Toms River: The collective intelligence of 11,000 rank and file Dover Township Republicans was insulted once again when they received their sample ballots for the GOP primary election.

Bellu Is GOP Clement GreedClub Officer

The ballot shows that Juan Carlos Bellu, an officer in the local Republican Club controlled by former Dover Township Police Chief Richard Clement, and the immediate past chairman of the Dover Township "planning" Board, is an official Republican organization candidate for Alternate District Delegate to the Republican National Convention.

Boss Clement didn't issue a press release on Bellu's selection as a convention delegate. Neither did any other club official.

Rank And File Republicans Have Their Noses Rubbed In It

To many Republicans who are aware of the aromatic connections of many of the current characters in Dover Township GOP politics, and to those rank and file Republicans who are more than mildly concerned about the direction of the new government that took office in January, this was a little like rubbing their noses in it.

Bellu Helped Put Russo Campaign Off Balance

As the official 2003 GOP Dover Township Campaign Manager, planning Board Chairman Bellu helped to unbalance the Republican campaign of former "Mayor" John F. Russo Jr. last year by generally failing to follow through on everything important, and serving as one of the top apologists for former planning board attorney Robert Shea.

Shea's VoTech Reappointment Helped Russo Lose

Shea's reappointment as attorney for the Ocean County Vocational School was front page headlines on election day last year, and reminded voters just before they voted how Shea submitted bills to a variety of public agencies, many vouchers for up to twelve times as much as other attorneys charged in the same capacity.

The bad timing of Shea's reappointment may have helped erase Russo's thin lead and make a narrow victory for Paul Brush, who won by a paper thin 400 votes.

Bellu Helped Wreck The Open Space Program As
He Helped Drive Up Acquisition Prices

Bellu is  one of the ten people most responsible for wrecking the township's open space acquisition program, and his tenure on the planning board was devoted to catering to developers and driving up the prices of potential open space acquisition properties.

Well Liked By Developers And Their Lawyers

Planning Board Chairman Bellu was well liked by the developers and their lawyers, especially JAMM Realty attorney Harvey York and GOP Municipal Chairman Joseph Coronato, a favored Republican GreedClub attorney, paid off again this year for serving as Dover Township Public Defender at $45,000 a year, but still representing developer-clients before the planning board.

JAMM And Home Depot Properties Could Have Been Bought For Around $1 Million Each: Watch For The Bellu Tax Increase

Bellu has considerable responsibility for policies that tripled and quadrupled the prices of open space properties sought by the township, and if the local government ends up paying $5 or $6 million to acquire the JAMM property, or $5 million for the Home Depot tract, they can thank Bellu and his associates in the Clement Republican Club for the next big tax increase.

Ran Prices Into The Ionosphere: The Rest Is History

The JAMM property could have been acquired in 2000 for under $1.2 million, and the Home Depot property could have been acquired for less than $1 million, but bad policies enacted by a series of planning board chairpersons, including Bellu and his predecessor, Michael Little, ran the prices into  the ionosphere and, as they say in Lacey Township, "the rest is history."

Boss Clement Made Bellu A DMUA Commissioner, So Bellu Has Been Paying his Dues - With Public Funds Of Course

Bellu was rewarded for his high level commitment to bad planning board policy when he was appointed through the auspices of GOP Boss Richard Clement as a commissioner on the Dover Municipal Utilities Authority, where Bellu has distinguished himself by repeatedly attempting to hand $Millions in DMUA reserve funds to a stock broker neighbor of the Clements.

Haines Cove Stock Broker Gets Another $2 Milion