Primary 2010: Time to move on

Signs of 2010's contested Democratic primary.

Despite the fact that today marks two weeks since Plainfield's contested Democratic primary was resolved by Democratic voters in favor of Rebecca Williams, I continue to get comments on blog posts from those who are disappointed at the outcome.

It seems that comments on Plainfield Today during the campaign were considered as an important way to get the candidates' points of view across, especially given the different approaches of the candidates to feedback (Burney -- see here -- did NOT take comments; Davis -- see here -- DID; as DID Williams -- see here).

Whether or not anyone was swayed by comment-lobbing on Plainfield Today is impossible to tell.

At any rate, Williams clearly carried the day, as can be seen by reviewing the district-by-district results (along with maps) which I posted online (see here). With 21% of registered Dems in the two wards voting, there is simply no disputing that the voters have spoken, clearly and forcefully.

Now is the time for those who are true Democrats to do as Rashid has done --

...[I] congratulated [Rebecca] on her win for the Plainfield City Council seat for the 2nd and 3rd wards.  I pledged to her my support in her fall campaign...

-- and pledge their support in the fall campaign (see his full post here).

I hope that those who are disappointed will grow to appreciate the strengths Rebecca Williams will bring to the table if she is elected, and that they will not hesitate to challenge her to represent them as well as Rashid has. Fair-minded people may even be surprised to find that she is likable, capable and reliable, qualities that might have a familiar ring.

Whether or not they support Rebecca, there is ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE open to them: Blogging.

Plainfield is distinguished by its rich blogging milieu (find me another community of any size in New Jersey that has TWENTY-ONE folks blogging on a more-or-less regular basis!). There is certainly room for more bloggers at the table -- whether or not they are Rebecca supporters.

So, if anyone feels impelled to blog, they are welcome and I will treat them on CLIPS just as I do all the other bloggers commenting on the life and times of Plainfield, NJ -- providing only that they post on at least a quasi-frequent basis (I am the decider, as GWB said).

But there is one alternative that is now officially closed off.

I will not be posting any more comments regarding the 2010 Dem Primary.

Trust me.

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• Burney Campaign Blog:  "Congratulations to Rebecca Williams"
• Plainfield Today:  "2010 Dem Primary: District-by-district results"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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UPDATE: Who pulled sign prank on Assemblyman Green?

Assemblyman Green's curbs bedecked with Williams signs yesterday.

Everyone agrees the sign prank pulled on Plainfield Assemblyman and Dem city committee chair Jerry Green was sophomoric (see my post of yesterday here, the Assemblyman's post here, and Mark Spivey's article in the Courier here, illustrated with his photo -- which is much better than mine).

So the question remains: Who did it?

The Assemblyman, saying he was angered and his neighbors were embarrassed, moved heaven and earth to turn it into a news item -- including getting mayoral photog Laurence Rice out to document the outrage, and filing a police complaint which incited a quotation from Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig that seems to contemplate nullifying someone's First Amendment rights to unfettered political speech.

The question is whose?

While the assumption of many seems to be that it was over-enthusiastic Williams supporters, it seems to me just as plausible that Green supporters -- bitter over their unexpected smackdown at the polls -- did it as a 'dirty trick' to cast the Williams team in a negative light.

Besides, after Green's ill-conceived last-minute mailer attacking Williams enraged so many in the community, the Assemblyman would be the most likely to want a sympathetic item in the news to deflect criticism from his disastrous 'support' of his candidate Rashid Burney.

Given the wave of gang violence that is sweeping Plainfield, we only have to wonder if Hellwig will put this item at the top of the Police Division's to-do list, or will better judgment set in, cooler heads prevail, and the incident fade into Plainfield's political folklore?

Meanwhile, I can't get those muffled guffaws from Trenton's Statehouse cloakrooms out of my head.

What WAS the Assemblyman thinking to kick up this kerfuffle?


NOTE: Comments are turned off for this light-hearted post. Enjoy it or get over it.

