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Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Voters Rebuke Green Team With McWilliams-Mapp Blowout



Annie McWilliams and Adrian Mapp celebrate with supporters after
sweeping Tuesday's Primary Election. (Photo, Allison McWilliams)


Plainfield voters soundly rebuked the political leadership of Assemblyman Jerry Green at the polls on Tuesday, giving the Democratic nomination for the citywide at-large seat to Annie McWilliams by a resounding 62% as against 37% for Green's handpicked incumbent, former Union County Public Safety Director Harold Gibson. Unofficial totals show 2860 votes cast, 1785 for McWilliams and 1075 for Gibson.

The win was continued in the Ward Three contest, where former Councilor and Freeholder Adrian Mapp beat out Green incumbent Don Davis and 'Buy Muhlenberg' founder Olive Lynch.
While I do not have the totals for Lynch, Mapp drew 462 votes to Davis' 371 in the unofficial count. UPDATE AT 8 AM: The newspapers report Olive Lynch receiving 149 votes. The unofficial breakdown now stands at: Mapp, 47%; Davis, 38%; and Lynch, 15%. Combined, Mapp and Lynch garnered 62% of the vote, with 38% for Davis, reflecting the percentage spread in the citywide race.

Official figures will be available on the County Clerk's website later.

Running a low-budget grassroots campaign, the McWilliams-Mapp team used both tried-and-true techniques (walking the neighborhoods and talking with voters) as well as new methods of spreading their message (blogs) and gathering online contributions by using the Paypal service, which has been so successful for Barack Obama.

Assemblyman Green, on the other hand, relied on an old-style vendor-driven contribution operation which guaranteed oodles of cash but little-to-no grassroots support.

Preliminary numbers indicate McWilliams swept the Green machine in all four wards -- including strong showings in Ward 4 (especially Neighborhood House) and Ward 1, both of which Green has relied on in the past.

One of the sights caught by voters entering the polls at Plainfield High School was Her Honor, Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, dutifully handing out palm cards in support of Assemblyman Green's handpicked candidates. (You will recall
SHE was herself handpicked by the selfsame Assemblyman Green in 2005.)

McWilliams and Mapp trounced Gibson on his home turf -- Ward Three -- with Mapp taking the Ward Three council nomination despite a run by 'Save Muhlenberg' activist Olive Lynch, who drew substantial support.

In my mind, the Ward Three results also represent a rebuke of Assemblyman Green for his dismal performance on the Muhlenberg Hospital question, where he first found himself asleep at the switch and then spent his initial energies organizing the hospital's shut-down.

The people, evidently, will have none of it, and this does NOT augur well for Green on other fronts.

In a heavily Democratic community such as Plainfield, nomination virtually assures election in November, in which both Annie McWilliams and Adrian Mapp will appear in the regular Democratic lineup.

The times, as Dylan said, are a changin' --
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

You may substitute the elected officials of your choice in the lyric.

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-- Dan Damon

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10 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW!! What am I feeling? Can that be a glimmer of hope? A renewal of trust?

Anonymous said...

It takes nothing away from the victors' great campaigns to point out that, were it not for the blogs, we might well have had the "same old, same old" forever.

Anonymous said...

Tom Paine lives again! Congratulations! Nothing and no one is as powerful as the press.

Anonymous said...

While I am thrilled that finally we will start getting some smart people in office to get Plainfield moving, I am saddened by the turnout. Three Thousand voting out of 18,000?

Maybe this great news will encourage those in Plaifield who felt there was no hope.

GO ANNIE!!!!

New-Del Family said...

Congratulations Annie/Adrian,

It is so nice to see that the people of Plainfield have chosen true leaders to lead Plainfield in the direction that it should have been. Mark and I are so happy and elated that you two will be a big part of helping the people of Plainfield as well as the city itself.

Remember money does not buy everything.

Annie... your dad is up above smiling down on you and I know he is proud, I know we are of you and Adrian.

We still have Plainfield in our hearts eventhough we are in NH. Kevin, Steven, Orlando and our friend Toby send our best to you and your families.

Our email for those who want to reach out is : newdelfamily@yahoo.com.

Best Wishes,
Sam Delgado & Mark Newton

Anonymous said...

Can you smell it CHANGE is a comming.

Anonymous said...

Please find someone to run against Jerry Green. Enough is enough. If we are talking about change then we need change from the top to.

Anonymous said...

CONGRATS ! to Adrian and Annie

Anonymous said...

I was at the Netherwood Hghts. forum when Jerry Green yelled out he gave this campaign $200,000 of his own money. My only question to Jerry Green is was it worth it, when will the AG start to look into this. I believe but anyone outthere please correct me if i am work is that not over the max one person can give to a campaign.

Anonymous said...

Will Jerry Green finally please stop calling the New Democrats "republicans?" In addition to it not being true, it also makes him sound reallllllly stupid.