GOP Trio Seeks To Oust Monmouth Clerk, Commissioners In Primary

MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ — Three conservative Republicans have filed nominating petitions to challenge Monmouth County’s GOP incumbents in the upcoming primary election.

The three candidates running under the banner of “Monmouth County Conservative Republicans” are:

• Danielle Bellomo of Marlboro for County Clerk
• Mary C. “Katie” Kelliher of Freehold Township for County Commissioner
• Ronald Osadacz Jr. of Freehold Township for County Commissioner

The challengers are running to bring fiscal discipline and transparency to county government, their campaign said, as well as bring a new perspective and fresh ideas “to a Republican county administration that has become devoted to holding on to power and spending taxpayer money to do it.”

“I think the county government incumbents have been in office so long they forgot what it means to be cost-conscience conservatives,” said Bellomo, who’s currently a member of the Marlboro Board of Education. “My goal as clerk will be to engage with the residents, streamline the office, and ensure that the office provides efficient and respectful service to the public.”

Kelliher, who is an experienced real estate professional, said she’s running for County Commissioner to help make Monmouth County more affordable for senior citizens and young families who are struggling.

“Costs are going up, property taxes are going up, pushing housing out of the reach of many young people and seniors like my mother, who is living with my family,” Kelliher said. “Every day, I see people forced to sell their homes because they cannot afford to live in Monmouth County — and young families shut out of the housing market. I don’t see the county commissioners even recognizing that reality.”

“As a commissioner, I can bring experience from someone who is very much in touch with the economic realities of Monmouth residents,” Kelliher continued. “All Commissioner Arnone talks about is spending more taxpayer money, creating more programs, and hiring more county employees. Monmouth is a red Republican County; it’s not Essex or Hudson counties.”

In his race for County Commissioner, Osadacz said he wants to bring the perspective of young families trying to get a foothold in their communities to county government.

“The county commissioners have been in office so long that they have lost touch with struggling young families,” Osadacz said. “The commissioners make county government bigger and more powerful every year. They are empire-building. I’m not interested in building a political empire; I’m concerned about people struggling to get by every day.”

The conservative ticket pointed to the county commissioners’ recent battle over Monmouth Executive Airport as an example of a “costly, self-serving adventure by the commissioners,” the campaign said.

“After the county commissioners spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars hiring a law firm, a public relations firm and other consultants to take away a man’s successful business – the taxpayers still have no idea what the real reason was for the commissioners to take a private airport or how the taking would help taxpayers,” Osadacz said.

As a team, the three said one of their main objectives is to bring openness to county government.

“The county commissioners run a very closed government for the benefit of themselves and other political insiders,” Osadacz said. “There is no transparency into what they do, how they spend money, or why they take certain actions.”

To learn more about the candidates, you can visit Danielle Bellomo’s website, Katie Kelliher’s Facebook page, or Ron Osadacz Jr.’s Facebook page.

The Primary Election will take place on June 10. The General Election will take place on Nov. 4.