Thank You

Thank you to everyone that supported us and took the fate of our community into their own hands. Our success wasn’t about what Bill, or Bob, or I did, it is entirely about what you did. We didn’t win because of our signs, our ads, or how many doors we knocked on. We won because you advocated to your friends and families; because you wrote letters, sent e-mails, made phone calls, and weren't content to be spectators. I am proud and humbled by this experience, and I take the responsibility very seriously.

We were intent from the beginning to not make this about parties, but about people, the people that Bill, Bob, and I try to be in our private and public lives, and the people of Point Pleasant who live here because it is the best place to be. There is a lot of hard work ahead. Maintaining the quality of life we all enjoy in a way we can all afford is going to be beyond difficult. I know we won’t be able to please everyone, but my primary goal is that when the time comes for us to return to our private lives, most will feel if they didn't always agree with us, they never doubted our intentions.

I hope all the people who worked and pushed and pulled on both sides will continue to fight just as hard in good times as in bad. Democracy exists in our compromises, not our opinions, and our town thrives when we are all connected and engaged. May patience, good will, and a shared goal of prosperity for our community continue to bring out the best each and all of us have to offer. Thank you,

COUNCILMAN-ELECT CHRISTOPHER GOSS

My Last Campaign Letter To The Ocean Star

Editor, The Ocean Star:

When this election began and I submitted my first statement to The Ocean Star. I wrote that there is one factor above all that should matter most for our community in these difficult times when they choose who they want to make the decisions that will affect their families-Values.

Whenever we prepare to vote, for any election, but especially this one that affects us so directly, we must consider the criteria each of the candidates will use to make those decisions. There is no debate over controlling taxes, making difficult cuts, and finding the most effective ways to share services and responsibilities; these things must be done, but when representatives are weighing the pros and cons of the toughest choices, one wants to know that the person making those decisions values the same things they value.

If the budget demands a choice between closing the borough offices and eliminating services, or cutting attorneys and consultants fees, which would you choose? If the choice was between officers and detectives or security cameras in some neighborhoods, which would you rather have after your car or home is broken into? If it was the residents’ decision, would they freeze capital expenditures or continue to bond the town further into debt? Well, it is their decision. Residents should take the next few days to consider the issue that’s most important to them and call or e-mail the candidates, ask them what they would do and tell them what they themselves would do. That’s the difference between private and public administration, in business you work for the boss, but in public service we work for the people.

I ask the residents to go to the polls Nov. 2 and vote for Bill Schroeder, Bob Rusk, and myself and help elect a team that will put all Point Pleasant residents first, a team that shares their family’s concerns, aspirations, and values.

Thank you very much to everyone who has offered their support, their thoughts and suggestions, everyone who’s stopped us on the street or invited us into their homes, and everyone who’s taken the time to talk to their neighbors, make a phone call, or put up a sign. I look forward to giving back to this wonderful community.

CHRISTOPHER GOSS, DEMOCRATIC COUNCIL CANDIDATE
Kilkare Parkway, Point Pleasant

Barbara Marino's Letter To The Ocean Star

Editor, The Ocean Star:

Oh my gosh! On the morning of Oct. 21, the top headline on page one of a large, local daily newspaper was absurd and conspicuously wrong in its placement.

The very headline is inaccurate, perpetrating a falsehood spread by Susan Rogers, a candidate running for mayor. While the headline reads “Point Pleasant, NJ, candidate charges board member attacked her son, 12, on Facebook,” the reporter states that the board member said she did not condone what was said! The board member, according to article, did not attack, cyber-bully or anything even remotely similar. Yet, the article continues its obvious mistakes with the first sentence, stating “politics in this town have become so nasty…” There is much wrong with that sentence, but two things for starters: one, it is Rogers who has engaged in salt-the-earth character assassination politics since the day she first appeared on the scene, but also it makes it seem that her adversaries are doing the same thing, when all that has come out from the campaign of Schroeder, Goss and Rusk has been on the issues.

I cannot believe that there were no other newsworthy stories for the front page. Let’s see if I can help. Page Ten, “Garden State lost 20,200 jobs in September”. That story relates to the whole state, not just a town and a town of people who know the truth about how dirty Ms. Rogers runs her campaigns. If the newspaper wanted to stay with the “harassing” issue, the article at the bottom of B1, “Brick man pleads guilty to threatening Latino groups” was much more newsworthy and definitely a true case of cyber-bullying. Why was it relegated to the bottom of B1? Was it because it did not involve Ms. Rogers and her attempt to arouse sensationalism making her a victim just before the election?

If Ms. Rogers was truly concerned with her son’s well-being, she would have quietly had the post removed and quietly addressed the issue with the person involved — who was neither the board member or Mr. Goss. Instead, she e-mailed the press — publicizing the issue for her own personal political ambition rather than considering the well-being of her son, and how so much press on this issue would affect the poor boy.

Mr. Goss’s comments are right on target — too bad his comments were tucked at the end of the article. Ms. Rogers’ using police power to harass her political opponent is unethical and an abuse of power. That is the real story here. Too bad we don’t have a newspaper to report it.

The above letter is my opinion and does not reflect any other’s views or the views of any other newspaper.

BARBARA MARINO
Howe Street, Point Pleasant

Pat Gottschalk's Endorsement Letter

Dear Point Pleasant residents,

 It is with great pleasure as the former Republican Municipal Chairperson for 12 years, charter member of the Point Pleasant Republican Club, and County Committeewoman, to have the honor of endorsing Bill Schroeder for mayor of Point Pleasant.

I think you will agree that one of the hardest decisions to deal with in any political race is for someone who is a member of one party to endorse a candidate who is a member of another party. But that is not a hard decision when it is the right thing to do.

I know there are many good Republicans in Point Pleasant who will vote for the best candidate, regardless of party affiliation.

