When the Plainfield City Council decided to hold off on its reorganization meeting until January 6, it was as though it had hit the 'snooze button', leaving the peoples' business to a more convenient time.
Mother Nature, though, seems to have had a mind of her own, sending a dangerous winter storm to blanket the Northeast on January 2.
Exposing Plainfield residents in this way left newly inaugurated Mayor Adrian Mapp further reason to guarantee the smooth operation of city government by appointing Rick Smiley, his nominee for City Administrator, as Acting City Administrator effective January 1, along with Carl Riley as Acting Police Director.
Notice of the acting appointments was relayed by Municipal Clerk 'AJ' Jalloh in an email received mid-afternoon Thursday.
Rick Smiley, Mapp's nominee for City Administrator is leaving his position as Director of Passaic County's Workforce Investment Board to take up his new assignment. Smiley has twenty-five years' experience in municipal and county government, having served as Director of Plainfield Action Services and former president of the City's employee and managers' unions. His most recent service was as chairperson of the Charter Study Commission elected by Plainfield voters in 2012 and which has recently wrapped up its final report.
Carl Riley is a career law enforcement professional with more than twenty years' service, who headed up the Union County Prosecutor's Office's Homicide Task Force as its commander since its inception in 2008.
Riley began his career with the Shrewsbury Police Department in Monmouth County. After serving as a detective in the Essex County Prosecutor's Office's Narcotics unit, he joined the Union County Prosecutor's Office. In 2010, he was designated by then-Prosecutor Theodore Romankow as officer-in-charge of the Springfield Police Department when a leadership vacuum was created by the abrupt resignation of the Township's leading candidate for police chief. In 2012, Riley taught a two-day course on 'Major Crime Investigations' hosted by the Middlesex County Police Training Center.
Riley is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Penn State Police Executive Management Program. He also completed the Southern Police Institute's 'Management of Small Law Enforcement Agencies' course.
The two men spent their first full day on the job Thursday ensuring that the Public Works and Police Divisions were fully prepared for the winter storm bearing down on the Plainfield area Thursday night and into Friday.
Per the notice by Clerk Jalloh, Mayor Mapp intends to offer Smiley and Riley for confirmation at Monday's Council reorganization meeting.
Mayor Mapp will also deliver his inaugural State of The City Address at Monday's meeting and will publicly unveil the report of his Transition Team at the same time. (Full disclosure: I chaired one of the Transition's subcommittees, on Communications.)
Monday's Council reorganization meeting gets under way at 6:00 PM at the Plainfield High School Auditorium (note the venue!). Parking is available in both the Stelle and Kenyon Avenue lots as well as on the street.
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3 comments:
Jabbing at the Council, Dan, is no way to start off Adrian's administration smoothly and cooperatively. As the former Plainfield City's "public information officer" you should know that! It's time to get over your campaign mode--Adrian will have to work WITH the Council to get anything done, so if you want him to succeed. don't begin by creating rifts now. You should know better!
I thought sidney elamin was gonna be director
@Dottie Gutenkauf - are we reading the same Plainfield Today blog? Where did Mr. Damon "jab the Council"?
Our President Barack Obama stayed in campaign mode right up to this day. Campaign mode in Plainfield NJ just means continue fighting for what you believe is right for the People of Plainfield. Mayor Mapp won with over 5,000 votes and he had 3 other candidates campaigning against him. The People of Plainfield will be holding Mayor Mapp accountable for what he said he will do to bring about well needed positive change in Plainfield and he needs his cabinet to make it happen.
Stop acting like you -Dottie Gutenkauf(of all people) don't know what is going on here in Plainfield Politics. We know not to be trusted Ass. Jerry Green has a lot to do with the way Council has been voting and will be voting.
Where there is smoke there is a fire and Plainfield folk need to come on Monday, January 6 and speak up at the Reorganization Meeting.
I heard Councilwoman Reverend Tracey Brown speak at the People's Inaugural and she could've just congratulated Mayor Mapp and the First Family, but she went further than that. She gave the People of Plainfield a strong, heartfelt spiritual message. She asked the People of Plainfield to stand behind Mayor Mapp whether you voted for him or not, because he is now the Mayor of Plainfield and if he is successful so will the City of Plainfield.
Perhaps you should be sitting down with Mr. Green and asking him to concentrate on being the Assemblyman and Chairman of the Union Democratic Party and let Adrian Mapp do his job as Mayor of the City of Plainfield.
But then again Dottie -let's see the outcome on Monday January 6. Hopefully, you are right and Mayor Mapp gets his cabinet members appointed.
All the best Dottie.
Connie B.
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