2024.04.16_Notice of Violation

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The notice describes manhole overflows of an estimated 100,000 gallons of discharge making their way into the Shrewsbury River brought on by about heavy rain. An incident report from the NJDEP stated that “sewage, clear water with no visible solids, was mostly entering surcharged storm drains on Shrewsbury Avenue that discharge to the Oyster Bay section of the Shrewsbury River.” NJDEP staffer Anthony Rotondo performed the initial investigation on April 4th, 2024, meeting with Rumson operators Ron Sickler and Cody Burbank.

“Mr. Sickler stated that the issue is the upstream Avenue of Two Rivers South Pump Station dumps into the above manhole where it would normally flow, via gravity, to the downstream Grant Street Pump Station,” the incident reported noted.

“However, a combination of the high flow from the Avenue of Two Rivers South Pump Station and the flow backing up from an overburdened Grant Street Pump Station is resulting in sewage exiting the above manhole. Mr. Sickler stated that this can also occur whenever both pumps are on at the Avenue of Two Rivers South Pump Station, regardless of any issues at the Grant.”

The remainder of the sewage was on the roadway and entering a downstream storm drain which leads to what Rumson residents’ call Polly’s Pond, the report notes. Neither Sickler nor Burbank were available for comment.

The report notes that Sickler was instructed by NJDEP to have pump trucks remove as much sewage as possible from the area to at least minimize the impact of the discharge.

Internal emails reveal that both Rogers and Borough Engineer David Marks were notified of updates from Sickler who coordinated for tanker trucks to come stop the overflow. In an April 8th email to the NJDEP, Sickler noted that on April 5th “175,000 gallons were collected” and “roughly 75,000 was saved from going in the river.” The same email shows that 145,000 gallons were collected with roughly 45,000 saved. on April 7th. 45,000 gallons were collected and 10,000 were saved. Discharged ceased by 11:00 PM on April 7th.

Sickler then warned of rain coming towards the end of that week. Overtime was paid to Rumson employees who oversaw the trucks.

2024.04.03_Notification Report

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2024.04.03_Incident Report

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The allegedly abnormal flooding was not a mere hiccup in March and April - its been an ongoing issue.

On January 13th, 2024, a call was placed to the NJDEP (Case No. 24-01-13-085-53) estimating a discharge of approx. 100 gallons a minute. Another call was placed to the NJDEP on March 7th (Case No. 24-03-07-1656-20) citing the same discharge rate at a recorded 14 hours of overflow, eventually stopping on March 8th.

On March 11th, yet another call was placed to the NJDEP (Case No. 24-03-11-0058-03) citing 34 hours of overflow at 100 gallons a minute. March 23rd yielded 25 hours of overflow (Case No. 24-04-03-1312).

On April 3rd, the NJDEP visited Rumson, thus beginning the aforementioned incident report. Rogers was notified of the previous incidences, emails reveal.

After an initial tip from a resident, CJN sent a public records request to the NJDEP and to the Borough of Rumson on November 11th asking for any notices sent from the NJDEP to Rumson between January of 2024 and July of 2024, as well as respective replies from the Borough. The NJDEP replied swiftly and thoroughly.

The same can’t be said for Administrator and Clerk Rogers.

Rogers, in an email sent to CJN, acknowledged receipt of the OPRA request, but asked “Can you give us more detail on what you are looking for in the way of ‘notices’?” He later told CJN that “title you gave to the request is EPA or Environmental Protection Agency, a Federal agency. The description on the first page lists ‘notices’ from the NJ Department of Environmental Projection.”

Rogers was referencing the file name of the OPRA request. Both the request and email subject line made clear that the NJDEP was the subject of the inquiry. CJN responded to Rogers defining the scope of a notice, stating:

A “notice” is quite common - it is a letter, either physical or electronic, sent from one party to another informing them of something (EG: a violation, a piece of news, a project update etc.)

On Friday, November 22nd, Deputy Municipal Clerk Eric Paone-Hurd sent a zip file of over 77 items to CJN including Weekly Update newsletters from the NJDEP sent to municipal Mayors and leaders and files relating to land use.

What Rogers failed to send was the April 16th Violations Notice sent to the Borough and the response from David Marks, the Borough Engineer and Floodplain manager - the two things covered by CJN’s OPRA request.

Rogers did reply to CJN’s request via voicemail regarding the omittance of said documents.

Marks’ response to the Borough recognizes the challenges presented by seasonal flooding, citing abnormally excessive rainfall and significant coastal flooding. He recognized the strain placed on the Borough’s sanitary sewer system. He also cited efforts in 2019, 2022, and 2023 to rehabilitate the sewer system. Unfortunately, the letter provided little in the way of efforts to curb the existing overflow and pollution outside of detailing an expected Summer 2024 start time for a sanitary sewer rehabilitation program.

With regard to the pump station, Marks assured the NJDEP that the pump stations which received violations were of adequate size and were unable to account for record-setting rainfall.

Per the NJDEP documents sent to CJN, compliance from the Rumson has not been achieved.

2024.05.06_Marks response to NJDEP

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Violations By Program Interest And Date

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Back in January of 2024, the Borough of Red Bank issued a notice to residents regarding potential pollutants in the water. The discharge came to approximately 50,000 gallons. The same notice was sent by Rogers to the residents of Rumson.

It is unclear as to whether Rogers informed the mayor and/or the Borough Council of the April 16th violation notice. Mayor Joseph Hemphill has promised a detailed response to an inquiry from CJN by close of business on Monday, December 9th.

The Rumson Borough Council is scheduled to meet on December 10th at 7:30 PM.

