Thursday, February 25, 2010

February 21, 2010 Newsletter/Blog Post - Convention News

CANDIDATE SELECTION DATES AND CONVENTION SIGN UP FORM

This newsletter includes all of the relevant dates applicable to the selection of the county and congressional candidates to be placed on the MCRO “organization line”, culminating in the county nominating convention. You should register for the convention through your local GOP municipal chairman. You can find a sign up form on the Middlesex County Republican Organization website at: www.middlesexgop.com/convention2010.html. This form, when completed, should be turned in through your municipal chairman by the noted deadline.

SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES…

The school board elections are coming up in April. Although the school board races are, of course, non-partisan, I will be happy to mention in my newsletter, the name of any registered Republican who is running and who is also currently active in their local Republican organization, so you may take that fact into consideration, if you wish, when you make your decision. Any candidate, or any local chairman who knows of a candidate or candidates who meet both of these criteria, can send me their names and, time permitting, I will include them. We can start with Dan Kerwin, a former GOP Freeholder candidate, who is running in Old Bridge.

WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON QUOTES

In addition to Presidents Reagan, Lincoln, Washington, etc. President William Henry Harrison was also born in February, (February 9, 1773). Although he served less than a month, I found some interesting quotes from President Harrison:

* I contend that the strongest of all governments is that which is most free.

* There is nothing more corrupting, nothing more destructive of the noblest and finest feelings of our nature, than the exercise of unlimited power.

* The people are the best guardians of their own rights and it is the duty of their executive to abstain from interfering in or thwarting the sacred exercise of the lawmaking functions of their government.

* We admit of no government by divine right.... The only legitimate right to govern is an express grant of power from the governed.

TIME TO SIGN UP TO RUN FOR COUNTY COMMITTEE POSITIONS

As many of you know, our GOP municipal committees and county committee is made up of one county committeeman and one county committeewoman in each election district in Middlesex County. These committee people are elected for two-year terms in the primary election this June. Someone must be a registered voter and actual reside in the particular election district to be eligible for the position. If you are interested in running for the position, contact your municipal chairman to see if there is a vacancy and for the details of how to file and run. Nominating petitions must be filed by no later than April 12th.

I will probably run a training session on the job of the county committeeman and committeewoman some time after the primary, so that any new committeeperson - and any current committeeperson - can learn how to do their job better.

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.)

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.

February 23 (Tuesday 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm) - Assemblyman Sam Thompson Cocktail Reception. Grand Marquis, 1550 Route 9 South, Old Bridge. $250.00 per person. For further information call 732-679-4391. Checks payable to “Sam Thompson for Assembly” should be mailed to 5 Lincroft Avenue, Old Bridge, NJ 08857.

February 24 (Wednesday 7:30 pm) - New Jersey Conservative GOP Meeting, Hopelawn VFW, 113 James Street, Hopelawn (Woodbridge Township) 08861. Please use entrance in the back parking lot. For further information contact: 732-596-2116 or njcgop@aol.com.

February 25 (Thursday) - Date by which names, addresses and phone numbers of proposed bonus voters to be placed on the MCRO Screening Committee are to be submitted to MCRO Chairman Joseph P. Leo, so that, pursuant to the MCRO by-laws, he may select the “bonus votes ... based upon the recommendations from the affected Municipal Committee.”

February 25 (Thursday) - Deadline by which people who want to be delegates to the MCRO Candidate Nominating Convention must be registered Republicans.

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 10 (Wednesday 7:00 pm) - MCRO Screening Committee Meeting. George Bush Senior Center, Old Bridge Municipal Complex, Route 516 at Cottrell Road, Old Bridge.

March 11 (Thursday 7:00 pm) - Backup date for second MCRO Screening Committee Meeting, if needed to complete unfinished business. George Bush Senior Center, Old Bridge Municipal Complex, Route 516 at Cottrell Road, Old Bridge.