They will vote for the best candidate to unite and lead the town in a rational manner. They will vote for the person who is most qualified and will do the best job for ALL residents, regardless of party affiliation.

They will vote for someone who respects the residents who live in Point Pleasant and the employees who work for Point Pleasant while being fiscally responsible and making sure everyone can afford to live in Point Pleasant.

 I have worked on many political campaigns at the national, state, county and local level in New Jersey and have served as a campaign manager for 26 successful campaigns, without a loss; in Point Pleasant before retiring in 2006 and am saddened to see how the negative tone of this year's Republican campaign has divided Point Pleasant.

We need strong leadership that can build bridges - not burn bridges. We need Bill Schroeder and his team to bring Point Pleasant back to a community people are proud to call home.
    

 Sincerely,

 Pat Gottschalk

"My Home Town" From Tom Davis' Fantastic "Coping With Life" Blog

From Tom Davis, Jersey Shore regional of Patch.com and publisher of Coping-with-Life.com

Please take a look at this wonderful Blog

http://www.coping-with-life.com/

"Where I'm from, the small forests are still dense and filled with entangled trees. The ocean, the rivers and creeks are still blue and clear, and still far removed from the smokestacks and the Snookis that have long defined what's "Jersey."

It's always a good time to take a 5-mile run around Twilight Lake, because the view is serene and timeless. The sun rays lay like sparkling rods of orange across the water, and behind it, a slow-moving train occasionally pulls in and out of the Bay Head station, a well-preserved reminder of the area's past and present.

Whenever I see it all, I'm always reminded: Point Pleasant is a great place to live; not just to visit.

In some ways, Point Pleasant, like its surrounding towns of the Jersey Shore, has more beauty than it had 17 years ago, when I last lived there. There are more parks for kids to play in. The run-down stores, and the beaten-down woods at the end of my old block, now have life.

My house is gone, leveled by a wrecking ball in 2003, soon after my mother died. But the block is better, and the houses that once looked like they were falling down are now solid and stately.

If only we had a Dairy Queen just a few houses away while I was growing up in the 1970s ad 1980s; now, the people of Barton Avenue do. Now, sitting on what was a vacant lot, where the kids once threw rocks and broke windows at the vacant stores at the corner, there's something else for the kids and their families to do.

With every community, however, there's always some attempt to taint it, and change what's there for what they say is better, but it's actually worse. Even Point Pleasant isn't immune to having a Mr. Potter-like political boss whose obsessive control ultimately threatens to drain the community of its spirit.

Even Point Pleasant has been threatened time and again by developers who want to come to town, build a big box store and pull away the small businesses that have kept the downtowns of Bridge and Arnold avenues afloat, and unique.

But even amid the name-calling and the potential lies of a political campaign, an ugly partisan battle that has dominated the local dialogue lately, Point Pleasant remains rich in splendor, and not so much because of its natural charm. It's the people, and they remain the glue that keeps everything together.

Now, in an ugly election year, they are fighting back against deception and fear. They are showing the strength that's helped keep the town the way it is, even as corruptive forces have, for years, tried to turn it into something else.

They have been tainted by the campaign signs, slogans and sayings of a campaign that's been marred by a candidate who serves as council president and, according to many learned observers, has taken control of the town.
Susan Rogers now wants to be mayor, and she's claiming to have roots in the community that likely never existed. She says she graduated from Point Pleasant Borough High School in 1985, though many of us from that class don't recall anyone named Susan Rogers - let alone Rogers - walking up to get her diploma on that hot day in June 1985.

Complaints have been filed against Rogers, the Republican mayoral candidate, that she misused her power as an elected official to launch a police investigation after two supporters posted comments about her son on a Facebook campaign page.

The whole thing would be puzzling, damning and even laughable if it weren't for the fact that Rogers is the product of a political machine that, in my hometown area, has become the dominant controlling force for decades.

Yes, that machine is Republican, but party-affiliation has little to do with it. It has to do with a one-party machine that's controlled the county I'm from for most of my life. This is a machine that has become unstoppable, and has even taken pride in flaunting it, as Rogers' political backers have wrestled control of nearly 90 percent of the towns in Ocean County, N.J.

In the neighboring towns, this machine has allowed growth and development to turn wide-open spaces into suburban sprawl, with filthy roads that are filled with traffic. The dirt paths of my youth are now four-lane highways littered with Home Depots and IHOPs.

There are a few exceptions to that rule, of course, and one of them is Point Pleasant. The people fought back against those who once wanted to tear down a swath of forest known as "Red Desert," a place where I picked leaves for my Biology project in the 12th grade, and played war games with sticks and cap guns when I was 8.

The developers that feed the coffers of those in power tried, and tried hard, to get their way. But it was the people who stopped it, and they banded to together to halt the bulldozers that would have flattened a thick patch of oak, cedar and maple trees that stretch for more than a mile.

In the end, the developers caved, as did the politicians, and the only thing they did build was a park.

Those same people tried to do it again, along Bridge Avenue, down by the road's intersection with Beaver Dam, where I used to get my hair butchered by Sam the barber, and where I bought records and cassette tapes at Boro Stereo. Across the street from the stores, another thick patch of woods was doomed by a developer who wanted to put up a supermarket, among other things, that threatened to finally extend the sprawl to Point Pleasant.

Yet again, the people fought it. Again, they won. Some trees were chopped down, but not to make way for another boxed store. This time, it was for another park.

Now, with Rogers seemingly trying to strengthen her grip on the town, they're fighting again. And it's not just the things she says that has them worried. It's not just the incredible resume that she's put forward.

Rogers has sided herself with the same people who are siphoning money away from these towns, the same money that could keep property taxes low and educational programs functional.

My friend Bill, who just recently moved back to the town, has banded together with many others on Facebook, asking people to say whether they remember Rogers not just as a politician, but as their classmate. They hope to present a survey that will prove that Rogers didn't walk the aisle in June 1985, even as she continues to insist that she did.

