Parents group sets community forum on schools

Plainfield's Parents Empowering Parents, a public schools advocacy group, will hold a community forum on November 30.

The group is interested in getting questions from community members -- those with children currently in the public schools, those whose children have already passed through the schools, and those resident and taxpayers who have no children in the school system -- SPECIFIC TO THE CURRENT CONDITION OF THE PLAINFIELD SCHOOL SYSTEM.

Organizers plan a panel to answer questions at the forum to include representatives of government and school officials, teachers, clergy and local business owners.

You may send a question by email by clicking THIS LINK.

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Parents Empowering Parents

A Community Forum
on Our Children, Our Schools and Our Community

Friday, November 30, 2007
7:00 - 10:00 PM

Washington Community School
427 Darrow Avenue
(Parking in lot on Spooner Avenue)

-- Dan Damon

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Plainfield Holiday House Tour: 'An Old-Fashioned Christmas'

Plainfield's Van Wyck Brooks Historic District is hosting an impressive holiday house tour on December 9th. Eleven homes, including some of the district's most outstanding mansions, will be opened to give visitors a glimpse into Christmases of the past.

Special treats include the home with the spectacular stained glass pictured above, to the gracious Colonial that was used in the film 'Kinsey' -- and a special sneak peek at the restoration-in-progress of the Coriell mansion, slated to be Plainfield's newest bed-and-breakfast.

Trees and decorations will reflect the homes' periods, and include a very special 1960s ranch and a converted carriage house. (Will I get to see the bubble lights of my childhood Christmases? Hmmm.)

In addition, there will be displays of old-fashioned dolls, toys, books and decorations.

Advance tickets, at $20 per person, are available at Swain Galleries or by mail.

Day-of-tour tickets will be available for $25 per person at the tour's starting point, 935 Central Avenue.

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2007 Van Wyck Brooks House Tour
An Old-Fashioned Christmas

Sunday, December 9, 2007
2:00 - 7:00 PM

$20 in advance, $25 day of tour

TICKETS AVAILABLE

Swain Galleries
East 7th Street and Watchung Avenue
(908) 756-1707

By mail: Print out the online form here, and mail to VWB.

Day-of-tour tickets available from 2:00 - 5:30 PM at
935 Central Avenue

Cash or check only, no credit cards.

---

On the web --

• "'An Old-Fashioned Christmas' House Tour"
• "Van Wyck Brooks Historic District"

-- Dan Damon

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Jena 6: Questions over funds

Sadly, the Chicago Tribune recently ran a story (see more here) of questions over the spending of funds raised on behalf of the Jena 6.

Part of the problem is that no one knows just how much has been raised and by whom, and how the monies have been spent.

The tremendous outpouring of interest and financial support for the defense of the six Jena youngsters was fueled by publicity generated on the Internet, after the mainstream media largely ignored the story.

This turns out to have been both the strength and the weakness of the situation.

While the Internet generated the huge turnout for the support rally and generated money for legal defense, the decentralized nature of that outpouring seems to have left the door open for some unscrupulous tricksters.

And it is that possibility that is now being seized on -- some out of genuine concern and some out of more dubious motives.

That is unfortunate as the cases are hardly over, and the six young people are going to need continued support from outside.

One agency that comes out with a spotless reputation -- Color of Change -- posted all its receipts and copies of cancelled checks to the defense attorneys on its website. That is the agency to which Plainfield Today directed your online contributions.

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Chicago Tribune: "What of the Jena 6 funds?"

Plainfield Today

• "Jena: 6 you should care about"
• "Jena 6 Update: Conviction overturned, but case not over"

-- Dan Damon

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Library's annual Food-for-Fines drive under way

During the holiday season, Plainfield Public Library patrons have a special opportunity to get out of book-jail by making a donation of canned goods or nonperishable food items.

For the seventh year, the Library will encourage patrons with overdue books to pay their fines by donating food items for those in need. One canned item or boxed nonperishable food item is equal to a dollar in fines.

