Public Record NJ

In today’s hearing, Judge denied to grant emergency relief and the complaint will now proceed via ordinary course.

Can municipalities opt-out of yearly reassessment?

Screenshot of a post on X from “Joe Hathaway for Congress” criticizing Tom Malinowski, saying NJ-11 needs a workhorse focused on real solutions and claiming Malinowski broke the law and was rejected by voters. The post quotes a tweet from journalist David Wildstein announcing that Malinowski won the Democratic nomination for Congress in New Jersey’s 11th District, formerly held by Gov. Mikie Sherrill. Below is a photo of Malinowski smiling in a suit with a red tie at an indoor event.

CD-11 Republican candidate by default, Joe Hathaway, with an early attack on his opponent Tom Malinowski.
@oldtakesexposed.bsky.social

👀Now that ICE/DHS are planning to buy ‘mega’ warehouse detention centers across the US to house human beings you might want to listen to this gentleman’s history lesson that he delivered at a city council meeting in AZ. Congress needs to have hearings on this like yesterday.

This is really incredible reporting. Thank you!

Incredible reporting. Locally (NJ), these websites have popped up but do not appear to have the traction that they have in other states. The scale that this network operates is alarming. Read full thread and story below.

Lawsuit Challenges Moderation on Monmouth County Sheriff’s Facebook Page Plaintiff alleges comments critical of officials were hidden from public view

A new lawsuit in Monmouth County challenges how the Sheriff’s Office moderates comments on its official Facebook page, raising questions about public forums and free speech. A court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 6.

Read more: publicrecordnj.com/lawsuit-chal...

New Lawsuit Raises Questions About the Middletown BOE and Party Politics Allegations, rulings, and public records

NEW TONIGHT: A new civil lawsuit in Monmouth County raises serious questions about partisan politics entering public education and the consequences for students, teachers, and taxpayers. Court filings outline a troubling pattern of political influence.

New Lawsuit Raises Questions About the Middletown BOE and Party Politics Allegations, rulings, and public records

With the case now moving into discovery, the focus shifts from allegations to evidence. What emerges next will depend on records, communications, and sworn testimony that have yet to be made public.

Read more at publicrecordnj.com

Screenshot of a Facebook post by Darren Eustance dated September 15, 2023, showing him speaking at an event hosted by the Wake County chapter of Moms for Liberty. The post text states that he gave a presentation on “Opposition Research 101,” and the images show him addressing attendees indoors alongside photos from the event agenda and materials.

Our research also identifies payments to an out-of-state opposition research firm whose principal has advised national school-focused political movements, raising questions about how partisan tactics enter local school board politics.

Screenshot of a New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission campaign finance database table listing payments to Archangel Strategy Group in early 2025, showing multiple transactions from the Monmouth County Republican Committee and local political campaigns, with dates, expense descriptions, and dollar amounts.

Campaign finance records show payments to Archangel Strategy Group during the same periods when the coverage appeared. Our reporting does not allege coordination, but identifies a recurring overlap between campaign activity and undisclosed editorial control of a local political Substack.

Screenshot of numbered paragraphs from a legal complaint alleging that Central Jersey Newswire and affiliated individuals published and amplified false and defamatory claims about Daniel Rodrick in early 2025, including articles, social media posts, and a video, and alleging ongoing harassment connected to those publications.

The complaint also alleges that personnel files and district records were used to generate undisclosed media coverage critical of the teacher, echoing patterns documented in our prior reporting.

Screenshot of numbered paragraphs from a legal complaint alleging that Daniel Rodrick’s employer and political opponents coordinated retaliation against him after he became mayor of Toms River, including claims that tenure and disciplinary charges were pursued through the Middletown Township Board of Education following the termination of a campaign consultant.

The lawsuit centers on a long-time public school teacher and local mayor who alleges he was suspended and subjected to tenure charges after political disputes escalated. The charges were later withdrawn, but reinstatement and back pay were denied.