Others have passed notes, emails and anything else around, saying Rogers must be stopped. They've enlisted the help of the local paper, which has probed into Rogers background and has revealed even more about her that's inconsistent and troubling.

Rogers has had it good, and given the political history of the town, one could easily say she'll survive. But I've gotten to know the people lately, reacquainting with them on Facebook. I recently became theJersey Shore regional editor for AOL's Patch division, and I'm looking forward to delivering Jersey Shore news to Point Pleasant, as well the neighboring communities of Brick Township, Howell Township, Wall Township, Long Branch, Berkeley Township and Toms River, that's been sorely missed.

Now I look at the people, and I'm reminded about who they are. This is a town that once promoted the slogan "Only the Tough Survive" for its high-school wrestlers, when they could have been saying it about anybody with a Point Pleasant address.

For once, I think it's safe to bet against the machine."

My Hometown/Bruce Springsteen

I was eight years old and running with a dime in my hand
Into the bus stop to pick up a paper for my old man
I'd sit on his lap in that big old Buick and steer as we drove through town
He'd tousle my hair and say son take a good look around this is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometown

In '65 tension was running high at my high school
There was a lot of fights between the black and white
There was nothing you could do
Two cars at a light on a Saturday night in the back seat there was a gun
Words were passed in a shotgun blast
Troubled times had come to my hometown
My hometown
My hometown
My hometown

Now Main Street's whitewashed windows and vacant stores
Seems like there ain't nobody wants to come down here no more
They're closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks
Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain't coming back to your hometown
Your hometown
Your hometown
Your hometown

Last night me and Kate we laid in bed
talking about getting out
Packing up our bags maybe heading south
I'm thirty-five we got a boy of our own now
Last night I sat him up behind the wheel and said son take a good look around
This is your hometown

Jen Enright's Dead On Letter To The Ocean Star

Editor, The Ocean Star:

The voters of Point Pleasant have an important decision to make on Nov. 2. They will decide whether the town retains its inherent character, or if it becomes an annex to other nearby municipalities. While consolidation and shared services are areas to consider, not every merger is the right solution. The Democratic ticket for mayor and council wants to thoroughly and thoughtfully investigate combining services to save money, selectively deciding what is best for our town and its residents. The possibility exists that we could contract with other towns for capital expenditures, and yet retain our own departments and/or employees. In that way, we would still have some decision-making control — and not give it all away to other governing bodies with which we have no representation.

Many of the programs and services that Point Pleasant provides are vital to lower-income residents. The preschool program offered at the Recreation Department is one such example. Perhaps some residents can afford private preschool, but for many residents, the rec is the only choice. If our Recreation Department merges with another town’s, will quality, affordable preschool still be available to the children of Point Pleasant?

Under the Republican-controlled council, services have been reduced. Our town employees were furloughed for 11 days since June, with one more day scheduled in November. Because of this, some building inspections were delayed, and the storm sewers have not received the annual cleaning done in past years. With the 2-percent budget cap in place and having not covered all expenses [without borrowing from the school tax fund], further cuts will be necessary. Maintenance of land and structures may be compromised. Parts of the town you love could be lost.

If residents value the excellence in education the community is known for, value the programs offered by our Recreation Department, and who value the clean and safe community provided by our police department and department of Public Works, then they should vote for Schroeder, Goss and Rusk on Nov. 2. They will govern with a thoughtful intelligence and seek input from those with years of first-hand experience before making radical changes without forethought. Sometimes digging ditches enables foundations to be built; sometimes the only use for the hole is a grave.

JENNIFER ENRIGHT
Deborah Avenue, Point Pleasant

A Letter From Bob Haugh, Former Republican Committeeman

Editor, The Ocean Star:

I want to apologize to anyone who may have been influenced to vote for Sue Rogers, as the result of a letter I wrote a few years ago.

I wrote a letter comparing how Ms. Rogers, for the town, would be like a new set of tires for your car to insure our future. At that time, I thought Ms. Rogers was sincere about sharing expenses with neighboring towns for the sake of maintaining our quality of life and stabilizing our taxes. Does anyone know how that worked out?

In my opinion, the term “shared services” that is used by Ms. Rogers would be better described as “reduced services.” After waiting for almost three years, under Ms. Rogers’ leadership, to come up with a plausible shared service plan, I feel that those tires have gone flat.

At the same time, there seems to be a “magic show” going on, creating the illusions that somehow reducing our workforce, through furloughs and layoffs, will not affect our quality of life. I believe our leader on council is reproducing an illusion, as did the candy company when they claimed a “zero increase” in the price of the candy bar at the same time as they reduced the size of the candy bar.

We all know we have to pay for what we get, however feeling good about what we get for our money is significant. I felt a lot better when Bill Schroeder was the mayor. Anyone who is dissatisfied or skeptical about the current leadership cannot make any change unless they vote the full ticket of Schroeder for mayor, and Goss and Rusk for council. Please go out and vote on Election Day, Nov. 2!

I want to thank Bill Schroeder for reconsidering being our mayor again.

BOB HAUGH SR.
Brown Street, Point Pleasant

Chris Leitner's Letter To The Ocean Star

Editor, The Ocean Star:

Point Pleasant is seeking, intently, to take back our town from the way the “powers that be” are doing things. It is not just Democrats seeking this change, but also Republicans and Independents who’ve lost trust in their government, but want to believe again. The people of Point Pleasant, Democrat, Republican and Independent, want to take back our town from the politics of personal agendas and personal attacks. William Schroeder, Christopher Goss and Robert Rusk, will do this, not because it is the easy thing or benefits them personally, but because at their core they stand for doing the right thing because it is right.