Donations may be made between Tuesday, November 13 and Friday, December 7. All items collected by the Library will be donated to the Plainfield Action Services' annual food, toy and clothing drive to benefit Plainfield families in need during the holiday season.

Even better news: Your donation is welcome even if you DON'T have overdue books! Now, how's that for being inclusive.

The Plainfield Public Library is located at Park Avenue and West 8th Street. Donations may be brought during regular library hours -- the library opens at 9:30 AM Monday through Saturday.

For more information, call (908) 757-1111, ext. 111. Or visit the Plainfield Public Library's website.

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-- Dan Damon

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YMCA virtual tour now online

The 'new' Plainfield YMCA has gotten rave reviews from Assemblyman Green and Councilor Burney in a recent Ledger story.

Now you can take an online tour of the facility. If you have memories of the YMCA from your youth, hold onto your hats. You'll find the changes breathtaking.

Take the tour here.

For more information, visit the Plainfield YMCA's website, or call (908) 756-6060.

NOTE: Instead of popping up a small window, the presentation scrunches your open window down to its size. If you are browsing with multiple tabs open, be careful to close just the tab it comes up in and not the entire browser window. Also, the tour runs on Java and if your Java engine is not the latest, you may experience difficulties. To download the most current version of Java, go here.

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-- Dan Damon

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Assemblyman Green's Lesson for the Board and Super: Jerry Rules

Assemblyman Jerry Green wants to teach a lesson to the Plainfield Board of Ed and interim superintendent Peter Carter: Jerry rules.

Not 'Jerry rules' in the sense that he runs things (though the Assemblyman makes it abundantly clear he wants to).

'Jerry rules' in the sense that if you're dealing with this wily pol, the rules of common sense, common decency and the Marquess of Queensberry go out the window.

First, let's get out the facts of the latest dustup.

• Interim Superintendent Peter Carter and his team have a compensation matter they wish to negotiate with the Board of Ed;
• They wrote a letter to the Board of Ed tendering their resignations as of a date certain (December 31st) -- an old negotiating tactic;
  
• A treacherous Board of Ed member leaked the letter to the Courier News;
• Assemblyman Green and Interim Superintendent Carter were in a room together.

That's it.

The rest becomes spin.

• For instance, that Assemblyman Green 'met with Carter and agreed to work with him'. Rumor in the street is that the Assemblyman wangled a meeting with Carter by a ruse -- the meeting was supposed to be between Carter and another person, and Green invited himself (or was invited by that person) along. And that he had the chutzpah to drag along Mayor Robinson-Briggs. Whatever was discussed, you can bet the Assemblyman's spin is designed to put himself in the best possible light.
  
  
• Or that the meeting 'triggered discord with the board' as Green asserts. That is more a statement of the Assemblyman's hoped-for outcome than the reality of Carter-Board relations.
  
  
• Lastly, that the whole thing is part of the battle between the 'forces of light' (read: Assemblyman Green) and the 'forces of darkness' (read: anyone with the temerity not to see it Jerry's way). In this case, Jerry tries to lay the 'New Dem' curse on the Board of Ed. This is risible, since Al McWilliams never appreciated the importance of fielding a New Democrat team for the Board of Ed and in fact refused to run a slate (unlike the Assemblyman, who ran a winning slate in 2003).

Then there is the matter of treachery on the Board of Ed. Someone, to put it melllifluously, leaked the Carter letter to the Courier. This is a violation of Board confidentiality, and I, for one, certainly hope the Board of Ed and the Interim Superintendent press to get to the bottom of it. Such behavior corrodes the very relationship between the Board and the staff and the Board and the public. You have to ask yourself who would benefit from that.

Assemblyman Green has had the Board of Ed in his sights for months -- in July he wrote to the state complaining of 'fiscal abuses' and 'ethical breaches', as reported in the Ledger (see more here).

That attack struck this disinterested observer as laughable, but for the fact that Green is a Trenton player and can throw his weight around.

