YMCA's 2013 Gala this Friday

The Plainfield Area YMCA has served the community for 136 years.

 
The Plainfield Area YMCA's 136th Annual Spring Gala will be held this Friday evening under a tent on the spacious grounds of the home of YMCA Board member Bobby Gregory and his wife Jennifer, beginning at 6:30 PM.

This year's event honors noted local and national personalities.

Ulice Payne, Jr., who went from a NCAA college basketball star to become a world-class attorney and eventually CEO of the Milwaukee Brewers will receive the 4th Annual Dr. Jerome M. Wolff Achievement Award. Payne is a past chairman of the National YMCA Board of Directors.

Growing up in Donora, Pennsylvania, a blue-collar town just south of Pittsburgh, Payne recalls that the only jobs available to residents of the area were to work on the railroad, in the coal mines, or in the steel mills (a huge US Steel plant, where his father worked, was just a block away from his home). But his parents had other plans and he was fortunate enough to go to Marquette University, where he was both a scholar and an outstanding basketball player.

After a stint with the Detroit Pistons, Payne returned to Marquette to get his law degree in 1982. He currently is a Managing Member of the international law firm Addison-Clifton and specializes in advising global trade compliance solutions and cross-border transactions. You can read a complete profile of Ulice Payne here.

Plainfield native Linda Carter is currently Chairman of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and will be receiving the 'Building Bridges' Award for her efforts in support of the YMCA, where she and her sorority sisters have donated thousands of volunteer hours over the years and cooked and served meals to guests in the YMCA's shelter program. Carter is an educator and long-time community activist who previously served as a member of the Plainfield City Council.

The YMCA's Spring Gala is the 136-year-old organization's major fundraiser of the year, and proceeds go to fund youth program scholarships, This year's gala will be held under a tent on the spacious grounds of Board member Bobby Gregory and his wife Jennifer's home at 1010 Rahway Road. The evening features hors d'oeuvres, an open bar, music and a silent auction. Tickets are $75/person and may be purchased during business hours at the Plainfield Area YMCA, at the corner of Watchung Avenue and East 6th Street. For more information, call (908) 756-6060.

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2013 public budget hearings set

Public budget hearings give understanding of what is proposed
by the Administration for 2013.

 
Public hearing dates by the Plainfield City Council on the Robinson-Briggs administration's introduced 2013 annual budget have finally been released, after approval by Council President Bridget Rivers.

The schedule is as follows --

DEPT / DIV	DATE	TIME	LOCATION
Public Affairs and Safety	Wed., May 15	7:00 PM	Senior Citizens Center 400 East Front Street
Public Works and Urban Dev	Tues., May 21	7:00 PM	Senior Citizens Center 400 East Front Street
Administration and Finance	Thurs., May 23	7:00 PM	Senior Citizens Center 400 East Front Street
General Government / Capital Budget / Other	Tues., May 28	7:00 PM	Senior Citizens Center 400 East Front Street
Special Meeting: Budget Amendments	Wed.. May 29	7:00 PM	City Hall Library 515 Watchung Avenue
Special Meeting: Public Hearing on Amendments, Possible Budget Adoption	Tues., June 11	7:30 PM	Council Chambers / Courtroom 325 Watchung Avenue

Members of the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee will be present and participate in the hearings. The CBAC will issue its report after the hearings have been held.

Note that there are four hearings, all scheduled for the large meeting room at the Plainfield Senior Center. There will be one special Council meeting, at City Hall Library, for the purpose of making proposed amendments. The special Council meeting constituting a public hearing on any proposed amendments and the expected adoption of the budget are slated for June 11, which is the Council's regular agenda-setting session, and will take place in the Council Chambers/Courtroom.

The public is welcome at all budget deliberation sessions.

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Beaten Plainfield baby dies

Michael Bell Jr. is expected to face murder charges for beating his son.
(Photo: Union County Prosecutor's Office"

 
The Plainfield infant discovered last Friday night to have been beaten by his father has died, I learned from police sources Monday evening.

This means that the baby's father, Michael Bell, Jr., will face murder charges. Bell was apprehended on Saturday night trying to board a bus in Newark to flee the state, thanks to information developed by the Plainfield Police Division.