We have a chance to take back Point Pleasant with a new majority — a majority concerned for its citizens, not politicians, a majority whose overriding goal is to make Point Pleasant a better place for everyone, where everyone has a voice.

William Schroeder, Christopher Goss and Robert Rusk will lead, not by polls, but by principle; not by calculation, but by conviction.

Their candidacy offers not just a difference in policies, but a difference in leadership. Refreshingly, they focus not on how to win, but why they should. The campaign they have run does not fear losing elections for saying the unpopular thing, but instead draws strength from doing what is right, simply because it is right. William Schroeder, Christopher Goss and Robert Rusk will lead for the good of everyone.

I am asking you to stop settling for what the cynics say we have to accept. I am asking you to join us in taking back our town. On Nov. 2, please vote for William Schroeder, Christopher Goss and Robert Rusk.

COUNCILMAN CHRISTOPHER LEITNER
Donna Drive, Point Pleasant

A Letter Rejected By The Ocean Star And Asbury Park Press

Dear Editor, Asbury Park Press,

It didn’t take Point Pleasant Mayoral candidate Sue Rogers long to change her campaign slogan away from ‘Residents First’. Since she voted to change ordinances to allow cell towers in residential neighborhoods (but not hers), shouldn’t the slogan be “Scr*w the Residents’ Quality of Life and Home Values”?

Living under a cell tower means you are living under constant radiation.

I met Sue Rogers before she was elected to Boro Council. I expressed concern for Quality of Life issues in Point Pleasant and she promised that she would work for the same. Instead she has rolled out the red carpet for T Mobile and has ignored the pleas for residents from the Edgar Rd and Johnson Ave neighborhoods because T Mobile is dangling $50,000 a year for the Borough.

When residents take their cases to Appeals court, it will be costly to all the taxpayers of Point Pleasant because the Borough will incur legal defense expenses.

When the Borough loses the appeals for Rogers’ plan to put a 120 foot cell tower 31 feet from the wall of someone’s house, Sue Rogers will be eyeing your neighborhood next for her extra cell tower sites. Living in Point Pleasant means one must always read every Public Notice in the newspaper.

After last spring’s heavy rainfall when many residents were pumping out their flooded crawlspaces, I asked Public Works to delay hydrant flushing due to the high water table. My request was ignored. This is a perfect example of Rogers’ and outgoing Mayor Konkus’ ‘Residents Last” mindset that is pervasive in the current administration.

Outgoing Republican Mayor Konkus got involved in local politics because he wanted to fight an A&P supermarket from being built in his neighborhood. Now he has worked to put T Mobile cell towers in other people’s neighborhoods. In light of such hypocrisy, should we even consider his endorsement?

Voting Republican in Point Pleasant will only bring more of the same ‘Scr*w the Residents’ agenda. I am a registered republican saying please vote Democratic in Point Pleasant in November.

Katherine Suskevich

McAlindin's "Optical" Illusion

Last night council and those in attendance were treated to a lecture by former councilmember McAlindin on “optics”, a fancy politician’s word for public perception. Mr. McAlindin offered up his take on the public, read residents’, perception of Chief William’s salary and the possible hiring of his son to our police force. Mr. McAlindin made the entirely misleading assertion that our chief is overpaid. He also made the “suggestion” that council consider an ordinance that prevent Chief William’s son or any relative of an active municipal employee from being hired by our town. Mr. McAlindin came to lecture on “optics” then proceeded to perform a rather fantastical illusion-he made the truth disappear. Mr. McAlindin as a former councilmember should know full well that Chief Williams has been paid $1 more than his previous salary as captain for more than a year now as his contract remains unsettled. I am also surprised that as a lawyer whose resume includes Employment, Civil Rights, and Election Law that he would not understand that any ordinance put forth by our council in regards to hiring practices would not supercede Civil Service protocol?

The truth is that he does know this, and his statements to council and most importantly the audience and press were “optics”, a performance, a show, where he acts as an impartial and wise old sage with the best of intentions. In fact Civil Service was designed with situations exactly like ours in mind so that the public might take comfort in the fairness and impartiality of the process and that political influence would be kept as minimal as possible. If there is any misunderstanding among the people of our community about the current state of public safety, the misleading information has not come from the officers in question or the PBA as our former councilmember suggests, or as our local papers portray. I was very glad to watch Chief Williams, our PBA president, and a resident I didn’t know stand up and speak out against accusations so casually made. This is the script handed down from our governor: the financial apocalypse was perpetrated by the teachers that help shape our children and families, the police, fire and rescue who risk their lives every day, and the public employees that perform duties that the rest of us aren’t exactly clammering to fulfill.

Why the war between the public and private sectors? In politics it’s part of “creating a narrative”. The best way to convince the public of a political stance or platform is to craft a story. The most important part of the story is the “enemy”, a person or group that is doing harm or preventing good. Then you collect evidence that supports this and discard that which does not. For a simple example, don’t ever believe a newspaper article that only cites one source like a few I’ve read recently. The story being read to our residents tells not of years of bad management and reckless spending, but of our greedy friends and neighbors who live off the sweat of our brows and the fat off our backs. You all know these “enemies”, ask them what’s really going on. Don’t take anyone’s word for it including mine.

The best place in the world, other than this blog, to find completely one sided and unsubstantiated claims is the “Letters To The Editor” section of any paper. As I’ve said before, I keep finding my name all over letters from people I’ve never met that claim to know a lot about me. I hear also that one of my council opponents, who must have experience as a miner considering how much digging he seems to do, took great interest in the details of my vacation to Oregon. Let me say right now before the contrary appears in a “Letter To The Editor” that my trip with my wife was an anniversary gift from my father, step-mother, and grandmother, and that no tax payer dollars were spent for my enjoyment during the first vacation she and I have ever taken in ten years.

