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One Green stalwart snubs part of the local Dem slate. |
With three concurrent Democratic electoral campaigns in Plainfield -- Congressional, county and City Council -- questions are arising about the quality of the Regular Democratic Organization's campaign effort and whether it is being sabotaged.
CITY COUNCIL
While the New Democrats have announced the opening of their campaign hub in support of candidates from Congressman Pallone down to county and local candidates (see InPlainfield story here), the Regular Democratic Organization has yet to announce its plans for the general election campaign endgame.
The New Dems will operate out of their former space in the Scott Drug building at 7th and Park. A space adjacent to Assemblyman Jerry Green's legislative office that was previously used for RDO campaign activities has a few signs propped in the front window, but the metal gate has been locked and no lights have been seen in the evenings.
Meanwhile, City Committee members who carry out the 'retail' campaign activities of walking their districts to make face-to-face contact with voters are complaining that Green's subordinates have given the campaign information to unknown individuals, leaving them out of the loop.
When one committee person did finally get their list, it was accompanied by a walking map for the WRONG DISTRICT.
Comedy of errors or sabotage?
There is some question whether Assemblyman Green is really taking a hands-on role in the campaign, or whether, for health reasons, he has delegated the responsibilities to underlings who don't know the complexities of managing an effective campaign.
The Democratic City Committee is sponsoring a fundraiser reception for candidates Bill Reid (Ward 1) and Rebecca Williams (Wards 2/3 at-large) tonight at Cafe Vivace. Monies raised will be spent on the local Democratic City Council campaign, covering the cost of signs, mailings and election day support.
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Plainfield's 4th Ward will vote only for Congress, county candidates. |
City Council member Linda Carter is the hometown candidate for Freeholder, along with incumbents Dan Sullivan and Betty Jane Kowalski. While Carter has walked in Plainfield's 2nd and 3rd Wards with council candidate Rebbecca Williams, Kowalski and Sullivan have not been seen doing the door-to-door work so fundamental to electoral success.
Though there is no doubt that the county Democratic ticket will cruise to victory in Plainfield, the question that must worry County Democratic strategists is whether Assemblyman Green's organization will put real oomph into getting out the vote to bolster the Freeholder numbers, which sagged noticeably in the face reform Democrats' challenges in the June primary.
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Some Plainfielders find it hard to curb their enthusiasm, displaying signs for North Plainfielder Ed Potosnak, who is in the 7th District race, in which Plainfielders cannot vote. |
Plainfield is unique in being the only Union County municipality included in the gerrymandered 6th Congressional district, where Congressman Frank Pallone is -- for the first time in the ten years we've been in his district -- in a REAL race for his seat against Tea Party favorite Anna Little, mayor of Highlands.So there you have it, three complex campaigns in our little city. Will the 'Green Team' manage not to sabotage the effort needed for hefty numbers across the board?
An online article at PolitickerNJ yesterday (see here) pointed out how close the race is according to a poll commissioned by the GOP, but at the end of the article was rather dismissive, suggesting it was a ploy to get Pallone to dump money into the campaign.
Whether or not that is true, I have noticed the COMPLETE ABSENCE in the past month of stories trumpeting polls in favor of Pallone. Longtime political activists know that this probably means the internal polling done by the Democrats shows negatives for Pallone and the better part of wisdom is to remain silent (this has been the experience when the Union County Dems polled in relation to Assemblyman Green in the past).
One Plainfield campaign worker asked about Pallone's green campaign sign, whether that was a wave in the 'O' in his name. When told it was a wave and was suggestive of the Congressman's excellent record on the environment, it seemed to make sense. Especially in the light of the BP oil spill, the promise of renewable energy programs for New Jersey, and the nagging presence of SuperFund sites throughout the state, there is good reason not to want to lose a champion in Washington to an angry anti-government Tea Party candidate who would not have -- or WANT -- any clout in the Congress.
Check back on November 3rd.
- InPlainfield: "Plainfield's New Dems open campaign hub"
- PolitickerNJ: "Poll: Pallone barely ahead of Little, 44-43%"
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7 comments:
Anything involving Jerry I simply chalk up to incompetence...it's quite simply all encompassing of what he's about. ( Unless he opens his mouth, then that's an entirely different hot mess altogether )
It's very tough to vote for a ticket that gives you both the problem and (only maybe) the solution.
When discussing local government officials,remember the word 'politics' is derived from the word 'poly', meaning 'many', and the word 'ticks', meaning 'blood sucking parasites'.
Nuff Said?
Wait one minute I am confused. Is the same Williams on the Reid/Williams campaign signs the individual that JG was at odds with over the littering of his lawn a few months ago. If so I comment JG for turning the other cheek and moving on. Let's see if the romance last or will it be another masterplan Mapp-ed out.
A party chairman is responsible for getting candidates chosen in primaries elected in November. Intramural primary battles shouldn't stand in the way. Primaries are to choose who the party candidates are going to be--that's all. Unfortunately, not all local Democrats understand that, so they keep their intraparty squabbles going on for years.
Why do you think the Republican Party, whose chosen candidates (like Gooch) were defeated in primaries by tea party types (like Little), have now all lined up supporting the winners?
Fortunately our local Democrats are all supporting Frank Pallone. Or so it appears--with some party dissidents, one can never tell.
What, because one person might (and your evidence is feeble and petty at best) have a problem with one candidate, the chairman of the party is sabotaging the campaign? Come on Dan, this is ridiculous even for you. Mr. Green knows how the system works and as much as he might have to hold his nose to support a candidate, he will put the force of the party behind him or her, as he as done many times in the past (Blanco, Carter, Burney, VanBlake, etc...) Remember though once a "new dem" starts working with the RDO, they are no longer embraced by the "new dems".
We shall see how well this new alliance goes. Maybe the "new dems" will save Plainfield, or maybe they will recognize that there are some things even they cannot wish away (as the council majority of "new dems" has found over and over)
So dig those panties out of your crack Dan and do some meaningful reporting for a change. Ha.
12:11 you don't have to vote for the ticket - there are Republican candidates albeit you'd never know by the way the one party dominates here in Plainfield. You'd think the voters would wake up and stop repeating the same old mistakes. We get what we deserve.
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