DiMaso Intros Bill That Takes Aim At Monmouth County Sheriff

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — On the eve of a primary election where she is running to save her political life, Republican Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso introduced legislation Monday that takes aim at her biggest political foe, Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden.

Golden is also the chairman of the Monmouth County Republican Party. Monmouth County Sheriff is an elected position and one Golden has been elected to since 2010. DiMaso's bill also attacks Monmouth County Clerk Christine Hanlon, who is the Monmouth County Republican Party co-chairwoman.

DiMaso's bill would prohibit any elected official from holding a chairperson position in a political party. Running both a political party and holding public office is a conflict of interest, DiMaso says.

"Think about it, a police chief would never be allowed to be a township administrator in charge of their own salary and budget while holding such a position of authority like chief of police," said DiMaso. "It would very clearly be a conflict of interest, yet this similar circumstance is allowed to go on. It’s time for us to pass legislation and stop this abuse of power.”

DiMaso makes some serious allegations, including that people who've supported her were transferred out of county jobs by Monmouth County political higher-ups.

Both Golden and Hanlon released statements in response, calling DiMaso "full of lies and deceit."

DiMaso said she introduced the bill Monday, before the primary, to avoid the appearance of "sour grapes" depending on the outcome of Tuesday's election.

Party boss/Sheriff Golden dropped DiMaso from the party line earlier this spring, and endorsed two other Republican candidates instead of her in Tuesday's primary. DiMaso also did not win the majority vote in March from the Monmouth County Republican Committee, which consists of hundreds of people, so she is forced to run "off the line" Tuesday.

DiMaso's name will appear under Phil Rizzo's Tuesday on the ballot.

Golden and DiMaso have quietly been at odds with each other for years, while DiMaso said she "didn't know why" Golden dropped her, and that he would not return her calls.

Also, DiMaso has backed previous local candidates who ran against the Monmouth County Republican's party wishes, such as when she backed Mike Nikolis in the 2019 Holmdel Township Committee race.

“I have put up with being mistreated by the political bosses personally over the years; they have even attacked my children," said DiMaso. "There are clear conflicts of interest that need to be acknowledged when elected officials also chair a political party. Perhaps the most blatant example is when chairs and co-chairs also serve as elected constitutional officers for a county where they are in charge of the same employees who decide their personal salaries and department budgets.”

DiMaso's allegations:

• "People who are vocal in their support of me are seemingly being punished for no reason other than sheer vindictiveness. Friends who work for the County have been transferred to other departments or further away from their homes." (DiMaso did not provide specific examples; she said the people she's referring to did not want to give their names.)
• That both Hanlon and Golden received salary increases of 18% during the pandemic and their departments made costly purchases. "Conversely, the Monmouth County surrogate, who can show no party affiliation once elected, has had no budget increase or pay raise," said DiMaso. The latest published public records listed Golden’s salary as $173,692 a year and Hanlon’s salary as $116,425.

“DiMaso statements are full of lies and deceit, which is indicative of why she lost the support of the Monmouth County Republican Organization," replied Golden on Monday afternoon. "Serena lost that election overwhelmingly because our county committee members lost faith in her, unanimously lost her hometown support. The county committee instead chose Gerry Scharfenberger and Vicky Flynn to represent them.”

"Furthermore, DiMaso is the last person who should be talking about conflicts of interest," he continued. "Her votes to give massive tax breaks to hospitals while sitting on the board of a hospital, has been detrimental to our residential property taxpayers in Holmdel and Monmouth."

DiMaso said she stepped off the board at Hackensack Meridian to avoid conflicts of interest when she became an assemblywoman. She remains on the board of the Hackensack Meridian foundation.

“DiMaso is now trying a last-ditch effort to salvage a losing campaign," said Golden. "She failed to appear for critical votes in the legislature, instead taking vacations when the voters needed her to be present, and while voting to put high-density housing that destroys our suburban communities and open space as chair of the Holmdel planning board. She should be ashamed of herself trying to blame others for her failures while all the while using the same political system she used to run several times in the past without any of the objections.”

DiMaso said that is untrue; she voted against the proposal in 2018; the Holmdel Planning Board has not taken any vote since and that the high-density proposal currently before Holmdel is court ordered per the Mt. Laurel mandate.

Said County Clerk Hanlon:

“It is sad but unsurprising that rather than choosing to serve her constituents in the rapidly waning days of her time in the State Legislature, Serena DiMaso is instead choosing to launch patently false and personal attacks against me and Monmouth County employees. Perhaps she is bitter that she lost the support of her fellow Monmouth County Republicans by a staggering and overwhelming number. The fact is I did not receive the salary increase she alleges. Constitutional officers’ salaries are based on statute, and therefore her lies can be easily refuted by simply reading the law."

"Additionally, no employees of the Clerk’s office were ever moved. Her accusations are as fabricated as they are desperate," said Hanlon. "Furthermore, there is a long history of elected officials volunteering their efforts to serve as political chair persons in their spare time."

The primary election is Tuesday, June 8; Monmouth County Republican voters will be asked to selected two out of the three candidates running.

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