‘This state is broken’ — Pt. Pleasant Beach, NJ, mayor blasts Murphy on crime

The mayor of a popular New Jersey shore town is again blasting Gov. Phil Murphy's administration for policies he believes have contributed to a rise in crime.

"This state is broken," lamented Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Paul Kanitra.

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Kanitra posted a rant to his personal Facebook page following an attempted car theft at the Dunkin' store on Route 35 South Monday morning.

A man claimed the suspected car thief tried to open his car door around 8:22 a.m. When the owner of the car approached the man, he fled in another vehicle. Police Chief Robert Kowalewski said the investigation was ongoing, but believed the suspected car thief was from North Jersey. He did not say what leads them to believe that.

Kanitra praised the "incredible" police in Point Pleasant Beach, and then wrote, "They don't have the luxury of being able to say the following…. so I will."

"Why do you think we've gotten to the point where gangs from North Jersey continually come to Monmouth and Ocean to steal cars in broad daylight?" Kanitra asked.

Without mentioning names, he then lashed out at the bail reform laws that went into place beginning under Gov. Chris Christie, and blamed those reforms for putting "criminals back on the street to commit crime time and time again."

"What about the attacks on police in general," Kanitra asks. "Painting them as the bad guys and undermining their authority? Is it simply a lack of funding to go after gangs and the lack of a spine to crack down appropriately? What is indisputable is that one of the above or all of the above is contributing to it and weak kneed politicians should be held accountable."

Kanitra has been critical of Gov. Murphy before, without mentioning him by name.

Last June, Kanitra unleashed a torrent of criticism against the state and Murphy administration as his town prepared for a massive pop-up party.

"They (the state) have screwed up our marijuana laws, they have screwed up our liquor laws, so that young kids feel like they can just walk down the street ripping shots and taking hits without any worries," Kanitra claimed.

In his latest rant, the Mayor says "weak kneed politicians should be held accountable."

"Think about this the next time you're in a voting booth or when you pay your insanely high car insurance premiums," Kanitra said.

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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