What was laughable is that Green's own pick for Board of Ed president, current Mayor Robinson-Briggs, was herself publicly cited for an ethics breach with regard to Board records and -- something the public may not be aware of -- got in serious hot water with the state for browbeating an employee to cut a check for a vendor which the Business Administrator at the time had expressly forbidden. The employee suffered suspension. Robinson-Briggs was chewed out, but charges were never pressed.

I sat in the room at Washington School when Mr. Carter told the public that "I don't do politics, I do kids."

That is laudable, but it doesn't seem to work the other way around: While you are not doing politics, politics may do you -- which is what seems to be at work here.

Everyone who has tried to follow the machinations of Plainfield's very own Mayberry Machiavelli has ached for some sort of magic decoder ring.

Some have suggested comparing life under Jerry to fun-house mirrors. But that implies a certain carefree attitude we cannot allow ourselves.

Others have said it's like using a Magic 8-Ball. But Plainfield happenings are just not random.

My thought is to recall the 'Moscow Rules' from John le Carré's 'Smiley's People', the old PBS spy series.

'Moscow rules' were those in effect for 'good guys' operating in contact with the KGB in whatever physical setting. Here are some --

• Assume nothing.
• Everyone is potentially under opposition control.
• Pick the time and place for action.
• Keep your options open.

They would certainly help when facing sneak attacks.

---

• Courier: "Three Plainfield school officials submit resignations" -- Archived here.
• Plainfield Today: Interim Plainfield schools super submits resignation"
  
• Plain Talker: "An Un-Journalistic Commentary"
  
• Crescent Times: "It is whose fault?"
• Ledger (7/24/2007): "Assemblyman seeks probe of Plainfield board's actions"
  

-- Dan Damon

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Subprime mortgage crisis: NJ & NY approaches compared

Plainfielders could be forgiven if they thought New York and New Jersey were not only on two separate planets when it comes to handling the subprime mortgage crisis, but two separate planets in two separate universes.

In New York, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, son of the justly famous former governor Mario Cuomo, is intent on pinning down the who-did-what-with-whom-and-when of it all (read about it here).

He is currently going after WaMu (formerly known as Washington Mutual), a big subprime mortgage player, for conspiring with appraisers to gin up appraisals on properties so that WaMu could collect large fees. ($200 here and $200 there added up to many millions for its bottom line.)

But Cuomo doesn't stop there; he is looking to tie Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (which, together, own or insure 40% of American residential mortgages) into the tidy little scheme.

All well and good, but nary a whisper about the poor homeowner caught in the bind.

Meanwhile, in the parallel universe of New Jersey, the approach is quite different (read more here).

In New Jersey, the state cares about YOU.

In New Jersey, state government, banks and mortage companies have worked out a fund of $433M to refinance subprime mortgages. An estimated 19,000 of the state's 40,000 mortgages which are behind in payments are subprime.

But get this: To get a rate re-adjustment before the first reset kicks in, borrowers must not have ANY late payments in the past twelve months and their credit score must be at least 575.

Kind of reminds me of the old joke about bankers -- that they only lend money to people who don't need it.

You might be forgiven if you thought the difference in these approaches was that Andrew Cuomo is likely looking to seek higher office -- governor, if not president.

And that the good folks in New Jersey are looking to cover their behinds.

You might.

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• New York State: "New York Widens Inquiry on Mortgages"
• New Jersey: "N.J. program offers 'rescue team' for homeowners in bind"

-- Dan Damon

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Plainfield foreclosures

The list of Plainfield homes put up for Sheriff's sale in this past week's Courier caught my attention for three reasons: the sheer number, the dollar amounts involved, and the spread throughout the city.

The first thing you should know about Sheriff's sales is that these are serious -- make that SERIOUS -- business.

Not only has the homeowner missed more than some payments, they have gone into foreclosure and the lender has secured a judgment by a court against the property in the amount owed the lender plus other costs and fees.