Bell is currently being held without bail at the Union County Jail.

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New life for the Coriell Mansion

Two views of the Coriell Mansion in more upbeat days (2002).

 
Plainfielders have watched with concern the vicissitudes of the Coriell Mansion at the corner of Stelle and Central Avenues over recent decades. Today, the famed property began the road to recovery (again) as the sale of the property closed to two brothers who have recently taken an interest in restoring it as a single-family dwelling.

Quite a number of years ago, it was taken on by former Councilor Rashid Burney, following whom came Olive Lynch, who was going to make it into a Bed-and-Breakfast, like The Pillars down the street, but on a larger scale.

Unfortunately, the housing crash of 2008 brought an end to her project and the house has sat empty and vulnerable ever since, with its magnificent porch shored up in anticipation of a restoration that failed to materialize.

More recently, the property caught the attention of developer Frank Cretella, who saw its possibilities as an event space. Though parking and a liquor license were said to be problems to be solved,  in the end it appears that availability of a reasonably affordable liquor license became a deal-killer.

As one neighbor told me this afternoon, there was much joy and (figurative) dancing in the streets on hearing the news of today's real estate closing.

A hearty welcome to the new owners!

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Ponder bonds carefully

The Robinson-Briggs administration gives George a headache.

 
With her political future on the line in a vote that is just three weeks away, Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs' move to float more than $8 million in bonds for various projects has folks scrutinizing the bond issues carefully.

For an administration that has not seemed all that interested in bonding capital projects for several years to suddenly float issues of such size raises questions on motivation on the Mayor's part. Maria and Olddoc have weighed in, as has Councilor Cory Storch. Bernice has addressed the general question of accountability for bond monies.

Tonight, the Council will have the Second Reading and final passage of Bond Ordinance 1255 for $3.1 million (Maria has posted the complete bond ordinance online here). This matter was introduced and deliberated in April, and the bond contains many well-deserved items.

The second bond ordinance, BO 1256, will be introduced on First Reading this evening, and this is the one that has raised so many eyebrows (again, Maria has posted the complete document online here).

The evident haste with which the ordinance was put together meant that the itemized road projects were left out. When Councilor Storch questioned the projects being done without grant monies to help with the costs, he and Councilor Greaves got into a testy back-and-forth about doing West 3rd Street.

Storch pointed out that the streets to be done were not itemized in the document the Council was given -- which leads one to ask how Councilor Greaves had what seems to be privileged knowledge about which roads were included.

In addition, while Storch pointed out that there were no offsetting NJDOT grants to help cover the costs, it appears that the Robinson-Briggs administration also slipped up there, too.

In a press release dated April 29, NJDOT announced its local aid grants for 2013 totaling $86.5M (see press release here), including $200,460 for West 3rd Street in Plainfield (see grants list here; Plainfield is on page 13). The fact that the Robinson-Briggs administration did not include the grant information in the Council's packets suggest not only hasty preparation of the bond ordinance. It further begs the question of whether the Robinson-Briggs administration had applied for a grant without the Council's knowledge and/or approval.

All of which, to my mind, suggests the Council needs to have the Robinson-Briggs administration answer more questions tonight, in preparation for further action to be taken next month, after the fate of Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs has been decided.

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Happy Mother's Day

 

Vintage seed packet stamps issued by the Postal Service.

Happy

Mother's
Day

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House Tour, Emancipation Proclamation talk on Saturday

This meticulously restored Plainfield mansion will be featured
in the benefit 'Tour of Notable Homes'.

This Saturday will offer Plainfielders two exceptional opportunities. A House Tour benefiting the Westfield Symphony will feature two of Plainfield's grandest homes, and the Plainfield Public Library is offering a free talk commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Tour of Notable Homes (10 AM - 4 PM)

This fundraiser for the Westfield Symphony is the 29th outing of the annual homes tour. Five homes are on tap this year, including two in Plainfield.
One of the oldest, an ornate Victorian on West 8th Street, which has been meticulously restored by John Stewart Jr. and Craig Bowman, will open its oaken doors and display fabulous rooms, stained glass windows, vintage furniture and wallpapers, and an up-to-date kitchen.