That unfortunately is the goal of “optics”, it’s an illusion, a deception, like a prism that divides light rather than a lens which brings it into focus.

The Miseducation Of Karen Konkus

Once again I must say that I am flattered that our opposition feels I’m worthy of such attention. You folks are going to give me a big head, and frankly, there are too many of those going around Pt. Pleasant. I do have to wonder though, am I really that threatening to the prosperity of our town or do they really have nothing more substantive? I don’t mind the heat. It’s just part of the dance and I love to dance. It is unfortunate however, that the best approach the opposition has to countering our criticism of years of poor planning and wasteful spending is to keep dragging my wife into this. That’s just the way it is for some people I guess. It must be the only dance they know? Now I don’t know anything about Bob Sabosik or Al Faraldi’s spouses, and I don’t feel I need to. This is a small town and anyone would face a conflict of interest at one point or another. With that in mind I am concerned about our mayor’s spouse.

Mrs. Konkus’ letter to the editor in last week’s Ocean Star was incredibly misleading  if not outright false. If she were a Civics teacher being evaluated she would surely receive an “F”. Our local form of government follows the Mayor-Council format, also known as the “weak mayor” format, where legislative power rests in the hands of council and the mayor’s position is almost entirely ceremonial. Our Board of Education operates as what is known as a “special district” which has no direct relationship to the municipal governing body, and is elected independently to minimize the political influences that have no place in the structure or implementation of education. The only circumstance in which that separation of powers is compromised would be one like last year when the residents were deceived into voting down the school budget. In cases like this the responsibility of establishing the school budget is turned over to the municipal body, a group who was never intended to do this and was not elected to do this. Once the budget was in the hands of our council it was laid open to political and personal agendas with little to no influence from the board or administration that truly understand the matters and consequences at hand. This would be like me taking over my wife’s C-section because I didn’t think the doctor was doing it right!

This attitude seems to permeate all aspects of our town’s functioning. I’ve never witnessed a lay person speak to a Chief of Police in a condescending tone until I started attending council meetings. Who that knows him would question Chief Williams’ love of our community or his tenacity in protecting it? I’ve never seen expert opinion treated so casually until I started to peel back the onion layers of our town’s behind the scenes interplay, and I worked in the construction industry where no one respects an expert! Actually that’s not true, they ALL think they’re an expert. A wise person once asked me this: “What’s the difference between an expert and a know-it-all?” Answer: “An expert is asked for their opinion.”

Now I understand Mrs. Konkus’ sentiment, her husband’s public life is coming to a close and she feels the need to protect his legacy, but I don’t understand how her reasoning applies to me more than anyone else who ever has or ever will serve our community on council? Most council members will have to recuse himself or herself at one time or another, that’s why it’s practiced, to protect the individual and all of us. It is deceptive though to suggest that I am a bad candidate because I would be unable to vote on school matters. Unless they are planning on campaigning to vote down a future budget I don’t see this as a major concern. I certainly would not be more concerned than I would be about Bob S. or Al voting on issues pertaining to local business. The public would have to trust that they too would recuse themselves from votes that may serve themselves personally or financially more than the town as a whole. I don’t mean to suggest that Bob or Al would or would not serve faithfully. That’s for the residents to decide. I will say that I feel I have kept myself open and available to inspection and take offense to the insinuation that I would serve anyone above the residents of Point Pleasant.

Joan Speroni's Letter Rejected By The Ocean Star

I had no intention to write any "Letters to the Editor" for the upcoming elections, and certainly not to The Ocean Star, (aka Star "News" Group...), but they recently rejected one of my husband's musings, which I must say really wasn't a "Letter to the Editor".  I'm really not bothered that they chose not to print what he wrote, I am however, disturbed by the criteria they claimed they used to make this decision.  I just had to send a response, which I really don't intend to have them print, but if they do, then so be it... Otherwise, here is my response...

While I agree that my husband's latest submission to your periodical is not necessarily an opinion, I would like some clarification of your statement to him "Letters to the editor are to be used to express ideas, opinions or valid complaints about local, state and national elected officials, laws, rules, regulations, public policy, etc.".  

How exactly does the letter from Mr. Scarpello, which you printed in last Friday's paper, in which he tries to disparage Christopher Goss by trying to unearth information on his wife's position with the Point Pleasant BOE, and insinuates that there is something wrong with the job she actually performs for the parents, students, staff and taxpayers of Point Pleasant fits into your criteria for submission as a valid letter to the editor?  It's obvious that he was unable to unearth anything sinister or evil about Mr. Goss, and I fail to see where or how Mrs. Goss' job is a problem to anyone.  As you should know from your paper's experience with Mrs. Goss, her job entails a great deal more than the title that has been assigned to her position.  As it is public record, I feel that the full description of what her duties are should have been included in his ramblings and now should be printed by your paper so that the taxpayers can be made aware of all that her position entails. 

I am sure that you are well aware that everything that is printed in your paper that relates to the schools either comes from her office, or has been verified by Mrs. Goss as true or corrected if false.  She is also responsible for creating the latest district website design, and keeps it up to date.  Mrs. Goss attends every meeting of the Board of Education, and sets up and maintains all video presentations for the public at these meetings.  In addition to that, she writes grants, and most recently has been assigned the duty to secure monetary support from local vendors, both of which brings in much needed funds which are used to offset taxes.  These are just a few duties that Mrs. Goss performs in order to receive the modest salary that she earns in the district.

Again, I fail to see what Mrs. Goss’ position in the district has to do with Mr. Goss’ current position as candidate for Point Pleasant Borough Council.  None of this ever seemed to be an issue for the Republican Club members when Laura Ferrie sat on the board and her husband, Timothy Ferrie ran for and won his seat on the Borough Council.