That total is known as the UPSET PRICE, less than which will not be accepted for the property. That includes any unpaid property and sewer taxes as well as any IRS, mechanics' or other liens against the property. The court then orders the Sheriff to sell the property at public auction to satisfy the judgment.

People have been known to come back from the brink, but it's not highly likely.

Below is a summary table of this past week's Sheriff's sale listings --

UPSET PRICE	JUDGMENT	STREET	BLOCK	WARD
$996,976	$881,972	Berkeley Ave	700	2
$531,786	$482,791	Charlotte Rd	800	2
$511,872	$466,013	Kensington Ave	800	2
$449,311	$417,314	Park Ave	800	2
$426,128	$385,596	Carleton Ave	700	2
$393,290	$362,976	West 6th St	300	3
$380,322	$351,808	West 4th St	1200	4
$373,507	$346,768	Johnson Ave	100	1
$336,952	$308,952	Lafayette Pl	100	4
$310,080	$285,703	Columbia Ave	1200	2
$280,082	$260,012	West 8th St	900	3
$267,741	$247,902	Murray Ave	1300	3
$257,531	$236,915	Madison Ave	900	3
$246,872	$225,817	Hillcrest Ave	300	1
$211,393	$195,164	Earle Pl	1100	1
$196,518	$182,054	Evona Ave	300	4
$141,060	$102,893	West 5th St	900	4
$66,876	$60,747	Lenox Ave	1200	3

Of the 23 properties listed, 18 were in Plainfield, two in Fanwood and three in Scotch Plains.

What I think is worrisome is the geographic spread -- one third of the Plainfield foreclosures are in the 2nd Ward, and Wards 2 and 3 make up almost two thirds of the total. If the relative stability and higher-priced properties of Wards 2 and 3 are under assault, what else is in store?

Add to this the UPSET PRICES in relation to the current real estate market. One property on Berkeley Avenue is needing just a whisker under $1 million to satisfy the judgment.

The two big questions are whether, in a sinking market, these properties will hold up in appraisal against the sums needed, and, secondly, where the buyers will come from -- who now must have real, verifiable incomes and some real money in the bank. Unless, of course, they are going to pony up 100% cash for these properties.

I do not know if these foreclosures are a result of the subprime mortgage mess, which has yet to make its full weight felt in Plainfield. That will come, as the adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) issued in 2005, 2006 and 2007 reset from the introductory low rates to higher index-based rates.

Those resets have just begun and will ripple through the next two years. And, for those unlucky enough not to be able to refinance out of the ARMs, the resets will continue periodically for the life of the loan.

Batten down the hatches. Heavy weather ahead.

-- Dan Damon

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Schools brouhaha update

I'm working on an update of the 'resignations' of the Plainfield school district's leadership team which was reported in yesterday's Courier.

Suffice it to say the real story hardly resembles what you've read so far.

Coming Monday AM.

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-- Dan Damon

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Garage Sale Saturday benefits singers

Maybe you'll find a stocking stuffer. Or a lamp that will perk up that dark corner. Or something you MUST have that your spouse will relegate to the basement.

Whatever, you should check out THIS garage sale all day Saturday (Nov. 10th, 8 AM - 6 PM).

Why?

Besides stuff, which we all need, it is an opportunity to support a singing group -- The Harmony Celebration Chorus -- to which garage sale host and Plainfield volunteer Roberta Smith belongs.

She bills it as the 'desperate donations' of fifty -- count 'em, FIFTY -- women to help the cause.

Coffee and donut holes will be served.

What more can you ask?

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GARAGE SALE
Benefiting The Harmony Celebration Chorus
Saturday, November 10, 8 AM - 6 PM
1105 Park Terrace
(at the intersection of Belvidere Avenue, Park Terrace and Gresham Road)
Coffee and Donut holes, gratis!

-- Dan Damon

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Interim Plainfield schools super submits resignation

[Update, 12:30 PM -- As with any story involving the Assemblyman, there is more than meets the eye. Watch for an update over the weekend.]

