UPDATED STORY: Hennessy to Vote for Reid for Vacant Council Seat

Point Beach Borough Councilman Sean Hennessy says he will vote for Stephen Reid to fill the council seat just vacated by Jeff Dyer.

The seat expires in December 2012.

Hennessy, in an interview on Wednesday, said he believes Reid, his neighbor and longtime friend, is the best choice out of the three names submitted by Point Beach members of the Ocean County Republican Committee to the council. He said Reid "deserves" the position and will help hold the line on tax increases.

Reid narrowly lost to independent Mayor Vincent Barrella last year and this year.

The other candidates are by 13 votes, and former mayor and councilman Thomas Vogel, according to Republican Municipal Chairman Jay Reynolds.

The matter of replacing Dyer will be on the Dec. 6 council agenda.

However, Municipal Clerk Maryann Ellsworth said on Wednesday that she did not receive a written resignation notice until this past Monday.

She said Dyer signed and dated the letter on Nov. 24 and likely dropped off the letter at Borough Hall sometime between Friday and Monday morning, but Borough Hall had been closed for the four-day Thanksgiving weekend.

"My take on it is that Monday is the date the resignation became effective because that's when I got it in writing," Ellsworth said. "I also talked to the borough attorney about that, so he may have to decide."

Council has 30 days from the date the resignation becomes effective to select a replacement, according to state election law, or the municipal political party commmittee chooses a replacement, Ellsworth said.

Ellsworth said Reynolds and Councilman Tim Lurie asked her to put the matter on the agenda.

Reynolds said in an interview on Wednesday that five Point Beach residents on the Ocean County Republican Committee voted unanimously Monday night for the three candidates, rejecting Michael Ramos, Glen Paesano and Anne Lightburn, who had expressed interest.

Reynolds said the committee is comprised of the following eight members, each of whom is elected in their own district: District 1: Reynolds and Deborah Kogan; District 2: Bill Ammirata and Joellen Arrabito; District 3: Carolyn Slachetka and Tom Migut; District 4: Mary Mossa and Martin Vaccaro.

However, three of the eight committee members were absent Monday night. Reynolds said those absent were: Kogan, Slachetka and Vaccaro.

Reynolds described the selection process: "Steve and Andy worked for it, so that was a no-brainer. Vogel was the only other one (out of the six) who had not supported the Independent candidates."

He said there was about half an hour of discussion, followed by the unanimous vote.

When asked if the selection of Reid appears to validate rumors that have swirled for months, that Dyer would resign right after the election and Reid would be voted in, Reynolds said, "Dyer's announcement was a total surprise to me. I think I may have heard one rumor before the election."

Hennessy wrote in an email on Wednesday: "I was informed yesterday who the three candidates were to fill Councilman Dyer's seat. It is a tough decision because I think all three are more than qualified.

"My selection will be Stephen Reid. Stephen lost a very close election to Vinny Barrella this year. I believe he deserved a chance to lead our town as mayor and believe he deserves a chance to lead our town from a council position. The mayor only breaks ties and the council members have a much bigger say in the decision making process."

"Point Pleasant Beach has definitely hit a crossroads when it comes to the governing body," Hennessy continued. "I can see already that the philosophy of the majority of the 2012 governing body will be to tax and spend.

"The philosophy of myself, Councilman Rizzo, Councilman Lurie, and Councilman Dyer was always to control spending and to have no new taxes. I believe Stephen Reid will have the ability to hold the new governing body responsible for every decision they make."

The other winners in the election were Republican William Mayer, who will serve on council for the first time, independent council candidate Bret Gordon and Barrella, who beat Reid by only 30 votes.

Initially, the result was a difference of 36 votes. On Wednesday, Barrella said that after the provisional ballots were counted and everything was checked, Ocean County election officials determined he had won by only 30 votes.

Now it remains to be seen how other council members vote on filling Dyer's unexpired term.

