Is Robinson-Briggs refusing to pay her fine?, and other questions...

Smart-ass Magic 8 Ball!

 

Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs' involvement with money is endlessly fascinating.

Over the weekend, rumors surfaced that Her Honor will be refusing to pay the $200 fine levied by the City Council in its resolution reprimanding her and forwarding the results of its factfinding investigation to officials with prosecutorial and disciplinary authority: the Attorney General, the Union County Prosecutor and the Department of Community Affairs (see previous coverage of that issue here, including link to Olddoc's posting of the complete resolution of reprimand).

The mention by someone that Councilor Bill Reid is no longer Robinson-Briggs' campaign treasurer spurred a search of the Election Law Enforcement Commission's (ELEC) online reports, where the 2011 fourth quarter report of Her Honor's campaign committee was due January 15.  A search early Monday morning (see here) shows the most recent filing is the third quarter report, filed in October 2011.

Lastly, the matter of the 'Sharon Robinson-Briggs Civic Association'.

My attention here was keyed by a story Friday on PolitickerNJ about a lawsuit against Union City Mayor (and State Senator) Brian Stack, alleging that he used the 'Brian Stack Civic Association' as an illegal funnel for campaign contributions and doling out contracts based on contributions to the fund (see story here). Shades of Sharpe James!

At any rate, these 'Civic Associations', which are legal, are supposed to be registered as nonprofits, devote their monies to community-related activities, and file the detailed reports required of nonprofits concerning fundraising and expenditures.

I remember hearing months ago that Mayor Robinson-Briggs had established such a nonprofit, and more recently that she and Councilor Rivers had held a joint fundraiser at Hugo's.

So, do I wait and see if the fundraiser appears on Mayor Robinson-Briggs' campaign committee report or do I try to track down the Sharon Robinson-Briggs Civic Association records?

So many choices, so little time!

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• Plainfield Today:  "Despite reprimand of mayor, PMUA resolution more important"
  
• ELEC:  "Reports for Sharon Robinson-Briggs, 2013 Primary cycle"
• PolNJ:  "Lawsuit against Stack alleges 'pay-to-play' system"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Hidden Plainfield IDed: A Headmasterly Home

Ad from Westfield Leader, 4/11/1974.

Headmaster's home on Field Avenue behind the school.

Yesterday's Hidden Plainfield was once home to the headmaster of Wardlaw Country Day School.

Wardlaw was a private school for boys that merged with The Hartridge School in 1976.

1936 Football team poses on front steps of school
at 1030 Central Avenue (see story here).

The Wardlaw property at 1030 Central Avenue was taken over by the duCret School of the Arts.

Wardlaw had already located its upper school on the Inman Road campus, with the lower school being located on the Hartridge property on Plainfield Avenue until 1997, when a new wing was added to the Edison campus.

Where shall we go next week?

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• Hidden Plainfield:  "A Headmasterly Home" -- All comments and guesses have been posted.
• Wardlaw-Hartridge School:  "Website" | "Wikipedia" | "Facebook"
  
• Ledger:  "Wardlaw's 1936 'midget' team"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Hidden Plainfield: A Headmasterly Home

The gambrel-roofed home had five working fireplaces.

Today's Hidden Plainfield home is one of many comfortable Colonial Revival-style homes that can be found throughout the Queen City. Note the ornate scrollwork over the second floor window and the Palladian triple window in the attic.

But this one was exceptional for once being home to a school headmaster.

Back in my life as a realtor, I sold this home which featured five working fireplaces with the original tiled surrounds. Susan Callender, a fellow realtor and office mate, loaned me a picture of herself at a children's birthday party in the dining room of the house in the 1940s.

Only the wallpaper had changed over the years.

Do you know where today's property is?

Answer tomorrow.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Double your fun at Plainfield DQ's Half Price Sale today

This scrumptious-looking Super Bowl cake is just one of many at half-price today.