Just when Plainfielders thought it was safe to exhale, the Courier breaks a story (see here) this morning that interim schools superintendent Peter Carter and his top aides have submitted letters of resignation to the Board of Ed.

The dispute appears to be over contractual and remuneration matters.

One question on everyone's mind is going to be: These were your picks. What is going on? And why should this end up in the papers? Wasn't there an effort to negotiate these differences through normal procedures and channels?

Plainfielders are going to want to know.

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Courier: "Three Plainfield school officials submit resignations"

-- Dan Damon

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Union County Dem Chair DeFilippo Under Investigation

Plainfielders have been wondering if anyone would ever take a look at the web of connections that Charlotte DeFilippo, chair of the Democratic county organization, executive director of the Union County Improvement Authority, and general political factotum sits in the middle of.

The answer is yes, finally.

The Ledger breaks a story today (see here) of a burgeoning state investigation into the public and private dealings of the Queen of King Street.

You have to hope this will be a thorough-going investigation, but so far, State investigations haven't seemed to rise to the level of thoroughness and disinterestedness that those of the US Attorney's office do. Cynics might be forgiven for suspecting a state move is an attempt to head off a federal probe.

Let's hope Milgram & Co. show us their stuff.

At the very least, we may get some answers to some of our outstanding questions related to the UCIA, including --

• Unfinished checkoff items from the Park-Madison project;
• Murkiness surrounding the Senior Center development project;
• How the UCIA came to be Plainfield's redevelopment agency;
• How Remington & Vernick came to be Plainfield's planning consultants;
• Why R&V had already prepared a redevelopment plan for the East 3rd/Richmond Streets area before a study had even been adopted.

That's for openers.

Seasoned observers will probably have their own items to add to the list, which might include DeFilippo's use of 'clubhouse rules' in Plainfield's 2005 primary to deny the sitting mayor -- Al McWilliams -- the privilege, as chair of the local Dem committee, of naming the local slate of candidates.

Of course, as the network of her private business dealings begins to be dragged into the light of day, Plainfielders will also want to keep an eye on how many of these private businesses -- and their principals -- have dealings with the City.

DeFilippo asks, "I just want to know who's going to say, 'Sorry Charlotte' when this is all over."

Until then, I'm recalling the old saying, "May your times be interesting."

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Ledger: "Probe focuses on Union politicos" -- Archived here.

-- Dan Damon

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Plainfield to Trenton: Listen Up!

Plainfielders are as fed up with taxes and gimmicks as everyone else.

Corzine says he takes note. We'll see.

The stem cell bond issue and the property tax relief gimmick went down in flames, justly so, in my opinion.

Not that I'm against stem cell research -- far from it. But the state needs to get its financial house in order and stop putting everything on the credit card.

And property tax relief should come in the form of real relief, not smoke-and-mirrors 'rebates'.

Years of avoiding paying into the pension plan have put the burden of making things up onto the local taxpayers (you've seen the local increases every year and we're not out of the woods yet).

We don't need any more repeats of the pension pushdown.

What people want is fiscal responsibility, not gimmicks.

Then, maybe, we can talk.

---

The public and the public questions --

Ledger --

• The Public: "The day voters closed their wallets"
• Corzine: "Corzine tells the voters: 'I hear you'"
• Dems: "A sobering lesson for Democrats"
• Stem Cell Research: "Two forces combined to blindside stem cell champions"
  

Bergen Record: "N.J. voters fed up with taxes, debt"
NY Times: "Dems Grapple With Rebuke of Stem Cell Initiative"

-- Dan Damon

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Plainfield's next question: Who replaces Van Blake?

The unspoken question behind the current races has all along been 'Who will replace Rayland Van Blake on the City Council'? You may want to check out my earlier post on this topic ("Who will replace Van Blake?" -- March 9, 2007) for a tipsheet.

