duCretopoly?

Illustration of classic VW van won this year's Alumni Award.

Plainfielders are lucky to have a unique art resource -- duCret School of Art -- in the community, as I am reminded every year at the annual student show at Swain Galleries.

This year is no exception, as was in evidence yesterday evening at the show's opening (on view through August 14).

Whether your interest is portraits, still lifes, or fantasy illustration; whether you prefer oil, acrylics or multimedia, this year's student show will intrigue and delight.

More than that, summer classes and youth art workshops are ongoing throughout July and August (see the online catalog here, PDF).

duCretopoly?

One of the entries was a duCret-centered riff on the classic Monopoly board game, with school activities, interests (and penalties!), plus properties featuring familiar Plainfield streets (get a load of those 'prices').

I got a laugh out of the Monopoly 'money' featuring a portrait of duCret's director Frank Falotico. Nice touch! Now, if he could only pass them at the bank.

Stop by the galleries and catch the show and Swain's many other offerings, Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 AM - 5 PM; and Saturdays from 9:30 AM - 4 PM.

Swain Galleries is at East 7th Street and Watchung Avenue, across from Plainfield's historic Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church. Parking off Watchung Avenue.

Watercolor in the style of a mosaic was an eye-catcher.

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• Website:  "duCret School of Art" -- Summer course brochure here (PDF).
  
• Website:  "Swain Galleries"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Jerry and 'violation by signs'

A 2009 primary campaign sign of Jerry's spotted yesterday.

Plainfielders got an earful when pranksters loaded up Assemblyman Jerry Green's curbside with campaign signs of the Democratic primary's victorious candidate for the Wards 2/3 nomination, Rebecca Williams, evidently on election night.

Jerry told everyone who would listen that he felt 'violated' (see my post here, the Assemblyman's post here, and Mark Spivey's article in the Courier here) and there were dark threats of pursuing the matter as 'criminal mischief'.

In fact, Jerry made so much noise about it that the Courier felt compelled to editorialize about it on June 11, declaring that the incident wasn't worth the 'outrage' (see here).

That sense of 'violation' came to mind when I caught sight of one of Jerry's 2009 primary campaign signs languishing (still) on a fence alongside a busily traveled Plainfield street, more than 13 months after it should have stopped 'violating' our visual space. Is it a prank? An oversight? Or is it 'criminal mischief'?

Whatever, I guess the public has a right to feel 'violated'.

Jerry complained he felt 'violated' when pranksters decked
his curbside with Primary winner Williams' signs.

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• Plainfield Today: "Jerry congratulates Rebecca?"
• Courier: "Plainfield campaign prank angers assemblyman"
• Jerry Green's Page: "Post-campaign thoughts"
• Editorial, Courier, 6/11/10:  "Campaign-sign flap not worth outrage"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Clock running out for Robinson-Briggs on CMFO appointment

The Mayor's third extension is running out

Time is running out for Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs to find and appoint a CMFO (certified municipal financial officer) for the city. Monday marks the expiration of the THIRD three-month extension Robinson-Briggs has been granted by the Department of Community Affairs. It also happens to be the night the Council will take up a resolution asking the state to intervene.

As Councilor Bill Reid remarked at last Monday's Council meeting, 'it will be a miracle' if the position is filled by the deadline.

Has the mayor asked for yet another extension? Will the state grant one?

Will Councilor Reid be successful in his self-assigned task of asking the mayor to sign on to the Council's resolution asking the state to appoint a temporary CMFO for the city?

Whatever the answer to these questions, the Council appears poised to continue its push to get someone on board as soon as possible.

Despite continual assurances that she 'is working on it [the appointment', there has only been one candidate advanced by Mayor Robinson-Briggs, James Mangin, treasurer and CFO of the borough of Oakland (see here), who had then been in his job for just a year, having come from Long Hill Township. That was on July 20, 2009, almost exactly one year ago (see story here). 

City Administrator Bibi Taylor pointed out that the Council had declined to confirm Mr. Mangin. Unspoken was the fact that Robinson-Briggs' commitment to the candidate must have been less than wholehearted since she did not push any further.

(The mayor has floated the suggestion that she offered the slot to Councilor Mapp, who holds the required state certification, but Mapp took pains at a Council meeting to state TWICE that no formal offer had been made by Robinson-Briggs though he and the mayor had had a conversation.)

