The life cycle of some news can be measured in nanoseconds.**
In case you missed it yesterday ("Plainfield Democrats switch allegiance"), Council President Rayland Van Blake is slated to replace Adrian Mapp as Union County Freeholder. That is, of course, unless there's a GOP landslide in November. In Union County. Right.
Anyway, that was YESTERDAY'S news.
Since then, Plainfield's politerati have been busy guessing who Assemblyman Jerry Green will pick to replace Van Blake on the City Council.
PT had breakfast one day last May with the late Council President Ray Blanco. Ray told me then that it was "101% certain" that Mapp would be replaced in the 2007 lineup and that Van Blake had been tapped.
In Ray's mind, being a freeholder was like being sent to Siberia. He hadn't the slightest interest in the Freeholder Board. He regarded all the important action to take place in one of two locations: City Council or the Legislature. In-between was, in his view, smoke and mirrors.
So, who WILL replace Van Blake on the City Council?
Via email and cellphone, PT has heard the following Round 1 hunches --
- BARBARA JAMES -- The longtime Green aide now serves as 'confidential assistant' and factotum to Mayor Robinson-Briggs. But it would mean giving up that job and a cut in pay.
- ALEX TOLIVER -- Once he became a Democrat, former Republican Toliver has been a vocal supporter -- and effusive letter-writer -- on behalf of causes near and dear to the heart of the Assemblyman.
- HATTIE WILLIAMS -- Ward-heeler responsible for the Richmond Towers vote. Green owes her a lot, and Council would perhaps be better than the City Hall info kiosk. Perhaps.
- LIZ URQUHART -- Urquhart held Van Blake's seat for sixteen years before being ousted by the upstart neophyte in the 2002 election. It would mean a salary cut (Liz makes over $20,000 on the Union County Tax Board per the Courier database). But for Liz, it would no doubt be a delicious irony.
**Though a nanosecond has a technical definition as a millionth of a second, PT has always been partial to the folk definition: A nanosecond is the length of time between when the light in front of you goes green and the car behind you honks its horn.
-- Dan Damon
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6 comments:
Why is Adrian Mapp being replaced
Doesn't Jerry Green know anyone with the breadth and depth of education, along with the general fund of knowledge required to govern in a complex city? Why does he invariably choose the least among us? Twenty-five years ago, there may have been an excuse, but not today.
Why you ask is Adrian Mapp being replaced ? That is a question you should ask of the powers that control Plainfield politics i.e. Jerry Green the Chair of the local DCC and Charlot De Filippo Chair of the County Democratic Committee.
We can only hope that Jerry Green
chooses someone with a monocal of good sense. After all he gave us the current administration. And that's not saying alot.
The problem is the local Chair and the County Chair of the Democratic Party only want yes men. You are not allowed to have a brain. You know the samething they accuse the Republicans of.
Dan, with all due respect, everyone knows a nanosecond is that magical time between when the locked cardoor leaves your fingertips and the instant your brain realizes that your keys are still in the switch ...
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