by Phil Stilton

TOMS RIVER-After being called up to the big leagues of county patronage jobs by his wife’s step-uncle, Freeholder Jack Kelly, Michael J. Fromsky packed his bags and went back to the minors in Little Egg Harbor.

Appointed by Kelly to a previously non-existent $115,000 county job in the Ocean County Department of Corrections, things went south after those meddling reporters at the Asbury Park Press called out the illegal roster move by the GOP.

Before being appointed to the patronage job at the county, Fromsky, 52, batted $55,000 per year as the assistant business administrator for Little Egg Harbor of the Southern Ocean County League.

Although Little Egg Harbor’s roster was full after the recall, room was made for Fromsky to play the field as a “Code Enforcement Officer Trainee”, and his previous minor league contract of $55,000 per year was reinstated.

Coach Kelly threw his management team a knuckleball and they claim they never even saw it coming, after hiding his familial relation to Fromsky from team captain John Bartlett and the rest of the freeholders.

Behind the scenes, according to the Asbury Park Press, coach Bartlett quelled the fans screaming foul from the two police unions. No details of the deal have been announced, but a planned protest at the team’s Wednesday meeting was called off.

On the big league team, PBA 258 said one of their aging veterans should have the position instead of Fromsky, a retired rookie who is making a post-retirement career comeback in the Southern Ocean League.

As for Coach Kelly, he once again escapes a complete management blunder and break-down, too many to name in such a brief.

Whether or not this off-season blunder hurts the upcoming political season is yet to be seen, but probably not as the Telflon(R) Freeholder shakes off yet another wild pitch he threw into the centerfield bleachers.

The union called off their full-court press against Kelly, most likely knowing a future error by the sitting Freeholder could give them yet another free penalty kick.

Editor’s note: completely fictional political satire. If the persons depicted in this piece resemble any real-life person or closely resemble any real-life person, entity or place, it is purely coincidental

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Phil Stilton is the Editor and Publisher of Shore News Network, an independent digital newsroom providing original reporting on New Jersey, national news, government, public policy, public safety, courts, and community affairs.

As founder of the publication, Stilton leads editorial strategy, investigative reporting, and daily newsroom operations while overseeing coverage that reaches millions of readers annually.

With extensive experience covering municipal government, county government, state legislatures, elections, law enforcement, emergency management, and public records, Stilton specializes in translating complex government actions into clear, factual reporting. His work frequently relies on primary source documents, including court filings, legislation, public meeting records, election finance disclosures, government databases, police reports, and Freedom of Information and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests. He has reported extensively on local government accountability, taxpayer spending, campaign finance, public corruption investigations, infrastructure, public safety, and the policies affecting New Jersey residents.

Under Stilton's editorial leadership, Shore News Network has grown into one of New Jersey's largest independent digital news organizations, publishing thousands of original news articles each year while providing breaking news coverage, investigative reporting, and analysis across state and local government. The publication's reporting is routinely sourced from official government agencies, public officials, court records, and firsthand documentation, with a commitment to transparency, attribution, corrections when warranted, and clearly distinguishing factual reporting from opinion.

Stilton's journalism follows established newsroom standards emphasizing accuracy, verification, fairness, and accountability. Every effort is made to verify information through official records and multiple reliable sources before publication. His reporting is intended to provide readers with timely, well-documented information that helps them understand the issues affecting their communities, while maintaining editorial independence from political parties, government agencies, advocacy organizations, and commercial interests.

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