And the newest in construction will be the lavish home of Gina Addeo and Mike Sullivan on Rahway Road at the intersection with Prospect Avenue. This truly stately mansion replaces an earlier home on a wooded plot of several acres, and features a brewery and bar, a wine cellar and tasting room, and a 1920s-style 'speakeasy'.


Tickets are $30/person advance and $35/day of, and are available at Norman's Hallmark in Fanwood, and Coldwell Banker East and West locations in Westfield. More information and reservations online at the Westfield Symphony website, westfieldsymphony.org.

The US Postal Service has issued a stamp
commemorating the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.

New Jersey and The Emancipation Proclamation (2 PM)

New Jersey is often thought of as both the southernmost northern state (Cape May is actually below the Mason-Dixon Line) and the northernmost southern state (pro-Confederate 'Copperhead' sympathizers were active in New Jersey).


Dr. Linda Caldwell Epps, an Elizabeth native and 40-year educator will detail New Jersey's role in the quest for freedom from slavery. That quest began with the very settlement of the colony and continued until President Lincoln issued the Emanicpation Proclamation in 1863. Dr. Caldwell Epps notes we are still defining the concept of freedom.


This free talk is sponsored by the Local History Department of the Plainfield Public Library and will be held in the library's Anne Louise Davis Meeting Room. The meeting room is on the ground floor of this architecturally outstanding building. The Plainfield Public Library is at Park Avenue and West 8th Street. Parking is available in the 9th Street parking lot.

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Is Charlotte going down? The Plainfield buzz

Today comes further news that De Filippo's vacation pay is being reviewed.

Those attending the Plainfield campaign event of Barbara Buono this past Saturday had some time on their hands while waiting for the candidate's arrival, and chatter turned to ... what else? Politics, including the surprise announcement by Charlotte De Filippo that she was throwing in the towel.

The campaign event included plenty of the politerati from western Union County as well as Dem candidates for county office and everyone seemed curious about De Filippo's announcement that she was resigning as executive director of the Union County Improvement Authority and would not seek re-election as chair of the Union County Democratic Committee.

Sheriff Ralph Froehlich opined to me that her health, which is said to have deteriorated, was a concern. I reminded him that she was traveling in a wheelchair as far back as August 2006, when she came to Plainfield for the memorial service for Ray Blanco, who passed away unexpectedly while serving as Council President.

Others saw things differently. 'She's a tough old broad,' one person asserted, 'she stared down an investigation by the Attorney General in 2007 that looked into her UCIA dealings as well as those of the Camelot Title Agency of Woodbridge, in which she held a financial stake'. Plainfielders aren't buying the health angle, this person asserted.

So, if not her health, what might have influenced De Filippo's decision to step down so abruptly?

The buzz at the Buono campaign stop was that charges filed against Frank Capece, outside counsel to the Elizabeth Board of Ed, in connection with the investigation into the district's free school lunch scandal may have something to do with it.

Capece is a well-known figure in Union County Democratic politics and has gathered information for De Filippo on political matters in various communities for years.

At one time, Capece even acted as special counsel for the City of Plainfield in a complaint against La Bamba bar on North Avenue. In that matter, the City Council sat as the Local Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to hear testimony and render an opinion. Though the ABC ruled against La Bamba, the city lost on appeal to Trenton and the bar remains in business to this day.

Insiders suspect that Attorney General Chiesa may be angling for larger fish in the Capece matter than Capece himself. The offense involves a trivial amount of money (estimated at less than $2,000), but Capece's law license -- and hence his livelihood -- could be on the line. Could he be made to sing like a caged canary?

Meanwhile, this morning's Ledger runs a story on the UCIA's hiring of an outside auditor to look into vacation day payments made to De Filippo as part of her lucrative contract with the Authority (see here).

Is the Plainfield buzz on target? You will want to keep an eye on this situation as it develops.

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• Ledger:  "UCIA hiring auditor to review vacation payments to outgoing director"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Phone party for Buono campaign Thursday

Come on out for a phone party in support of Sen. Barbara Buono.

