Point Beach Mayor Calls On Councilman To Quit After Tax Report

Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Stephen Reid called on his GOP Primary opponent to quit Thursday after a New Jersey Globe report said Councilman Paul Kanitra owes $151,541 in taxes.

Reid made the call as Kanitra, in an interview with Patch, did not dispute The New Jersey Globe report and said he's on a payment plan, adding: "I anticipate they’ll (his taxes) be totally taken care of by the end of the year."

Reid, who faces a challenge from Kanitra in the June 4 Republican primary for mayor, said the revelation "is just a slap in the face of the residents of Point Pleasant Beach."

"That's a real problem. He just ignored paying his taxes for three years," Reid said. "Someone like that should resign right away."

The Globe report said the Internal Revenue Service has filed a tax lien against Kanitra because he owes $151,541 in unpaid taxes for 2014, 2015 and 2016. The report includes a copy of the tax lien.

Kanitra sought to turn the tables on Reid, saying the mayor should resign because of alleged "lawsuits, multiple ethics violations, public outbursts, shady financial deals and numerous instances of conduct unbecoming a mayor."

As he did in the Globe article, Kanitra told Patch that he believes Reid lied on his financial disclosure forms because he didn't reveal that he purchased property Councilman Tom Toohey.

Reid acknowledged to Patch that he purchased property from Toohey with a $100,000 down payment, but he said there was nothing wrong with what he did and that Kanitra was trying to "deflect."

"I don’t have ethic issues," Reid said. "The real story here is about a councilman who refused to pay his taxes and now is trying to deflect."

The issue was addressed during Tuesday night’s council meeting, as reported by The New Jersey Globe, when former Mayor Vincent Barrella asked Reid to explain why he had not revealed his ownership of the Toohey home.

Reid confirmed to Patch what he said to Barrella, as quoted by the Globe: “You are just a rude son of a bitch, aren’t you? You’re a horrible person ... You’re a nasty son of a bitch."