However, this does reek of the same insinuations that other members of the Republican Club tried to make when it was inferred that my husband and I some how profited by his association with Snap-on-Tools and I maintained my position on the BOE.  It’s all garbage, and it’s the reason I refuse to read your periodical.  As a matter of fact, the ONLY reason I read the letters in this week’s issue was because of Catherine Brand’s submission.

Thank you for your attention to this correspondence.

Joan Speroni



Dan Gaudette's Letter To The Editor

Editor, The Ocean Star:

Over the next few weeks you will see expensive full color ads talking about how Sue Rogers gave us a zero percent increase in our municipal taxes. I am amazed how happy Sue Rogers is to tell residents how she voted to BORROW almost $600,000 and how we will pay this money back over three years with PROJECTED savings. It is like paying a credit card with a credit card while hoping to win the lottery.

For the next three years, before one bill is paid, the town of Point Pleasant starts almost $200,000 in the hole. Last week, Toni Depaola, who also voted to borrow the money, wrote in this paper we will have a “2011 budget crisis.”

How will we pay our bills? The shared service with the building department is on hold. We just spent millions upgrading out town hall and police department. And our governor has imposed a 2-percent increase cap which is significantly less than previous years. And since we did not raise the rate to cover our bills, that 2-percent cap is less than it could have been. Where will we get the money? Who is putting residents first? Remember despite furloughs and possible job losses, Susan Rogers refused to take a pay cut.

So why would someone make such a poor financial decision to pay a credit card with a credit card? It is very simple; Sue Rogers is playing politics with our town. The ads and letters were published in this paper before the zero increase was even approved. It is center of her campaign. The zero tax increase is all about politics, not residents first.

We all know you have to pay your bills and when you do not, there will be grave consequences. If you borrow money to pay your bills you will only owe more money. Look at our water prices. “We’ve been borrowing from the surplus and haven’t raised rates,” said Sue Rogers quoted last week in this paper. The penalty for not looking forward is a 16-percent increase in our water bill. 16-percent increase in our water hurts. What will borrowing money do to our municipal taxes? Borrowing money will only raise our taxes.

It is time to move forward with a responsible government. One that is going to make the tough choices for the future, not do anything to get elected. We need a government that is not going to make back room deals or make villains out of the town employees and police. Take back our town! VOTE POINT PLEASANT 2010, SCHROEDER, GOSS AND RUSK!

DAN GAUDETTE
River Avenue, Point Pleasant

The Once And Future Mayor

One of my summer reading books for junior year of high school was “The Once and Future King” by T.H. White. I was familiar with the Arthurian Legend from books and movies but I had never really cared for it. I always felt Arthur let Camelot slip away instead of fighting for it, and how could he have forgiven Guinevere and Lancelot for their betrayal? Reading White’s version and watching Richard Harris emote it in the film I understood that Arthur doesn’t forgive their love, he accepts it. Acceptance may be the theme of the whole book. As a boy and as a king Arthur must accept his own strengths and weakness, and as an old man he must accept the end of his empire, his own mortality, and he must accept that Guinevere and Lancelot’s love is true and that his love for them both outweighs his romantic love and his pride.

Pride isn’t a deadly sin by mistake, but there is a difference between being proud and being prideful. Reinhold Niebuhr, social philosopher and Christian theologian most commonly known for writing the Serenity Prayer, makes the distinction by saying that it is right to be proud of your accomplishments, but it is wrong to take pride in yourself. Self-aggrandizement is the big word, but show-off is more appropriate. Think of the difference between Lou Gehrig and Alex Rodriguez.

Anyone that knows Bill Schroeder will tell you he is a proud man but not a boaster. He helped negotiate our town’s first cell tower and made sure it was away from people’s houses and back yards but that Point would still get the needed revenue. Bill helped set the wheels in motion for our Community Park. Bill helped to negotiate a tax agreement in the sale of the hospital that would have left our town with a $2.25 million windfall only to watch his successors leave it on the table. Ask the police and civil servants of Pt. Pleasant how he helped maintain respect and courtesy before AND behind closed doors. Bill served his community not his ego.

When the tides of favor changed, Bill went back to the quiet life he enjoys and I admire: his business, his bikes, and his wife. He didn’t make much noise or fuss as he watched the good work of he and his fellow council members spoiled. Budgets manipulated, surpluses squandered, and respect between the elected officials of our town and those that really serve the residents completely shattered. But now we are to the point where the lies and damage may be irreversible, and here again is Bill ready to challenge someone who many say is unstoppable when others were too afraid and intimidated.

Bill has not returned to public life out of pride or arrogance. He loves our town and he was asked again to serve. He was asked to stand up to the lies. He was asked to stand up against powers that would orchestrate taking hundreds of thousands of school tax dollars to buy a campaign slogan! Hundreds and thousands of dollars that  we, the tax payers, get to replenish at the rate of $200,000 a year for the next three years. Bill was asked to stand up to those that would see all our services controlled by other towns where we’ll send our dollars but have no say in how they are spent! How’s that for taxation without representation Tea Partiers?

This November elect a man that can accept the truth and tell it to you like it is. Elect someone who doesn’t use smoke and mirrors to hide the truth like a kid coming home with an F on their report card. Elect someone who respects the people they work with, respects the taxpayers because they’re neighbors and not just voters. Elect someone who we know will put our interests ahead of his own. Please elect Bill Schroeder mayor.

Nick Scarpello: or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Dirty Politics

This morning my wife had the pleasure of going into work and finding that someone named Nick Scarpello had submitted an OPRA request for not only the usual salary information but her W-2s, performance reviews, resume, application, shoe size, salad dressing preference, and favorite Band! I would like to go on the record right now and say she is a 7.5, prefers Balsamic Vinaigrette but will settle for Bleu Cheese, and loves ABBA, which had I known earlier might have resulted in a longer engagement.