 

Local supporters of gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono will gather at Plainfield Democratic Headquarters on Thursday for a phone bank party in support of the candidate.

Sen. Buono campaigned in Plainfield this past Saturday, and for many it was a first chance to see, hear and meet the presumptive Democratic candidate who hails from Metuchen. Plainfield was the final stop on a whirlwind bus tour through urban centers in northern New Jersey and Buono wowed the crowd of the faithful with her feistiness, humor and down-to-earth persona.

Here is a chance for those who think a woman who will stand up to a big (even if less big now) bully like Chris Christie is a good thing.

Volunteers are needed to make calls between 4 PM and 9 PM Thursday, May 9, at Plainfield Democratic Headquarters on West Front Street (next door to Dunkin' Donuts). Scripts and call lists will be provided. Any amount of time you can spare will be most helpful to the campaign.

Parking is available in the County Office building parking lot behind Dunkin' Donuts or in the PNC Bank lot on West 2nd Street.

I'll look forward to seeing you there!

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Plainfield Today hacked ... again

 

Are digital meanies getting back at Dan? Plainfield Today was hacked yesterday, as several readers noted in emails and voicemails. Sometime in the early morning hours, a hacker (or hackers) cracked the very strong password for my Blogger account and deleted the 5,549 posts on Plainfield Today and CLIPS.

I was unaware until I went to check for my daily online delivery of the Courier News, which comes via a link sent to my Gmail inbox. That was when I found out that all things Google had been compromised -- including the blogs, Gmail and other Google programs.

Fortunately, Google -- as it likes to say -- 'has an algorithm for this', meaning that it automatically assumes that a blogger with thousands of posts would hardly be likely to pull the plug on everything at once. So, while the blog posts were invisible to readers, they were all being held in a 'sandbox' pending my verification of the account and that I wished NOT to delete anything.

This is the second time this has happened in the past year. I think the target is Google, and not me personally.

There are many hackers from around the world probing and attacking Google constantly with electronically-generated passwords to try and get into accounts and wreak a little havoc. My number just came up.

As for those who wonder if Mayor Sharon or some of her friends could be responsible, my answer is 'Huh!?' You mean the people that don't know the date on which folks need to vote to keep her in office? Not very likely.

'Information technology', or IT, is just another oxymoron to the Robinson-Briggs team.

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Council wants to look at $8M bond before issuing

The redesigned intersection at East 9th Street
and Prospect Avenue was done with grant monies, not bonds.

 

Some members of Plainfield's City Council expressed suspicions election year considerations were behind a sudden push by the Robinson-Briggs administration to add more than $3 million to a proposed bond issue for capital projects that would bring the total to over $8 million.

Councilors Storch, Williams and Reid were not pleased with an explanation by the Robinson-Briggs administration that basically amounted to 'we haven't done any capital improvements for several years [for which no reason was supplied] and we should pile on now'.

Storch noted that there were nine items proposed to be covered, only one of which was roads (an issue residents always bring up, and dear to the Council's hearts), and wanted a fuller explanation and time for the Council to truly deliberate the wisdom of such a large bond burden on the taxpayers.

When asked directly, Director of Administration and Finance Al Restaino admitted that the Robinson-Briggs administration could not project at this point what effect the bond issue would have on property taxes except to say that it would not kick in until the 2014 budget, an answer that did not reassure concerned Councilors.

Storch also cited his ten years' experience as a member of the Planning Board, noting that the long-term Capital Plan developed by the Planning Board always included 'wish list' items put forward by various city divisions that were not of an urgent nature and were most often pushed down the road. Storch argued that the Council should look carefully into the bond proposal and decide on projects after some deliberation.

Councilor Greaves seems to have missed the point completely, objecting that roadwork on East 3rd Street, which Director of Public Works and Urban Development Director Eric Jackson estimated would cost $2 million, was necessary. Storch replied that most of the other roadwork undertaken in recent years utilized various grant monies and wanted to know why there was no grant money being included in the funding of the 3rd Street proposal.

Unfortunately, Councilor Mapp, who brings a fiscally-trained eye to these discussions, was still of out the country attending to family business in connection with the recent passing of his wife's mother. He will be present at next Monday's meeting, which should make a difference in the questions the Robinson-Briggs administration will have to face.