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“During my border trip, judges, border patrol agents and Texas state troopers unequivocally stated that our actions here in New Jersey are incentivizing and encouraging people worldwide to break our laws and access the taxpayer-funded benefits we’re providing,” Kanitra (R-Ocean) said.

The comprehensive report reveals a staggering number of illegal immigrants reside in New Jersey. Nearly 1 in 10 residents entered the country illegally and receives roughly $8,000 a year in various taxpayer-funded benefits including housing, medical care, education and legal services.

In the video, Lt. Chris Olivarez, of the Texas Department of Public Safety, says to the assemblyman, “When you incentivize illegal immigration, that’s not going to solve the problem, that’s only going to attract more people to come.”

According to Kanitra, only 7% of migrants are requesting refugee status or seeking asylum. Other facts highlight by the report include:

• Between 7.52% and 8.13% of New Jersey residents were here illegally in 2023

• $15.7 million dollars spent defending illegal aliens in court in 2023

• $366 million in benefits for illegal migrants

• $7.3 Billion dollars to care for over 892,000 illegal migrants in 2024

Jon Anfinsen, of the National Border Control Council, says the Obama administration in 2012 weakened asylum requirements for those crossing international borders illegally, which changed how they were processed in the country.

The issue hit home for Kanitra during his return flight from San Antonio to Newark where he witnessed nearly a third of the passengers wearing government processing wristbands and holding paperwork. Instead of getting on a bus to New York City upon landing he says, cars with New Jersey plates picked them up.

“Our legal residents are spending $15 million annually so illegal immigrants can fight our laws and keep themselves from being deported. In what bizarro world does this even make sense?” he asked.

Kanitra’s report concludes with several policy recommendations including the Uniting Families and Bringing them Home Act that redirects some of the state’s migrant benefit funds to pay for repatriation flights for anyone here illegally who wants to return home. He also wants to stop funding legal costs to fight deportation and repeal the attorney general’s sanctuary state directive, allowing New Jersey to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

“Stopping the issue in its entirety only requires a government committed to upholding law and order,” Kanitra said.

To download a copy of the report, click here.

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Three’s company.

This was the on full display during Assemblyman Kanitra’s trip from the moment he touched down. Appearing outside of the border in Val Verde County, Texas, Kanitra highlighted three different border walls: one built by President Trump, the others built by George W. Bush, and the latter appearing as some type of amalgamation of clearance items from Home Depot, built none other than the Biden Administration.

Rules (and customs) are meant to be broken.

Unfortunately, politicians and NGO’s maintain the same attitude as youth gone wild when it comes to laws of entry into the United States. The CBP One mobile app, a supposed crowning achievement of the Biden Administration according to Democrats.

”So it’s literally an app that illegal immigrants can use to schedule a meeting as if it’s the DMV, “ asked a perplexed Kanitra.

CBP processes about 1,000-2,000 migrants a day who have used the app, and these aren’t your average migrants. These wealthier migrants will board a plane and depart for the U.S. after scheduling an appointment with CBP. Upon arrival, no one knows where they go or what they do.

What would Jesus do?

You would think that Kanitra’s flight home would be without controversy. He made that error. Rather, he saw the lawlessness on full-display. The culprit? Catholic Charities.

Kanitra watched with frustration as illegal migrants boarded his plane, holder folders, smiles as wide as the Rio Grande. No ID’s checked, no papers, no problem. A [practicing Catholic, Kanitra tried to make sense of how an organization committed to Catholic teaching, which preaches respect for the rule of law, abetted in such reckless behavior in stark contrast to the laws of the United States.

”Catholic Charities pays for their ticket,” Kanitra tells CJN, but that’s not all. “Then, when the illegal pays them back, [Catholic Charities] keeps 25% and sends the other 75% to the government.”

This isn’t anything new, it’s just not openly discussed for fear of cancellation or impugning the integrity of the Church. A Heritage Foundation report shows that, unbeknownst to average U.S. Catholics, the Church hierarchy hardly pays any in-depth attention to the work they do. Rather, Catholic Charities is an organization run by liberal sycophants who worship at the altar of money and politics.

“These NGOs are also, a lot of money behind this, involved in lobbying the Biden administration and our Congress to keep the border wide open,” says Mike Howell, director of Heritage’s Oversight Project. He continued:

”And so it's kind of this full scale operation where not only they're involved in the border, but they're involved in D.C. making sure the border stays open through policy and support to the Biden administration. A lot of their staffers and people connected in those NGO networks are in the Biden administration.”

The question of blending security and charity has long confounded Catholics. While welcoming the stranger is indeed one of the highest forms of charity, does it have to be this way?

This is a coordinated invasion.

Kanitra took a lot of flak after traveling to Israel with a group of legislators and Middletown Mayor Tony Perry, which CJN covered earlier this year. Unfortunately, as the conflict in Gaza grew, the importance of Kanitra’s trip to explore the social and national security implications on New Jersey’s Jewish and Arab communities weighed heavier.

The border is no different.

As Kanitra departed the plane and traveled through the terminal with the migrants, he saw them enter cars. Upon further inspection, Kanitra discovered that these cars will take them either to family, friends, or are privately contracted to take them to a sanctuary state - perhaps, indeed most likely, New Jersey.

From the White House, to the border, maybe even from the Vatican itself, the border crisis evokes a sense of overwhelming concern, with some even embracing for the worst. The New York Times reported last year that 169 migrants on Terror Watch List were apprehended by Border Patrol, but it seems as some slipped through the cracks. The New York Post reported last month that Customs and Border Protection agents “apprehended and released Mohammad Kharwin, 48, after he illegally entered the US near San Ysidro, Calif., in March of 2023,.” Kharwin was later found to be a suspected member of the US-designated foreign terror group Hezb-e-Islami, knowns as “HIG,” a “virulently anti-Western insurgent group” responsible for the deaths of several US soldiers and American contractors. 