Of course I understand that this is just part of the game, but I must admit some small part of me hoped that it wouldn’t go this far. The funny thing is that I can’t quite figure out what he hoped to find? Did he just want to scare us? Is the opposition going to imply that I am too closely tied to the schools and BOE? For one they’ll find that despite what our Governor says not everyone in the education field is grossly overpaid. Second, I know that they’ll find out my wife is a hard worker who approaches her responsibility to the children, parents, and community of Point Pleasant with integrity and passion, and they will not find anyone that knows her or works with her that will say any different!

Ultimately this is aimed at me and I have to admit that in a way I’m flattered that something about my beliefs and my philosophy is threatening enough to people in power that they are compelled to act in such an underhanded way just to try to put me in my place and preserve their power and influence. I don’t like anyone taking pot shots at my family, but I stand by what I believe in and if they want to say that I am too sympathetic to our schools I will say, yes I have great affection and pride in our schools. I believe in and support our teachers. I value all the school professionals that contribute to the greatness to which we are all beneficiaries. My life is made better by the quality of our schools, my children’s lives are made better by the quality of our schools, and our community is better because of the quality of our schools.

If someone wants to imply that some association of mine with our schools is a negative reflection of my character, then everyone in our community who values our schools and feels passionately about them should take that as a direct insult.

The "Cost" Of Service

I know that this is an idea you have all heard before, and I can’t blame you for suspecting it to be typical campaign babble, but I hope after being elected to convince the next Pt.Pleasant Borough Council to do away with the customary stipend provided to Councilmembers and Mayor. Some Councilmembers have said that the “salary” is insignificant and would not provide substantial savings but I disagree. The collective earnings of Council and Mayor could save a full-time employee’s salary and job. The work produced day in and day out by our town employees is certainly more valuable than a conciliatory gesture. Perhaps these savings could pay for a furlough day and prevent a lost day of the services our residents rely on? I have no illusions that this would impact our county’s patronage system or discourage those that use our council as a stepping stone, but I think it would be a small demonstration of good faith where much has been lost. Those that choose to serve the people of Pt. Pleasant should do whatever they can to dissuade the feelings of doubt and mistrust that plague their relationship with those they serve.  I believe in Public Service and feel it is the central thread in our history, our achievements, and our national fabric. Those who seek part time office should volunteer their time and effort, but if that is too much to ask, perhaps they could submit receipts for re-imbursement, not to exede the former stipend, so that the residents, their employers, could review the “true cost” of Service.

Bill Schroeder's Un-Edited Letter To The "Ocean Star"

We are in the middle of some hard times, personally and community wise, and hard times can bring out the best or the worst in people. When you’re stuck and there’s no clear way out, you can either work together or step on whoever gets in your way.

Pointing fingers is natural, that’s a child’s gut instinct, and it’s common with people of little or no experience in dealing with the public. Some people think mistakes are a sign of weakness, usually people who need things to be black or white and don’t understand what lies between.

Some time ago there was an assault on the Recreation Department suggesting they had a hidden slush fund, and if there was a secret stash of money it could be used to offset taxes. This is what was done to the money we put away from the sale of the Hospital, over $2.25 million dollars. To develop the River Side Park we had to bond a lot of money because the wrongful use of that $2.25 million. We let ourselves be misled and paid for the park twice.

The biggest misuse of money is the recent re-evaluation of the properties in our town. The cost of the re-evaluation? Over $1,000,000 dollars. This could have and should have been done in house by our own Tax Assessor. Sure there would have been some hiring to support the process but at a cost to the town of less than $100,000. That’s a savings that could have spared the school tax deferment and much, much more. This is some of the best planning from a group that “Puts Tax Payers First”, and is after all why we voted these folks into office, right?

As I said hard times bring out the best and worst in people, but after eight years of the worst we deserve a change from these poor decision makers.

VOTE POINT PLEASANT 2010, SCHROEDER, GOSS, & RUSK!   

The Smartest Man In The Room

My full name is Christopher Curtis Goss. Curtis is a family name. My son Spencer's middle name is Curtis, my father's middle name is Curtis, and my grandpa's middle name was Curtis. My line of the Goss family goes back to Linn County, Kansas. In the Civil War my distant relative Capt. David Goss fought for the North, and you history buffs know how heated the Kansas Territory was over slavery and abolition! As the story goes, David was struck across the face by a saber on the battle field. His indentured servant seeing this didn't think to himself,"Woohoo! I'm free!" and run for the hills. Instead he carried the blinded David off the field and nursed him back to health. Since then that man, Curtis, has been honored by our family.

My Grandpa Chet used to tell me that story all the time growing up. He loved researching our family history. Grandpa Chet was from Ft. Scott, Kansas, probably better known for Gordon Parks than my grandfather. When he was four he and his parents contracted Scarlet Fever; he survived but they did not. So grandpa and his little brother Hank went to live with their maternal grandparents and when they passed they were raised by their aunts who ran the local diner. Everything you need to learn in life can be learned in a restaurant! One thing we managed to agree on. He worked with meaning and purpose every day of his life. After Pearl Harbor he hitch-hiked to California and joined the Navy like so many others, fought as a gunner, and survived again like so many others did not. He came home, married my grandmother, went to Columbia at night on the GI Bill, started a family, and joined the young executives program at CIT where he eventually rose to be CEO. He planned well and retired the day he could. I was the greatest beneficiary of that. He was always around when I was growing up. He told me so many important stories and things, things I didn't pay proper attention to until I was older. The one that comes back to me so often was when I was in high school and starting to consider colleges. He told me,"You don't have to be the smartest man in the room, but you'd better be damn sure he works for you!"