The bond ordinance (BO 1256) is slated to have its First Reading at next week's Council business meeting, at which time the public will be able to weigh in with their questions. Let's hope the Robinson-Briggs team does their homework and is able to completely and competently answer every question that arises to the last jot and tittle.

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Numbers-challenged Sharon strikes again

Sharon's 'doctored' campaign sign.

 

Plainfielders are urged by Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs campaign signs to vote for her re-election on June 1, 2013. That would be the Saturday BEFORE the actual election date, which is Tuesday, June 4.

The mistake (if Her Honor even knew a mistake was made) was not caught before the signs were produced, as can be seen on closer inspection. Some have had the '1' turned into a '4' by the addition of a couple of strokes in red enamel, while others have had a specially made '4' reversed in white on red tape, cut and applied over the offending '1'.

Here corrected with red paint...

...and here a little more elegantly with red tape.

Now, anyone who has ever ordered a sign knows that the manufacturer will not actually produce them until the client has reviewed a mock-up for errors and signed-off on same. So Mayor Robinson-Briggs signed off on the incorrectly dated signs.

Robinson-Briggs had a similar mishap with numbers when she stated during her 2009 campaign that she had reduced the homicide rate by 300 percent (see my post on that wrangle here).

In 2009, Sharon magically 'reduced' the homicide rate by 300%.

And this is the woman who is asking voters to put the community into her attentive and competent hands for another four years.

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• Plainfield Today:  "Mayor Sharon: Math-challenged artful dodger?" (5/18/2009)
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Cloudy tap water?

 

Fellow Plainfielders may experience the cloudy tap water which greeted me when I went to prepare my morning coffee for brewing overnight Saturday.

Checking the NJ American Water Company website, it seems that we are in the period of the annual flushing out of the system by opening fire hydrants and letting them run (see their web page here).

Not to worry, the water company says, just let the water run until its clear. In my case that took about four minutes.

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Charlotte steps down (with video)

 

The redoubtable Charlotte DeFilippo is stepping down
from her Democratic and UCIA posts.

New Jersey is atwitter with the news that Charlotte DeFilippo is stepping down, and Plainfield is swept up in the ripples.

The venerable Union County Democratic Committee chair announced at an emergency meeting of the Union County Improvement Authority (UCIA) commissioners on Thursday Friday (note correction) that she was resigning as the agency's executive director, effective August 1.

At the same time, she announced she would not seek re-election as the county chairperson when the committee reorganizes after the June 4 primary.

There have been whispers for some time that DeFilippo was under pressure from other Union County Dem heavyweights -- all of whom expressed shock and praise for DeFilippo upon hearing of the resignations.

CountyWatchers scooped the traditional media, posting a notice of the emergency meeting barely in advance (but still in advance) and managed to videotape the proceedings though efforts were made to discourage them. Everyone else trailed in the dust.

We will have plenty of time to dissect the resignations, their timing, and possible reasons for same at a future date. And what effect all this will have on Plainfield's political scene.

Meanwhile, you can catch up on all the news that has (so far) been printed --

• CountyWatchers:  "DeFilippo expected to resign today" | "Charlotte's real reason for leaving" (Video of emergency UCIA meeting)
• Ledger:  "Charlotte DeFilippo resigns as head of UCIA"
• PolitickerNJ:  "DeFilippo to resign from UCIA, won't seek another term as Dem chair"
• NJ Today:  "DeFilippo calls it quits"

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Hispanic Health Fair, Buono visit, Swain exhibit today

Montage of works by four young artists featured in new Swain's exhibit.

 
A triple-header of things to do in Plainfield today --

9 AM - 2 PM, Hispanic Health Fair

This is the annual Hispanic Health Fair, organized by Alma Cruz of the Plainfield Public Schools. And for this year, new digs -- the PHS Cafeteria. Free screenings of all sorts, from blood pressure to cholesterol to blood pressure to osteoporosis. The event is free, and will include refreshments and raffles. Info: Alma Troche Cruz, (908) 397-5849.