Kanitra isn’t the lone voice screaming in the supposed desert of New Jersey leaders. Back in 2019, Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden refused an order from former New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and Gov. Phil Murphy over how much Monmouth can and should cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

“The governor and the attorney general have a certain policy, and we run a certain program that’s in conflict with that policy. We’re going to try to reconcile the two and see if we can continue our 287(g)programs here in the county,” Golden told NJ TV, per the Patch. “It’s something I believe in,” continued Golden, “I don’t think we should release a criminal, in that case, to go out and do more harm to our residents here in Monmouth County.” Governor Murphy was later sued by the United States for jeopardizing public safety due to his lax enforcement of immigration laws.

Four years later, Golden’s sounding of the alarm rings evermore. Kanitra tells CJN that one expert he spoke with during his trip put the national security implications in full, harrowing context: “it’s a matter of when, not if.”

A full report surrounding Kanitra’s trip capturing the effects of the border crisis, and New Jersey’s effect on the border, will be delivered this week. This will be the third and final installment of this series.

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“Immigration is a responsibility of the federal government, including its shortfalls which cannot be filled by our municipality or simply passed off to another mayor,” said Joshi in a statement.  He continued:

“Over the years I have expressed my disagreement with the concept of ‘sanctuary’ cities and states and I won't allow Edison to be subjected to its consequences.“

Fast forward to April 2024. Newly-sworn in Assemblyman Paul Kanitra (R-10) awakes to hop a plane from Newark to San Antonio.

His destination? The US-Mexico border.

Destination: War Zone

Kanitra first saw the border in Del Rio, Texas, then headed to Eagle Pass, then Piedras Negras in Mexico. Flanked by local law enforcement and Border Patrol at all times, Kanitra feels like a stranger in a strange land. It was unlike anything he’d ever seen.

“The deliberate coordination of all of it was something I truly wasn’t prepared for,” Kanitra tells CJN. “This is literally the US government funneling as many illegal immigrants into this country as quickly and with as little oversight as possible.”

You’d imagine the stereotypical tumbleweed roll across a dusty trail as a border wall (or in some places, depending on the President a broken down fence) stands in the distance.

It was not that. This was a war zone. 

Marathon-length rolls of barbed wire, paramilitary troopers with machine guns atop shipping containers, and the constant ebb and flow of trucks and ATVs as if the third installment of Mad Max was underway. 

“Texas has Operation Lonestar out there. It looks like World War 1 with trenches and battlefield fortifications,” says Kanitra. 

The mission of the Texas Department of Safety? Block people in the river to keep them from getting to the U.S.

“As a result the immigrants are just walking up and down the river looking for Border Patrol instead of Texas DPS so they won’t make it on land into the U.S.”

And eventually they do, thanks to Border Patrol.

“The border patrol is like an irresistible tractor beam to illegals,” notes Kanitra. “They want to find Border Patrol. Border patrol will even cut Texas wires to let them in.”

Kanitra notes there are two types of immigrants:

The first are “Give Ups” where the Border Patrol policy is to process and move them into U.S. as quickly as possible and get them on buses as quickly as possible. 

“Usually these are families, kids and single people swimming over. They deliver them to NGO’s who arrange travel for them,” notes Kanitra. “There are no interviews in Del Rio and Eagle Pass. This is the majority of illegal immigrants.”

“Runners” are second type, a more sinister one, as Kanitra explains. 

“They don’t want to give themselves up. They have criminal backgrounds, don’t want to be caught. Happens in the middle of the night. Lots of cars filled with smuggled people in this area…. Downstream the real cartel has an inventory control system with wristbands and guards with machine guns.”

As the sun beats down on the Jersey shore legislator, one question comes to mind: how in the hell did it come to this? 

It’s the policy, stupid.

According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (“FAIR”) there are eleven tried and true sanctuary states, New Jersey being one of them. Back in January, Gov. Murphy signed an executive order requiring 32 hours of advanced notice and limited time windows when migrants can be bussed to the state —and that there is the problem.

Kanitra asked Lt. Oliverez with the Texas Department of Public Safety what the root cause of the surge of migrants across the border was. He could’ve simply said “Gov, Murphy,” but in a video exclusive to CJN, he detailed the exact problem, with facts and figures that will leave your jaw on the floor:

So there you have it. To steal from President Clinton: “it’s the policy, stupid.”

In total fairness, however, it’s not just Gov. Murphy. It’s the Biden Administrations fault for not only incentivizing it, but also devising a system for other countries to come in illegally, alongside NGO’s and supposed “charities.”

We’ve seen this play out before on a cool September morning in 2001 that quickly became an event horizon in modern America, but that’s for Part 2.

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WARNING: Contains sensitive content regarding harm to and suicide of minors. Reader discretion is advised.
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Make no mistake here, the CJN Editorial Board is supportive of the parental rights movement. We fully admit the parental rights movement has bolstered Newswire, and we’re proud to have focused on it because it deserves serious discussion.

We’ve covered the Middletown and Colts Neck boards of education, parental rights rallies, and have provided perspective from all parties — yet, these are merely snapshots of battles attached to a single policy: Policy 5756.

Garden State Equality, New Jersey’s largest pro-LGBTQ+ advocacy and education organization with over 150,000 members, has been the policy’s leading proponent. Unfortunately, the facts and the statistics refute their otherwise admirable goal. They know it too, otherwise they would not be using guerrilla-style tactics against boards of education while using vulnerable often times traumatized children as human shields.

