A Serious Challenge to Monmouth County’s “Stigma-Free” Claims

In June 2018 the Monmouth County Freeholders took a brave step in urging municipalities to declare themselves “stigma-free communities.” This step aimed to address discrimination and mental health, both of which are serious issues in Monmouth County and throughout the country. To further this effort, in 2020 a website was launched to amplify the call, raise awareness, and end the silent suffering of so many.

Monmouth County’s official stigma free pledge includes multiple positive and proactive steps, as excerpted below:

I / We Pledge to:

● Promise to self-educate about stigma in its various forms . . .

● Show respect for and be inclusive of all people with differences such as mental illness, substance use disorders, physical / developmental disabilities, [differences in] race, sexual orientation, gender identity / expression, religion, etc.

● Avoid language that puts someone down . . .

● Be courageous and correct others when they use inappropriate language, slurs or other derogatory language . . .

The positive affirmations of this pledge, however, are seriously undercut by the recent appointment of Joseph DiBella to the Monmouth County Board of Recreation Commissioners.

In early 2017, DiBella resigned in disgrace from the Board of Trustees at Brookdale Community College after a social media scandal in which he liked and retweeted dozens of discriminatory posts.

A digital trail of DiBella’s offenses was collected and reported on by Brookdale students in a campus publication formerly known as The Stall (now The Current). DiBella’s account has since been deleted, and all that remains in the public record are newspaper articles highlighting his affronts, the most recent of which Susanne Cervenka reported in The Asbury Park Press on Feb. 15 (see “Ex-Brookdale Trustee Embroiled Over Racist Tweets Named to Monmouth Recreation Board”).

In the years prior to his resignation from the Brookdale BOT, DiBella had liked and retweeted multiple posts, some of which referred to the Obamas as “monkeys” and used the most offensive racial slur possible. Additionally, prior to the 2016 presidential election, DiBella retweeted a post that stated: “Someone should tell Hillary if she sucks black d*** on TV [s]he will be guaranteed the black vote.”

Posts like these are beyond offensive and a clear violation of Monmouth County’s stigma-free pledge. To make matters worse, instead of apologizing for his egregious behavior on social media, DiBella shut down his account and later fabricated an absurd narrative that he had been “hacked” by Brookdale’s faculty. The fact that some of his most offensive likes and retweets were several years old when DiBella made his “hacking” argument makes his claim highly suspicious. If hacking were truly the issue, then DiBella’s defense would’ve been immediate.

Several years ago, the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office examined DiBella’s “hacked” account in an investigation that cost taxpayers thousands of dollars. The result of this investigation, which concluded in 2017, exposed DiBella’s fraudulence and confirmed that his account had not—in fact—been tampered with. DiBella, unsurprisingly, refuted this independent conclusion and hired his own investigator, an act which he believed would exonerate him, but, according to the Asbury Park Press, no such evidence of DiBella’s innocence was ever produced.

In 2016, in response to the DiBella scandal, Director Arnone unequivocally told the APP “we will not allow that behavior by anybody who steps foot on county property. I will not stand for it as director and none of my other freeholders will . . . We’d never condone behavior like that." It is, then, baffling that the Commissioners would unanimously allow DiBella to serve on another important board. Have they forgotten DiBella’s history? Have they given up their fight to make Monmouth County a stigma-free place where people can coexist without judgment, supporting and helping each other through difficult challenges? Do they not want upstanding citizens to serve on the Parks Board?

Many move to Monmouth County for its wooded trails, recreation areas, and its beaches, all of which make the area unique and desirable. Over seven million people visit the 17,547 acres in the Monmouth County Park System each year. Now, during the age of COVID-19, parks and outdoor spaces are crucial to the mental health and wellbeing of so many residents. Currently, there are over 600,000 people living in Monmouth County, so surely there are qualified residents who would be willing to serve the Park System, people who have not been involved in scandals, community members who have neither condoned nor propagated racist and sexist views. Surely the area is home to a great number of honest citizens who would serve the county with dignity, upholding the values of civility and working hard to make the right decisions for Monmouth County’s most precious of natural gifts.

Given DiBella’s current position and his past behavior, it’s crucial that Monmouth County residents remind the Commissioners of the stigma-free pledge. In a September 2020 press release, Freeholder Deputy Director Kiley stated that “Stigmas are 100% curable. Monmouth County residents need to be kind and have empathy . . .” This statement of recognition and compassion should guide the Commissioners to make an appropriate decision when it comes to DiBella, as there are plenty of qualified people that can fill his role on the Board.

Now—during a time when so many are suffering due to racism, sexism, and structural inequality—Monmouth County would do well to remember the words of the stigma-free pledge: “Silence shows agreement.” It’s imperative that Monmouth County residents call on the Commissioners to immediately remove DiBella from the Parks Board and bar him from holding any position of power in the future. Monmouth County can do better than DiBella.