as MCRO Chair from 1986 through 1994. During his prior tenure as county chair, we took control of the county freeholder board, elected a county clerk, and elected state senators and assemblymen in almost every legislative district that included any part of Middlesex County.

Having served as Counsel to the MCRO under 4 of the last 5 county chairs since 1981, including under both Joe and Sam, (and having been involved with the county GOP for almost 15 years before that), I would have to say that Joe and Sam have been 2 of the most conscientious, hard working and effective chairmen in the county that I have known. I congratulate Joe for his hard work during his chairmanship and look forward to Sam coming back on board. (Of course, the county committee members will elect the new MCRO chair at the June reorganization convention, but Sam's election is probably, since all 25 municipal chairs are supporting him.)

Good things have been happening for Republicans in Middlesex County and I anticipate more good things to come. Set forth further down in this newsletter is a copy of a press release from Assemblyman Thompson.

PRESIDENTIAL TRIVIA QUIZ (ANSWERS IMMEDIATELY ABOVE THE CALENDAR)

1. Woodrow Wilson's first name is not Woodrow. Woodrow was what he used as a first name, but it was his middle name. What was Wilson's original first name?

2. Another president with the same first and last name initials used his middle name as his first name. What was Calvin Coolidge's actual first name?

3. Upon leaving the White House when his presidential term had ended, as what rank did Dwight Eisenhower request to be addressed?

4. Name the other president who preferred being referred to as general rather than president upon leaving the chief executive position.

5. What U.S. president was born on the 96th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence?

6. Who was Lou Henry Hoover?

7. What future presidential relative was Sarah Jane Fulks?

8. Who was the first U.S. president who had a middle name?

9. Which president had a middle name that was a single letter?

10. How many of the eight U.S. presidents who were born as British subjects can you name? For Bragging Rights, name the first president who was not born a British subject.

(I would like to give credit for these trivia questions - as well as for some of the other trivia questions I have presented to you over the years - to Andy Seamans who calls himself “The Answer Man.” I also recognize that one of the answers in this quiz is found in a subsequent question. Consider that a bonus.)

THOMPSON PRESS RELEASE

What follows is a copy of the press release issued by Assemblyman Sam Thompson a few days ago:

Sam Thompson of Old Bridge announced at the Middlesex County Republican Holiday Party last night that he will seek the return as Middlesex County Republican Chairman this year. At the same function, current Chairman Joe Leo advised the gathering that he will not be seeking re-election. Thompson is an Assemblyman (R., Middlesex, Monmouth) and was previously the County Republican Chairman from 1986-1994.

In making his announcement, Thompson stated: "The Republican Party made great strides in Middlesex County last year. In addition to winning numerous local races, we produced a 42,000 vote swing for Chris Christie in the governor's race, the third largest in the State. With Governor Christies' inauguration and the smashing victory of Scott Brown in the Massachusetts Senate race, enthusiasm and optimism is nearing an all time high within Republican ranks.

We are faced with our best opportunity in years to break the stranglehold that the Democrats have held on Middlesex County with their one party rule.

The year before last, the voters voted for change in Washington. This past year they voted for change in Trenton Clearly, residents are now ready for a change in Middlesex County.

During my previous tenure as Chairman, we elected our first Republican County Clerk since 1932 and after winning Freeholder elections two years in a row, gained majority membership of the Freeholder Board for the first time since 1932.

I pledge, that as County Chairman, I will work tirelessly to build the strength of our organization, to significantly increase our fundraising to solicit the best possible candidates and to build a Republican organization in Middlesex County capable of winning elections at all levels.

I am very pleased to announce that I have received the endorsement of all 25 municipal chairs in the county. I ask all of our Middlesex County citizens regardless of political affiliation to join me in this effort to bring change to Middlesex County."

MASSACHUSETTS REPUBLICAN US SENATE VICTORY INCLUDED MIDDLESEX COUNTY HELP

Republican Scott Brown's victory for the US Senate seat in Massachusetts included help from some Middlesex County (NJ) Republicans. There may very well have been others who helped, but, for the record, Synnove Bakke (Middlesex County Young Republican State Committeewoman) and her daughter and Claire Rosenthal (an active East Brunswick Republican) along with others from New Jersey, spent the weekend before the election campaigning in Massachusetts for Scott Brown.

For the record, the last Republican Senator elected in Massachusetts was Edward Brooke, in 1972. Senator Brooke was certainly closer to the liberal wing of the Republican Party than the conservative wing of the party. Senator Brooke was only the second African American US Senator in history - both of whom were Republicans.

INTERESTING FACTS

Since it is January, I thought you might like to know that on January 23, 1845, the U.S. Congress decided that all national elections would take place on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November. (Further, as someone who has owned a Mac computer for almost 25 years, I would note that today, January 24th, in 1984, the Apple Macintosh computer went on sale for the first time.)

BUY POPCORN AND HELP THE BOY SCOUTS

When you are buying presents - or presents for yourself, I would like you to consider buying popcorn and support the scouts at the same time. You can now buy on line by visiting www.orderpopcorn.com and when the home page comes up, there is a space that reads “Enter Order Key” In that space please enter TEV4T3E. This is my special order key that allows the tracking of the sales generated from my efforts. This will take you to a new page where you can purchase all varieties and types of popcorn and other edibles, such as Trail Mix, Chocolatey Crunch, etc.). If you forget my order key number, you can shop without a key. Just make sure that when you select a council to receive credit, you select “NJ” and then: “Dayton: Central New Jersey Council.” (The Central New Jersey Council includes most or all of Middlesex, Mercer, Hunterdon and Warren Counties, and small portions of Somerset and other adjacent counties.)