What they don’t tell you is that Policy 5756 is not about protecting kids. If it was about kids, believe us, we’d be the first to celebrate it, but it’s not:

it’s about protecting votes.

Let’s talk about it.

Time for a Refresher.

As reported in our Colts Neck piece, Policy 5756 is guidance (key word) put forth by Strauss Esmay Associates, LLP, a Toms River-based education consulting company. They essentially claim dominion over school boards and their insight is often perceived as law, if not outright gospel. 5756 is the key policy that advises against parental notification should a child begin to transition genders while at their school.

The policy itself is layered in legalese, but essentially boils down to the response a school should undertake should a student who thinks they are transgender indicates to school personnel that:

• they would like to be addressed by a name other than their legal name, or;

• they identify with a gender not corresponding to their biological sex, or;

• they would like to be addressed by a pronoun not corresponding to their biological sex.

The policy also advises that:

the school district may seek a variety of professionals, including counselors and school psychologists, to provide emotional support for all students who demonstrate a need. The Superintendent or designee shall ensure school counselors are knowledgeable regarding issues and concerns relevant to transgender students, students facing other gender identity issues, or students who may be transitioning.

With all due respect to Strauss Esmay, they have done a piss-poor job as consultants to school boards and administrators. Decreeing a policy which affects children suffering from gender dysphoria while telling the people they’re advising that they need to be knowledgeable about the issue of transgenderism?

Strauss Esmay had a reason though.

It’s not policy — it’s procedure.

Policy 5756 is not mandatory. It holds just as much weight as a deli counter ticket or Santa’s naughty/nice list. Deputy Attorney General James Michael said in court that the policy was not "mandatory" and instead was a "guidance," according to the New York Post.

"This 5756 policy was born from a lie, from a company called Strauss Esmay, that sent it over with about 20 different policies lumped together in May of 2019, listing it as a mandatory policy," said Holmdel BOE vice president Terence Wall to the Patch back in 2023.

"I was on the Board then, this slipped through. Everyone voted for it. It was a mistake. Why? Because it's a fraud.”

The Patch also noted Middletown Attorney Bruce Padula’s peculiar finding:

Padula said when Strauss Esmay first provided the district with Policy 5657, they stamped that document with a large "M" at the top — which meant mandatory. Marlboro school board said they received the same.

The scarlet “M,” a sign of both intellectual and conscientious impurity, is red by way of the blood of the children it is has failed, but Garden State Equality won’t admit that.

Facts matter - and can save someone’s life.

Garden State Equality is not well-versed in the facts. Whether they be suicide rates, gender affirmation in minors, or the supposed harm that befalls schools and students when Policy 5756 disappears, facts matter and could be the difference between life and death.

Counselors and mental health staff at school, even some school board members, usually cite HIPAA as the reason Policy 5756 needs to stay. The co-chair of the American School Counselor Association’s Ethics Committee disagrees strongly:

“Although the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors speak to the issue of confidentiality, it is important to remember that these issues lie in the hands of the student and his parents, not necessarily with the school counselor.”

Some counselors have gone so far as to speak out forcefully against the policy at the expense of their jobs, perhaps even their own safety. Washington State therapist Tamar Prietzke Tamara Pietzke claimed the hospital she worked at started aggressively pushing "gender-affirming" care over the past year. She recently blew this whistle on the therapy industry taking advantage of children suffering from gender dysphoria as well as abusive homes and other traumatic life experiences.

"I was getting the message from my supervisors that when a young person I was seeing expressed discomfort with their gender—the diagnostic term is gender dysphoria—I should throw out all my training. No matter the patient’s history or other mental health conditions that could be complicating the situation, I was simply to affirm that the patient was transgender, and even approve the start of a medical transition," she wrote in a new op-ed for The Free Press.

Gov. Murphy and Garden State Equality’s victory of making New Jersey a safe haven for LGBTQ+ affirmation is incredibly pyrrhic. When Executive Order 326 was signed, the hallmark of the fiat was the protection of LGBTQ+ youth.

“Across the nation, we are witnessing attacks led by certain states that seek to undermine the equality, dignity, and safety of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially transgender and non-binary youth,” said Governor Murphy in an April 4th statement.

Responding to this, Garden State Equality Director Christian Fuscarino lauded the Governor for “taking yet another action to protect trans people in New Jersey and those who care for them.”

But is affirming a child’s chosen gender protecting them? The evidence suggests that the only ones with blood on their hands are those who open promote Policy 5756:

When it comes to gender dysphoric children, there is little evidence that medical transition decreases suicide rates. There is little evidence to assert that puberty blockers are necessary to prevent suicide.

After sex reassignment surgery, one study showed that adult transsexual clients were 4.9 times more likely to have made a suicide attempt and 19.1 times more likely to have died from suicide, after adjusting for prior psychiatric comorbidity . Similarly, an Australian paper notes that many patients have poor outcomes, which puts them at risk of suicide.

A prominent study claiming that medical transition alleviated suicidality had to be corrected, to clarify that it proved “no advantage of surgery” in this regard.

A long-term Swedish study finds that post-operative transgender people have “considerably higher risks” for suicidal behavior.

Similarly, a study in the European Journal of Endocrinology demonstrates that suicide rates among transgender male-to-females were 51% higher than the general population.