Councilman Michael Corbally said on Wednesday afternoon that he hopes to talk to all three candidates before making a decision.

Councilman Frank Rizzo, who has missed numerous recent meetings, said Wednesday night he may go to the Tuesday meeting if his health problems don't keep him home, but he does not know yet who he'll support.

He said he has fond memories of Cortes from when he was growing up, playing with other local kids.

"I love that kid, because I knew him as a kid," Rizzo said. "He's polite, a great guy. I'd love to see him get in. But I haven't made up my mind yet. I'm waiting for calls to come in, which I'm sure they will."

Councilwoman Kristine Tooker said she would prefer either Cortes or Vogel over Reid.

"My only problem with Stephen is I feel the voters have rejected him twice already, I don't think he's much different than Jeff," Tooker said. She said she was referring to $6,500 that was paid for "grassroots lobbying" from Jenkinson's. An online copy of a Feb. 16, 2010 Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) report shows that Jenkinson's made the payment to Capital Public Affairs Princeton in 2009, where Reid is a partner.

Reid has not been returning calls to Patch since the election and could not be reached Wednesday night.

Dyer has been recusing himself for months on matters regarding Jenkinson's since the boardwalk company is one of his clients.

Also, Tooker noted, Ed McGlynn, Jenkinson's attorney, made campaign contributions to Reid last year, when he also narrowly lost to Barrella, and this year, according to ELEC reports.

"So he (Reid) will either have to recuse himself, which is ridiculous, because so many things come up, or he'll be voting on things involving them, which I don't think is right either, so I don't think he should be on council," she said.

Also, Reid campaigning against Barrella for two consecutive years will not make for a harmonious, working relationship, Tooker said.

"I had thought, finally, we'll be able to get stuff done and be civil and be able to move us forward," she said. "I'm a do-er. I can't stand not being able to get things done. And I think Stephen has hatred for Vinny and I'm worried there will be chaos up there.

"Tom (Vogel) has experience, which is great, and it seems like Andy is not a political person and just wants to do some good stuff," Tooker said, adding that she could support either one of them.

"But I don't think it will be up to me," Tooker said.

Barrella would only have a vote if there is a tie. When asked on Wednesday who he would support if he does have a vote, he also said, "I would want to talk to everyone before voting.

"Tom was on council and was mayor," Barrella noted. "He has a lot of experience and I like him a lot. I got to know Andy a llittle bit during the campaign and he seems like a nice guy. He's been involved in a lot of things, like Recreation and other things.

"I haven't had much interaction with Steve. I can't say now who I would vote for. It's premature," Barrella said. "I would really like the opportunity to speak to the candidates. I would like council to talk to them and I think the public has the right to ask them a few questions too. It's been done that way before. But that's just my opinion. I have no control over it."

Cortes said in an interview on Wednesday morning that he would be the best candidate for the seat since he came in third in the council race and because he is the candidate most likely to be able to work well with Barrella and all council members.

"It's not getting elected, but I did come in third and I only lost by 13 votes," he said.

"When I was running with Bill, I felt we were the two best candidates for the job," Cortes said. "Now I'm up against my mayoral candidate, who's a little more savvy than me.

"And Vogel has been mayor before," he said. "But maybe I'm the best choice because I've never been on council before and because of past histories" of the other two candidates."

"Steve went up against the mayor and now would have to sit in chambers with him," Cortes noted. "There could be some conflict there, some head butting. I think I could work best with the mayor and council.

"There are very few people I don't get along with at my job, but I have to," said Cortes, who works at Comcast.

"You have to put differences aside and work for the whole town and do what's right for the entire town," he said.

Ellsworth said the Republican party did not give her the names of the three candidates until Wednesday morning.

She said at the council meeting she will "inform the Governing Body about their time limitations as per the Municipal Vacancy Law and ask if they wish to interview the candidates, as this has been done in the past, when the chosen candidate would be serving for more than a few months."