Very disappointing. I know Tom Carvelli casually and he seems like a very nice guy with a nice family, but in the 10 year period that I attended very nearly every Council meeting I don’t recall him ever once coming to the mic to say anything about anything going on. (If the minutes were searchable I could tell you for sure.)
And think about all that’s gone on. I’ve made a whole career (unpaid) out of reporting about it. Surely there should have been something he felt strongly enough about that he would show up at a meeting and speak about it, or contribute in other ways like writing letters to the editor or spending days and weeks collecting petition signatures the way so many of us did. I know he supported the pavilions despite the high cost, and that’s OK if he felt that way, but what about the favored treatment Merri-Makers is now getting for the use of the Taylor pavilion, what about the Ashbritt thing, the gift cards, the “responsible bidder” ordinance, the attempted gutting of our campaign finance laws, the Home by Summer fiasco, the helicopter landing allowed for a campaign contributor, the marina fiasco, etc? Was he OK with all of this?
Compare that to Jim Bean and Vickie Renner, the other two choices selected by the Committee, who have both contributed countless hours and effort to try to improve and advance the town of Belmar and to try to stop a lot of the nonsense I’ve reported on here. Everybody knows this. We’ve seen them.
Like I said, I don’t think Tom’s a bad guy. He just wasn’t there like Jim and Vickie have been.
Also disappointed to see 36 resolutions passed without a public comment opportunity. I don’t know how they get away with that.
43 Comments
Please don’t forget the donation to Doherty for mayor in 2014.
It was his wife, actually, that made the contribution.
Embarrassing says it all. Pat must have had to swallow hard nominating Jim’s pal, but hey what’s done is done. Primary is in June.
Climb aboard the independent train for the June Primary.
Administrator-it depends on how you look at things. Maybe the new mayor doesn’t want the radical force as part of his administration. Maybe he wants fair-minded people as part of our governing body. Maybe Mayor Walsifer wants council reps who are not influenced by this blog. Just saying…Where is it written that everything stated here is accurate ?
Jim Bean for Council.
Maybe the new administration will finally get a new sound system for the court room. It is a little ridiculous that we are not able to hear half of what the Mayor, Council or the residents that get up to comment have to say.
And the building still leaks! They canceled Youth Club because of it! The building is not handicap accessible as the handicap door openers do not work. And the lighting outside of Borough Hall has also been broken for years.
This new administration has their hands full. Let’s try to be supportive this year and help anyway we can to get our town back!
Hose me off. I feel used.
Saw a new Mark Walsifer today. How pompus. Me, me, me.
New mayor did not want to be overshadowed by Jim or Vicki. It is understandable.
#9 At least it is not Magovern being pompous, saying “we won, you didn’t.” There is a new sheriff in town.
#10-I agree with you. When Jim Bean sat on the council, he may have made some good points and presented valid thoughts. But he always seemed angry with a bad attitude. I think Mayor Walsifer saw this side of Jim. Our new Mayor will be great for Belmar. Why offer criticism when he’s just entered office? He needs to have people he can work with, not an individual who appears to thwart everything.
#12- Attacking Jim Bean is just changing the subject. Vickie Renner was over looked for someone who was on the Doherty side of the pavilion debate. When the budget comes out this year and taxes will have to be raised, it’s because of Doherty supports like this. The political party fighting all of this just rewarded his backstabbing. All because Jim Bean is angry? Why not reward Vickie Renner? Was she angry with a bad attitude too? She thought the pavilions costs were ripping off the taxpayers as well. Please stop redirecting the debate to your dislike of Jim. He pulled his name at the last minute anyways. Vickie should primary this year.
Was just offering my explanation why neither one of them was chosen. I like both of them very much.
# 12 – “seemed angry with a bad attitude”
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Yep, that was the correct time to be angry with a bad attitude. Anything less than that would have been unseemly.
We’ve all been fooled as Walsifer just turned his back on his own political committee. The same committee who helped him get into office. Now he has set-up an environment for a contested primary for the 2 council seats up for election this November. Contested primaries have been unheard of in Belmar. Before anyone blames Bean or Vickie Renner for any turmoil, look at what a turncoat Walsifer just became with his council appointment.