(Yesterday's election results are below, along with some comments and observations.)

Rayland rolled to victory in the Freeholder race without breaking a sweat, thanks to the backing of the Union County Dem organization. Though fellow Plainfielder and incumbent Freeholder Adrian Mapp did not get another Freeholder term, he did outpoll his running mates by nearly a thousand votes, signifying his Plainfield vote base.

Cory Storch and Linda Carter won re-election to the City Council, and the incumbent Dem team will be back in the Legislature come January 1.

CITY COUNCIL

One 4-year Term, Wards 1 and 4 at-large
Linda Carter (D)	1,088
One 4-year Term, Ward 2
Cory Storch (D)	924
Deborah Dowe (R)	258

FREEHOLDER

Three 3-year Freeholder Terms
Bette Jane Kowalski (D)	32,502
Daniel P. Sullivan (D)	32,121
Rayland Van Blake (D)	30,604
Patricia Quattrocchi (R)	26,857
Robert Reilly (R)	26,560
John Russitano Jr. (R)	26,183
Adrian O. Mapp (I)	6,734
Becky McHugh (I)	5,879
George P. O'Grady (I)	5,841

LEGISLATURE

County	Precincts	Green	Stender	Des Rochers	Gatto	Colon	Makrogiannis
Total	176/176	13,399 27%	13,638 27%	10,124 20%	10,311 21%	1,173 2%	981 2%
Middlesex	16/16	1,161 22%	1,082 21%	1,341 26%	1,359 26%	125 2%	115 2%
Somerset	19/19	1,515 21%	1,457 20%	1,895 26%	2,073 28%	193 3%	159 2%
Union	141/141	10,723 29%	11,099 30%	6,888 19%	6,879 19%	855 2%	707 2%

PUBLIC QUESTIONS

1. PROPERTY TAX REFORM -- Defeated: 635,260 to 562,779

A constitutional amendment to dedicate 1% of the sales and use tax receipts to a property tax account, to be distributed annually to taxpayers as rebates.

2. STEM CELL RESEARCH -- Defeated: 647,228 to 575,618

Approval would float $450 million in bonds to establish New Jersey as a stem cell research 'player'.

3. OPEN SPACE FUNDING -- Approved: 650,157 to 554,957

Approval would authorize $200 million in bonds for Green Acres ($109M), Farmland Preservation ($73M), Blue Acres ($12M) and Historic Preservation ($6M).

4. RIGHT TO VOTE LANGUAGE CHANGE -- Approved: 708,052 to 476,652

Approval would remove the 'idiot or insane person' language and replace it with denial of the right to vote, on a case by case basis, to persons deemed by a court to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting.

Note: All precincts have not yet reported. Ledger stats page is here.

SOME OBSERVATIONS

As evidence of the 'blue-ing' of the suburbs, one has to look no farther than some nearby formerly solidly Republican strongholds. In Bernardsville, two Republicans won Council seats, but a Democratic candidate missed by only 3 votes, and the other Dem was only 12 votes behind that.

In Somerset County's Freeholder race, where over 60,000 votes were cast, Dem candidate Melonie Marano of Green Brook lost by only 1,842. This is a long cry from the days when Dems only ran in Somerset County as 'sacrificial lambs'.

But, lest Dems break an arm patting themselves on the back, they should also consider the results in neighboring North Plainfield, where Republican Jennifer Uptegrove beat Dem Santiago Soto, 1424 to 840. This is a town with a Democratic-controlled Council and a Democratic mayor who is serving in her third term.

In the 14th District, one of the state's two 'clean elections' trials, Dem Linda Greenstein handily defeated her Republican opponents, despite a massive media campaign against her.

The out-of-state right-wing moneybuckets crew that funded Common Sense America is estimated to have spent more than half a million dollars in a media blitz that seemed to have no effect, though it created a great deal of consternation among the bipartisan supporters of the 'clean elections' reform.

