After seven months of campaigning for Monmouth County Freeholder, I am truly honored to say that, according to the unofficial results and with 99.78% reporting, 1,389 people voted for me today.

The implications of this are astounding. Despite the county being considered a Republican stronghold in New Jersey, almost 1,400 people said yes to socialism. That is beyond great, and I am proud to have helped rally that many people. I was not elected today, but this was a monumental victory nonetheless.

Looking back at the entire campaign, a lot was accomplished. From debating in the lion’s den that is a Tea Party headquarters, to talking to folks one-on-one at the Red Bank Street Fair, there’s no doubt that this was a very active campaign. All three debates allowed me to put forward ideas that would otherwise remain non-existent, such as granting payment waivers to unemployed county residents, so they can take part in some of the county’s extensive adult education programs. Another idea that I put forward was studying the success of racetracks in other states, so that we may apply it to Monmouth Park Racetrack here in Monmouth County, which is currently failing financially. Monmouth Park employs a lot of people, and it would be devastating if it were to close down permanently. Freeholder-elect Rich stated that he agreed with me on this critical point, so I hope this idea and many others are carried onto the next Board of Chosen Freeholders. If the Freeholders don’t bring them there, the people of Monmouth County will.

There are many people that deserve my gratitude. I have to thank Albert Westpy, who served as my campaign manager and promoted my campaign to a lot of people. I also have to thank all of my comrades in the Socialist Party, who gave a great deal of support to me from start to finish. My family also deserves thanks for their support, especially my Mom, Kathy, whose efforts were vital to securing ballot access. The media coverage that I received was significant, so I have to thank all of the folks who went out of their way to specifically cover my campaign in their respective media outlet. Lastly, I have to thank all of my supporters, both in Monmouth County and elsewhere. From being given the support of Monmouth County residents in-person, to receiving e-mails of support from individuals as far away as Canada, Ireland, and India, all of the support received has been greatly appreciated.

With the momentum created by this campaign, we cannot quit or let up now. I encourage all of my supporters who are interested in getting more involved to contact me at votepatnoble@yahoo.com. You can learn more about the Socialist Party, as well as find out about upcoming events in our area, at www.socialistparty-usa.org. Our local Party meets monthly, so please attend our next meeting on November 12th!

I can’t say for sure what’s next, but I can promise that this will not be my last run for public office. Until then, we will continue the fight against capitalism outside of the voting booth!

Yours in Solidarity,

Pat Noble
11/8/11

Patrick Noble (S)

The November election marks Red Bank resident Patrick Noble’s first run for office as well as his first opportunity to cast a general election ballot. The 18-year-old is secretary of the Socialist Party of New Jersey and co-founded the Socialist Party of Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Noble graduated from the Monmouth County Academy of Allied Health and Science in June

“I’m running to provide a Socialist alternative to the people of Monmouth County. I think that our electoral system is flawed in all levels of government. I’m running to give voters an alternative and different ideas that they won’t find represented in other candidates,” Noble said.

He believes public opinion on socialism is on the rise with the recent Occupation Wall Street protests and related community activism.

“I believe Monmouth County is ready for not only a third-party candidate, but for a Socialist Party candidate,” he said.

Noble would like to encourage the growth of new businesses with alternate corporate structures, such as a collective business models with employees having an ownership role.

“I’m not a standard candidate, I’m not the status quo. I’m not a career politician. But I do offer a lot of alternative solutions to the problems the county is facing and the problems the people are facing. I do think they are solutions that resonate with a lot of people,” Noble said.

CONTACT:
Pat Noble for Freeholder Campaign Committee
www.VoteNoble.com
votepatnoble@yahoo.com

Pat Noble, the Socialist Party USA candidate for the Board of Chosen Freeholders in Monmouth County, has officially received the endorsement of Underground Progressive Radio. In early May of this year, Noble was a guest on the Local Burner, a weekday segment of UPR. He was interviewed by Steve Lerner, the Local Burner’s host, and the ten minute interview was aired for a full week.

UPR made the endorsement announcement on November 2nd in a joint radio broadcast between UPR hosts Steve Lerner and Bob Carson.

The following is the text of the audio endorsement made:

For Monmouth County Freeholder, Underground Progressive Radio would like to endorse Pat Noble. A man like no other, Pat Noble is willing to change the way government works, and have government work for the people.

For the full audio of the endorsement, please go to: http://upr530.podbean.com/2011/11/02/2011-endorsements-for-monmouth-ocean-county-freeholders

Despite two seats being open on the Board of Chosen Freeholders this year, UPR chose not to make a second endorsement for any of the five other candidates. UPR also chose not to endorse any of the candidates for Freeholder in neighboring Ocean County.

Noble has also been invited by UPR to be on the election show program on election day, November 8th. The show will be running from 8-10pm, but a specific time when he will be on is not confirmed yet.

For more information on Underground Progressive Radio, and to learn how to tune in via the Internet, please visit www.undergroundprogressiveradio.webs.com.