March 13 (Saturday 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm) - Registration forms and fees for MCRO Candidate Nominating Convention delegates are to be turned in to the Registration Committee at MCRO Headquarters, 530 Amboy Avenue, Woodbridge.

March 14 (Sunday 11:00 am - 2:00 pm) - Middlesex County Republican Organization “Salute the Winners” Brunch. Buttonwood Manor, Route 34, Matawan. $125.00 per person or $1,000.00 per table. For further information call 732-634-2922.

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.

March 22 (Monday, 8:00 pm) - MCRO Credentials Committee convenes to hear any appeals of MCRO Candidate Nominating Convention delegate eligibility determinations. Location: MCRO Headquarters, 530 Amboy Avenue, Woodbridge. (Anyone ruled ineligible must bring written proof from the Middlesex County Board of Elections that he or she was a registered Republican voter as of February 25, 2010).

March 27 (Saturday, Registration 8:00 am - 10:00 am, Start 10:00 am) - MCRO Candidate Nominating Convention. Middlesex County Vocational School at East Brunswick, 112 Rues Lane, East Brunswick, NJ 08816 (Next to the Brunswick Square Mall)

March 27 (Saturday 7:00 pm) - South Plainfield GOP Victory Dinner Dance. Crown Plaza, 2055 Route 27, Edison. $75.00 per person. Checks payable to Friends of Anesh & Bengivenga and may be sent to P.O. Box 371, South Plainfield, NJ 07080. For further information: April Bengivenga 908-753-0247 or aprilnbob@aol.com.

April 10 (Saturday 7:00 pm) - South River GOP selling $56.00 tickets for $45.00 to the Devils Hockey Game: NJ Devils vs. NY Islanders at the Prudential Center, Newark. (A portion of the proceeds will benefit the South River Food Bank.) For more information, contact Suzanne Buffalino 732-387-5378.

April 12 (Monday 4:00 pm) - Candidate petition filing deadline for Primary Election

April 12 (Monday 7:00 pm) - Poll Clerk Training at Edison High School (Note: all Poll Clerk training sessions start promptly at the scheduled time.)

April 15 (Thursday 7:00 pm) - Poll Clerk Training at Woodbridge High School

April 17 (Saturday 9:00 am) - Poll Clerk Training at East Brunswick Vo-Tech

April 20 (Tuesday) - School Board Elections

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

June 5 (Saturday) - South Plainfield GOP Comedy Night with Uncle Floyd. American Legion, South Plainfield. $50.00 per person, including dinner. E-mail aprilnbob@aol.ocm for tickets or more info.

June 8 (Tuesday) - Primary Election

October 17 (Sunday) - South Plainfield GOP Cocktail Party. (Additional information added when available.)

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
(H) 732-251-3804

Saturday, February 6, 2010

February 6, 2010 Newsletter/Blog Post

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRESIDENT REAGAN - CELEBRATE WITH THE MIDDLESEX COUNTY REPUBLICAN WOMEN

Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, so February is his birthday month. The Middlesex County Republican Women's Club is celebrating President Reagan's birthday at a function on Sunday, February 21st. (If you are interested in celebrating with them - both men and women are invited - see the details in the calendar entry below.) In the meantime, to get you in the mood, here are a few Reagan quotes:

* Double, no triple, our troubles and we'd still be better off than any other people on earth. It is time that we recognized that ours was, in truth, a noble cause.

* Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.

* Going to college offered me the chance to play football for four more years.

* My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. The bombing begins in five minutes.

* I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency - even if I'm in a Cabinet meeting.

MIDDLESEX YRs ELECT OFFICERS

The Middlesex County Young Republicans held their election meeting on January 26th, at the Middlesex County GOP Headquarters in Woodbridge, NJ.
Meeting was attended by Assemblyman Sam Thompson who swore in all of the newly elected officers/board members.