Some Plainfielders may recall meeting Chris Campos, the former Hoboken councilor who visited Plainfield during Rayland Van Blake's original run in 2002. They were both young -- 26 then -- and cutting their teeth in politics.

Campos' path diverged sharply from Rayland's. First, he got involved in a notorious DWI scrape in New York City, with the NYPD caught on tape calling the Hoboken PD, asking what to do about the ticket.

In June, he lost to an anti-machine candidate, Dawn Zimmer, by a mere 8 votes. Contesting that election, he and Zimmer agreed to a re-run set for yesterday. Zimmer won that race last night, so you can expect some interesting stories to come out of Hoboken in the next four years. (See the Jersey Journal story here; check out Zimmer's website here.)

-- Dan Damon

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Photo exhibit opens with reception tomorrow

The Plainfield Public Library's ongoing project to expand its collection of photographs of contemporary Plainfield will open an exhibit of this year's second annual photo contest at 7 PM Wednesday evening.

The photographs of more than forty participants will be on display in the Anne Louise Davis Meeting Room at the library as officials and participants gather for an opening reception.

"With extensive collections documenting Plainfield life from the 19th century through the 1970s, we feel it is important to continue to document contemporary Plainfield life and this annual contest provides a fun and effective vehicle for doing so," says Library Director Joe Da Rold.

This year's exhibit is themed 'Plainfield: A Multicultural Community'. Entries were judged by a panel of professional and amateur photographers and the exhibit is sponsored by the city's Cultural and Heritage Commission.

The public is cordially invited. Refreshments will be served.

More information is available on the Library's website here.

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Plainfield, A Multicultural Community
Amateur photographers document contemporary Plainfield life

The Plainfield Public Library
8th Street and Park Avenue

Opening Reception
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
7:00 - 8:30 PM

-- Dan Damon

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Election Day Today

VOTE


It's Election Day
Polls are open 6:00 AM - 8:00 PM.

Besides two City Council seats, County Freeholders and Sheriff, and the entire Legislature, there are FOUR public questions --

1. PROPERTY TAX REFORM

A constitutional amendment to dedicate 1% of the sales and use tax receipts to a property tax account, to be distributed annually to taxpayers as rebates.

2. STEM CELL RESEARCH

Approval would float $450 million in bonds to establish New Jersey as a stem cell research 'player'.

3. OPEN SPACE FUNDING

Approval would authorize $200 million in bonds for Green Acres ($109M), Farmland Preservation ($73M), Blue Acres ($12M) and Historic Preservation ($6M).

4. DENIAL OF THE RIGHT TO VOTE

Approval would remove the 'idiot or insane person' language and replace it with denial of the right to vote, on a case by case basis, to persons deemed by a court to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting.

Freeholder Race: Once-in-a-lifetime twofer

Plainfielders have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at the polls tomorrow: a chance to elect TWO Plainfielders to the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, to serve concurrently.

Current Freeholder and former City Council member Adrian Mapp is in Column 'C' as an independent running under the 'Clean Up Government' slogan.

Current City Council President Rayland Van Blake, the nominee of the Union County Democratic organization, is in Column 'A'.

Here's the trick: You can vote for both.

Many of the thousands of people who supported Al McWilliams and the 'New Democrats' when they first put Rayland Van Blake on the political map in 2002 have felt themselves in a quandary as the political ground shifted beneath their feet.

Adrian Mapp, also a part of the 'New Democrats' team, won election to the Freeholder Board three years ago. Since then, the County Democratic organization has withdrawn its support of Mapp (for a reaction to his treatment by his fellow Freeholders, see my post "$7M BUF bond may leave Plainfield on the hook").

As Freeholder, Mapp has proposed that the current election of all nine Freeholders as 'at-large' members -- meaning they each are elected by all the County's voters -- be replaced by a system of six districts with one Freeholder each, and three at-large Freeholders.

This is a quite sensible proposal, in my humble opinion, but the Union County Dem organization is dead set against it.

