Originally, I presented a 7-point campaign platform for my campaign for Freeholder, which can be found here. While all of these points still hold true 100%, I have expanded my platform to cover a great deal of issues facing us, both as individuals and as a whole. The following is a comprehensive list of my platform, which will be periodically updated and expanded upon as the campaign progresses and as I hear more from county residents about what their views are.
Support and Defense of Human Rights:
- Creating a stronger freedom of speech by establishing monthly, strictly open-forum meetings between the Board of Chosen Freeholders and county residents.
- Support for stronger weapon safety, through community-based gun safety training and more oversight over gun ownership licensing.
- Investigation into unnecessary fine abuse by local governments, meaning handing out tickets for non-existent and petty infractions to collect fines and court fees.
- Push for an end to all age-based curfew laws that discriminate against youth.
- Issue a county-level declaration to the State of New Jersey, declaring the need for the state government to recognize same-sex marriages.
- Recognize same-sex marriages in Monmouth County, and lead a legal challenge to New Jersey marital laws if the state government attempts to void the county-level recognition.
- Support for Planned Parenthood and any other organizations that promote reproductive health care services and the fundamental right for women to choose their futures.
- Issue a county-level declaration to the United States Congress and President of the United States, demanding that all foreign wars be ended immediately and all servicemen and servicewomen, including those from Monmouth County, be returned home.
- Complete support for the separation of church and state in the county government, as well as in local governments.
Protection and Expansion of Education:
- Require local Boards of Education to issue easily-understandable information before each budget vote to the public on what has been removed, added, and changed in the new budget.
- Push for the integration of all charter schools with public schools in the county to provide the best possible education and learning experience to the children.
- Push for public school districts to allow the residents in their sending area to democratically elect the school’s superintendent or the equivalent position, in the same manner that board of education members are elected.
- Support for the creation of local, democratically elected school-community committees to have an input in school curriculum, with committee seats divided evenly between teachers, students, and community residents.
- Ensure that all private schools, regardless of any religious affiliation, do not receive any money or subsidies from the county government to remain afloat.
- Work to ban military recruiters in high schools and on Brookdale Community College’s campus, instead encouraging the military to pursue off-campus information sessions for those who are interested.
- Establish county government oversight over Brookdale Community College to prevent any further unjustifiable benefits to the college’s administration from occurring.
- Support the establishment of democratically elected student committees in both high schools and Brookdale Community College, with the purpose of advising and taking part in school administration and operations.
- Continued support for the Monmouth County Vocational School District, including an expansion of adult education programs.
County Government Reform and Democratization:
- Support a direct election for the County Administrator to three-year terms, as opposed to the current system where the administrator is appointed by the Board of Chosen Freeholders.
- Implement a three-term limit on the Board of Chosen Freeholders, so that no person can serve on the board for more then nine years altogether.
- Implement a two-term limit on the County Administrator, so that he/she may not serve in the position for more then six years altogether.
- Expand the Board of Chosen Freeholders to seven seats, as opposed to the current five-seat board, so that more voices are involved in the decision-making process.
- Support public, open-forum debates with local and county candidates for office, regardless of political affiliation and ballot/write-in candidacy status.
- Support an increase of public referendums on issues that affect Monmouth County and its residents.
- Better publicity of county government and local government meeting dates, times, and resolutions to the public through cooperation with local media outlets.
- Establishment of a Collective Board of Monmouth County Municipalities, which will seat a non-partisan, elected delegate from each town in the county to serve as a check on the powers of the Board of Chosen Freeholders.
- Encourage voter registration and participation in all elections and votes, including Board of Education elections and budget votes that generally receive very low voter turnout.
- Establish a $15.00 per hour minimum pay for all county employees, or an equivalent pay rate if not paid by the hour.
Environmental Awareness and Preservation:
- Impose a moratorium on the construction of high-end housing developments that deplete forests and farmland.
- Set county-level environmental standards for businesses operating within the county, and hold non-complying companies accountable.
- Set and enforce a county-level requirement that all businesses and residents recycle, as well as a requirement that all towns have, at minimum, bi-weekly recycling collections.
- Implement a county program for recycled products to be used for public works projects.
- Formally request that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service conduct an extensive review of Monmouth County to ensure that all endangered species in the area are being protected as best as possible.
- Increase funding to the Monmouth County Parks System, with the primary purpose of establishing more parks for residents and visitors alike.
- Creation of government-sponsored Beach Cleaning Teams, with the dual purposes of cleaning waste from public beaches and issuing tickets to beach-goers that are caught littering.
- Requirement that private beaches and beach clubs either keep their respective beaches clean themselves and submit to periodic inspections for beach cleanliness, or pay a monthly fee for the aforementioned Beach Cleaning Teams to have jurisdiction.
- Set a five-year goal of installing solar panels on all county government and county-owned buildings.
- Offer subsidies for public schools and other public buildings in the county to convert to solar energy.
Support for Small, Local Businesses and Economic Democracy:
- Support the creation of new businesses in the county that do not have corporate ties.
- Offer subsidies for businesses/companies in the county that offer a livable starting wage of $15.00 per hour, as well as businesses/companies that give the same level of health insurance to all of their employees, regardless of position in the business/company.
- End any and all subsidies and tax breaks that are meant to aid corporations, or offer the same subsidies to small businesses as well.
- Support the creation of businesses/companies that have a cooperative, democratic business model that gives all workers an equal, democratic say in operations.
- Oppose and fight any moves by corporations to create monopolies in the county.
- Complete support for the right of both public and private workers to form unions, as well as fierce opposition to any local, state, or federal pushes to bust unions and take away collective bargaining rights.
- Complete support for the right of both public and private workers to strike.
- Support for the creation of local business organizations, made up of community businesses, with the intention of working together to better both themselves and the community as a whole.
- Support for the commissary on Fort Monmouth to remain open past the fort’s closure, so that military veterans in the area are able to purchase necessities at affordable costs.
Housing Affordability and Safety:
- Creation of a Rent Affordability Committee to begin preliminary investigation into implementing county-wide rent control, with the mandate to implement rent control in the next few years.
- Support an unconditional end to eminent domain abuse in the county, while at the same time initiating legal inquiries into past eminent domain use to bring the abusers in the government and private sector to justice.
- Offer real compensation to home/property owners, renters, businesses, and communities for past use of eminent domain, based on property values at the time and projected economic loss.
- Support the majority of Fort Monmouth’s former land going to affordable housing, with first priority given to those who work or previously worked on the base but were forced to relocate to another state or quit.
- Support the creation of democratic, cooperative businesses on Fort Monmouth’s former land, giving subsidies and incentives to current and former Fort Monmouth employees living in the proposed affordable housing to create them.
- Issue a county-level declaration to the State of New Jersey, declaring that the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) should not be suspended and dismantled as Governor Christie intends to do, but instead should be reformed to better benefit those in need of affordable homes.
If you have any questions on any of my campaign points, or questions on any other issues in the county not mentioned here, I encourage you to either contact me at the contact page or email me at votepatnoble@yahoo.com. Whether you’re a supporter of these points, in opposition to them, or undecided right now, I’m happy to talk with anyone who contacts me.
-Pat Noble
Patrick Noble