The risk to the Mayor in not filling the slot is that if someone from the state steps in, the finances will come under a sharp -- and critical -- eye.

Many feel that would not be a bad thing.


NOTE: Per Olddoc's suggestion, I am embedding the silent movie clip --

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• Plainfield Today, 7/20/09: "Key appointees come with question marks" (Discussing the nominations of both a CMFO and Director of Administration and Finance -- who turned out to be Bibi Taylor)
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Proposed UEZ loan fund: Promises and pitfalls

A group from Plainfield investigated
successful Vineland UEZ programs in 2002.

The proposed revolving loan fund (RLF) for Plainfield's Urban Enterprise Zone is a good idea which should have been implemented a long time ago, but is fraught with pitfalls that could leave it nothing more than another trough for the politically juiced to slurp at.

Sensing that the state's Urban Enterprise Zone program may be facing its demise, the communities served by them, Plainfield included, are scrambling to make the best of a not-totally-friendly situation (see a recent story about Vineland's UEZ here).

In Plainfield's case, it means the Council endorsing two requests of the state: 1) $1,000,000 to capitalize a revolving loan fund for local businesses, and 2) $800,000 for 'phase 3' of the City's proposed cable surveillance system for the business district.

In January 2002, a group from Plainfield was sent to Vineland to get an overview of its Urban Enterprise Zone programs and report back to Mayor Al McWilliams and the City Council.

The group consisted of Councilors Malcolm R. Dunn, Adrian Mapp and Liz Urquhart; as well as Deputy City Administrator and Director of Economic Development Pat Ballard Fox, UEZ coordinator Jacques Howard, Wayne Awald from the ED office, and myself.

The daylong trip netted useful information on two of the Vineland UEZ's programs: its revolving loan fund and its medical enterprise zone initiative.

I was very impressed with both programs and wrote up a report for Mayor McWilliams on both aspects, strongly urging that Plainfield explore implementing them in some form here.

The revolving loan fund proposal never took root as there was not enough support on the Council at the time. The Medical Enterprise Zone made more progress: Plainfield petitioned the state to expand the UEZ to include the 'doctor's row' Park Avenue corridor (which was granted) and began conversations with Muhlenberg on the advantages of an MEZ.

Initially embraced warmly by Muhlenberg leaders as an opportunity to market the hospital more strongly among the medical and associated businesses community, the program eventually died of neglect when the new administration of Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs in 2006 declined to pursue the program or devote resources to it. Whether or not it could have saved the hospital may be debatable, but the Robinson-Briggs administration's decision not to pursue it certainly hastened Muhlenberg's demise.

THE RLF PROMISE

At the time of our 2002 visit, we were told that Vineland's RLF, under the leadership of ex-banker Jim Melli, had built up reserves of $50 million from its initial startup in the 1980s.

The loans were set up to draw on UEZ funds held by the state for the local programs, but the neat trick was that the repayment of the loans allowed monies to be transferred into the RLF which was controlled by the local board and which held the funds separately from the UEZ and the state.

The program benefited from three special circumstances --

• An independent, nonpolitical board of well-qualified stakeholders;
  
  
• Talented leadership by a local, well-seasoned banking professional with a local community lending background; and
  
  
• Strict, industry-standard underwriting practices and repayment monitoring for all loans.

With these as the three legs of a stool, the local program avoiding the traps of becoming captive to arm twisting by politically juiced pols and business people, and extending credit where there was not a high probability the loans would be repaid.

The program was a resounding success at the time and seems to have continued to be so, as witness its 2008 presentation to the Council of Finance Development Agencies (see here, PDF).

RLF PITFALLS

Melli was very firm with our visiting delegation that the key to the program's success was having a strong mission focused on business development, and an independent board committed to it, the sidetracking of all political intrusion and hanky-panky, and management by a qualified, dedicated, local banking professional to the highest possible standards (modesty did not prevent him from identifying himself).

So, for Plainfield, while the idea of establishing -- even belatedly -- a revolving loan fund is a good thing, the city has to face and deal with the pitfalls Melli identified.

Even if Plainfield is granted the $1 million seed money (which is a minimal amount to start with), it is fair to ask if Plainfield has anyone with the skill sets and experience needed to manage the program, and if the political establishment has the will to invest in a program whose real value and return may only be realized a decade or more down the road.

While it is possible we may actually harbor someone with the experience needed, there is not much evidence of that kind of planning or long-term commitment to such a project by pols who face re-election at far shorter intervals.

