Monmouth Co. Sheriff Golden And His Slate Refuse To Participate In League Of Women Voters Forum

MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ — Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden will ask voters to re-elect him for his sixth term as county sheriff this November, but he and his two running mates, all Republican, declined to participate in an upcoming virtual town hall forum.

The virtual forum would have been in September and hosted by the Monmouth County League of Women Voters.

Golden seeks re-election for Monmouth County Sheriff, joined by running mates Tom Arnone and Nick DiRocco, seeking re-election to their seats as Monmouth County Commissioners. They are all Republican.

They will be challenged by Mike Warren for Sheriff and Vito Colasurdo and Jacqui Wenzel for county commission, all Democrats.

The election will be Nov. 4. (Golden is also chair of the Monmouth County Republican Party.)

“This is very unfortunate and disappointing," said Cynthia Curtis-Budka of the League of Women Voters. "Monmouth County Commissioner candidates have routinely participated in League-run forums for over 20 years. This is a lost opportunity for the voters of Monmouth County to learn about the Commissioner candidates who wish to make policy on their behalf.”

She pointed out that Arnone and DiRocco agreed to participate in a forum they held in the June Republican primary.

Golden and the two Republican candidates confirmed they will not participate in the forum.

"We respectfully declined the invitation of the LWV to participate in a virtual candidate's forum because our campaign is focused on engaging with voters in-person through town halls, community events and direct conversations across Monmouth County," said Golden and his running mates in a statement sent by the Monmouth County Republican Party. "We believe that these forums allow for more meaningful exchanges and a deeper understanding of the issues that matter most to our constituents, as opposed to virtual forums that are disconnected from the voters."

The Monmouth County League of Women Voters never endorses candidates. But they have taken political positions in the past, such as when they said they were opposed to the Middletown school board's policy on transgender students.

And nationally, the League of Women Voters held a Light For Our Democracy party on Trump's Inauguration Day 2025 and supported the Hands Off protests that happened across the country this winter against cuts in federal government spending by DOGE.

This may be why, in June, two conservative Republicans who ran in the primary against Arnone and DiRocco similarly refused to participate in a forum held by the League. Danielle Bellomo and Katie Kelliher said in June: 'The League is little more than an extension of the progressive Democrat Party and is a liberal, anti-Trump front group."

Correction: Patch originally incorrectly quoted the Monmouth County League of Women Voters for the first version of this article. Their quote is accurate now. We regret the error.