Thank you to Neptune City resident Michael Skudera for granting permission to share his Facebook post.
Shared with permission, author Michael Skudera, 30+ year resident of Neptune City
Winning an election is hard. Winning two elections is harder. Winning three means that the people like what you stand for and trust you. Neptune City Councilwoman Pamela Renee has won her seat three times. She has had the highest vote count of any candidate in her last two borough council elections. Pamela Renee is a good human being, an amazing councilwoman and an even better friend. I have been on the sidelines for too long watching the Neptune City Republicans run her name into the mud. That needs to end, and I am here to start that process.
For the first couple of years into her term, Pamela was called an outsider. Someone who was not born and raised in Neptune City and someone that is simply trying to make a name for herself. She was ridiculed by a mayor who just did not like her. So, what does the Neptune City Republican Committee do? They run an “outsider” on their own ticket and Councilman Brian Thomas wins his bid for council. I like Brian. He is a good guy so me pointing out the blatant hypocrisy has nothing to do with him. It has everything to do with a party that does not play by their own set of rules.
When it came time for the town council to select a peer as Council President, Pamela was selected. It is my understanding that this is something that is rotated among the council members and this just happened to be Pamela’s turn at the title. Mayor Brown made it a point, in fact went out of his way, to downplay this title. He mentioned that it held no power and was only relevant when he was not in attendance for the biweekly council meetings. Essentially thumbing his nose at Councilwoman Renee.
Fast forward to 2020, the Neptune City GOP invokes the title of Council President when they refer to Councilwoman Danielle Pappas. Again, this has nothing to do with Ms. Pappas. She has always been very nice to me. But again, there are a different set of rules if your name is not Pamela Renee.
In 2019, there was a recall effort in town. That recall effort was directed right at Pamela Renee. An attempt to overturn the will of the people based solely on party politics. As everyone thought, it fell flat on its face and the recall failed. Miserably. So, this was a hatchet job by a lazy political party using the old method, “If you can’t beat ‘em, recall ‘em”. And what did the Neptune City Republican Committee do as a result? They ran the young lady that was spearheading the recall effort as a candidate for council. This candidate not only failed miserably in recalling Councilwoman Renee, but she was also blatantly unqualified to run for council.
The election is over. The recount is over. It is time for both political parties in town to set aside their differences and begin to work together for once. The prior administration did not want to work with the other side. That was clear from the beginning. Our current mayor is a man that I have known for many years. He is a friend. I am calling on him as a friend and as someone I respect a great deal to put this dark shadow behind us and move on. Our town deserves as much. Our town also deserves Pamela Renee. I am just not sure she deserves us.
The Neptune City Democrats are always open to any relevant guest submissions, please contact info@neptunecitydemocrats.com for consideration.