It is an enticing but worrisome project.

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• Vineland:  "Fund for Economic Development Presentation" (PDF)
• NJ Business Portal:  "About the UEZ program"
• Website:  "Vineland-Millville UEZ"
• Courier Post:  "Vineland wants $1.2M in UEZ funds for salaries"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Mayor Mean strikes again?

'Off with their heads', the Red Queen shouted.
(Illustration by John Tenniel, from Alice in Wonderland

Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs' presence hovers over City Council meetings even though she rarely attends any more. Last Monday was a perfect example.

Frustrated over key administrative vacancies -- the Director of Administration and Finance, and the Chief Financial Officer's position (which also plays a role in school district finances) -- the Council has been trying to get clarity about why the positions are taking so long to fill (the CFO slot has been officially vacant since December 2007), what efforts Mayor Robinson-Briggs is making, and is itself gathering momentum to ask for state intervention to appoint a CFO.

Besides the sparks generated by the fencing between several Council members and City Administrator Bibi Taylor and Corporation Counsel Dan Williamson about whether the Administration was out of compliance with both the city charter and its code over the extended vacancies, there were other, quiet surprises such as the revelation that no records could be found that the Director's position opening had ever been advertised.

Another revelation, highly embarrassing to Her Honor, is that administrative support in Bibi Taylor's multiple roles has been stripped away, leaving one administrative assistant whose time is split.

This is stunning considering that besides her official duties as City Administrator, Taylor is still acting as Director of Finance and Administration as well as fulfilling -- since she has the certification -- the duties of the CFO.

Taylor appeared discomforted by the close questioning pursued by Councilors McWilliams and Mapp, often looking down at the table as she formulated carefully phrased answers, and offered no explanation for the transfer of one of the administrative assistants from her yoked offices to the Clerk's office.

There is only one person other than the City Administrator whose writ runs to shifting personnel, and that is the Mayor.

I think it signifcant that in discussing the personnel moves, Taylor introduced the term 'involuntary transfer' -- signifying that the moves were made without the consent and perhaps over the objections of those who were moved.

That could signal that affected parties may turn to their unions for redress of any grievances.

And that, of course, leaves the door open to the possiblity of eventual resort to litigation, with the attendant danger that the Mayor's insistence on interfering in personnel matters may expose the taxpayers to financial liability.

Whether being simply willful or deliberately mean-spirited, the net effect of Mayor Robinson-Briggs' capriciousness is the same.

And we all pay for it, employees and taxpayers alike.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Rec Division strikes out on memorializing Joe Black

Joe Black and the 1961 Hubbard School baseball team.

Plainfield Rec Division supervisor Dave Wynn stepped up to the plate last night ... and struck out over the Division's failure to memorialize Plainfield native and baseball legend Joe Black.

Summoned to the Council table by President Annie McWilliams, Wynn had no convincing explanation for why his division had failed to implement a unanimous resolution adopted by the City Council in 2004 memorializing Black by naming the Rock Avenue baseball complex after him.

Corporation Counsel Dan Williamson averred that the resolution might be unenforceable and perhaps the Council would want to consider an ordinance instead. After a lengthy discussion by the Council, including some back and forth with Williamson, McWilliams said it was not a matter of whether the original resolution was enforceable, but WHY it had not been effectuated in the first place.

Councilor Mapp refreshed memories by offering some historical detail, recalling that Mr. Wynn had objected at the time, bringing forth former Rec director John Pepe, who contended the fields already were known by another name and suggesting the ball diamond at Hub-Stine Field as an alternative. Notwithstanding, the Council adopted the resolution regarding the Rock Avenue complex -- unanimously.

Barring any further explanation, the only conclusion to be drawn is that Wynn decided on his own initiative to ignore the Council's wishes.

After the discussion got under way, Wynn and DPWUD Director David Brown were joined at the table by Board of Ed president Lisa Logan-Leach, who said that the Board of Ed had discussed naming the Hub-Stine ball field after Black as long as ten years ago, and would be taking the matter up again at Tuesday's (today's) meeting.

Former Board of Ed members I spoke to do recall a discussion of naming the ballfield after Black, but say that no action was ever taken by the Board and, after the Council weighed in in 2004, believed the matter had been settled.

