Curley, seeking GOP backing again to run for freeholder, calls Mason hiring 'despicable'

Former Red Bank Councilman John Curley intends to screen before the County Republican Committee on March 28th in an effort to secure his party’s backing to again run for freeholder, this time against incumbent Freeholder Director Barbara McMorrow.

Curley, who now lives in Middletown, won the machine count in his race with Amy Mallet last year, and then lost the election after a tally of absentee ballots.

Now he’s back, excoriating the Democratically-controlled freeholder board for hiring Mallet’s running mate, Glenn Mason, to serve as the county’s emergency management coordinator at $75,000 a year. 

“I think Director McMorrow stated she would take politics out of county hiring practices,” said Curley, “and here this is a blatant disregard, particularly when you consider the freeholder board’s layoffs of people who have been there for years. When you put a political crony in a job as important as emergency management, ‘despicable’ is the word that comes to mind.”

Heading into this election year, McMorrow has battled members of her own party, among them Freeholder John D’Amico. Curley said he is disappointed by McMorrow’s green light on the Mason hire.

“Obviously, she’s not showing the leadership she’s spoken of in the past, and when push came to shove she hired a political crony for a job in which cronyism has no place,” Curley said. 

Other Republicans seeking party backing this year to run against McMorrow are Kim Spatolla of Atlantic Highlands, Gary Rich of Spring Lake Heights and Joe Ficalora of Manalapan.