4 PM - 5:30 PM, Buono campaigns in Plainfield

State Sen. Barbara Buono's bus tour of central Jersey communities includes a stop in Plainfield this afternoon. It's the perfect opportunity for the base to show its support and for those who haven't been paying much attention to politics so far to see, hear and meet the woman who will challenge Chris Christie in the general election. At Plainfield Dem Headquarters on West Front Street, next to Dunkin' Donuts. (Parking in the rear and also the PNC lot on West 2nd Street.)

5 PM - 7 PM, 'In The Details' exhibit opens at Swain's

Swain Galleries presents four young artists in an exhibit titled 'In The Details'. Showing are Brandon Drake, Tomas Hurtado, Andrew Judd and Dwayne Watson. The artists will be present at the reception to greet old friends and make new ones. Today's opening reception is form 5 - 7 PM; the show runs through May 31. Swain Galleries is on Watchung Avenue at East 7th Street. Parking available in the lot off Watchung Avenue. Info: (908) 756-1707

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Update on Barbara Buono's Plainfield appearance Saturday

Candidate Barbara Buono will be in Plainfield Saturday.

 
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono will be in Plainfield Saturday, though the timing seems to have shifted.

In my original report (see here), it was slated to be between 4:00 and 5:30 PM Saturday. Then I was chewed out for not getting it correct -- it was a three-hour window from 4 to 7 PM I was told. OK. Correction noted.

Thursday afternoon, new information came down and the time has been RESET to the original 4:00 to 5:30 PM slot.

Buono is hitting several communities Saturday in a bus tour, so the time frame means she is expected here sometime within that window.

We've all been through this a million times and know that campaign schedules are not like doctor's appointments. (Or maybe they are.)

At any rate, Plainfielders will want to make time to see, hear and meet the woman who will be going head-to-head with Chris Christie in the November general election.

The rally is slated for Plainfield Democratic headquarters on West Front Street (next door to Dunkin' Donuts). With nice weather, things may move out onto the  Union County office building plaza next door.

Parking is available in the county building's lot, with spillover parking available at the PNC Bank lot on West 2nd Street.

See you there!

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Sharon's woes deepen as Dottie Gutenkauf backs Mapp

Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs.

 
Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs' re-election woes only deepened Wednesday after Plainfield Democratic doyen Dottie Gutenkauf announced on her blog, Dottie G. Sez, that she was supporting Councilor Adrian Mapp in the mayoral race (see Dottie's post here).

Acknowledging her previous support for Robinson-Briggs and the Mayor's kindnesses towards her and her late husband, Joe, Dottie nevertheless declares that as a mayor, Robinson-Briggs has been 'a disaster', in particular with regard to the struggle over the closure of Muhlenberg Hospital. Muhlenberg is a cause in which both Dottie and Joe were prominent and her disappointment in Robinson-Briggs' lack of effectiveness is well-detailed. You will want to read Dottie's complete post for yourself (here).

Meanwhile, City Hall is abuzz with the signs of distress surrounding Robinson-Briggs' re-election campaign. Insiders tell me Robinson-Briggs is frustrated with her inability to raise what she feels is the necessary level of funding and the relative reluctance of City employees to involve themselves in her campaign as volunteers. (She is not totally bereft of supporters; Registrar of Vital Statistics Barbara Wynn has been seen at the mayor's headquarters almost daily. In fact, some think the reflective Mylar that keeps passersby from seeing who is in the headquarters is to shield the identity of City employees working on the campaign during business hours.)

The mayor's ham-handedness has put off even her supporters. Dottie cites the bizarre proclamations Sharon handed out at a recent Democratic City Committee meeting. Others point to poor publicity for a so-called 'design charette' to drum up ideas for 4th Ward revitalization that was held at Ruth Fellowship last week. Council members found out only hours before the meeting and residents of Elmwood Gardens (a major topic of discussion) were poorly informed. And 4th Ward go-to person Robert Edwards was never informed of the charette at all.

Then there is the Police Division, in which she continues to personally intervene on behalf of favored cops. This time around, one of her former bodyguards is said to have appealed directly to Robinson-Briggs to rescind a disciplinary move, which the Mayor was said to be happy to do. (So much for the independence of the civilian police director touted by Mr. Hellwig in his Charter Study Commission interview last week.)