The newly elected officers and board members are as follows:
Chairwoman: Synnove Bakke
Vice Chairwoman: Tonia Kulberda
Treasurer: Rob Volino
Secretary: Alissa Bengivenga
State Committeeman: Matthew Malat
State Commiteewoman: Candice Greaux
Previous Chairman: Wil Mitchell

New Committee Chairs are:
Program and Campaign Chair: Candice Greaux
Social Media Chair: Jeff Mack
Outreach and Recruitment Chair, Wil Mitchell and Vice-chair, Matt Filosa

The YRs state: “For more information and to join our group and make a difference in this fun and exciting upcoming election year, please contact Synnove Bakke, MCYR Chairwoman, email synnove.bakke@yahoo.com.”

THESPIAN CHAIR

Middlesex County GOP Chairs are multitalented. Not only is Gregory Newton the Jamesburg GOP Chair (and a new Jamesburg Councilman), he is also an actor and Associate Producer in the Kaufman and Hart play “You Can't Take It With You” at Playhouse 22 at the East Brunswick Community Arts Center on Cranbury Road. The play runs from February 5-28. If you are interested in tickets you can purchase them at www.playhouse22.org. (By the way, our Jamesburg chair is not our only thespian chair. Last year, our Dunellen GOP Chair, Roger Dornbierer was an actor in a production of “12 Angry Men.”)

POLITICAL QUIZ

Interesting questions, but probably tougher than usual, although one question should be reasonably easy for New Jersey Republicans. Answers are immediately above the Calendar.

1) Which Chairman of the Republican National Committee had been a leader of the Underground Railroad?
Marcus Ward
William Claflin
Zachariah Chandler
Donald Cameron
2) Which current Member of Congress is the great-great-great-great-grandson of one of the Founding Fathers?
John Boehner (R-OH)
Gary Miller (R-CA)
Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)
Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ)
3) Which Republican presidential nominee was born in Georgia?
John Fremont
Wendell Willkie
Alf Landon
Barry Goldwater
4) Which city was named for a Republican Vice President?
Dallas, Texas
Stockton, California
Fairbanks, Alaska
Davenport, Iowa
5) Who was the first President to throw the ceremonial first pitch on baseball's Opening Day?
Benjamin Harrison (R-IN)
William McKinley (R-OH)
Gerald Ford (R-MI)
William Howard Taft (R-OH)

INDIAN AMERICAN REPUBLICANS ORGANIZING

Peter Kothari, a community and business leader in the Indian American community in Middlesex County and in New Jersey (and former Middlesex County Republican freeholder and assembly candidate), is working on expanding and organizing Indian Americans in the Republican party. If you fit in the category or you know people who you think might be interested in becoming active in the Republican party, you or they should contact Peter: Pradip (Peter) Kothari, Quick Travel & Insurance, 1655-260 Oak Tree Road, Edison, NJ 08820.
Tel: (732) 283-1234 Ext. 107 Fax: (732) 283-1091Cell: (732) 259-6874, peter@guicktravelinc.com.

CORRECTION

In my last newsletter, I stated that our win of 22 local seats in 2009 was the most we had done in any single year since the early 1970s. That was a typo, it should have read: “…since the early 1990s.”

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.)

QUIZ ANSWERS
While serving as mayor of Detroit in the 1850s, Zachariah Chandler helped fugitive slaves escape to Canada.
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen is descended from Frederick Frelinghuysen, a delegate to the Continental Congress, Colonel in the Continental Army and one of New Jersey's first U.S. Senators.
John Fremont, the 1856 Republican presidential nominee, was born in Savannah, Georgia and raised in Charleston, South Carolina.
Charles Fairbanks (R-IN) served as Vice President during Theodore Roosevelt's second term.
William Howard Taft, during a 1910 game between the Washington Senators and the Philadelphia Athletics.

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.

