Noticias

A pair of GOP Assembly candidates have called on Cranbury officials to back off on plans the town has made to seize part of a farm to meet affordable housing requirements, a proposal that’s sparked anger across the country.

The 21-acre farm is owned by Andy and Christopher Henry, who live in New Mexico and lease the property to a tenant who raises cattle and sheep, according to MyCentralJersey.com. An attorney told the publication that the brothers will not sell the property, but town officials can acquire the property through eminent domain. 

The Trump administration has offered the brothers its support, with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins asking town officials in a letter to stop their plan. 

Marty Flynn and Joseph Stillwell, the GOP nominees for Assembly in the 14th legislative district, said in a letter that the farm should be designated as a historic site and preserved. Flynn said the State Agriculture Development Committee is unable to preserve the farm if the town continues to seek to build housing on the lot.

“This is an unconscionable choice Cranbury is being forced to make—pave over farmland and seize it from veterans in the name of meeting a state quota,” Flynn said in the release. “The SADC has the application to preserve this farm, but Cranbury must act first by removing it from its affordable housing list. The clock is ticking.”

Flynn was the GOP’s nominee for mayor of Hamilton in 2023, and Stillwell is the vice chair of the Mercer County Young Republican Federation. The 14th legislative district includes Cranbury.

The Henry brothers are suing the town over the plan, and a GoFundMe has raised nearly $140,000 in defense of the farm.

Town officials have said the farm is one of the only properties in the state eligible to hold affordable housing. The town must build 265 such units to meet its obligations under the Mount Laurel doctrine, according to MyCentralJersey.

Stillwell said Assembly members Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton) and Tennille McCoy (D-Hamilton), their Democratic opponents come November, should defend the farm.

“The silence of DeAngelo and McCoy speaks volumes,” Stillwell said. “They’ve chosen to stand with Trenton’s overdevelopment machine rather than with two veteran brothers, their family’s legacy, and the broader Cranbury community. Their inaction is a betrayal of both agricultural preservation and basic fairness.”

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It looks like Jack Ciattarelli is finally getting some help from the Republican Governors Association.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, the RGA chairman, raised about $1 million at several North Jersey fundraising events today with Ciattarelli, the New Jersey Globe has learned.  The RGA is tapping its own donors in the region.

Four years ago, the RGA looked at inaccurate polling, believed former Gov. Chris Christie when he told them Ciattarelli couldn’t win, and took a pass on the New Jersey race.  Ciattarelli came within three points of ousting Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

Ciattarelli spent time with RGA officials and donors at a summer meeting last month.

A poll released last week by Fairleigh Dickinson University shows Sherrill with an eight-point lead, 45%-37%.

The RGA is expected to make a final decision on how heavily they’ll play in the New Jersey gubernatorial race by the end of this month.

The Democratic Governors Association reserved over $20 million in TV, streaming, and digital ads last month in support of their nominee, Mikie Sherrill.  The ad reservations don’t constitute a final commitment.  Murphy twice chaired the DGA.

Also in July, Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy raised over $1.5 million for the Democratic National Committee at their Middletown home with former President Barack Obama as the headliner.  Most of that money is supposed to be earmarked for New Jersey.

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John M. De Lamater, the father of prominent Democratic strategist Michael De Lamater, died on August 5 after a nine-month battle with pancreatic cancer.  He was 70.

De Lamater spent 34 years as a special education teacher in Jersey City and was a member of the New Jersey Education Association and the Carpenters Local 15 union in Hackensack.  He was a sports official for many years.

Visitation will be held on Sunday from 2-6 PM at the Di Chiara Funeral Home in Lodi, and a funeral service will be held there on Monday at 10 AM, followed by an 11 AM mass at St. Joseph’s R.C. Church.

“My father was truly a throwback to a different time and era. He never used the internet, never sent an email, and always had his morning routine of going and purchasing the hard print newspapers,” Michael De Lamater said in a Facebook post.  “My father taught me many lessons in life good and bad, both intentionally and unintentionally. Perhaps the most important lesson was to always be direct with people in your life. Let them know how you feel. Let them know where you stand. Above all, always work your hardest and give it your best no matter what it is you’re doing.”

In addition to his son, De Lamater is survived by his wife, Karen, his daughter, Megan, and his grandson, Lucas.

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The New Jersey State Police trooper who reportedly shot and killed his former girlfriend and a firefighter she was dating had been assigned to protect the First Assistant Attorney General, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed.

Ricardo J. Santos, a member of the State Police’s elite Executive Protection Unit, has been assigned to the security detail of Lyndsay Ruotolo, who serves as the number two person at the Department of Law and Public Safety after the attorney general, Matt Platkin, the New Jersey Globe confirmed.  Santos had previously protected Gov. Phil Murphy and his predecessor, Chris Christie.

The First Assistant Attorney General position has only been added to the list of official protectees in recent years.  A spokesperson, citing security issues, declined to comment.

The EPU protects the governor and lieutenant governor, as well as their residences and Drumthwacket, the governor’s mansion.  Additional protectees include the lieutenant governor, the governor’s chief of staff and chief counsel, the attorney general, the state director of Homeland Security, the Senate President and Assembly Speaker, and former governors when they seek a driver for official state events.

Santos fatally shot his 33-year-old ex-girlfriend, Lauren Semanchik, and a 29-year-old man she had been dating, Tyler Webb, before taking his own life. Semanchik, a veterinarian, and Webb, a Berkeley Township firefighter, were found dead Saturday in Franklin Township, Hunterdon County. Santos was later found dead in a park in Middlesex County.

Semanchik’s mother told reporters that she had called local police to complain about Santos stalking her daughter.  It’s not clear if those threats had reached Ruotolo.

Officials with direct knowledge of the incident confirmed the deaths. Multiple media outlets first reported the killings.

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