Always appoint or hire staff that you trust and have similar views with… Cooperation not confrontation yield the best results…
There’s a way to shed light on issues and scandals without trapping people, without phrasing the information as a “gotcha”. There’s a way to illuminate the truth and there’s a way to make people look bad. While Walsifer’s pick may not be good, the other two are dividers rather than uniters. I realize there’s only so much you can talk to Doherty or his council, but for the press and for the people of Belmar, there were other ways to go about things. An investigation or even a simple phone call and one on one meeting with a school official about the gift cards for example, would have helped get to the bottom of it without creating nothing but bad press and low morale for Belmar. What did it accomplish? Nothing but bad press. There are other ways to illuminate the truth and make change. Their work is appreciated, but it’s not surprising they’re not leading our town.
#18-I couldn’t agree with you more! People on this blog revel in bad press, and making people look bad. I’m delighted that your words agree with my way of thinking . So much was made of the Shop Rite gift cards( distributed after Hurricane Sandy)I could throw up. They were given to people in need at the time. No record keeping . Things were hectic . If someone needed/requested a card, it was given to the person. How many went to the school ? Who knows? The small-minded people made such a big deal about this, just to embarrass the people in charge who were handling/ coping with all that was going on post Hurricane Sandy.
OMG people.
-1 please stop bringing me up. I took my name off the list. This was between Vickie and Tom, and Mayor Walsifer believed Tom to be the better representative for Belmar.
-2 #18 you are seriously misguided. You are upset that I actually did my job and double checked the numbers and found gross mishandling of $18,000 in missing donated funds that were supposed to go to victims of the hurricane. These funds were handled by the borough employees and elected official (I have pictures of them all smiling around boxes of cash) so I brought it up at a council meeting to get it on the record. This was done so paperwork couldn’t be changed, or stories made straight, or a cover up to save a buddy’s job. I was hoping the Mayor would take the lead, be angry about missing money, and get to the bottom of it, and if there was a good reason the numbers were wrong the authorities would come back and report what was found. This is what upsets you?, that I did that…..not the fact that the $18,000 was missing, not the fact that nobody in the borough including the mayor cared, not the fact the prosecutor’s office said there are serious accounting issues and free access to the borough safe, and after all of this was exposed it doesn’t really bother you that nobody was held accountable or reprimanded for a missing $18,000. None of that bothers you, what really gets you is the fact I didn’t have a sit-down private meeting with the guy who in all likelihood took the cards and gave them out to political supporters (pst….That’s why nobody got in trouble)…and this is the reason I’m not a leader? This is why i’m a divider? Please answer. I want to make sure I’m clear that you believe I’m the one who caused the bad press, not the fact the $18,000 in funds was gone, never to be found.
And why call the school? They reported exactly what was given to them. It was the borough who rigged the numbers.
And again. Stop talking about me and this seat. I removed my name from it well before the vote
#20-Misguided? I don’t think so. The town’s people pulled together in an admirable way after Hurricane Sandy. I am proud of our residents. The Shop Rite gift cards were given to people who needed them. Where is your empathy? You are a divider. Always criticizing. Why did you have to bring the court system into this? Always wanting to put Belmar and residents in a bad light. I for one am happy that the people who needed food during that devastating time received them. The judges ruled that accounting was lacking . I’m sure you wanted to have all those involved sentenced to prison. I can’t understanding why you are unable to grasp the severity of Belmar’s situation after the hurricane. People were really suffering. You are very short-sighted as the self-appointed Belmar watch dog. You remark that the cards were given to political supporters is an affront to all Belmar residents. You have no proof, or personal knowledge of this. The words self-righteous suit you perfectly .
#21, aka CD, If you have proof that the $18,000 in missing gift cards “were given to people who needed them” or if you have information about what happened to them that the police doesn’t know, I encourage you to contact myself, the owner of this blog, or the Belmar police dept and give insight into the information you claim to have. If you do not reach out to anyone but just post more erroneous garbage, I’ll assume you want to keep secret what you know, or you know nothing and are just spreading hate. This is my last post.
Just to clarify, the amount of cards that went missing was a little over $9000. The total spent by the Borough for all the cards was $18,000.
There are many brilliant individuals that present their thoughts in a harsh tone, making them unappreciated…
#22-Sorry 22-my initials are P.M. I’ll follow through on your suggestions.
#22-AKA Angry Young Man. Talk about hate.