Meanwhile, some of her top lieutenants are said to be eyeing the exits. City Administrator Eric Berry is said to be already circulating his resumé and Information Technology Director Chris Payne is said to be finagling a possible return to the Plainfield Public Schools.

The next four weeks are certainly going to be interesting, and even more so now that Dottie Gutenkauf has entered the lists.

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• Dottie G. Sez:  "This may surprise you..." -- Dottie backs Adrian Mapp.
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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One mayoral candidates forum firmed up

Plainfield voters can now know that they will have at least one opportunity to hear mayoral candidates Sharon Robinson-Briggs and Adrian O. Mapp face off in a public forum.

FOSH president Pat Turner Kavanaugh confirmed by email Tuesday that the forum originally scheduled for Wednesday, May 22, is formally firmed up and definitely ON. The forum will start promptly at 7:00 PM that evening in the Anne Louise Davis Meeting Room of the Plainfield Public Library.

The Plainfield chapter of the League of Women Voters has agreed to join with FOSH in sponsoring the forum. Candidate forums in the Primary election season are important for voters because the preponderance of Democratic registered votes in the community makes the winner of the Democratic Primary election tantamount to being the winner of the November general election.

Council member Adrian O. Mapp, who has the Democratic City Committee's endorsement, will face incumbent Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, who failed to get party endorsement for a third term and is running off the line.

Following League of Women Voters rules, only candidates in contested slots will take part in the forum, though if other candidates are present they will be acknowledged by the moderator. Dawn Clarke, who is state vice president of the LWV and has moderated several prior forums in Plainfield, will do the honors once again.

The other planned forum, initiated by Plainfield High School students is still up in the air. Through some communications glitch, the forum, originally scheduled for April 15, was canceled without notice. The students were eager to hold the forum during a school day in order to reach out to the significant number of students who are eligible to vote.

The Mapp campaign has reached out to both the Plainfield High School principal and the students' faculty adviser to try and get clarification on whether the student-sponsored forum will go ahead and if so, when.

I will post an update on that forum as soon as school district personnel get back to the campaign.

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FOSH / LWV CANDIDATE FORUM

Wednesday, May 22

7:00 PM Sharp
 

Anne Louise Davis Meeting Room

Plainfield Public Library

8th Street at Park Avenue

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Chump change corruption catches up Elizabeth BOE attorneys

Risking everything over chump change?

One Plainfield Today reader always calls my attention to how paltry much of the public corruption that is prosecuted in New Jersey actually is.

A case in point is the breaking news item concerning Elizabeth Board of Education attorneys Kirk Nelson and Frank Capece. (Complete links to coverage of the story are at the bottom of this post.)

Nelson, who is the Board's attorney, and Capece, who is outside counsel to the Board, were arrested yesterday in connection with the ongoing investigation into a rip-off of the federally-funded free lunch program by yet another Board of Ed member, John Donoso, whose wife allegedly filed false applications for the free lunches for three years.

Donoso recently made the news in an odd story regarding his resignation from the BOE following the rejection of his petitions to run against Sen. Ray Lesniak in the June Democratic Primary (see story here). Now that Donoso has been charged in the school lunch scandal, we can perhaps better understand the resignation.

Nelson and Capece are alleged to have attempted to 'fix' the situation for Donoso, by physically removing the applications for his child from the records submitted to the state as the result of a subpoena in 2011, along with switching the child's electronic record from 'free' to 'paid'.

The total amount estimated to be involved in the three-year free lunch scam? $1,700.

As the Plainfield Today reader says, chump change.

Yet two attorneys are faced with the possibility of jail time and potential disbarment.

One additional irony, attorney Capece was once the law partner of Union County Prosecutor Ted Romankow in the former firm of Garrubbo Romankow Rinaldo & Capece.

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• PolitickerNJ:  "AG's office files charges against more connected to Elizabeth BOE"
• Ledger:  "Elizabeth Board attorneys charged in school lunch scandal"
• NJ Today:  "Elizabeth school board attorneys charged in alleged cover-up"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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