For 30 years I have been in public life as a mayor and as a freeholder. I’ve fought long and hard to make Monmouth County a good place to live and raise our children. We have a stable tax rate, excellent schools, wonderful open spaces and parks, and superlative county services. I’d like to think that in my own way, I’ve helped to make that come about. Unfortunately, it would appear I’ve made a few enemies along the way. They are now using rumors and false accusations to try to remove me. But, as the Bible says, the truth will win out in the end.

Like any pubic official, by now I should be used to the pitfalls of public life. One of them is seeing your name associated with false charges of impropriety. Recently, I was accused of misusing my campaign funds by picking up the tab for people at lunches and other public events.

These charges of misuse are untrue and now it’s time to put the record straight once and for all.

Like anyone who runs for public office, I take contributions from people who believe in my candidacy and the things I want to accomplish. Those campaign funds can be spent in a variety of ways and New Jersey has some of the nation’s strictest regulations governing their use. As an arm of the state government, the state Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) is a law-enforcement agency with the power to punish anyone who misuses these funds — including bringing criminal charges against wrongdoers.

The ELEC has six categories of "permissible uses for campaign funds" in its compliance manual. One of them is for "ordinary and necessary office-holding expenses." The manual goes on to explain these as "expenses that reasonably promote, or carry out the responsibility of a person holding elective office."

If a town in Monmouth County is holding a parade on a public holiday or dedicating a new firehouse, I believe it’s my duty as a freeholder to attend. Too many public officials are remote from the people who elected them. I’d rather be on site and available to my constituents. During the course of the day, I will participate in events, have lunch with townspeople and provide refreshments to volunteers. When I do that, I pay for it out of my campaign funds.

If bringing a box of donuts to volunteers putting up a tent, paying for lunch for marchers in a parade, or buying a fireman a hot dog at a town picnic is wrong, then I guess I’m guilty.

That’s not the only way I spend some of my campaign funds. I also make contributions to charitable organizations like the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, the SPCA, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Visiting Nurses Association, Monmouth Conservation Foundation, autism research, the Red Cross, and local PBAs — to name just a few. And — as a dedicated Republican — I assist other Republican candidates in their local campaigns. This helps to build the Republican Party in Monmouth County, an effort that has been sadly overlooked.

In 2003, I spent $21,238 out of campaign funds not related to actual campaign expenses (bumper stickers, lawn signs, etc.). I contributed $8,521 to charities. I contributed $9,337 to other Republican candidates. And I spent $3,380 (16 percent) in expenses related to attending the public events I described above.

If you look over the last five years, you will see I have spent approximately 50 percent of these funds by donating to charities, 35 percent helping other Republican candidates and a scant 15 percent on event-related expenses. Every expenditure is legitimate and has been duly documented and filed with the ELEC in Trenton.

But don’t believe me — believe the ELEC.

On April 14, my campaign treasurer went to Trenton and met with the executive director of the ELEC, Dr. Frederick M. Hermann and two members of his staff (one of whom is a lawyer) with a complete set of my campaign contributions and expenditures. During the course of that meeting, they literally examined boxes of records. When it was over, the ELEC concluded I was in complete compliance with all applicable regulations governing the use of campaign funds.

No one forced me to run for public office. I did it because I wanted to give something back to my community. I know politics is a rough game, but when my integrity is attacked, I cannot sit back and allow that to happen. In the end, all any of us have is our good name, and I intend to keep mine.

Edward J. Stominski is a

Monmouth County freeholder