Election over, O'Scanlon heads to Statehouse
Little Silver mayor wins 4th term; two council seats filled
BY MELISSA KARSH Staff Writer
Just two days after being elected to the state General Assembly, Republican Declan O'Scanlon is already participating in his first legislative act.

Declan O'Scanlon

The newly minted District 12 assemblyman ventured to Trenton Nov. 8 to participate in electing the Assembly leadership and to get a head start on legislation discussions.

O'Scanlon, a former Little Silver councilman, and his running mate, Caroline Casagrande of Colts Neck, both defeated their Democratic opponents, incumbent Assemblyman Michael Panter and newcomer Amy Mallet, in the Assembly race.

"The voters knew that we were underdogs and going to be way outspent … so I really think they really went out of their way to pay attention to what we were saying," said O'Scanlon last week.

In addition, he said, "The people in New Jersey, particularly in the 12th District, are sick of being treated as an ATM machine for the rest of the state and they felt that we were the better folks to stop that."

O'Scanlon had previously run for the Assembly seat in 2005 and had lost to Panter by 65 votes after a recount.

Jennifer Beck, O'Scanlon's then-running mate for Assembly, won her seat in 2005 and in this year's election claimed a District 12 N.J. Senate seat, beating out one-term incumbent Ellen Karcher.

This year's Assembly race turned out to be a close one as well, but with about 2,000 votes separating the top vote-getter, O'Scanlon, from the bottom, Mallet, no recount was warranted.

Out of 84,038 votes, O'Scanlon received about 26.40 percent of the vote, or 22,182 votes, and Casagrande received about 26.23 percent, or 22,040 votes.

"I think that [voters] realized that we really believed in smaller government, we really believed that it's time to make cuts to New Jersey's hugely bloated budget and that it's time to get our fiscal acts in order," said O'Scanlon.

He added, "And they also understood and got the message that we're not soundbite candidates; we really have a genuine plan that we are going to go to Trenton and fight for, and in fact two days later we've already started fighting for it."

That fiscal plan includes cutting state spending and reforming the school funding formula, which makes up a large portion of the state budget.

"The days of hypocrisy of Trenton dictating spending caps to local municipalities while not subjecting themselves to their own caps must end," said O'Scanlon.

Although O'Scanlon said working on the state budget is the first issue he would like to tackle, he said that completing ethics reform is a close second.

"We will be some of the most vocal advocates for fiscal restraint, for tax relief, and we have a real plan to address those things, both on the ethics end of things and on the fiscal end," he said.

O'Scanlon also remained humble and chalked up his victory to a lot of grassroots support.

"I will be forever grateful to the voters for blessing me with this opportunity, and every day I will be working diligently and vigilantly to keep the promises I made during my campaign," said O'Scanlon.

He also imparted some words of wisdom to those in his hometown of Little Silver.

"The residents in Little Silver are being left in the most capable hands I could imagine," said O'Scanlon. "I look forward to being able to be an even bigger voice … and help facilitate local municipal officials' efforts to run government more efficiently, not just in Little Silver, but throughout the district."

Those "capable hands" in Little Silver include Mayor Suzanne Castleman, who has been re-elected for a fourth term, and successful Borough Council candidates incumbent Councilman Stuart Van Winkle and newcomer Robert C. Neff.

Republicans Van Winkle and Neff both ran unopposed, but Castleman, the longtime mayor, defeated her challenger, newcomer Anthony F. Trufolo, by garnering about 64 percent of the total 1,825 votes.