How Did We Get Here?

With the choice between maintaining our form of government or gambling on the rarely used government structure recommended by the Holmdel Charter Study Commission right around the corner, most folks I speak with are simply perplexed by all of the signs, social media posts, and misinformation.

They’re proud of Holmdel and want to stick with what has worked for them. They want Holmdel to remain one of the highest rated and most desirable communities in New Jersey.

So, they often ask me, what is this really all about and how did we get here?

The Charter Study initiative was hatched by two factions:

1. Holmdel politicians who want to keep political power, and
2. Local operatives and activists seeking political power.

These two groups combined forces and devised a plan to sneak non-partisan elections into Holmdel during a low-turnout, mid-summer election … that decision alone earns a “no” vote in my book.

Non-partisan elections and political survival are the true objectives here – and those factions are willing to destroy Holmdel’s political system to achieve them.

These politicians and activists quietly slipped their Charter Study plan through our Township Committee in the summer of 2021 – in the midst of a global pandemic – and ensured that a team of like-minded allies would become the only five candidates for the Commission. Their November 2021 ballot question creating the Charter Study Commission was passed by only 23% of Holmdel’s registered voters.

A few weeks later, the Charter Study kangaroo court was in session, with friendly guests and a disdain for dissent. The grand finale, of course, was calling for a July 26th mid-summer election – to dramatically increase their odds of success. And, throughout the entire process, you were kept in the dark.

AND YOU MAY ASK YOURSELF, "WELL, HOW DID I GET HERE?"

So, how did we get here? Let’s go back to when it all started …

On May 28, 2020, Holmdel residents Kin Gee and Randy Rauscher created a new Political Action Committee called the “Monmouth County Independents PAC”. Currently chaired by Lea Shave, the Monmouth County Independents PAC’s objective is to “advocate for nonpartisan elections, public questions, and/or such related activities.”

Later that same day (May 28, 2020), Kin Gee’s newly formed Holmdel First (a “new non-partisan citizens group”) teamed up with Holmdel’s allegedly non-partisan CILU organization. Together, they held a joint presentation touting the benefits of non-partisan elections. The guest speaker was attorney Kevin Starkey, currently the municipal attorney for Tinton Falls (one of the few towns in New Jersey with nonpartisan elections). Just 18 months later, your tax dollars were being routed to Mr. Starkey as he became the attorney representing Holmdel’s Charter Study Commission.

Charter Study advocates continued working diligently behind the scenes, though the public heard virtually nothing from them between June of 2020 and June of 2021.

NEXT STOP, TOWN HALL!

During the July 13, 2021 Township Committee meeting, Mayor Buontempo brought up the Charter Study Commission for the first time, saying “I believe that our system of government is antiquated and does not function well. I specifically think that all Holmdel voters should elect the mayor, not the Township Committee.” Buontempo then introduced an ordinance authorizing a public question to “establish a charter study” to be placed on the November 2021 ballot.

The meeting almost ended without any mention of how Charter Study candidates would be selected. But, resident Ralph Blumenthal was insightful enough to raise the question. He asked, “Who gets to say who becomes a candidate on the ballot before you even know if there is going to be a commission? How does that work?”

The answer provided by the Holmdel Township Attorney provided little guidance: “With respect to the Faulkner act ordinance. Under the Faulkner act, if there were final adoption of the ordinance, it would create a window for individuals to elect to run as candidates for the charter study commission if they were interested. And then the November ballot would, as you reference, contain a proposition, yes or no, and also a concurrent election for individuals to the Charter Study Commission…Petitions would be filed in accordance with the Faulkner act.”

THAT was the statement that was supposed to inform the public of this process.

And, little did we know, the clock to become a Charter Study candidate had, in effect, started ticking that very evening! With the election scheduled for November 2, 2021, the deadline to file a petition would be September 3, 2021. This was a simple fact, but not one that anyone in our government chose to share.

At the August 10, 2021 Township Committee meeting, the Charter Study ordinance was approved for the November election, with no public comments. The Charter Study’s first battle was won without a single shot being fired.

During this entire process, Mayor Buontempo never informed the public about the Charter Study nor did he solicit public participation or seek volunteers to run as candidates for the Charter Study Commission.

So, how did they get on the ballot? We’ll review that tomorrow in Part Two.