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 16 (Tuesday 8:00 pm) - Middlesex County Young Republicans Meeting. MCRO Headquarters, 530 Amboy Avenue, Woodbridge. Meeting will concentrate on recruitment of new members. Guest Speaker: Michael Illions.

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.

February 23 (Tuesday 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm) - Assemblyman Sam Thompson Cocktail Reception. Grand Marquis, 1550 Route 9 South, Old Bridge. $250.00 per person. For further information call 732-679-4391. Checks payable to “Sam Thompson for Assembly” should be mailed to 5 Lincroft Avenue, Old Bridge, NJ 08857.

February 24 (Wednesday 7:30 pm) - New Jersey Conservative GOP Meeting, Hopelawn VFW, 113 James Street, Hopelawn (Woodbridge Township) 08861. Please use entrance in the back parking lot. For further information contact: 732-596-2116 or njcgop@aol.com.

February 25 (Thursday) - Date by which names, addresses and phone numbers of proposed bonus voters to be placed on the MCRO Screening Committee are to be submitted to MCRO Chairman Joseph P. Leo, so that, pursuant to the MCRO by-laws, he may select the “bonus votes ... based upon the recommendations from the affected Municipal Committee.”

February 25 (Thursday) - Deadline by which people who want to be delegates to the MCRO Candidate Nominating Convention must be registered Republicans.

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 10 (Wednesday 7:00 pm) - MCRO Screening Committee Meeting. George Bush Senior Center, Old Bridge Municipal Complex, Route 516 at Cottrell Road, Old Bridge.

March 11 (Thursday 7:00 pm) - Backup date for second MCRO Screening Committee Meeting, if needed to complete unfinished business. George Bush Senior Center, Old Bridge Municipal Complex, Route 516 at Cottrell Road, Old Bridge.

March 13 (Saturday 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm) - Registration forms and fees for MCRO Candidate Nominating Convention delegates are to be turned in to the Registration Committee at MCRO Headquarters, 530 Amboy Avenue, Woodbridge.

March 14 (Sunday 11:00 am - 2:00 pm) - Middlesex County Republican Organization “Salute the Winners” Brunch. Location to be announced. $100.00 per person or $1,000.00 per table. For further information call 732-634-2922. (Note: date subject to change.)

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.

March 22 (Monday, 8:00 pm) - MCRO Credentials Committee convenes to hear any appeals of MCRO Candidate Nominating Convention delegate eligibility determinations. Location: MCRO Headquarters, 530 Amboy Avenue, Woodbridge. (Anyone ruled ineligible must bring written proof from the Middlesex County Board of Elections that he or she was a registered Republican voter as of February 25, 2010).

March 27 (Saturday, Registration 8:00 am - 10:00 am, Start 10:00 am) - MCRO Candidate Nominating Convention. Location to be announced.

March 27 (Saturday 7:00 pm) - South Plainfield GOP Victory Dinner Dance. Crown Plaza, Route 27, Edison. $75.00 per person. Checks payable to South Plainfield Republican Organization and may be sent to P.O. Box 371, South Plainfield, NJ 07080. For further information call April Bengivenga at 908-753-0247.

April 12 (Monday 4:00 pm) - Candidate petition filing deadline for Primary Election

April 12 (Monday 7:00 pm) - Poll Clerk Training at Edison High School (Note: all Poll Clerk training sessions start promptly at the scheduled time.)

April 15 (Thursday 7:00 pm) - Poll Clerk Training at Woodbridge High School

April 17 (Saturday 9:00 am) - Poll Clerk Training at East Brunswick Vo-Tech

April 20 (Tuesday) - School Board Elections

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

June 5 (Saturday) - South Plainfield GOP Comedy Night with Uncle Floyd. American Legion, South Plainfield. (Additional information added when available.)

June 8 (Tuesday) - Primary Election

October 17 (Sunday) - South Plainfield GOP Cocktail Party. (Additional information added when available.)

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
(H) 732-251-3804