TRIVIA QUIZ ANSWERS

1. Wilson's original first name was Thomas.

2. Coolidge's given name was John Calvin Coolidge.

3. Ike requested congressional return of his five-star general rank in order to be addressed as general.

4. George Washington asked people to call him General Washington rather than President Washington when he left the chief executive slot.

5. Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4th, 1872.

6. Lou Henry Hoover was Herbert Hoover's wife. Henry was her family name.

7. Sarah Jane Fulks was Ronald Reagan's pre-presidential-term wife, actress Jane Wyman. They were divorced almost four decades before he was elected president.

8. John Quincy Adams, our sixth president, was the first chief executive to have a middle name.

9. Harry Truman had a middle name that was only the letter "S." Just in recent years have most mentions of his middle name included a period. It used to be "Harry S Truman," but is now written in almost all mentions as "Harry S. Truman." (Note from Don: I believe the “S” resulted from his parents wanting to recognize two different relatives whose first names both started with an “S.” It would appear that Harry Truman was not the first politician in the family.)

10. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison were born British. Martin Van Buren was the first president born as an American citizen.

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 sometime 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 the sponsoring group before you go, to make sure the information has not changed.

January 26 (Tuesday 7:30 pm) - Middlesex County Young Republican Club Meeting. MCRO Headquarters, 530 Amboy Avenue, Woodbridge. Election Meeting.

January 31 (Sunday 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm) - Meet and Greet Reception for and with Keith Hackett, Candidate for County Sheriff and Harold Kane, Candidate for County Clerk. Wine & Cheese. Any donations welcome. Hosted by Synnove Bakke, 1 Hale Road, East Brunswick. RSVP to Brian Hackett 732-343-2206 or RepublicanBRH88@comcast.net.

February 2 (Tuesday 7:30 pm) - Middlesex County Republican Women's Club Meeting, East Brunswick Library, Civic Center Drive off Ryder's Lane, East Brunswick. Guest Speaker: Senator Marcia Karrow (Chair of the Christie DEP Transition Committee).

February 6 (Saturday 10:00 am - 12:30 pm) - Conservatives with Attitude's Conservative Leadership Breakfast. Omega Diner, 1337 Route 1 South, North Brunswick. For more information: michael@gopusanj.com.

February 12 (Friday 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm) - South Brunswick GOP Annual Lincoln Day Dinner Dance. Pierre's Restaurant, 592 Georges Road, Monmouth Junction. $50.00 per ticket. Checks payable to South Brunswick Republican Organization may be sent to P.O. Box 55, Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852-0055. For more information contact Lynda Woods Cleary at lwcleary@sbgop.org.

February 20 (Saturday) - Fire District Elections (in applicable municipalities)

February 20 (Saturday 6:00 pm - 11:00 pm) - South River GOP Red & White Victory Ball. Portuguese Fisherman, 11 Jackson Street, South River. $50.00 per ticket in advance (recommended as space is limited) and $60.00 at the door. For more details call 732-387-5378 or email sbuffalino@southrivergop.org.

February 20 (Saturday 6:00 pm) - Milltown Republican Victory Party. American Legion, Milltown. (Cocktails 6:00 pm, Dinner 7:00 pm). $40.00 per person. Contact Karen Collins at karenelmoc@aol.com or at 732-846-2562 for tickets.

February 20 (Saturday 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm) - Middlesex Borough GOP Inaugural Celebration celebrating the first Republican mayor in 37 years and the first Republican council majority in 6 years. Spain Inn, 1707 W. 7th Street (corner of Rock Avenue), Piscataway. Limited number of tickets available at $50.00 each. Anyone interested should call Jeff First at 201-519-3832 or Mike Hompesch at 732-735-5603.

February 21 (Sunday 2:00 pm -5;00 pm) - Middlesex County Republican Women's Club 1st Anniversary and Reagan Birthday Celebration. Our special guests include Kevin McCullough, a nationally syndicated Radio host and a FOX news contributor. Garvey's Restaurant, 405 Spotswood Gravel Hill Road, Monroe Township. $35.00 per person. Checks payable to MCRWC should be sent to Sue Tisiker, Treasurer, 17 Buffalo Run, East Brunswick, NJ 08816.

March 7 (Sunday 11:00 am - 4:00 pm) - East Brunswick Community Day. Brunswick Square Mail, Route 18, East Brunswick. The East Brunswick Republican Club will have a booth. Drop by and say hello. All interested candidates are welcome to work the booth.

March 18 (Thursday 7:30 pm) - Monroe Township Republican Club Meeting. Garvey's Restaurant, 405 Spotswood Gravel Hill Road, Monroe. Guest Speaker: Ingrid Reed from Eagleton Institute.

April 20 (Tuesday) - School Board Elections

May 11 (Tuesday) - Municipal Elections (in Perth Amboy & Spotswood)

June 8 (Tuesday) - Primary Election

November 2 (Tuesday) - General Election

Please forward this information to any Middlesex County Republican, or other individual, who you think might be interested in seeing it. Further, if you know of any Middlesex County Republican who would like to receive periodic e-mail reports about NJ Republican State Committee meetings and other 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 want to be removed from my e-mail list, send me an e-mail and I will remove you.

Donald Katz, Esq.
Republican State Committeeman - Middlesex County and Counsel, Middlesex County Republican Organization
dkatzlaw@aol.com

Office:
Huff, Moran & Orron
1246 South River Road
Cranbury, New Jersey 08512
(O) 609-655-3600 x 27 or 732-521-3666 x 27
(F) 609-655-5825

Home:
17 Buffalo Run
East Brunswick, New Jersey 08816
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