#22 I remember when Jim Bean was trying to find out what happened to the shop rite cards. You sir/madame should crawl back under your rock and stay there. People (OFFICIALS) who can’t keep track of the public’s money should be removed from office immediately.
#21 has a very familiar style of responding
#22-I just read over the comments posted above. They remind me of the letter #22 wrote which was published in the Coast Star. While I’ve never been a fan of Belmar’s former BA, I thought the letter written by #22 was cruel and inappropriate . She was leaving, which is all most residents wanted. Yet #22 had to add his special brand of” get even” and hate to the situation. It sort of discounts him using the word hate about someone else . He is one way, always with the last word, showing how he has to be right. That letter was totally unnecessary. She was leaving; that’s what we wanted . I’ve heard from several people who thought the letter was wrong , and they weren’t fans of the outgoing BA either.
Its amazing that the Kool Aid Crew is still here defending the Queen of Mean and her minions. Its almost like they have something to lose if the truth is proven and comes out. We can only hope.
When an individual is in a position of power, they must carefully pick and choose battles… As a person of power (a leader of people) if you fight every issues, you eventually lose your authority…. Just something to think about….
It’s like Jimmy Keady for the liberals. They didn’t come out for him because he didn’t inspire them. They agree with everything he says, but they feel he’s exacerbated by everyone, including them….that they may not understand, let alone work like he does for the people. Now, Jimmy and Jim both are good people, but that doesn’t make them leaders. Leaders have to be smart, relentless, AND good politicians. Many are the latter two. It’s frustrating to see that and I’m sure that’s where Jim’s attitude comes from. Point is, he’s a liability for the new regime here.
Many times on this blog, Walsifer was bashed for not disagreeing with the former mayor…. But Walsifer, was smart, he was in a no win situation and by keeping his mouth shut, he maintained his electability… Now let’s hope he fixes this mess…
#33 – the only way to play and make change.
I’d like to say a few things here about Jim Bean that people don’t understand. Jim is a Marine (as they say, once a Marine, always a Marine). We Marines are born idealists. We believe in doing the right thing. When we see things being done underhanded, we are angry. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s what you want Marines to be, angry people. But when a man who was in the Corps becomes angry in a civilian situation, people stand back and don’t understand. They loved the man when he wore that uniform, but expect him to turn off his idealism when he leaves the Corps – it doesn’t work that way. Understand you have a special man in Jim Bean in your midst and be thankful for it.
What we loved about Jim was that he WAS NOT a politician. That was his biggest asset. Truth and integrity is what he spoke. He never made back room deals, empty promises or turned a blind eye to the way things were being mishandled. He understood what was being fudged with the budget and called them out on it. He asked questions to get to the bottom of the where the taxpayer’s money went and why certain decisions were being made. That is exactly what we need now to get things back on track. You want honesty and transparency? Already this new administration has faltered. I have a bad feeling walsifer is just another Doherty. And Mr. Dilberger you are correct, Marines are idealists who never compromise between right and wrong. Thank you and Jim Bean for your service.
Tom you are absolutely correct!
#36… There is a big difference between doing a good job (Mr.Bean did a great job) and being electable… Let give Walsifer an opportunity before condemning him….
#35…. A good Marine is trained in the art of physical warfare… Conversely a great politician is skillful in intellectual battles… They are two totally different skills, with one being ill suited for politics, if the Marine mentality is untamed…
Summer Timer, shut up. Worry about Bayonne.
I am ALWAYS LOYAL to winter in Bayonne….
#39 – Sir/Madam, You’re attempting to paint Jim as an angry man. He’s far from that. He’s a pleasant man to be around, but he was rightfully angered sitting among the dumb, drooling, vapid staring, moronic mayor and council we’ve endured for the last few years (certainly, they were “tame”). Finally, the people have driven those poor creatures out (Matt knew the game was up and he wouldn’t be reelected). Whenever Brennan comes up for reelection he will be driven out as well.
#42… That is far from the truth… Many times on this blog I stated that Mr. Bean has great ideas and I was hoping he would be elected mayor when he challenged Matt… I even stated above he did a great job, but I am as far right as you can get… You can’t win an election if you dont get crossover votes… All I am saying is the tone of your message can make you unelectable… I do believe that because of this blog and Mr. Bean,as well as others, the path was cleared for our newly elected mayor… But I also believe in doing so they have become unelectable.. They need a political makeover Unfortunately…
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