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• Plainfield Today: "Jerry congratulates Rebecca?"
  
• Courier: "Plainfield campaign prank angers assemblyman"
• Jerry Green's Page: "Post-campaign thoughts"

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Jerry congratulates Rebecca?

Assemblyman Green's curbs are bedecked with Williams signs this morning.

Did Plainfield's Dem committee chair congratulate successful candidate Rebecca Williams after all?

Could be.

A reader alerted me early this AM that the curbs along both sides of the Assemblyman's home at Prospect and Woodland Avenues were festooned with Williams for Council signs.

Nice touch, Assemblyman.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Last-minute Burney email shows chauvinistic tin ear

Burney turned his home into a campaign billboard.

Plainfield Democratic candidate Rashid Burney sent the following email blast at 10:34 AM on primary election day.

I think the 'psychodrama' and 'self-victimization' characterizations show Burney to be -- as we used to say back in the day -- an UNRECONSTRUCTED CHAUVINIST. Hardly the way to win women's votes -- or those of thoughtful men, either.

Here's the email (the highlighting is Burney's) --

Yesterday's mailing by Jerry Green on Rebecca Williams was Jerry Green's mailing. Not mine.

Rebecca 's campaign has had one theme: "Jerry owns Rashid. Vote for Rebecca". Jerry Green does not own me. He is a powerful force in this City and I work with him when I agree with him. When I disagree with him I work hard to get him to see things my way.

My record on the Council stands for itself. My support of gay rights is well known: I initiated and got passed equal benefits for same sex partners of City employees. I held a fundraiser in my home for the Plainfield Pride Film Festival. I fully supported Ray Blanco from day 1. I would never condone any gay bashing.

Rebecca has tried to make this election about Jerry and there is a lot of hate in this campaign, as evidenced by the mailers and Dan Damon's blogs. At this late date, can we move beyond the Rebecca psychodrama with Jerry? Can we get past the endless self-victimization by Rebecca? I think we must.

My campaign has been about accomplishments, ideas, achievable goals for our City and a strategy to reach those goals:

• Click here to see my vision for Plainfield
• Click here to see my accomplishments
• I am the ONLY candidate willing to speak on our schools. See my goals here.

Please remember, this election is about Plainfield and what we can get done. Will you vote for the person best qualified to move our town forward?

Thank you

Rashid Burney

Speaks for itself, doesn't it?

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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New Democrat Rebecca Williams crushes Burney in primary

Council President Annie McWilliams congratulates Rebecca on her win.

Plainfield's Democratic voters decided overwhelmingly in today's Wards 2/3 primary that they want a candidate who will work to represent the half of all Plainfield voters and taxpayers who live in the two wards, which stretch from Scotch Plains and Fanwood in the east to South Plainfield and Piscataway in the west.

And that is why they chose Rebecca Williams as the party's standard-bearer in the November general election.

Here are the unofficial results --

CANDIDATE	TALLY
WILLIAMS	804
BURNEY	548
DAVIS	197

The consensus at the New Democrats headquarters seemd to be that Plainfield Democratic chairperson Jerry Green should be thanked for the assistance he lent the New Democrat campaign by his ill-starred mailer in support of Burney that arrived in folks' mailboxes yesterday (for an online version see here, where it will live forever).

Signs of the three Democratic contenders
outside Evergreen School.

Councilors Adrian Mapp and Cory Storch, both of whom have been unflinching supporters of Rebecca, helped kick off the evening's celebration.

Among those who came to Williams' headquarters to offer their congratulations were candidate Don Davis and his mother, Marie, as well as Council President Annie McWilliams and her mother Darlene, widow of the late mayor Al McWilliams.

As of 9:30 PM, neither Councilor Burney nor city committee chairperson Jerry Green had called directly to offer congratulations to the victor.

Class act, no?

PS: Those who were impatient about my not putting up comments from Election Day until tonight should be aware that I was working on behalf of my candidate, not pining around my laptop. The comments have all been posted. All.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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