Why? For openers, it would most certainly break the headlock Dems currently have on ALL the seats (and have had since 1998), most likely opening up a few seats to Republicans and making for a much livelier -- and perhaps less profitable for vendor/contributors -- scene at the County level.

So, they get their wish and we will vote for three at-large candidates tomorrow.

Two of whom can be Plainfielders: Adrian Mapp AND Rayland Van Blake.

Van Blake is a shoo-in, and Mapp can win with everyone's support.

What's not to like about that?

The Union County Dem organization can perhaps learn from the words attributed to St. Catherine: "Be careful what you pray for, as you may get it."

-- Dan Damon

The Courier recaps its Plainfield endorsements

Today's Courier editorial recaps its Plainfield endorsements --

• Ward 2 Council: Incumbent Cory Storch, "Savvy voice of independence"
• District 22 Assembly: Incumbent Jerry Green, "[a] vote for getting things done"
• 
  

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• Courier Editorial: "A recap of candidates we endorse for office"

-- Dan Damon

EMAIL DELIVERY PROBLEMS TODAY

EMAIL DELIVERY PROBLEMS TODAY

It would appear that all AOL emails failed this morning. People have reported problems to me with their AOL email accounts, especially if they are on the FREE service. One solution would be to set up a webmail account, such as Gmail or Yahoo! Mail. If you do, please send me an email so I can update your email address -- your other contacts will appreciate it, too.

Also, ATT.NET appears to be at war with Comcast and is blocking messages from some Comcast servers, which may affect some on the CLIPS emails. I'm sure Comcast will get it straightened out quickly.

If you didn't get the email this morning, check things out here --

CLIPS or PLAINFIELD TODAY

9 Vie for three Freeholder Seats: Westfield Leader

Published in the Westfield Leader, Thursday, November 1, 2007

Nine candidates vie for three freeholder seats

By PAUL J. PEYTON
Specially Written for The Westfield Leader

COUNTY — On Election Day, Union County voters will choose three freeholders out of a field of nine candidates, while three candidates vie for sheriff.

The candidates include Democratic incumbent Freeholders Bette Jane Kowalski of Cranford, chairwoman of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders; Dan Sullivan of Elizabeth, an administrator with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, and their running mate, Plainfield City Council President Rayland Van Blake. Republicans Patricia Quattrocchi of Garwood, a job recruiter making her fourth-consecutive run at freeholder; Westfield Department of Public Works employee John Russitano, Jr. of Westfield and Robert Reilly of Winfield Park, who ran for freeholder in 2003, will challenge them.

In addition to the Democratic and Republican lines, an Independent slate, dubbed “Clean Up Government,” will run against the freeholders this year. The Independents consist of current Freeholder Adrian Mapp of Plainfield, who serves as Roselle’s chief financial officer; Becky McHugh of Linden, a learning-disabilities teacher, and George O’Grady, a community-attendance liaison. Both Ms. McHugh and Mr. O’Grady are employed by the Elizabeth Board of Education. Voters elected Mr. Mapp on the Democratic ticket in 2004, but he fell out of favor with county party leaders this year and was bounced by the ticket in favor of Mr. Van Blake, a financial analyst and professional actor.

The sheriff’s race pits 30-year veteran Sheriff Ralph Froehlich against GOP challenger Peter Lijoi of Summit and Independent candidate Charles Mitchell, Sr. of Roselle, an Essex County sheriff’s officer and Baptist church minister in Asbury Park.

This year’s election campaign has focused on issues ranging from taxes and county spending, the Open Space, Recreation and Historic Trust Fund, county no-bid and/or professional-services contracts, county lawsuits, shared services with municipalities and county matching grants given to towns.

Democrats have held a 9-0 command of the freeholder board since 1998 and have won every election since 1995. Democrats hold a 85,522 to 36,705 advantage in registration countywide, with 259,892 unaffiliated and 62 Independent voters, according to the county’s Board of Elections website.

Online story here (PDF).

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or Clippings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)