Joe Black, the Plainfield native and outstanding athlete, became the first black pitcher to win a World Series game (in 1952), and has been in the news recently (see here and here) with the issuance of a biography by his former Hubbard School student Steven Selzer, Meet the Real Joe Black: An Inspiring Life, with a foreword by Bill Cosby. (More information about the book and ordering a copy can be found here.)

Council President McWilliams left the resolution of the matter open, pending the discussion at this evening's Board of Ed meeting, but made it clear that the Council considers it had taken definitive action and wanted to see the matter resolved as soon as possible.

Black's nephew, Jason Greer, son of his sister Phyllis, was present after the discussion had taken place. Invited by Council President McWilliams to the table to say a few words to the Council, he spoke of how stressful it was on his mother to have the matter of recognizing her brother unresolved after all these years. 'The family just wants closure,' he said.

A perfectly reasonable request, by my lights.

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ASIDE: I ran into Dave Wynn after the Independence Day Parade and he said he felt my post (see here) questioning the reassignment of the New Dems from slot 28 to slot 48 was unfair to him.

He said he needed the ability to rearrange elements of the parade as conditions warranted, and that moving the New Dems from their assigned slot (28) to a new one further back (48 out of 52) was not politically motivated nor meant to be a slight.

If I were in Dave's position, I certainly would like to have the freedom to rearrange parade elements if needed, and can agree that he should have that ability.

However, it would certainly help avoid the suspicion that political motives are afoot if the LETTER ISSUED BY REC stated that any assignment of a slot was subject to review and changing before the parade starts. Hopefully, it will contain some such language in the future.

Further, I suggest that the signup form for the parade include the contact person's EMAIL ADDRESS, with a notice that the Rec Division will contact them via email with any changes and the reasons for making them.

If changes like this are made for future Independence Day parades, I would consider modifying the headline of this story to 'Rec Division: One ball, two strikes'.

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• Wikipedia:  "Joe Black, baseball legend"
• Courier:  "Plainfield's Joe Black, baseball Hall of Famer, gone but not forgotten"
  
• NJ Newsroom:  "Inspiring life of Plainfield's Joe Black chronicles a career in baseball and philanthropy"
• Book:  "Meet the Real Joe Black: An Inspiring Life"
• Plainfield Today:  "Dave Wynn playing politics with July 4 Parade?"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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UPDATE: New details emerge on weekend shootings

Sunday night shootings: Victim shot at John Street, other incidents nearby

As Plainfielders absorb the news of the resumption of the gang wars over the weekend, more details are emerging.

I am told that a female victim was shot near John Street and West 4th Street minutes before the cars were shot up at Elmwood Village.

Taken to the hospital, she is said to have initially lied about the location of the shooting.

The shooting and the gunplay at both Elmwood Gardens and Liberty Village appear to be a continuation of the gang war, I am told.

While both the Courier (see here) and the Ledger (see here) reported on the shootings involving Hispanic victims, neither has yet reported on these incidents.

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• Plainfield Today:  "Shootings erupt again in Plainfield over the weekend"
• Courier:  "Police investigate shootings leaving three wounded"
• Ledger:  "Three men shot in Plainfield Sunday"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Could mayor's anti-violence campaign draw a lesson from Newark?

As Plainfield tries to come to terms with its gang problems, it could be useful to check in on what one Newark leader, Yusef Ismail, and his organization are doing to deal with gunplay and gangs among its youth.

Here is a press release on an event Ismail is hosting today --

STOP SHOOTIN' INC. LAUNCHES SUMMER YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM

NEWARK, N.J. -- (www.stopshootininc.org) – Stop Shootin’ Inc. a non-profit organization dedicated to ending senseless gun violence in urban communities will launch its 2010 Summer Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP) during a “Breakfast Kick-off” on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm at the Stop Shootin’ Inc. headquarters, 458 Washington Street, Newark. The YEP program will commence by welcoming the new class into the program by sharing inspiring stories of success from both local business owners and YEP staff.

The Stop Shootin’ Young Entrepreneurs Program (YEP) is a community based summer program designed to provide young people with an opportunity to learn how to develop a business idea and possibly turn it into a successful business venture. The overall goal of the program is to inspire young people to view entrepreneurship as an option for success while helping them grow in personal development and become positive leaders in their communities.YEP will target in-school youth between the ages of 14-19 who live in underserved communities in Newark, NJ. During a six-week program, YEP will host up to 15 young people who will participate in the program and meet four times a week for 4 hours. The six-week teaching process will culminate in the participants’ creation of full business plans and delivery of 5-minute oral presentations to an executive judging panel during a one day business plan competition. Three cash prizes ($500, $300, $100) will be given to participants for the best business plans.

