Plainfield, District 22 and Union County: 2005 and 2009 compared

Chris Christie campaigned in Plainfield this summer.
Here he is shown with Assembly candidates 'Bo' Vastine and Martin Marks.

Plainfield's turnout in Tuesday's general election fell by 5% compared to 2005, despite the surge in Democratic registrations brought about by last year's presidential candidacy of Barack Obama.

Though Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs won two-thirds of the votes cast, the total cast was down 5% from 2005, bearing out the general conclusion that Dems simply were not on fire to vote in this election as compared to FOUR YEARS AGO.

MAYOR - 2005	Vote Count	Percent
(D) SHARON ROBINSON-BRIGGS	4,357	55.75%
(I) ROBERT FERRARO	1,119	14.32%
(Personal Choice) AL McWILLIAMS	2,339	29.93%
Total	7,815	100.00%

MAYOR - 2009	Vote Count	Percent
(D) SHARON ROBINSON-BRIGGS	4,906	66.27%
(R) JIM PIVNICHNY	2,103	28.41%
(I) DEBORAH JOYCE DOWE	391	5.28%
(Personal Choice)	3	0.04%
Total	7,403	100.00%

Edison's new mayor, Antonia Ricigliano, echoed comments heard here in Plainfield --

"A number of people told me, 'I will vote for you, but I will not vote for Jon Corzine,'" recalled Ricigliano, a Democrat who was elected Edison's mayor Tuesday.

-- as you can read in today's Ledger story (see here).

More striking is the 4th Ward council vote, where outgoing Councilor Elliott Simmons garnered 968 of the 1008 votes cast in 2005. Incoming Councilor Bridget Rivers was elected with 338 votes cast, with no opponent and no write-in ballots. That is exactly one-third of the ballots cast in 2005, and does note bode well for the 4th Ward in the redistricting that will take place after the 2010 Census next April.

The situation for Jerry Green and Linda Stender was considerably worse.

Green suffered a falloff of 12% as compared to 2005, while Stender dropped a startling 16% (I suspect partly fueled by the perception she has been disengaged during and after her unsuccessful run for Congress). But voter discontent is clearly highlighted by the growth in GOP votes by 27% over 2005, bringing candidates 'Bo' Vastine and Marty Marks within striking distance of District 22's deadly duo.

ASSEMBLY - 2005	Vote Count	Percent
(D) LINDA STENDER	30,076	32.30%
(D) JERRY GREEN	28,194	30.28%
(R) MALOOL & BOCHICCHIO-MEDVED	34,830	37.41%
Total	93,100	100.00%

ASSEMBLY - 2009	Vote Count	Percent
(D) LINDA STENDER	25,357	26.83%
(D) JERRY GREEN	24,790	26.24%
(R) MARTIN MARKS	22,744	24.07%
(R) 'BO' VASTINE	21,585	22.85%
Total	94,476	100.00%

With 44,329 (47%) votes cast for GOP candidates Marks and Vastine, Republican votes in the 22nd District surged by 9,499 or a remarkable 27%.

Even Assemblyman Green acknowledges that voters are angry with Democrats (see here) --

...some suburban towns were not only angry with me but Corzine and the entire Democratic Party. However, I did not take this personally; I am a team player and have to accept the message that was sent through their actions. These communities were not happy with the Democrats over the last four years and this victory is an opportunity to change that.

-- and he acknowledges that his re-election (scant though the margin was) gives him a chance to makes amends to the District for its perception he only attends to Plainfield.

(ASIDE: I remarked to a reader during the race that I thought the racial 'division of labor' which the Union County Dems had traditionally made to regard Jerry as delivering the (Black) Plainfield vote and Linda that of all the other (white) towns worked just fine as long as the party was riding the crest of the wave. However, as soon as things get problematic, that Faustian bargain shows its Achilles heel (forgive the clashing allusions!): each candidate is seen as uncaring and unresponsive by the towns that, in the bargain, they did not consider 'theirs'.)

Finally, consider the disastrous plunge in the Democratic vote for GOVERNOR in Union County.

GOVERNOR - 2005	Vote Count	Percent
Total Registration: 268,810 Turnout: 49.95%
(D) JON CORZINE	77,982	58.00%
(R) DOUG FORRESTER	50,036	37.25%
Total (includes 3rd parties)	134,294	100.00%

GOVERNOR - 2009*	Vote Count	Percent
Total Registration: 292,490 Turnout: 46%
(D) JON CORZINE	68,507	51%
(R) CHRIS CHRISTIE	56,592	42%
Total (includes 3rd parties)	134,550	100.00%
*Note these are UNOFFICIAL results.

Though voter registration in Union County has increased by 23,680 -- 9% -- over the 2005 figure (mostly on account of the Obama surge in 2008), the numbers of votes cast was practically FLAT, as shown by a nearly 4% drop in the turnout percentage figure.

However, when you factor in a 4.75% increase in votes cast for the GOP candidate, there are indications of two things: the Democrats, despite what Union County chairperson Charlotte DeFillipo says (see Ledger article here) about having 'done our job', FAILED TO GET OUT THE VOTE across the board, as you can see from both the Plainfield and Union County figures.

The second thing to infer from the turnout and vote is, as Assemblyman Green and mayor-elect Ricigliano both agree, ANGER AT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY among grassroots voters.

Green, Stender and Robinson-Briggs will certainly have to work very hard over the next few years to recoup these losses, which cannot be entirely blamed on Corzine's unpopularity.

On that note, I will have a further post next week.

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-- Dan Damon

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