After reading Red Bank Councilman Michael DuPont’s letter concerning Councilman John Curley’s letter to residents, I feel that Mr. DuPont must have read the wrong letter. There is certainly nothing in the green letter that arrived at my door that defames Mrs. DuPont, or even refers to her.
Clearly, in describing who was appointed to the Planning Board, Mr. Curley refers to Mr. DuPont himself and to former Mayor McKenna’s wife, and not to Mr. DuPont’s wife.
In order for Mr. DuPont’s wife to be included, the sentence would have to read as follows: “Our new Mayor Menna appointed DuPont’s and McKenna’s wives to the Planning Board.”
As the sentence actually reads, Mr. DuPont’s interpretation is contrary to the plain meaning.
The other interesting points in Councilman DuPont’s letter are these:
1. He says that to claim incorrectly that a person has been appointed to the Planning Board is to defame that person. This is hardly a compliment to the other members of that board.
2. He wants Mr. Curley to devote “full time” to his position on the council – a position that pays $3,650 per year, according to published reports. Is this a reasonable request, and one that Mr. DuPont makes of his fellow Democrats, or simply a political attack?
No doubt, many people will write in with a grammar lesson for this smart law school graduate. However, that will be after the election and Mr. DuPont will have taken his cheap shot at Mr. Curley when it counted. Too bad it had nothing to do with the issues that are turning Democrats into Republican voters in Red Bank.
Richard Hall
Red Bank