TOMS RIVER, NJ – The leaves are falling, the days are getting shorter and Halloween haunts are popping up all over the Jersey Shore as the festival of the dead draws near. Perhaps the scariest thing for some political candidates on both sides of the political aisle in Ocean County is their own past history.
The past for many politicians is important. It’s why many political parties across the state run background checks and scrub a candidate’s social media profiles before their names are even placed on a ballot.
Sometimes, due diligence isn’t done and candidates hide their own past from the people nominating them for office.
A high profile case today in South Jersey found that a Democrat running state senate against Republican Ed Durr involved John Burzichelli’s past as an x-rated all-male movie producer. Republicans seized the opportunity to brand the Democrat as a sexual deviant out to promote his alternative sexual lifestyle to public school students.
In Toms River, New Jersey, Democrats are running a slate of candidates against Republican Dan Rodrick who has a whole laundry list of past criminal and questionable acts.
Ben Giovine, a staffer for U.S. Congressman Andy Kim was called out by Rodrick for a DUI arrest in Neptune Township while Giovine was a sitting board member for the Toms River Regional School District. That DUI went under the radar during his term in office and apparently never came up during his job interview with the Congressman. He serves as Kim’s District Director, the second highest-paid staffer on the New Jersey CD-3 payroll.
Giovine was also called out for filing bankruptcy at around the same time by Rodrick. Andy Kim’s office refused to comment on the matter.
Giovine acknowledged the incident as ‘unfortunate’ and expressed regret as he was pulled over by police on his way home from a bar in Asbury Park. Police officers reported Giovine struggled to get past the letter D in the alphabet during a roadside sobriety check.
Giovine, whose father is retired Judge Peter J. Giovine, was able to have the DUI charge dismissed and it was never reported by the police department to the media.
It’s not like Giovine’s running mates can carry him out of public embarrassment. Ruby Franco, who is running for council has been called out by social media users for her use of the ‘n-word’ in social media posts. She is not African American.
A third candidate on the same ticket has a long criminal rap sheet including theft, passing bad checks and assault. Rhetta Jackson-Faire, now a pastor is facing new allegations by Democrat committeeman Paul Williams after she was photographed with a convicted sex offender.
The past isn’t just scary for Democrats. Republicans in Ocean County are also dealing with their own past transgressions.
In Brick Township, Republican candidate for mayor John Catalano just had his own drunk driving arrest plastered on social media by Democrats. Catalano, who was 47 at the time, was arrested for drinking and driving.
A Democrat operative in Brick says there’s more to Catalano’s past that he needs to be worried about, eluding to an incident where Catalano’s jewelry store was selling stolen items, before being forced by the Brick Police Department to return the items. Charges are unknown in that matter and Catalano has not released a public statement on the matter.
Back in Toms River, Gerri Ambrosio, the former president of the Toms River Regular Republican Club was hit for her recent hit-and-run incident in Bayville. She ended up losing her GOP primary election for mayor.
Some people feel political candidates’ pasts are not relevant in local elections, but many others feel past transgressions are a smoking gun for bad judgment.
Whether or not you agree with candidates’ scary pasts being dug up and paraded on public display is irrelevant to the fact that candidates for political office know the rules of the game when they submit their names for public office.