Click here to get your FREE Policy 5756 Fact Sheet

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Some have made it out alive…

Policy 5756 is waging a war in both the courts of public opinion and of law. Jane Doe and her father are taking decisive action against Delaware Valley High School after its personnel socially transitioned the former, a minor female, per the directive of a school counselor. In Oregon, whose policies are similar to 5756 across its schools, one family went so far as to get up and leave the United States entirely after a teacher known as “Mrs. A” went so far as to rule by fear when it came to socially transitioning students like Tia

Tia, the minor girl in the story, lamented fervently that all she wanted to do was “see her friends like normal, and doesn’t want to be a boy anymore,” but she was “afraid that Mrs. A would be mad at her.”

“She was saying she wants to go to school, see her friends like normal, and doesn’t want to be a boy anymore. But Tia was afraid that Mrs. A would be mad at her.”

….others did not.

In December 2020, Manville High School student Myles Fitzpatrick came out as transgender and began transitioning from female to male.

Fitzpatrick, 17, who was set to graduate in June, died by suicide in November after he was “subjected to continued severe harassment and bullying by his fellow students based upon his gender identity, including derogatory comments and having items thrown at him,” according to the lawsuit filed May 2, 2023 in Superior Court in Somerset County by his mother Danielle Warshefski.

My Central Jersey further detailed the tragic case:

He was ridiculed about his appearance and clothing and was subjected to slurs, referring to him as “she” and remarks that “he would never be a male,” the lawsuit says. He also was frequently physically bullied in the hallways, including being pushed into lockers, having items thrown at him, being kicked and having his hair pilled, the lawsuit charges…On several occasions, the lawsuit alleges, those actions were committed in the presence of teachers and other staff members who did not intervene.

He then began experiencing severe depression and anxiety and engaged in self-mutilation and self-harm and attempted suicide, the lawsuit says.

These actions have resulted in threats to board of education members, mental anguish for the LGBTQ+ community, and a plethora of disinformation to legislators and the public. Cases like this are what gives Garden State Equality’s campaign, and Policy 5756 itself, its strength.

It’s a simple question they constrict Boards with when they’re tempted to abolish Policy 5756:

you don’t want this to happen, do you?

That’s when the hostage taking starts, but some Board members aren’t negotiating with their captors.

Boards aren't starting the fight — they’re finishing it.

Middletown Vice-President Jacqueline Tobacco and Board attorney Bruce Padula took to NJ101.5’s town hall with Eric Scott last summer. Their challenger? Brielle Winslow-Majette, the Deputy Director of Garden State Equality, a female presenting as male with the pronouns of she/her. With all due respect to Eric Scott, this was not a town hall— it was a brutal exercise in fact-checking, something no one seemed prepared for.

The New Jersey Project released a video of Vice-President Tobacco’s takedown of Majette that strikes at the core issue: the suicide rate of LGBTQ+ youth. Tobacco refuted Majette’s claim that the revoking of Policy 5756 would result in an “outing policy” and suicide in droves by LGBTQ+ youth. The video shows text messages from Executive Director Christian Fuscarino encouraging protestors to show up at Middletown’s June Board of Education hearing to “rally for trans youth in the spirit of Stonewall,” a 1969 protest in New York that devolved a violent riot.

New Jersey has filed litigation against 3 districts that passed amended policies, and one district that passed a parental notification policy. There was an amicus brief filed by Senators Michael Testa and Doug Steinhardt back in August of 2023. As of January 31, 2024 Dhillon Law Group and the Center for American Liberty, a national law firm known for its voracious and sharp legal acumen when it comes to matters of civil rights and the constitution, filed a motion to participate as amicus curae in the lawsuit filed by the Attorney General against Middletown and Manalapan regarding an amendment of Policy 5757 to include student collaborative parental notification.

Garden State Equality is wasting no time fighting school boards in the new year. Their Policy Consultant Lauren Albrecht’s threats to school board members made rounds across the state, such as this one uncovered in Vineland.

“It is very concerning to me that [Garden State Equality] sent letters to my board members disseminating disinformation regarding abolishing the non-mandatory Policy 5756,” said Kim Codispoti, President, Vineland Board of Education in an exclusive statement to CJN.

”In no way does abolishing this policy diminish protections for transgender students under LAD law. “

Since learning that Strauss Essmay’s policy was in fact not mandatory, districts have begun to abolish Policy5756 including: Colts Neck, Hanover, Millstone, Freehold, Lafayette, Little Egg Harbor, Lacey, Holmdel, Howell, Sussex, Wantage, Kinellon, Sparta, Bernard’s Franklin Township, Franklin Lakes, Westwood Union Township, Washington Township, Vineland, and Ocean City.

Garden State Equality’s response to this is that it almost always ends up in litigation and proves to cost the taxpayers an astronomical amount. (Funny, we didn’t take them to be fiscal conservatives). This was recently debunked by Middletown Board Vice-President Jacqueline Tobacco.

It all seems to be part of Garden State Equality’s game plan: create fear within a vulnerable population, exploit one’s typically good-natured yearning for justice with as little information as possible, and direct an attack. Had this come from a President urging folks to protest election results, it would be deemed an insurrection.

At least he called for protestors to be peaceful. Garden State Equality did not—because that’s not what they want.

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We’re now over a week since the 2023 election (or the 2022 Red Puddle, Part II). We can talk about this objectively now that collective morning or armchair quarterbacking has now died.

Republicans had the opportunity to flip at least one of the chambers in the legislature, much like they did nationally in 2022. What exactly caused Republicans to meet a lightning-in-a-bottle moment with, well, no bottle at all, will take people above our pay grade to examine. We have no problem admitting that either, as we strive for humility here at CJN.

This lily of virtues doesn’t seem to be in Bill Spadea’s garden. The morning drive host that paints himself as the anti-establishment voice crying aloud in the desert has long been seizing his moment after Jack Ciattarelli’s defeat.

