Campaigns declare funds raised for Belmar races

Campaigns declare funds raised for Belmar races

To-the-dollar disclosures made under new ordinance
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/16/07
BY ERIK LARSEN
COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU

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BELMAR — Borough Republicans recorded $3,850 and Democrats $2,214.64 in the first
reporting phase of campaign contributions under a new ordinance that requires candidates for local office to disclose the source of every dollar received.

"In a major victory for all the residents of Belmar, for the first time in Belmar, Monmouth County, or anywhere in the state of New Jersey, all the candidates for council fully disclosed all their contributions as of Oct. 9, 2007," Councilman Matthew J. Doherty announced Monday. Doherty, a Democrat, sponsored the ordinance in August.

This particular reporting cycle is called a "29-day pre," meaning 29 days from the election. The next reporting date is Oct. 26.

The ordinance, which demands greater accountability than New Jersey law, requires that even individual contributions under $300 be reported to the borough clerk. Under state law, candidates are required to disclose the source of campaign contributions that are $300 or more to the Election Law Enforcement Commission.

In Belmar this year, two seats on the five-member council are open. Currently,
Democrats have a 4-1 majority over Republicans. The Democratic candidates are Meredith Brennan and Claire Deicke; the Republican candidates are Michael Seebeck and Victoria Renner. Brennan is the only incumbent among the four.

The largest contributions received by Democrats in the 29-day pre report were three individual monetary donations of $200 made by: Daniel H. Gendel, an attorney in Red Bank; Marion J. Pringle, who is Mayor Kenneth E. Pringle's mother; and Loretta Hill, the business administrator of the Belmar school district who is married to Police Chief Jack Hill, the Democratic nominee for Monmouth County sheriff.

The largest in-kind contribution made to Democrats was $138.64 for unspecified goods or services from the law firm of Pringle Quinn Anzano, where the mayor is a partner.

The largest contribution received by Republicans was a $500 in-kind contribution from Councilman William Merkler, who is the lone Republican on the council. The donation represented food and beverages for a political fundraiser, according to the report.

The largest monetary donations to Republicans were two separate $300 donations from Abel Leasing, a company that provides small businesses with administrative services, based in Cranbury; and Valerie and Douglas Hawxhurst, borough residents.