For more information on Pat Noble’s campaign for Monmouth County Freeholder, please visit www.VoteNoble.com.

October 22nd- Ocean Grove, New Jersey

Organized by: Ocean Grove Homeowners Association

This was the first of the three Freeholder debates, with five of the six candidates present. Independent candidate Thomas Markowski was not at the debate. Candidates for the 11th Legislative District’s State Senate seat and State Assembly seats debated from 10am to 11am, followed by the Freeholder candidates from 11am to 12pm noon.

Out of the three debates, this was the only one that allowed residents present to voice their questions from the floor. In the subsequent two debates, questions were screened by the moderator via index cards before they were asked.

Due to time constraints, only a couple of questions were able to make it to the candidates for answers. This, in my opinion, was the only negative point that can be made about this particular debate. The first question was about whether the candidates would support an “Occupy Freehold” protest, with Freehold being the seat of the county government. Taking the microphone first, my response began with saying, “where do I signup?” The second question was about job creation, which I responded to with ideas I had on creating a jobs center in Monmouth County, as well as support the creation of co-op businesses. I also brought up the idea of payment waivers for unemployed county residents on the county’s extensive adult education programs, which a few residents told me they supported after the debate was over.

October 26th- Manalapan, New Jersey

Organized by: League of Women Voters, Western Branch Monmouth County Library

Debate at the Western Branch Monmouth County Library, picture courtesy of Freehold Patch

This was the second Freeholder debate, again with five out of six candidates present. Independent candidate Thomas Markowski was not at the debate, with the debate moderator conveying his apologies that he could not attend, due to being sick. The debate began at 7pm and went until 8:30pm, at which time the two candidates for Monmouth County Surrogate debated for half an hour.

Luckily, the time allotted allowed for several questions to be asked to all of the candidates. On job creation, I was again able to touch on creating cooperative businesses, rather the courting Fortune 500 companies to setup shop in the county, as most of the other candidates advocated. We also were asked about Monmouth Race Track, which is presently under state control and has been losing substantial amounts of money for the past few years. Speaking against the current plan of privatization, I instead said that we need to look at racetracks that are very successful in other states, and basically ask the question, “what are they doing right that we are doing wrong?” The candidates universally agreed that having slot machines and other betting games at Monmouth Park would be beneficial to help bring back the racetrack, save the jobs already there, and hopefully create more jobs in the process. Lastly, I spoke in opposition to creating wind turbines along the shore, instead advocating that we install solar panels on all county buildings, as well as on a portion of the former Fort Monmouth land.

October 27th- Lincroft, New Jersey

Organized by: Lincroft Village Green Association

This was the last Freeholder debate, which had only four of the six candidates in attendance. The Board of Chosen Freeholders had a scheduled meeting that night, so the two incumbents running for re-election (Lillian Burry (R) and Amy Mallet (D)) were not in attendance. Candidates for Middletown Township Committee were also present, debating alongside of the Freeholder candidates. The debate began at 7pm and lasted until 9pm.

There were several problems that I had with this debate. First, I didn’t understand why the debate would be scheduled on the same night as a Freeholder meeting, so the incumbent candidates were unable to attend. Second, I don’t think that the Middletown candidates should have been debating alongside of the Freeholder candidates, due to the fact that local issues and county issues aren’t interchangeable. About half of the questions from the audience were answered by the Middletown candidates, yet the Freeholder candidates couldn’t give more then a little rhetoric and explaining that it isn’t an issue that the Freeholders have a say in. The Ocean Grove debate gave the state candidates an hour and the Freeholder candidates an hour; the Lincroft debate should have been structured in the same fashion. All of these issues added up to this debate being less effective then the first two.

Noble, a Red Bank resident running on the Socialist Party ticket, said rather than attract larger companies, he would like to see more small businesses in the county. He would like to see more area businesses adopt models that allow more control by the workers.

Later in the article:

Noble said funds should be allocated for the installation of solar panels on county buildings, but said he opposes wind turbines along the Jersey Shore.

Noble, a June graduate of the county Academy of Applied Health and Science and a pharmacy worker, also is making a first run. Noble views himself as a member of an “alternative party,” not a third party.

“I think there’s disillusionment,” said Noble, adding that the public may want a swing to the left in its politics. “I’m obviously not the status quo candidate. I don’t look at that (as a) negative.”

October 19th- County Freeholder Board Line-Up At Stake

Noble went higher up the chain, suggesting freeholder term limits, allowing only three consecutive three-year terms.

“It keeps the flow of democracy going,” Noble said. “It doesn’t keep someone entrenched in one spot.”

Later in the article:

In terms of jobs, Noble said he prefers “small businesses, start-ups.”

“I think small businesses are more stable,” said Noble, adding that a large corporation is likely to leave if profits do not meet expectations.

