Action In Berkeley Primary Confined To Governor's Race And First Ward Contest Between School Board Republican And Former Township Councilwoman

 Petrizzo vs Depetris in Wd III; Krone vs Napurano In Wd IV

All local races are uncontested in Berkeley Township in the June 8th primary election except for First Ward Council, where Karen Davis, a recent member of the Berkeley School Board, has the backing of Republican Club President Anthony DiPaola and party Chairman Carmen Amato, as well as County Republican boss George Gilmore and the Ocean County Republican Organization.

Six GOP Gubernatorial Hopefuls Include Schundler, Forrester & Schroeder, Who Bought Ocean GOP Nod

The only other contests are in the statewide ballot competition for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, where six GOP hopefuls, including favorites Doug Forrester, Bret Schundler and Bergen Councilman Robert Schroeder, who bought the official party endorsement from Gilmore for $51,500.

Opposing Davis is former Republican Councilwoman Janet Palino-Morey, who was narrowly defeated for re-election to the council four years ago in the 2001 Berkeley Democratic landslide as Democrats swept all four ward council seats.

Councilwoman Lynn Newman Will Not Seek Re-Election

First Ward Democratic Councilwoman Lynn Newman, the 2003 winner, is not seeking re-election; she was redistricted out of her council seat as the wards in Berkeley were rearranged to conform to recent population changes.

Ciullo, DiPaola, Amato, All School Board
Members, Refused To Back Palino-Morey

Palino-Morey wanted the backing of the GOP organization but was rebuffed by Amato, DiPaola and GOP Vice-President Richard Ciullo, all school board members, in favor of Ms. Davis, until a week ago also a Berkeley school board member.

GOP President DiPaola nearly lost his school board seat recently as voters, angered by a series of tax increases in both Berkeley school districts, voted down the two school budgets by some of the largest relative margins in NJ.

Amato Got $85,000 Job As County
"Director" Of Printing And Graphics

Chairman Amato, who some Republicans believe functions mainly  as an errand boy for Gilmore, was recently handed an $85,000 job as "Director" of the Ocean County printing and graphics department, even though he has no experience in printing or in graphics design.

Amato Is A Council Candidate In Ward II

Amato, President of the Central Regional School Board, is a part of the Republican patronage system, and is himself a candidate for the township council in Ward II, against incumbent Democratic Councilman Peter Mustardo.

GOP Vice President Ciullo, also a member of the Central Regional school board, is the operator of the Berkeley Republican WebSite which recently made false and salacious charges against critics of Republican patronage policies.

Ciullo SmearSite Shut Down
After Parents Complained

A previous Ciullo internet Web Site was shut down last year immediately after Ciullo's election to the Central Regional school board, as parents and some faculty and administration personnel complained about the unwholesome and objectionable material it carried.

Ms. Davis recently circulated a flier which claimed she "has the necessary skills to scrutinize and root out unnecessary spending" and would "implement a ZERO based budget practice so every dollar is spent wisely."

Spending Claim Appears To Be Less Than Accurate

This claim appears to contradict Davis' eight year record on the Berkeley school board where she approved every spending and tax increase, and helped arrange hefty payments to no-bid Republican patronage recipients, including Jack Sahradnik, the attorney who was paid more than $700,000 last year by the GOP freeholders.

Davis Also Helped Hand Yezzi $1.9 Million

Davis was also instrumental in exponentially enriching Architect Massimo Yezzi, the Republican District Committeeman who was paid more than $1.9 million by the Berkeley school board for for no-bid contract design work on the new school construction and other projects.

Construction Claims Not Quite Accurate

The Davis flier also claimed she "worked tirelessly to ensure that construction of the Berkeley Elementary School and renovations to the other schools were completed on time and under budget."

This also does not appear to be quite accurate as two Ocean County Observer newspaper article surfaced.

The first article, by Chris Lundy, dated June 30, 2004, was headlined: "Berkeley School Won't Be Ready By September."

Opening Of Berkeley Elementary Delayed

The second article, also by Chris Lundy, was dated September 2, 2004 and was headlined: "Opening Of Berkeley Elementary Delayed." The article said the opening of the school would be delayed until November and blamed the delays on "severe winter weather and difficulty in receiving building materials."

Amato and Ciullo recently handed Yezzi's wife, April, President of the Ocean County Republican Women's Federation, an allegedly  superfluous $70,000 job as Assistant Business Administrator for Central Regional schools.

Davis Employed By One Of The
Biggest No-Bid Accounting Firms

Davis is a Certified Public Accountant employed by Holman and Frenia, one of the largest no-bid contract accounting firms in Ocean County.

Holman and Frenia's offices are at 10 Allen Street, the Toms River location of Chairman Gilmore and his law firm.

And just to make the whole thing as efficient as possible, Holman and Frenia are the auditors for the Berkeley school board, a fact which is not mentioned in the Davis flier.

Palino-Morey also published campaign statements which were circulated when she ran for re-election in 2001.

Palino-Morey "Voted Against
Every Proposed Tax Increase"

Her publications claim she "voted against every proposed tax increase" and there is nothing in the record that appears to contradict this claim.

 Her publications also say she "earned a reputation for finding innovative ways to cut spending," that she "worked closely with local environmental groups to preserve over 1000 acres of open space" and "eliminated $3 million in Berkeley's debt."

Many Republicans Think Palino-Morey Got A Raw Deal

Although no facts were included to verify all of this, many Berkeley Republicans, with Ciullo, Amato and DiPaola as the notable exceptions, believe Palino-Morey got a raw deal from the Republican Club, and they remember her as a fairly effective public official who spent a lot of time and effort on her public responsibilities.

So there will be great interest in Berkeley Ward I as the GOP Primary approaches: Davis will have the party line, headed by official GOP legislative candidates and Freeholder Joseph Vicari, running for re-election and ironically, the superintendent of the Berkeley Elementary School.

Republican Primary Voters
Will Have To Search

Palino-Morey will be all by herself on the ballot, so Republican voters will have to search for her name.

The winner of the Republican Ward I primary will be opposed by Democrat Richard Bishop. In Ward III, incumbent Democrat Glennon Depetris will be opposed by former Dover Township Committeewoman Joann Petrizzo, a Republican. In Ward IV, incumbent Democrat John Napurano will run against Republican Hugh Krone.

We'll see what happens. This article prepared for publication 5/15/05, with 24 days remaining to primary day.