October 15, 2009, Subject: Candidate is Carton puppet

    Driving around town I can’t help but notice the large white and blue campaign signs promoting the Republican candidate for township committee.  Being curious, I decided to look into who this person actually is.
    I come to find out that he is just another puppet of Republican Party Chairman, Peter Carton. He is currently serving as an appointed member of the Planning Board. His father is the former appointed judge in town and his brother is currently the appointed prosecutor. He is looking to continue the family legacy. He appears to be just another political insider tied to the good ‘ol boy network that this town has been trying to relieve itself of.
    He advertises that he puts taxpayers first when his party is responsible for increasing taxes 16%, over the past 3 years, for the very same taxpayers that he claims to put first. Does he realize that his opponent, Patrick Short, has consistently voted to cut our taxes and has never voted to raise our taxes?  Perhaps he is confusing parties.
    Short and Byrnes always bring solutions to the table to fix problems.  The Republican Party have ruled Middletown for over 30 years and have a record of ignoring our problems, putting their party chairman and his cronies first. Choosing to ignore the flooding in the Bayshore for the last 30 years is a prime example. The local GOP leaders feed their chairman all of the town's bond business, totalling $84M and counting.
    Their candidate is in need of a larger coat for his strings are showing. It is only with Pat Short that this town will continue to have oversight and a more open government, which is why I am throwing my vote to him. The people of Middletown need true representation, not just another body to fall in lockstep with the party line.

Marilyn Tuohy
Port Monmouth, NJ