-Pat Noble

—

Red Bank Street Fair
Location: Broad Street/Monmouth Street (SPMOC table), Red Bank, NJ
Date: September 18th, 2011
Time: 11:00am-5:00pm

Columbus Day Parade
Location: Long Branch, NJ
Date: October 9th, 2011
Time: 12:45pm (parade line-up at 12:00pm)

League of Women Voters Candidates Forum
Location: Western Branch Monmouth County Library, 126 Symmes Road, Manalapan, NJ
Date: October 26th, 2011
Time: 7:00pm-8:15pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Pat Noble for Freeholder Campaign Committee
www.VoteNoble.com
www.votepatnoble@yahoo.com

Pat Noble, the Socialist Party USA candidate for the Board of Chosen Freeholders in Monmouth County, has officially endorsed a proposal to create a community garden on a vacant lot at 94 West Front Street in Red Bank, New Jersey. The Red Bank Community Garden Proposal calls for the garden to be created next to Red Bank Public Library, though both the borough council and library are in strong opposition to the proposal and have given “numerous, but all unjustifiable reasons” why the garden should not be at 90 West Front Street, in Noble’s own words.

The community garden debate has become more and more notorious in the past several months to Red Bank area residents, including Noble, who has lived in Red Bank his entire life.

In early June, Noble invited local activist and community garden supporter Cindy Burnham to attend the June 25th general meeting of the Socialist Party of Monmouth and Ocean Counties (SPMOC) to talk about the community garden proposal to the SPMOC members present. Burnham distributed copies of the Red Bank Community Garden Proposal to individuals present at the meeting and spoke for several minutes about the proposal’s history and the resistance that it has faced from the borough council. Noble is one of the co-founders of the SPMOC, as well as its incumbent Chairperson.

The 17-page community garden proposal, which among other things analyzes 21 possible locations in Red Bank using 9 criteria points such as having a viable water source and being in a central location, “proves beyond a reasonable doubt that 94 West Front Street is the spot where this garden should be.”

Due to the unrelenting opposition to the proposal by the borough council, support has risen for the garden to be located on the property of the Red Bank Middle School. Garden supporters and school representatives recently met to discuss such an option, which ironically was suggested by the borough council. Despite this option, Noble has continued to be in support of the garden being located at 94 West Front Street, saying that “having the community garden located at the Middle School is nothing but a consolation prize, and a poor one at that. Settling for less here is not only a disservice to the community garden, but also to the people of Red Bank for not holding the borough government to a higher standard of transparency and accountability.”

Talking about the community garden proposal, Noble said,

“This proposal is not only a great idea for the town, but is also well researched and thought out in my opinion. Even if the garden was a bad idea, the borough council has to be held responsible to the people of Red Bank for both its actions and inaction. That holds true from local and county government to state and federal government. Even though I’m running for office for all of Monmouth County, not just Red Bank, I feel it necessary and important to give attention to individual issues, as well as county-wide issues. The borough council has not been truly forthcoming about why they are opposed to this proposal, instead giving a plethora of reasons that don’t hold up to logic or reason. They have failed to live up to the mandate of a democratically-elected government on this matter, and they must be held accountable for it. Not only as a candidate for Freeholder, but also as a Red Bank resident and a strong supporter of community building, I support this proposal to create a community garden at 94 West Front Street in Red Bank.”

For more info on Pat Noble’s campaign for Freeholder in Monmouth County, please visit www.VoteNoble.com.

CONTACT:
Pat Noble for Freeholder Campaign Committee
www.VoteNoble.com
votepatnoble@yahoo.com

Pat Noble, the Socialist Party USA candidate for Freeholder in Monmouth County, has officially endorsed a two-week boycott of big box, corporate stores in Monmouth County. The boycott, which is being organized by the Socialist Party of California and Los Angeles Socialist Party, is being planned for July 10th-24th throughout the entire United States. As of July 7th, almost 500 people throughout the United States have committed to participating in the boycott.

The boycott is not only meant to serve as a message to the large corporate companies that their trampling of competition and workers rights is unacceptable, but to also encourage people to visit small businesses in their area that are viable, local alternatives to the corporate chains. Noble’s campaign platform calls for a number of pro-small business actions, from ending and preventing business monopolies in Monmouth County to supporting the creation of businesses without corporate ties.

Noble, who is the Chair of the Socialist Party of Monmouth and Ocean Counties (SPMOC), was unanimously nominated by the SPMOC for office of Freeholder in April of 2011. The SPMOC is a local affiliate of the Socialist Party of New Jersey, which is the state affiliate of the Socialist Party USA.

Commenting on the boycott, Noble said,

“I’m very happy to be able to endorse this nation-wide boycott that the Socialist Party of California and Los Angeles Local have worked to organize. Monmouth County is home to a large number of corporate businesses that have poor worker rights records and are able to drive small business into the ground, but we also have a large number of small business communities throughout the county. Supporting small business over corporate chains is what I believe is better for the worker, the customer, and the community as as a whole. Let’s take these two weeks to send a message to corporate America that we are taking our business elsewhere!”

For more info on Pat Noble’s campaign for Monmouth County Freeholder, please visit www.VoteNoble.com.