New Lawsuit Raises Questions About the Middletown BOE and Party Politics Allegations, rulings, and public records

NEW TONIGHT: A new civil lawsuit in Monmouth County raises serious questions about partisan politics entering public education and the consequences for students, teachers, and taxpayers. Court filings outline a troubling pattern of political influence.

Thank you for reading!

Who Paid for the Outrage? Following the Money Behind Capone and Tobacco’s Attacks An investigation into how local media, campaign spending, and Facebook amplification shaped public messaging in a BOE election.

(apologies in advance for the self promo but) yes, the local R's have an entrenched system there. Here's an example from the Middletown school board race medium.com/@publicrecor...

Middletown is comprised of many named neighborhoods and confusing postal designations. Don't be fooled by the Whole Foods in "Red Bank", it's actually Middletown. Parts of town even have a Rumson mailing address.

The story missed the opportunity to reference Middletown's Nut Swamp Road. Perhaps that is a good thing.

Boosting this for visibility. This is the beginning of our look into local party-networks. What are shocked at how far these manufactured dynamics extend in New Jersey.

Stay tuned for more. 👀

Mapping Influence and Information Flow: The Convergence of Party Spending and Political Media in… A Case Study in Financial–Informational Coordination within Local Party Networks.

This is just one illustrative example of from our research into local party-network spending: Mapping Influence and Information Flow: The Convergence of Party Spending and Political Media in Monmouth County

None of the content contains "paid for by" disclosures. To readers, it appears as organic news from a local community source.

Business records identify the Substack editor as a vendor that is used by many, local Republican candidates. Campaign payments align with post dates.

One local Substack regularly wrote positive articles about the candidates, while espousing anti-trans ideology and verbally attacking state officials.

Those articles became Facebook posts, which were then pushed to local community groups.

Voters would never know the content was paid for.

The 2023 election in Middletown was the center of the "parental rights" movement in New Jersey.

The Attorney General had sued the school district for adopting an anti-trans measure that violated state policies.

Board members took their re-election campaign to the media, appearing on Fox News.

Who Paid for the Outrage? Following the Money Behind Capone and Tobacco’s Attacks An investigation into how local media, campaign spending, and Facebook amplification shaped public messaging in a BOE election.

NEW: Our look at campaign filings appear to show county Republican party coordinating with school board candidates to push anti-trans messaging through an "independent outlet" with undisclosed ties.

Those stories were then pushed into local Facebook groups, fueling outrage.

A THREAD:

A handful of fluff stories on a Substack may not seem like much at first. Yet, it is the foundation of a distribution network with digital amplification that is never disclosed to voters. In the coming days, we illustrate how the partisan network injects itself into school board races.

How a Local Media Network Quietly Amplified Scott Fegler’s Campaign An investigation into how local media, campaign spending, and Facebook amplification shaped public messaging around Scott Fegler.

Lastly, Scott Fegler failed to win his long shot bid for Congress in 2024, but he did receive glowing press while threatening Frank Pallone with a lawsuit.

How a Local Media Network Quietly Amplified Sean Di Somma’s Campaign An investigation into how local media, campaign spending, and Facebook amplification shaped public messaging around Sean Di Somma.

While running for mayor of Belmar, Sean Di Somma received favorable press before the campaign listed expenses to that vendor.

How a Local Media Network Quietly Amplified Paul Kanitra’s Campaign An investigation into how local media, campaign spending, and Facebook amplification shaped public messaging around Paul Kanitra.

Tonight, we published three examples showing how campaigns received favorable media coverage while listing expenses to the vendor behind the independent media outlet.

First is Paul Kanitra's 2023 campaign for NJ Assembly.

Mapping Influence and Information Flow: The Convergence of Party Spending and Political Media in… A Case Study in Financial–Informational Coordination within Local Party Networks.

The findings highlight a transparency gap where political messaging and local news overlap, falling between journalism and campaign disclosure law.

Full study: Mapping Influence and Information Flow: The Convergence of Party Spending and Political Media in Monmouth County.