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Public Record NJ is an independent research project using verifiable public records to bring clarity, context, and accountability to New Jersey politics.

Campaign Finances · March 4, 2026
· 3:00 PM · 12 minutes read

Few New Jersey School Districts Hire Lobbyists. Middletown Is One.

Campaign filings, PAC spending reports, and lobbying disclosures show overlapping donors, vendors, and political committees tied to the Middletown school board election while key contract records remain unclear.

New Jersey has hundreds of public school districts. Almost none hire lobbyists.

State disclosure records show more than 500 public school districts operate across New Jersey. Only two appear in state lobbying disclosure records. Middletown is one of them.

The distinction stands out even more today. The district is facing a significant budget shortfall and planning to close schools to address it. That contrast raises a basic accountability question: when a public school district hires a lobbying firm, what decisions is it trying to influence, and what did students and taxpayers receive in return?

In Middletown, the public record reveals two disclosure systems that are usually examined separately: campaign-finance filings from the November 2025 Board of Education election and New Jersey lobbying disclosures filed by a Trenton-based government affairs firm. When those filings are read side by side, they show overlapping names, vendors, and timing — a pattern similar to one identified in our prior research on how campaign spending and political media intersect in Monmouth County.

They also raise several unanswered questions about how the district engaged a lobbying firm.

The most direct document-based link is this: CLB Partners LLC reported “Middletown Township Board of Education” as a represented entity on a Form L1-A annual lobbying report, listing $15,000 in receipts and identifying the entity’s business type as “School board.”1

Separately, the joint candidates committee that backed three school-board candidates in 2025 reported a donor whose employer was listed as CLB Partners.2

Our review also identified at least one contribution that does not appear in the candidate committee’s campaign finance filings required under New Jersey election law. It is one of several contributions that point to a broader network of relationships surrounding the board, where public money, lobbying activity, and local elections intersect.

Why this matters: where lobbying, campaign money, and local governance meet

Lobbying disclosure and campaign-finance disclosure exist for similar reasons. Both are designed to give the public visibility into who is paying whom to influence government decisions.

Viewed together, the records show three developments occurring at the same time:

  • A school-board election committee raising and spending money ahead of the November 2025 election.3
  • A political action committee contributing to that campaign shortly before Election Day and funding direct-mail activity tied to the same campaign vendor.4
  • A lobbying firm listing the Middletown Township Board of Education as a client in its annual disclosure report.1

What the public record reviewed does not explain is what services the school district hired the lobbying firm to perform. The underlying contract has not appeared in public agendas, and the filings themselves do not describe the scope of work.

The organizations that appear in the filings

Students, Parents and Taxpayers BOE Coalition

The Students, Parents and Taxpayers BOE Coalition filed a joint candidates committee certificate of organization for the November 4, 2025 nonpartisan school board election.

The filing lists Sara Weinstein, James Cody, and Christopher Aveta as candidates, with Ronald Gravino identified as treasurer.5

After the election, the committee filed a report certifying it as the final report and confirming that the election fund had been dissolved as of November 21, 2025.6

Proven Leadership PAC

Proven Leadership PAC is registered with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission as a continuing political committee.

The PAC filed quarterly reports for 2025, including a Quarter 4 report filed January 14, 2026.7 Those filings list both the sources of the PAC’s funding and where the PAC spent its money.

CLB Partners LLC

CLB Partners’ Form L1-A describes its purpose broadly as reporting “fees, retainers, allowances, reimbursement of expenses, or other compensation received from Represented Entities” for influencing “legislation, regulations, governmental processes, or communicating with the general public.”8

On its website, the firm describes itself as “the bridge between business and government.”18

In its annual report excerpt, CLB Partners lists “Middletown Township Board of Education” as a represented entity and reports $15,000 in receipts.1

Following the campaign money in the 2025 school board race

Campaign filings show a short and concentrated fundraising period for the BOE coalition.

  • The committee’s 29-day pre-election report listed $21,400 in receipts and $9,162.68 in expenditures.3
  • An 11-day pre-election report listed an additional $2,000 in receipts and $7,780.21 in spending.9
  • The final post-election filing showed $26,100 in total receipts and the same amount in expenditures.10

Together, those reports describe the financial arc of the campaign from formation through dissolution.

Donor disclosures reveal connections to government and district vendors

Campaign finance rules require committees to disclose identifying information about contributors above certain thresholds, including employer and occupation fields.

Those disclosures provide the first set of intersections visible in the records.

