BY SHERRY CONOHAN
Staff Writer
SEA BRIGHT — With the election just two weeks away, Councilman Andrew Mencinsky, who is running for mayor, charged his opponent, Jo-Ann Kalaka-Adams, with running a "deceptive campaign, filled with outright lies and slick distortions" about his record.
Kalaka-Adams expressed surprise at the attack and said she hasn’t been talking about Mencinsky in her campaign, only about what her issues are.
Mencinsky is seeking election as an independent, while Kalaka-Adams is the Republican candidate. There is no Democratic candidate in the race.
Mencinsky, at a news conference that he held at his home, called on Kalaka-Adams to retract the lies he said she is spreading in a "cynical whisper campaign" designed to cause fear among downtown residents that he was in favor of condemning downtown properties as part of redevelopment.
"Nothing is further from the truth," Mencinsky said. "The only plan I ever helped us get was a free Rutgers study, done in 2001, by graduate students who had free advice for us abut how to deal with overhead power lines, parking, pedestrian safety, flooding and space allocation for borough-owned buildings. The word ‘eminent domain’ never appears in the document."
Mencinsky said while there had been talk of beautification, the word "redevelopment" did not enter the governing body’s official vocabulary until former Councilwoman Liz Smith, a Democrat, put forth a motion on March 19 this year to create a "redevelopment committee." He noted that Smith’s motion was supported by Councilwoman Maria Fernandes and Councilmen Bill Gelfound, both Democrats, and Councilman Jack Keeler, a Republican; but was opposed by himself and Councilman Charles Galloway.
Galloway, like Mencinsky, is an independent.
The Borough Council subsequently backed off the word "redevelopment" and authorized a "town study," for which it hired a planning firm. The planners used the term "redevelopment," which they said could or could not include eminent domain, causing an uproar among residents and business owners. Under pressure of so much opposition, the council abandoned the "town study" at the end of the first of five planned phases.
The council now is in the process of drafting a request for proposals to bring in a professional to advise it on the best use of municipally owned properties.
Mencinsky said he favored "beautification" and a "town study," but not the redevelopment committee when it was proposed by Smith.
"They effectively took the project away from us and took control," Mencinsky asserted. "At no time did we talk of anything of the scope of what is going on in Asbury Park or Long Branch.
"Let the record speak the truth," he said, "even if Jo-Ann Kalaka-Adams cannot."
Kalaka-Adams, who had been an outspoken opponent of the "town study," expressing the fear that it could lead to redevelopment like what is now under way in Long Branch, responded that people know where Mencinsky stood on the issue.
"It’s very unfortunate that Andrew has to go to these types of claims," she said. "But it doesn’t surprise me that he would pull these types of tactics.
"I’m basically ignoring him," she added. "I don’t want to run a smear campaign the way he’s doing."
Mencinsky also criticized Kalaka-Adams as having failed to pay the maintenance charges on two condominium units she owns in the Waterways complex for more than a year, and suggested her ownership of several properties in town could put her in a conflict if she were elected mayor.
He further questioned whether she would have enough time for her job, in light of the traveling she does in her job as a book publisher.
Kalaka-Adams said the criticism of her role as a landlord was "totally false." She said she has a business dispute going on with the regard to the properties, and the inability to walk out onto the balcony that is in litigation. She said it is all being handled by lawyers, so she can’t discuss it at this time.
The money is in escrow, she added.
As for traveling on her job, she said she schedules her own appointments so trips would not interfere with her ability to serve as mayor.
"Just like any business, there are certain busy seasons," she added.
"Andrew is grasping at straws and he’s desperate," she said. "Negative doesn’t work. Sea Bright is looking for positive leadership. I’ve been positive. I’m just focusing on what I’m doing and what I want to do for Sea Bright."