Mike Halfacre at No Joe's Café in Red Bank in 2007.
Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre today declared his intention to run for Congress.
Or did he?
In an email sent today to family, friends and supporters, Halfacre says "I am running for Congress in New Jerseys 12th Congressional District in 2010."
But Halfacre tells redbankgreen that nothing has changed since last Friday, when he reiterated that he was considering a challenge against incumbent 12th-district Democrat Rush Holt but hadn't yet made up his mind to run.
"No, this does not make it any more official than it was last week," he tells us via email. "This is an effort to gauge interest and support, that's all."
There's no recent mention of Halfacre's interest in going to D.C. on his blog or Twitter page.
Here's the text of the blast email, sent to an unknown number of recipients. It's accompanied by a political biography and a contribution card:
Dear Friend,
I hope all is well. I apologize if you have received this email more than once, but I am working hard to get this message to as many people in my contacts as I can.
I hope you can help out!
If you are receiving this letter, you are a family member, close friend, colleague or political supporter of mine. As such, I have some exciting news that I cannot wait to share with you- I am running for Congress in New Jerseys 12th Congressional District in 2010. My reason for reaching out to you is to ask for your financial support in my bid to unseat Rush Holt.
Rush is a well funded, entrenched incumbent, but he will be vulnerable in 2010 due to the failure of the Administration and Congress to adequately address the economy and his support of unprecedented federal spending. He has also failed miserably in the number one job of an elected representative: protecting the interests of his constituents. The closing of Ft. Monmouth and the security risks associated with civilian housing at Earle Naval Weapons Station are just the two most recent high profile examples of his failures in the District.
I believe that I can defeat Rush Holt next year- but getting the message out about Holts shortcomings and my work in Fair Haven requires that I raise a significant amount of money. For that reason, I am asking you for a significant contribution to get my campaign off the ground and to show people that I am a serious candidate.
Federal election laws limit contributions to $2,400 per person ( $4,800 for couples). If you cannot give that amount, then please give $1,000 or $500. As I said earlier, this is not a mass fundraising appeal. This letter is only going to a select group of people who are my closest supporters. I need your help to get my campaign off to a solid start.
As Mayor of Fair Haven, I have lowered taxes two years in a row despite losing state funding. To do this, we reduced the size of our government by finding and eliminating inefficiencies and applying my experience as a small businessman and attorney. Despite lowering taxes we have maintained all of our vital services, expanded recreation programs, purchased hybrid vehicles, and maintained or improved vital infrastructure. I believe that in this time of unprecedented spending by the federal government, my record of fiscal conservatism and doing more with less is a message that will resonate across the district.
I have assembled a Campaign Team that includes Tom Fitzsimmons, the campaign manager that ran the campaign of State Senator Jennifer Beck in her historic upset of Ellen Karcher in 2007, winning while being outspent 5 to 1. Ron Gravino, New Jerseys premier Campaign Treasurer, has agreed to handle our campaign finances. We have filed Mike Halfacre for Congress with the Federal Election Commission, and we will be going live with a website in the near future. We are ready to go. All we need is your donation to get started.
I am attaching a PDF with more detailed information about my work in Fair Haven, and a donation form that I would ask you to use to help me get this campaign started.
Thank you for your support, both in the past and in my upcoming endeavor. I would love to hear from you with any feedback about this effort.
All the best,
Mike.