A contribution schedule lists Karen Kominsky, whose employer is listed as CLB Partners, contributing $1,000 on October 1, 2025.2 Karen Kominsky is also listed as a governmental affairs agent in a Form L1-A lobbying disclosure filed by CLB Partners.

The filings list several other contributors connected to local government or entities doing business with the district:2

  • Middletown Mayor Tony Perry ($1,000) and council members Kevin Settembrino ($250) and Rick Hibell ($250).
  • Bryan Fuerst, CFO, Alliance Health ($10,000). The contribution was reported days after the school board approved a sponsorship agreement with Alliance Health. The donation amount matches one year of the sponsorship payment approved by the board.
  • Richard Kosinski, Brio Benefits ($3,000). Brio Benefits serves as the district’s health insurance broker under a contract worth $180,000 annually.
  • Andrew Melnick ($1,000), Vice Chairman of the Monmouth County Improvement Authority.
  • Marissa Capone ($250), the wife of then–Board President Frank Capone.
  • Roberta Sheridan ($300), a member of the Middletown Zoning Board of Adjustment.

Based on the filings reviewed, none of the reported contributions to the candidate committee appear to come from township residents without some connection to the school district or local government.

Campaign spending shows the vendors involved in the election

The coalition’s expenditure filings show payments tied to several campaign activities.

Those included:

  • Jamestown Associates for billboards and lawn signs ($5,668.78).11
  • Archangel Strategy Group for direct mail printing and postage, digital media, and texting-related campaign communication ($7,843.27).12

The filings identify the type of activity but do not describe the content of the communications.

A political action committee enters the race

The campaign filings also show activity from outside the candidate committee itself.

A PAC contribution shortly before Election Day

A supplemental 72-hour election report filed by Proven Leadership PAC lists a $1,000 payment to the BOE coalition dated October 28, 2025.13

The same contribution appears in the PAC’s quarterly filing as a contribution to the committee tied to the November 4 election.4

The $1,000 contribution does not appear in campaign finance reports filed by the candidate committee, raising the question of whether the committee’s filings fully reflect all contributions received.

PAC spending tied to the campaign vendor

The PAC’s filings also show direct-mail spending tied to the same campaign vendor.

The report lists a payment to the PAC treasurer for direct-mail activity with Archangel Strategy Group disclosed as the sub-payee.14

Materials reviewed by Public Record NJ show that campaign mailers supporting the BOE coalition were sent to Middletown residents and paid for by the PAC.

The PAC’s donors

The PAC’s contribution filings show donations from firms that regularly work with public entities.

Those include:7

  • Holman Frenia Allison, P.C. ($1,000), the district’s auditing firm.
  • Colliers Engineering & Design ($3,000) and Remington & Vernick Engineers II, Inc. ($2,000), engineering firms performing public infrastructure work.
  • Trilon Services Holdings, Inc. ($1,000), an infrastructure services company.
  • Maurice Stone ($2,500), a Florida-based commercial real estate attorney, previously associated with the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation.
  • Brian Nelson ($1,000), Middletown Township’s Township Attorney, with significant experience representing municipalities on public-private partnership redevelopment projects.

The PAC contribution records show a similar pattern to the candidate committee filings. Donations appear to come primarily from individuals or firms connected to government contracting, public finance, or local political networks rather than from unaffiliated township residents.

Campaign expense filings show that 44% of the PAC’s $25,000 in spending supported the candidate committee in the school election.

A campaign vendor appearing in both committees’ filings

Campaign filings from both committees identify the same vendor.

The BOE coalition reported payments to Archangel Strategy Group for direct mail and a texting-related campaign expense.12 Proven Leadership PAC separately reported direct-mail spending in which Archangel Strategy Group appears as the disclosed sub-payee on an expenditure reported as paid to the treasurer.14

A shared vendor is common in campaign activity. The filings alone do not establish whether any activities were independent or coordinated; they show only that both committees reported spending tied to the same vendor during the same general election period.

The vendor also appears in other public records tied to local political activity. Our prior research documents connections between Archangel Strategy Group and the Monmouth County Republican Committee, including a pattern in which the firm’s affiliated outlet publishes attack articles targeting political rivals. The company is also a named defendant in a civil lawsuit involving the Middletown school district, which alleges that tenure charges against Daniel Rodrick were filed as political retaliation by board members Frank Capone and Jacqueline Tobacco.