Will his moment come? Evidence shows that much of his influence is inflated, if not outright nonexistent (perhaps, even, gloriously unpopular) despite having the “largest microphone in the state.”

The Biggest Loser of 2023

We’ll leave it to politicos, strategists, and the people themselves to decide who’s at fault for 2023 (which will probably end up looking like the popular spiderman pointing at the other spiderman meme). We don’t have the time (or frankly the interest) in examining all twenty-one counties, but we certainly have the time and interest in deciding who wants to lead them.

Spadea, per NJ101.5, (his employer and seemingly principal backer) , endorsed 104 candidates. At first glance, with 42 wins and 62 losses, an approximate 40% win rate may not be too shabby for a republican in a blue state, but nuance matters here— and some of these losses were devastating.

Ocean County, the reddest district in the state, is managed by Ocean County GOP chairman and convicted tax felon George Gilmore. Races in the 9th and 10th district were guaranteed victories, as well as races in Plumsted and Berkeley. Gilmore and Spadea lost Brick’s mayoral and council contests, the former being sought by popular Assemblyman John Catalano.

Outside of Ocean County, Spadea put his name on other shoo-in victories such as Colts Neck “Colts Kids First” ticket along with candidates in safe republican areas such as Hoptacong, Roxbury, and Hanover. Bill’s endorsement of Sen. Ed Durr, a popular candidate among medical freedom and parental rights advocates, did not translate to a victory, despite his primary victory being the only one that gave Spadea an early win.

Lisa Richford, the chairwoman of the Mercer County Republican Committee, received the Spadea endorsement in her bid for Mercer County Executive. Richford lost to Democrat Dan Benson who earned 44,677 votes with 69% over Richford’s 20,036 votes. 50 Shades of Grey has nothing on that spanking.

As we said, nuance matters here- and if you were to eliminate the listed towns and races, Bill’s budding political kingmaker-ship seems to stuck at the starting line.

Wanna know where he got these scars?

The fandom over Spadea is perplexing, but not surprising: perplexing in the sense that people take him seriously, and not surprising in the sense that, like most charlatans, his ego gets in the way of executing a plan. Bill sought a congressional seat in 2004 and an Assembly seat in 2012, losing below 40% of the vote in both bids. Maybe that’s where his villain-esque origin began to take shape.

When you have a Republican party struggling for an identity amidst warring factions, the savior complex takes hold. For Bill, this is not so much a vocation to serve as it is for folks like Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04). Rather, this is mor akin to the Joker: someone whose messiah complex and cult of personality inflates his ego to the point of losing himself—but as divine wisdom teaches, pride goeth before the fall.

To cover up the scars of less-than-impressive failures, Bill took to X (formerly Twitter) to take credit for the Board of Education victories earned by Frank Capone, Jacqueline Tobacco, and Caterina Skalaski. Spadea did not issue an endorsement of the group nor did they receive any funds from him or Elect Common Sense.

He did take shots at the Monmouth County Republican Committee while professing his own victories a hubris-laden promise for future efforts.

This isn’t the only unattributed victory lap he took. He took the airwaves the day after Election Day to say that attacking far-left Senator, and Spadea-Gilmore ally, Vin Gopal was a bad move. Gopal, the legislative architect of the radical sex-ed curriculum, received ample air time on Spadea’s show, with Bill going so far as to call him his friend on multiple occasions. The latter part of his armchair postmortem was at the expense of the LD-11 candidates Steve Dnistrian and Assemblywomen Marilyn Piperno and Kim Eulner, and Monmouth County Sheriff and GOP Chairman Shaun Golden. Spadea, an alleged parental rights advocate, offered no time to the LD-11 Republicans.

A B-rated Heist

Endorsements usually imply money. A review of Elect Common Sense’s ELEC reports shows no such money was given to these candidates, sans $750 to the Bergen County Republican Organization and $250 to Bergen County Commissioner candidates Mary Guinchard and Aginshallah Collins, both of whom lost. For the rest of his endorsements, Bill suggests that he gave them airtime that was otherwise unattainable to them. That in and of itself falls flat when he, more than once a week, opened the phone lines to anyone running for elected office.

Folks associated with The New Jersey Project have also disclosed that in the previous cycle, Bill promised multiple candidates money, but when the time came to pay up, he wrote a check to no one. Nevertheless, Bill claimed ownership for over 400 local victories.

This is where the Joker complex comes into play: use your identity and your brand (at the expense of your employer) to build a cult of personality devoted to you. Then, use these people as an example of your influence, despite the fact that most of them were killed off in the plan’s execution (IE: Election Day losses), only for it to fail miserably altogether while you escape with your hands clean, duping the rest of the cult into thinking you were the only one brave enough to do anything.

Who has benefitted from Elect Common Sense’s fundraising? Bill Spadea’s own club and George Gilmore.

With respect to Bill, Christopher Nolan did it better. Even more of a shame that he, a supposed film producer, could not conceive of a better plot for a heist of New Jerseyans’ money and trust.

Why so serious?

Bill is serious in terms of convincing himself and others that he is the lone voice of reason and sanity needed in New Jersey. Whether that has paid off outside of his own circle of influence remains to be seen, but you’ll be seeing more of him as the race to 2025 heats up.

In all fairness, bill has not announced his intention, but has alluded to it every so ominously:

Questions abound as to his ethical tightrope walk with NJ101.5 and Townsquare Media, his dubious relationships, his principles-for-hire approach to business, and his advisor George Gilmore— who very well could be a Joker in his own right and have Bill turn into a sacrifice lamb for his own ambitions.