As a grassroots community organization focused on youth development, Stop Shootin’, Inc. recognized a need to provide the resources, tools, and positive experiences necessary to address the challenges faced by inner city youth. Stop Shootin’, Inc. Executive Director, Yusef Ismail states,

“Our program is not only a benefit to the participants, but to the community as a whole. I believe it is becoming crystal clear that the days of government and multi-national corporations providing jobs and taking care of our retirements are long gone. There is simply no better vehicle for job creation than fostering entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs create approximately three million jobs a year. As our community continues to work through this exceptionally trying recession, we can look back on our history and say with confidence that we will get through it - and when we do, entrepreneurs will be leading the charge.”

The Stop Shootin’ Youth Entrepreneurship Program was developed with the help of an innovation grant from the Prudential Foundation and a partnership with the Newark One Stop Career Center. For further information, please contact Yusef Ismail at 973-732-3280 or visit the Stop Shootin’ website at www.stopshootininc.org.

New, well-thought-out, consistent and long-range thinking is being brought to bear on a situation where public funding is no longer a viable expectation.

Might there be lessons for Plainfield here?

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Shootings erupt again in Plainfield over weekend

Gunfire erupted Saturday night in two of three trouble spots.

Mulling the cost to Plainfield taxpayers of having cops running patients to area hospitals the other day (see here), I was at least thankful that the spate of recent shootings had eased up.

Too soon, it appears.

Gunfire resumed Saturday night, with reports of shots fired in the Liberty Village neighborhood, and later in the night at Elmwood Gardens.

Though no persons were hit, I am told several cars were hit by bullets and shell casings were found in the area.

The area around the three housing projects which are managed by the Plainfield Housing Authority has been the site of a spate of recent shootings and one of 2010's three homicides.

Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs has launched an effort to stem the violence with teams of volunteers going through the neighborhoods on Tuesday evenings with leaflets asking residents to join in the anti-violence crusade by taking specific steps.

Harold Gibson, the former Plainfield  Councilor who heads up the Union County Sheriff's anti-gang effort, said in a letter in the Courier last Thursday (see here) that a recent editorial overlooked an important point --

...just who are the gangs and gang members? Some will not like my position on this matter. The facts are gangs and gang members are not some group of foreigners from out of state, country, or city. No strangers are coming into Plainfield shooting or robbing our citizens. No strangers are peddling drugs on our street corners. Gang members are our own children, nephews, nieces, brothers, and sisters who lie down in our homes at night and eat at our dinner tables.

If we want to look at some of the causes of gang activities, we should start by looking in the mirror. We should ask ourselves, "What do I know about the gangs and their members?" Many residents know who the culprits are but fear keeps them from coming forth with information...

Late Sunday night, there were more shootings, with reports that victims were hit.

There were two separate shooting incidents -- one in the 100-block of North Avenue (where there is a bar which has had incidents in the past) and another in the 300-block of West Front Street (where there is also a bar in front of which a double stabbing occurred in late June -- see Courier story here). Victims in both Sunday incidents are reported to be Hispanic males.

Is Plainfield becoming an equal-opportunity gunplay community?

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• Plainfield Today:  "Muhlenberg SED has hidden cost to Plainfield taxpayers, public safety"
• Courier:  "2 Plainfield men stabbed on West Front Street"
• Letter, Courier:  "Look close to home in search of gangs"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Aldi has an idea, but would it work at other stores?

Sign explains the benefits of Aldi's cart policy.

I notice more and more Plainfielders shopping at Aldi's, the German-based supermarket that also owns the popular Trader Joe's chain, presumably because of the prices (about half what you pay in regular supermarkets) and the quality (fine by me, but I'm not known as a food snob -- though I will say it's the ONLY local outlet I have found for TRUE Lebanon bologna, a Pennsylvania Dutch treat I learned to love when in college).

But there is something nice about Aldi's parking lot, too.

You will never come out of the store to find your car door dinged by a shopping cart set adrift by someone who didn't want to return it to its parking stall.

Why?

Because you 'pay' a quarter to use the cart. Actually, the quarter goes in a slot which unlocks it from the daisy-chained carts in the cart stall.