Read together, the filings show several points of intersection across separate disclosure systems. Campaign finance reports identify donors connected to district vendors and government entities. PAC filings show outside spending supporting the same school board campaign. Lobbying disclosures separately list the district as a client of a government affairs firm.

Each filing captures only a portion of the activity. The underlying contracts and procurement records would explain how those relationships began and what work, if any, the district sought from the lobbying engagement.

What the lobbying disclosure shows

The lobbying record appears in a separate disclosure system.

A CLB Partners Form L1-A filing lists the Middletown Township Board of Education as a represented entity and reports $15,000 in receipts for that entry.1

The form itself explains that it is designed to report compensation received for activities related to influencing legislation, regulations, governmental processes, or communications with the public.8

Prior filings show the school board first appearing in 2021, with annual receipts reported as $25,000 in 2021 and $30,000 per year from 2022 through 2024.

Taken together, those filings show the district paying CLB Partners $130,000 over five years.

What the disclosure does not provide are the underlying contract terms, the district action authorizing the engagement, or a description of the specific issues on which the firm was retained.

What records could clarify the lobbying engagement

The disclosure filings point to the next step in understanding the relationship: the district’s procurement and contract records.

Documents that would clarify the engagement include:

  • The school district’s contract or engagement letter with CLB Partners.
  • Board resolutions or agenda items authorizing the agreement.
  • Invoices and payment records tied to the contract.

Viewed together, the records examined in this article show connections across multiple transparency systems: campaign contributions from individuals tied to district vendors and government entities, PAC spending supporting the same school board campaign, and lobbying disclosures listing the district as a client of a government affairs firm.

The overlap appears across three separate disclosure systems rarely examined together: campaign finance reports, PAC filings, and state lobbying disclosures.

What remains unclear from the public record is why the district needed a lobbying firm in the first place, and what work taxpayers ultimately received in return.

Notes

  1. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form L1-A Annual Report (CLB Partners LLC), “Name of Represented Entity: Middletown Township Board of Education,” p. 17 (Revised Dec. 2025).
  2. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form R-1 (Students, Parents and Taxpayers BOE Coalition), Schedule 1 “Monetary Contributions,” p. 4, filed October 6, 2025.
  3. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form R-1 (Students, Parents and Taxpayers BOE Coalition), receipts and expenditures summary and tables, filed October 6, 2025.
  4. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form R-3 (Proven Leadership PAC), Schedule 10 “Contributions Made to Candidates or Committees,” p. 6, filed January 14, 2026.
  5. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form D-2SB “Joint Candidates Committee – Certificate of Organization and Designation of Campaign,” Students, Parents and Taxpayers BOE Coalition, p. 1, received August 11, 2025.
  6. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form R-1 (Students, Parents and Taxpayers BOE Coalition), “Declaration of Final Report,” p. 7, filed November 21, 2025.
  7. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form R-3 (Proven Leadership PAC), Quarter 4 report cover page, filed January 14, 2026.
  8. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form L1-A Annual Report instructions/purpose statement, p. 3 (Revised Dec. 2025).
  9. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form R-1 (Students, Parents and Taxpayers BOE Coalition), 11-day pre-election summary and tables, filed October 23, 2025.
  10. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form R-1 (Students, Parents and Taxpayers BOE Coalition), post-election tables showing cumulative totals, p. 2, filed November 21, 2025.
  11. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form R-1 (Students, Parents and Taxpayers BOE Coalition), Schedule 8 “Expenditures,” p. 6, filed October 6, 2025.
  12. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form R-1 (Students, Parents and Taxpayers BOE Coalition), Schedule 8 “Expenditures,” p. 5, filed October 23, 2025.
  13. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form 72/24-HR (Proven Leadership PAC), Expenditure Information listing $1,000 to Students, Parents and Taxpayers BOE Coalition, p. 2, filed October 28, 2025.
  14. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form R-3 (Proven Leadership PAC), Schedule 8 “Expenditures” showing check to treasurer with sub-payee disclosure to Archangel Strategy Group, p. 5, filed January 14, 2026.
  15. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form L1-A Annual Report (CLB Partners LLC), Schedule A (public board/authority service disclosures), p. 31.
  16. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form L1-A Annual Report (CLB Partners LLC), Schedule B “Salary & Compensation,” p. 33.
  17. New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Form 72/24-HR / supplemental reporting instructions excerpt, p. 1 (Proven Leadership PAC filing packet), describing 72-hour and 24-hour reporting windows.
  18. CLB Partners, “CLB Partners,” website, accessed March 3, 2026, https://clbnj.com/