Anyone seeking the Governor’s seat deserves scrutiny, but those whose ego force them to willfully lie and abuse the public trust in an Ike Turner-like fashion deserve to be exposed.

As Bill says, ever so ominously, “see you on the trail.”

*WARNING: This article contains strong themes related to children. Reader discretion is advised.*

The good people of Lakewood seem to value three things: safety, privacy, and freedom. These aren’t exclusive to Lakewood— they’re inherently American, and their exercise and witness to the better angels of our nature is one worth celebrating.

Like any Abrahamic religion, the pursuit of God amidst a society that has seemingly fallen away from the ideals of Eden does indeed relegate one to a life seemingly of solitude. Nevertheless, Lakewood’s orthodox community carries on boldly living out their faith in peace—

and like Eden, a serpent has been making rounds in Lakewood, offering false hope and empty promises to people simply seeking an advocate that gets them.

Make no mistake, the top threat to the good people of Lakewood is Rabbi Avi Schnall.

We recently reported on Schnall’s opponents and the NJGOP bringing attention to his potential ELEC violations. Frankly, this was the first time that Schnall came on our radar, ergo prompting further review of him.

Schnall, the director of the New Jersey office of Agudath Israel of America, replaced former Lakewood Mayor Marta Harrison when she dropped out of the Assembly race earlier this year. He poses a potential shakeup in District 30, a longstanding Republican stronghold that covers a majority of Monmouth County and some of Ocean County.

The New Jersey Globe offers great insight into the demographic of District 30 and how Schnall could escape with an upset:

Schnall’s pursuit of the Assembly seat seems more like an exercise in vanity than virtue. While a leader in Lakewood, his loose grasp on state issues and how they affect the community shows a disconnect between his promises and and his ability to fulfill them.

Schnall has made tuition relief to private school parents a key issue, should he be elected with a Democratic majority. While it is indeed strange how a key Republican policy is a fixture for the Murphy-aligned Schnall, it is devoid of political realities.

The NJEA is one of - if not, the - most powerful unions in New Jersey. It’s largest backer is Democratic party. Is Schnall suggesting that the NJEA would allow Democratic leadership to proceed with this policy? Schnall claims that he cut a deal in relation to his proposal - with whom, regarding what, and the finer parts of that deal remain undisclosed.

This is but a mere example of the Janet Jackson theory of politics, which seems to be on repeat for Schnall when it comes to his opponents:

What have you done for me lately?

Under Republican Assemblyman Ned Thomson and Sean Kean’s leadership, Lakewood received more money for private school busing than any other town in Ocean or Monmouth Counties in the current state budget. In a similar manner, BMG, the largest Yeshiva in Lakewood and second-largest globally, received millions for a pilot mental health program.

Thomson is of particular interest to Schnall given his relative newcomer status and swift rise to leadership. The Minority Conference Leader in the Assembly since 2022 and first elected in 2017, Thomson has been critical of Schnall’s golden calf approach to then good people of Lakewood. Tasked with helping craft and deliver a Republican agenda, Thomson has been a vocal opponent of ghastly sex ed curriculums for school children, on-demand abortions, and has the typical Republican bona fide of defending religious liberty in New Jersey to be respected.

Thomson has been critical of Rabbi Schnall’s candidacy, claiming that Schnall is out of touch with the good people of Lakewood while claiming to be their best advocate. While the Orthodox community in New York rallied to defend the free exercise of their faith, Rabbi Schnall was making inroads with Governor Murphy as part of his COVID response as Lakewood suffered in fear. Schnall contends that he was a faithful ambassador for Lakewood during the pandemic. Was he speaking for the community he merely using the opportunity as a stepping stone for future fame, as no tangible policy victory seems to be attributed to him.

Can Schnall bridge conservative Lakewood with the far left Democratic Party?

On November 7th we’ll have our answer. What Rabbi Schnall has to answer for is whether or not his promises can be delivered, or is it merely opportunistic hubris.

As assemblyman, Schnall is not the governor (duh), ergo he will not have line item veto power. Specific carveouts a la this for thee but not for Lakewood simply do not exist. When Schnall claims he will vote for a state budget because there might be some busing money Lakewood, he will also be voting for the other items contained in that budget: radical sex ed materials, tax rates, school funding, green energy initiatives, and abortion.

Additionally, one thing that should worry conservative voters of all stripes is Schnall’s views on a rather taboo topic: child marriage.

Rabbi Schnall was a staunch opponent of in 2018’s A865/S427, a law which ended all marriage before age 18.

“[Saying] any marriage under the age of 18 is illegal seems a bit extreme,” said Rabbi Schnall in his capacity as Agudath Israel of America’s New Jersey director. A 2018 tweet of Schnall’s questions the future of American Jews in relation to the legislation. Fraidy Reiss, founder of Unchained at Last, cited how abusive the practice can be emotionally and physically:
“You’re subjecting this girl to a human rights abuse. It destroys girls’ health, their education, their economic opportunities. It significantly increases the risk that they’ll be beaten by their spouse. It literally destroys girls’ lives.”

Can Schnall deliver?

Or is he preying on the fears of the good people of Lakewood? Perhaps he is an opportunistic ideologue looking to put a feather in his cap by knocking off Thomson and looking to swing District 30 in favor of the Democrats of the next few cycles. That’s typical of serpents, suffocating their prey until they swallow it whole.

The question is: will Lakewood bear witness to the truth about their supposed shepherd? Elections come and go, as do their candidates, but values are of the metaphysical — that which makes us pursue truth and justice in a world that has largely rejected it.

What the truth is beyond our earthly realm is up for debate, but in our current moment the truth is clear: Rabbi Avi Schnall is more vanity than he is virtue.

