Placement of campaign sign leads to conflict
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

MARLBORO - Mayor Robert Kleinberg and developer Eddie Kay will see each other in court today, Oct. 10.

Both men are scheduled to appear in Holmdel municipal court at 9 a.m. in regard to complaints they filed against each other following an incident that occurred on the afternoon of Sept. 29.

Police have not filed charges against anyone, according to a Marlboro municipal court official. The accusations are made by one citizen against another. The hearing was transferred from Marlboro to Holmdel.

Kay has charged Kleinberg with assault by auto and Kleinberg has charged Kay with assault. A municipal court judge in Holmdel will hear the complaints and determine how the matter will proceed.

Kay and Kleinberg had a run-in on Gordons Corner Road on the afternoon of Sept. 29. The incident involved a Kleinberg campaign sign that had been placed near the Triangle Ridge development in the vicinity of Vista Drive.

Kleinberg is running for a second fouryear term in the Nov. 6 election. He and Kay have had a contentious relationship related to a number of issues in Marlboro, including allegations of corrupt activities on Kay's part.

Kay, who is a resident of Marlboro, said he was driving with a friend and his two daughters when he noticed two Kleinberg campaign signs, one of which was on the Triangle Ridge property Kay developed and for which he said he is still responsible.

Kay said his responsibilities on that property include maintenance of the grass and other infrastructure. He said he believed the location of the Kleinberg sign was inappropriate so he pulled his car off to the side of the road to remove the sign.

At that point Kleinberg, who was driving on Gordons Corner Road on his way to Marlboro High School, said he came upon a man removing his sign. He said he stopped his car behind the other individual's car and took out his cell phone to photograph the incident. Kleinberg said he never left his vehicle.

The mayor said when Kay turned around after throwing the campaign sign into the bushes each man realized who the other person was. Both men agree that Kay yelled at Kleinberg using profanity and making an inappropriate gesture with his finger.

It was after this that the stories differ.

Kay claims Kleinberg put his car in reverse as Kay stepped toward the mayor's vehicle. Kay claims Kleinberg then put his car into drive and headed toward him, causing Kay to step away from the mayor's vehicle.

Kay ran at his car, then returned to his own vehicle and was preparing to get back in.

At that point Kleinberg's vehicle was in front of Kay's vehicle.

"Mr. Kleinberg then slows his car down to a near stop in front of me. My first reaction out of fear for my children's safety, as well as my own, was to pass Mr. Kleinberg and get away from him so I tried to get around his car on the left. Mr. Kleinberg then sped up so I could not pass him so I immediately hit the brakes and let him go until his car was no longer near mine," Kay said in a report he filed with the municipal court.

Kleinberg said Kay sped up and got near his bumper. He said Kay pulled alongside of him so that the front of his (Kay's) car was at Kleinberg's back door. He said Kay moved as though he was going to run the mayor off the road.

"My heart was racing," Kleinberg said.

Kay eventually turned onto Robertsville Road and Kleinberg called 911 to report the incident.

Kleinberg said the township engineer later went to the site where the campaign sign had been placed and determined it was not on Kay's property. The mayor said the sign was on a township easement.