Well I can confidently say I've never been the smartest guy in the room but I've been blessed to know and work with so many of them over the years at jobs and in my personal life. I've thought of that phrase often since this campaign began too. I'm sure as hell not the smartest guy in Pt Pleasant, but I've met many who would be in contention. And more importantly I've gotten to be friendly with the sincerest people I've ever known. I'll tell you right now, I love Bill Schroeder. I'm so glad if any thing in this experience that it brought Bill into my life. He is a wonderful and sincerely caring man. And every time I talk to him I think to myself,"It's a good thing Steve McQueen is dead because Steve never could have lived with being the second coolest guy alive!"

I am a very fortunate man and I hope I always surround myself with the best people in the room.

The Edgar Road Cell Tower

Making my way through our town has been a real eye opener. Every neighborhood has an issue. Some might seem big and some might seem small. For me I just wanted a few four way stops on Patterson and Hollywood to try to keep the teenagers from running over my children. For the people on Edgar Road, their issue may sound at first like a localized issue, but it is one that is about to effect EVERY resident in town.

Most of you might know a little about the tower. T-Mobile claims they need more coverage in our area. Our town representatives have decided that it is in the collective best interest to take down the existing communication tower behind Borough Hall and erect a 120' tower that could support all 5 cell carriers and bring some much needed revenue into the town. This sounds good on paper and I agree we need the money. However, this tower directly impacts the residents who will live in its shadow. There is no argument that their property values will be affected. There is no argument that the tower does not meet local and state set-back provisions. There is no argument that it is illegal to spot zone on municipal property. There is no argument that if T-Mobile wants it bad enough that they will find a privately owned property and the money would better serve the town with $70,000 or so in tax relief. 

There is also no argument that the town has made little effort to reach a compromise with the residents of Edgar Road who have proposed moving the tower to the front of the Municipal property and using a flag pole style tower like Brielle did near Rt. 70. They have proposed putting the tower on Fire Co. #2's property where the income could relieve some of our support to their budget. And there have been others, but the the town's plan was decided long ago and now it's a matter of gaining approvals instead of drawing compromises.

So how does this affect EVERY resident of Pt. Pleasant? The Edgar Road residents are prepared to fight their cause in court and when they do WE TAXPAYERS will be paying OUR BOROUGH ATTORNEY to fight OUR OWN FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS because our town representatives decided that the concerns of a few residents were not important enough. Now they are going to spend OUR MONEY to protect THEIR PRIDE.

I do not look forward to more years of a governing body that tells us when our concerns are or are not legitimate. I do not look forward to when it's my turn, over some other issue, to face a governing body that practices deception to achieve their agenda. And I do not appreciate the ease with which misinformation is spread. But don't believe me. The people on Edgar Road are your neighbors, your friends, call them or stop by and ask them what's going on. Someday it may be your backyard.

Leadership

So far the best part of our campaign has been meeting neighbors I might not have otherwise. They tell me what they like about Pt Pleasant, what they wish was different, and I love the stories about what things were like once upon a time. I enjoy talking about our issues. For me it’s highschoolers that drive 50 MPH past my kids’ bus stop, for others it’s a cell tower, or the skate park, the riverside park, or what services will be lost next year to meet our budget constraints? Some have commented on how young I look, but I’m 15 years older and have four more children than Councilman Remig when he ran. Some want to hear about my experience and I tell them I’ve worked as many years in the private and public sectors as Council President Rogers when she was first elected. Mostly I try and assure them I am a practical person who is always willing to learn and I think those are two necessary traits in a representative and leader.

I’ve been reading a lot in the papers lately about leadership. Leadership as it was always taught to me requires three things; common sense, humility, and that willingness to learn. The people I’ve always admired have those qualities and they are the characteristics I myself aspire to. I don’t know that I’ve seen those qualities in our current leaders. They say that consolidation with the Beach makes good sense, but most things do when presented from one side. Humility leads a person to seek consensus rather than believe they always know what’s best. Consensus however is easy enough when you only include folks you know will agree with you when a decision needs to be made. Willingness to learn requires honesty, with yourself and with others. That’s a tough nut to crack in politics since part of politicking is convincing others that your way is the only way. Our plans for consolidation have not been presented honestly. They have been rushed and they have been made without consensus. That’s not to say they are the wrong idea, but they are not the only idea, and they will not produce the claimed savings. The trial and error period will be a year or two and even then the savings would not equal a simple restructuring, and they certainly wouldn’t save as much as re-negotiating  the pay scale of the Borough’s contract professionals. No, the truth behind the consolidations is that they have been mandated by the Governor in his “tool kit” and to not do so would risk our full state aid. If that’s the way it is, so be it, but we’re all adults and deserve the plain, simple truth.

I’m not saying I am better than anyone else, but I have less at stake than those that might mask the truth to protect their agendas. I don’t consider my future to be in government, but I do believe in our obligation to be available when our participation is called for. I look forward to serving my community and doing my best with a little common sense, a little humility, and the help of others. If you would like to help join me on Facebook.

VOTE SCHROEDER, GOSS, AND RUSK!

The Point Pleasant Skate Park

More news in today´s Ocean Star about our Council President swooping in to save the day. Well, I can say that if I had never gotten involved she wouldn´t care any more about the park today than she did for the six months the issue was lingering. I´m not trying to take credit. The credit for positive moves to re-open the park lies solely with the parents and kids who hung in there and wouldn´t give up like they were expected to after months of stalling. If those parents and kids hadn´t dug in their heels and refused to quit on something they cared about, I would bet you we would have seen the bulldozers this spring making way for a cell tower.

Once their plans to do nothing gave a few column inches of press to the opposition, the political value of the park suddenly made it worthy of immediate action. Now that the Skate Club has formed and I´ve had a chance to do some real good with people who I love working with, I really don´t care what the motivation was. The Club has nearly achieved its goal and we feel soon it will be open again. We are proud to take an active role in our community and help create opportunities for our children to present the positives of the sport they love.

This November is going to come and go, but my children are still little and we have a long term investment in our community. I am very proud to have helped preserve a wonderful little piece of it.