Aside from being caught with 4 unprescribed doses of oxycodone in Sayreville and forging a prescription for the same in Neptune, Meehan’s extended rap sheet shows a history of bad decisions, not a one time mistake.

With respect to esteemed local Middletown reporter Carly Baldwin of the Patch, CJN did some more digging as promised to our audience. It turns out that a simple incident was not isolated, but part of a long strain of incidents over the course of a decade.

Middletown, 1999

An 18-year old Meehan was charged with Disorderly Conduct - Disturbing the Peace. It was originally Stolen Property-Knowing Property Was Stolen. An OPRA request to Middletown yielded no further reports, but this seems like a stellar way to kick off adulthood. 

Ocean City, 2001

Meehan is charged with an alcohol offense. An OPRA request yielded no further details.

Oceanport, 2005

Meehan was charged with Unsafe Operation of a Vehicle. At 2:04 AM, Meehan was pulled over by police for going over the traffic lanes. With all due respect to the good people of Oceanport, what was a Belford man doing there at 2:04 in the morning?

The case was disposed of in December of that year.

Holmdel, 2004

Meehan is charged with Using or Possessing with Intent to Use Drug Paraphernalia. An OPRA request to Holmdel yielded no results due to what is believed to be a sealed criminal investigation, but we’re now seeing a pattern every 2-3 years…

Union Beach, 2006

At 9:41 PM on February 21st, Meehan was driving along with his friend Sean Carkeek when the latter was pulled over for a broken tail light. The Officer smelled marijuana emanating from the vehicle. Meehan admitted to smoking some prior to operating the vehicle. Carkeek and five-foot-five Meehan now stood outside the vehicle in the cold bayshore winter.

The police report indicates that responding officers found “a small baggie containing a greenish vegetative substance.” Neither Carkeek nor Meehan claimed ownership of the contraband. They were brought to Headquarters for further questioning after a “glass pipe containing a burnt residue and a marijuana cigarette, which [Carkee] said was placed into a Pepsi can” was also recovered from their car.

Meehan was charged with Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance of Less than 50 grams of Marijuana and 5g of Hashish. The case was later disposed on May 17th.

Middletown, 2008

Going back to where this pilgrimage of debauchery started, Meehan is charged with Careless Driving: Likely to Endanger [a] Person or Property. 

Sayreville & Neptune, 2009

When the Patch dropped their article on Justin Meehan’s 2009 drug charges, the Be the Change slate of Middletown Board of Ed Candidates immediately charged author Carly Baldwin, in their opening sentence, as being associated with the Putting Children First team and running a coordinated smear campaign. That was at 11:38 on October 5th.

Three hours later, Meehan emerged on the Be the Change Facebook page with a statement.

“The facts of the article, while muddled, were based in truth,” said Meehan. “In 2009, I was arrested for charges that reflected a poor decision I made to attempt to fill an unlawful prescription. At that time, I chose to cooperate with the police and all charges against me were dropped.” Justin Meehan wasn’t some troubled youth–he was approx. 28 years old at the time of these charges, and - per the New Jersey State Police, this report could not be released due to it being yet another sealed criminal investigation.

The rest of the statement read like a Shawshank-esque redemption story for Meehan, who finally addressed the 15 year old specter haunting him. A smear campaign with “muddled truth” morphed into a sophomoric press release that confirmed the Patch’s findings over the course of three hours.

If the Guinness Book of World Records is reading this, I’d like to nominate Carly Baldwin for fastest vindication.

Patch’s Baldwin did a stellar job of recapping the charges of Forgery and Improper Behavior. We won’t dare eclipse her work to that end, but after diving further into Meehan’s rap sheet, we’re left with one thing that police reports and OPRA requests cannot determine: a man’s judgment.

Middletown, 2023

Meehan’s sordid past began when he was 18 and ended when he was 28. During that time, he went from working at Enterprise Rent-A-Car to a few teaching jobs, to now being a Business Education Teacher Old Bridge, per his Facebook profile. Meehan also coaches youth soccer.

While yes, it is indeed true that someone cannot teach in public schools if they have ever been convicted of a crime, we in the court of public opinion have every right to question a man’s judgment. Baldwin also noted that he became involved in a DEA investigation and his friend (who he previously blamed for the forged prescription) felt the tremor of the judge’s gavel, not Meehan.

There’s something to be said for throwing your friends under the bus when you're complicit with their actions. There’s many names for it, the one that comes to mind is usually something of the rodent variety.

Meehan’s Facebook post July 11, 2020 gives good insight into how his judgment could be dealt with by Middletown voters. After seemingly losing his job.at St. John Vianney, Meehan took to Facebook looking for work as anyone would:

“Not looking for sympathy at all,” as he was looking for people to vouch for him to find work, presumably for a teaching position. Surely an exhaustive background check from both any new employer, especially one with a majority of minor, impressionable children would see his rap sheet of a new charge every two years for a decade.

How was that passed? What process exists to allow someone who was caught distributing drugs, forging fake prescriptions, and throwing friends under the bus to be in a position to coach children academically or athletically? We all fall short of our best selves and anyone who ascends the ladder of self-improvement should be roundly applauded, but the sacrifice goes beyond redemption.

One can be redeemed, and more power to them - but can they be trusted by the public again, especially when they have not one but two sealed criminal investigations, whose contents are not made publicly available and voters are left to rely solely on Meehan;s word?

That’s another investigation for another time, but what we can discern is that Justin Meehan’s judgment, past, and questionable motives for a BOE seat is not one of muddle truth and conspiracies– it’s a record, and one that Middletown voters should take into question.

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