Today only you can double your fun at Plainfield DQ's Half Price Sale.

Donna and the Albanese family are saying 'thank you' to their customers for their support throughout the year by offering everything in the store at half off today. (We all know that the Albanese family supports the community throughout the year.)

Donna explaining business matters to a visiting class on Thursday.

Blizzards? Cones? Sundaes? Lunch?

You got it.

Plus all the cakes -- even the Super Bowl cake ready for next Sunday.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Council could beat Plainfield Board of Ed to punch in move to November election

 
City Council could beat the Plainfield Board of Ed to punch in moving the District to November school board elections, which are allowed by a recently-signed new law.

Gov. Christie signed the bill (S-3148, see online here) into law on January 17, after it was passed by both houses of the Legislature during the lame duck session. The bill's signing was covered prominently by both the Ledger (see here) and NJ Spotlight (see here).

The law provides for the elections to be moved to the date of the November general election if the District's budget will not exceed the state's 2% increase cap. The commitment is for an initial four years.

Though the districts will have to enter an agreement with their respective counties to take up the extra expense to the county involved in managing the election process, it is sure to be less than a district spends on running its own standalone election. In Plainfield, turnouts can be lower than 1,000 voters, which makes a school board election pricey indeed.

In December, Maria alerted folks that the bill was going to be under consideration in the 'lame duck' session of the Legislature (see her post here), and last week I posed the question whether the Plainfield Board of Ed would be considering moving the election date (see my post here).

The Board of Ed subsequently scheduled a special meeting for January 24, advertising it on the District's website (see the agenda here, note there is no mention of changing the election date).

Wednesday afternoon I received notice of the NJ Department of Education's FAQ on the process of switching election dates, which can be done by a simple resolution of the Board of Education or the municipal governing body (the Plainfield City Council). You can see the FAQ, which includes a sample resolution for adoption, online here.

I wrote to Board of Ed President Renata Hernandez in an email yesterday, inquiring whether and when the board might be taking up discussion of the changes, to which she replied within a few minutes --

Mr. Damon - as was shared at the Special Meeting held this past Tuesday, a discussion concerning the subject matter noted herein will take place in public at the next scheduled board meeting 2/14; within the recently communicated deadline shared today via NJSB announcements.

I must admit I do not recall it being mentioned, but I did not stay to the bitter end, thinking the presentation on 'reconfiguring' the schools was the important item and the rest were of a routine nature. (It is strange it would be discussed at all at a special meeting, as the law is quite clear that items not advertised cannot be brought up.)

There are some who think the Grand SLAM team's support for changing the election date is lukewarm at best, since it would guarantee a much larger turnout, thus making it harder to win the four seats that will be up. This year will no doubt be marked by an enormous Plainfield turnout as President Obama's re-election will be on the ballot.

But it just might not be the Grand SLAM team's call, as the City Council can pass the needed resolution before the Board of Ed even meets on the 14th. This was pointed out by Assemblyman Jerry Green in a post on his blog yesterday afternoon (see here).

The Council's agenda session is slated for February 6, and a resolution could be adopted at the business meeting on February 13, in time for the deadline notice to the County of February 17.

Plainfield residents who have been frustrated by the statutory 'Chinese wall' between the City Council and the Board of Ed may have a chance to see the Council weigh in decisively for once on a matter of concern to the taxpayers.

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• Online Documents:
  
• "S3148: Moving school board elections to November"
• "FAQ on moving school board elections to November"
• Press coverage:  "Ledger, 1/17/2012" | "NJSpotlight, 1/18/2012"

• Maria's Blog, 12/01/2011:  "Blogger spotlights proposed law changing election dates"
• Plainfield Today, 01/20/2012:  "Will Plainfield BOE go for November election?"
• Board of Ed:  "Agenda: Special January 24, 2012 meeting" (PDF, no mention of elections)
• Jerry Green's Page, 01/26/2012:  "My thoughts on moving the school board election"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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