As the vote between incumbent New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelly comes down to a razor-thin margin, the numbers from the overwhelmingly frum city of Lakewood were released, showing that Ciattarelli won it by a landslide.
Despite endorsements from the Lakewood Vaad and numerous askanim, Governor Murphy was unable to gain the support of the majority of Lakewood’s voters, who lean conservative and in general feel that Murphy’s policies do not align with their values.
Ciattarelli won 61.6% of the Lakewood vote, with a total of 11,644 votes.
Lakewood has over 50,000 registered voters, but saw less than a third of them turn out to vote in Tuesday’s election.
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25 Responses
Interesting that in a big Litvish voting blocks, the Rabbonim weren’t able to “deliver” the votes to a favored candidate whereas the the more Chassidish areas in NY, there is 90+% block voting in line with the Rebbe’s directives.
Ah kiddush Hashem!
“Despite endorsements from the Lakewood Vaad and numerous askanim, Governor Murphy was unable to gain the support of the majority of Lakewood’s voters, who lean conservative and in general feel that Murphy’s policies do not align with their values”
Baruch Hashem the voters of Lakewood and its surrounding areas were able to think on their own and rejected what the biased so-called askanim commanded. The so-called askanim have become irrelevant and hopefully will continue to be so when it comes to who to vote for. Anyone with a half a brain sees right thru their chaniffa. Even the last minute ridiculous “hakaras hatov” card failed. This is very encouraging.
Unfortunately, in a razor tightrace, as it stands now, those few selfish jews in lakewood that listened to selfish advice to vote Murphy might very well have destroyed nj for the next 4 years. So if you see a yid who voted Murphy, say that’s u selfish! You get money while we suffer, can’t travel or go to restaurants, kids living in FEAR of inspectors and masks. But as long as u guys get money, throw the rest of Americans under the bus. CHILLUL HASHEM!
Looks like some rabbonim were out of touch with reality on the ground…..
It is not surprising, anyone can see that taxes only goes up and regardless what the “askanim” say it is many times in their own interests not in the interests of the people that are trying to run a small business or buy a house without a rich shver…. people are tired of these so called askanim and are voting for their own interests.
@Not getting involved
While I would vote for more conservative Republican (especially when the Democrat’s office stated that they’re going to enforce vaccine mandates even on a population that has superior natural herd immunity), you seem to missing the point regarding: Chanifa vs Hakaras HoTov. That’s what the BMG leadership showed.
The greater Lakewood area, was able to function as a society & economy with minimal disruptions. While Murphy wasn’t a “DeSantis”, he certainly refrained by a lot from being a “Cuomo”.
5 takeaways
1. 19000 lakewood ppl did vote , thats not less than national percentages but could do better
2. 4 factors that helped jack , republican values combined with rav olshin NOT signing , rumor of pardon,anti vaad vote, fear of vax mandate
3. there is no block vote in lakewood anymore
4. this race is an exception , future races will not be decided by lakewood after all we are talking 2.5 mil votes
I don’t know the issues on what each candidate stood for but is it possible that Murphy was better for the Kollel families and Ciatarelli is better for the Baalei battim? As the city has shifted to more working families than learning families perhaps it is time to reevaluate what really is best for the Lakewood community.
Rabbamim and Askanim can recommend the person they think will win & hope their endorsement will bode well for their institutions. But it’s refreshing to see people think for themselves.
I can see listening to Rabbonim in matters of halacha, but votes is a sacred right of the individual and should vote whomever he or she feels is best. I still don’t understand why the roshei yeshiva called it a chillul Hashem that Citarelli came to BMG.
3.5 mil
a thought is it possible , that the murphy votes are the bnei yeshiva and the jack is the lakewood comm at large , ? if so it would just mean that there are 2 groups of yidden the loyal talmidim of torasam umenasam and daas bal habayis is once again hefech…
Pnei Hador Kipnei Hakelev.
@Not getting involved:
it’s an interesting name for someone who is BH very much involved lol
People are tired of getting conned by rabbi endorsements just because a few people are getting money.
Rav Ahron Kotler never gave and would never have tolerated such actions by people who speak in the name of Torah
Pretty simple, actually.
Takers vs givers.
Beneficiaries of govt programs vs those who have to pay for it.
Tax-paying ba’alei battim are the Lakewood majority now, not those within the yeshiva orbit.
the Askan shtick deal is clear,
the Askan “delivers” your vote and rakes in the $$$, you belong to them you of course are NOT entitled to your own opinion, your taxes just go up and up because no politician makes any pitch directly to you, you are invisible.
its about time to put these fixers out of business, the vote is ours and it goes to whose policies will help the Olem, not just a few Askanim
Gadolhadorah: “a big Litvish voting blocks” – singular/plural inconsistency and it’s voting blocs, not blocks. But that’s OK – to err is human…
I assume that you are familiar with at least some of the differences between Litvaks and Chassidim.
Each Rebbe has his chassidim and if they are loyal followers they will vote exactly as their Rebbe tells them to.
Litvaks don’t have one Rebbe. Each person has his da’as Torah, not necessarily local. Lakewood has grown far beyond BMG and includes many different groups with a variety of hashkafos. There is no single Litvish bloc and perhaps cannot even be called a bloc. The Lakewood Va’ad does not represent the only da’as Torah in town even if some Rabbonim prefer not to come out publicly in opposition to the Va’ad’s endorsement. Besides which, for better or for worse, the Litvish population thinks more independently than Chassidim, certainly in areas outside of halacha. Politically, that makes them less reliable but it is what it is.
@meir G :
your thought is correct.
but it isnt “‘torasam umnasam” against das bal habayis….
its those that are selfish and don’t care about America or the Frum community
against those that are fair and good and want ppl to be allowed to keep their hard earned money, without mandates and BS.
Additionally, HALACHACILLY, anyone who takes money from govt social programs is a pasul l’edus, because ASMACHTA LO KANYA – ppl do not want to give THEIR money to you – you are a ganev!!(“al tashes yadcha ed chamas”)!!
you are pasul l’edus!! Rosh Hashana 22a.
chaylev halyah –
1. bh we have thousands of baalei batim bnei torah , veyorei hashem ( i was just noticing thats how the line was possibly drawn
2. if you add up the amount of ” your tax dollars” that went to bmg & its families on programs.. its a miniscule fraction of the federal budget ( even if u paid 50 grand in federal taxes bmg got less than $5 of that , to put it in perspective the war in afganistan cost 150 mill a DAY for 20 years
3. if you want to keep more of your money a yid getzich an eitza
4. we yidden have also become deep state.. progressive … rooting for the underdog…anti establishment .. even if that means going against whatever little daas torah you think is left … oy lanu aich yoradnu that we have big tirutzim why we got it right and the gedaylim just were bribed
Gadolhadorah, Yes it’s true, for years in New York City in all the boroughs the chasidish world absolutely follows the endorsements of their rabbonim.
Who almost always endorse Democrats..
I’m not really sure that we should look positively at that development considering the state of New York right now.
Years and years of Democrats have brought absolute destruction on the city, with diblasio being perhaps it’s very pinnacle.
are we really proud we followed that path?
Perhaps some reflection is in order.
> Each person has his da’as Torah, , not necessarily local.
of course it is not local. Everyone’s daas Torah is from He who Honen Hadaas. To think otherwise sounds like Az to me, however heilege that person is.
It’s not litvish vs chasidim. It’s vs heimish. The heimish may wear gartels and no gebrukts on pesach but they go their own way. they are the ones building up Lakewood business and supporting kollel learners
the vaad, FJCC, Aguda all had horrific showings, which shows people think for themselves.