Monmouth State Senator Calls For 'Rebellion, Defy Gov. Murphy'

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A Republican Monmouth County state senator who sent out a tweet Saturday night calling for "rebellion" and for people to "defy Gov. Murphy" explained his tweet to Patch Monday.

"So...first time I’m going to suggest this....but it’s time. Everyone...defy the @GovMurphy! Go outside your house!! It’s ok, you can trust me! Look South/Southeast...revel in that moon! We’re likely going to take this rebellion a few steps further next couple weeks. Get ready!," tweeted state Sen. Declan O'Scanlon Saturday night.

Sen. O'Scanlon said Monday morning his tweet was "mostly tongue in cheek, but meant to represent the immense frustration the business community is feeling, and that frustration grows every day."

"I was trying to express the growing frustration from the business community that is simmering under the surface, and that frustration and tension is growing every single day. It's going to boil over," he said. "Since that tweet went out, I've heard from a lot of people, including a lot of Democrats, who say we need to reopen and we need to do it now. Economic health is public health."

During his Monday news conference, Murphy said he considers O'Scanlon a "good guy and a good friend" but noted that they both live in Monmouth County, which has had 6,988 coronavirus cases and 445 deaths.

"I want to open up the state as much as the next guy," Murphy said, but he added that more than 100 people each day are still entering the hospital for coronavirus treatment.

"The house is still on fire," he said.

O'Scanlon said he's heard from those who work or own manufacturing businesses, restaurants and boutique owners "who see that Walmart is able to open and can sell clothes, but they cannot."

Interestingly, O'Scanlon got some push back from within his own party: Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden, the leader of the Monmouth County Republican party and a well-known GOP voice in the state, said a suggestion like O'Scanlon's "places law enforcement in a compromising position ... promoting defiance and rebellion could be misconstrued and inflammatory. This would only place LE in harm's way."

O'Scanlon is a Republican who represents the 13th legislative district in Trenton, a string of northern Monmouth towns that include Aberdeen, Hazlet, Holmdel, Middletown, Rumson and Little Silver, where he resides.

O'Scanlon has been a loud advocate for reopening beaches and particularly allowing Jersey Shore business owners to reopen, ideally before Memorial Day weekend.

"One critical week can make a huge difference, psychologically and practically, for our economically critical Jersey Shore season. The difference between opening on May 23 vs. June 1 is significant," O'Scanlon wrote in this op-ed to the Star Ledger last week. "We should move forward with a plan that foresees some substantial level of opening of businesses, beaches, boardwalks, restaurants, etc. — with reasonable guidelines — on May 23. Too many people — our governor sometimes amongst them — miss the dramatic, life-destroying impact if we fail to save our economy."

O'Scanlon also told Patch Monday morning that Murphy's shown "no leadership" on reopening the economy and bashed him for a lack of specifics on his reopening plan.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Murphy said they would not be commenting on O'Scanlon's tweet, or his comments.

Nearly every single town in New Jersey has at least one case of coronavirus — 555 of New Jersey's 565 communities have it — and parts of South Jersey continue to show a faster rate of growth than in North Jersey, according to the latest data out Monday morning. Meanwhile, while curve in North Jersey – where the disease originally surged – has flattened.