When you're done shopping and putting your groceries in the car, you hook the cart back up in the cart stall and your quarter is automatically released.

Doesn't sound like much, but you never ever see a stray cart in the Aldi's parking lot.

Are you reading this, Stop & Shop?

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Muhlenberg SED has hidden cost to Plainfield taxpayers, public safety

Sign on Watchung Avenue lawn during Muhlenberg closure process.

Here's a question Plainfield's City Council may want the answer to as they enter the FY2011 budget season: What is the cost to Plainfield taxpayers and community safety of police having to divert certain calls away from the Muhlenberg SED (Satellite Emergency Department)?

Chatting up a Plainfield police officer on an off-duty security assignment recently, I was surprised to learn that the Muhlenberg SED does not handle drunks, those high on drugs or psychiatric emergencies.

In the old days, Plainfield police would take drunks unable to navigate on their own and those under the influence of drugs to the Muhlenberg ER, where they were kept until safe to be on their own or a family member came to get them.

No more.

Now, Plainfield police officers must take alcohol- or drug-impaired folks to either Solaris' JFK Medical Center in Edison or to Overlook Hospital in Summit.

This can take an officer (or two) out of Plainfield FOR UP TO TWO HOURS PER INCIDENT. Also note that alcohol-related incidents are more frequent on weekend nights, when you might expect more officers to be needed on Plainfield's streets.

Add to that the EXTRA FUEL COSTS and you have an issue in the making. (Plainfield spent $414,000 on gasoline last year, according to the line in the temporary appropriations budget from the July 1st meeting.)

Psychiatric emergencies are even more time-consuming and expensive, as two officers respond to the incident and either call or wait for an ambulance (most often Atlantic Ambulance) to transport the person to Trinitas Medical Center in Elizabeth. One officer must ride along in the ambulance, meaning the other officer tags along to Elizabeth to bring the first officer back.

The ride to Elizabeth takes EVEN LONGER and USES MORE GAS than either of the other two runs, leaving Plainfield taxpayers on the hook for even more expenses and Plainfield itself with fewer cops on the street when needed.

With the recent wave of gang violence, Plainfield's police are already feeling stressed out and stretched thin. The Muhlenberg SED situation only compounds matters.

Plainfield's City Council might be amazed to find out just how many such calls are handled, how many hours police are diverted from their primary duty of protecting Plainfield's streets and neighborhoods, and the cost to the taxpayers for gas for all this extra schlepping around.

Which raises another point: Why hasn't Mayor Robinson-Briggs' and Assemblyman Green's Community Advisory Group jumped on this issue?

Instead of having the public lovefest as was done at Washington Community School back in the Spring, why not get down to specifics about what can be done to ameliorate this situation for the Plainfield taxpayers?

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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A second thought on pay-to-play: Close that loophole

I'm having second thoughts about one of the pay-to-play 'reforms' posted on Plainfield Today on Wednesday: Raising the contribution disclosure level from $300 (to $1,000 is suggested).

When ELEC's chairperson Jerry Fitzgerald English put forward his reform proposals in the agency's July newsletter (see here, PDF), I thought the proposals would go a long way to helping free New Jerseyans from the excesses of the corrupt pay-to-play atmosphere.

Now that it seems legislation may actually be put forward, by State Sen. Tom Goodwin (see story here), I am having second thoughts about the fourth of English's points, raising the disclosure.

English argues that because this is New Jersey, the limit is unrealistically low.

Upon reflection, it seems to me that this would be a major LOOPHOLE to any effective reform.

As things stand now, non-cash contributions up to $300 are exempted from the requirement that the donor's name, address and employer be reported.

The way many vendors get around the pay-to-play restriction is to have spouses, relatives, in-laws, employees and other make contributions to the $300 limit, meaning that the donor information will not have to be reported.

These contributions are often 'bundled' into one envelope presented to the candidate together, just so the candidate should understand exactly how much money has been generated by the vendor.

It's been a loophole all along.

Raising the limit to $1,000 would simply make it easier for it to continue to be an even more effective loophole, making it possible to raise larger sums without any reporting requirement.

A more gutsy 'reform', in my mind, would be to eliminate the exemption and simply require ALL contributions to be reported (as is the current situation with CASH DONATIONS, for whom the donor must be reported no matter how small the cash contribution).

Will somebody propose it?

Hey! This is New Jersey, what do you think?

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• Plainfield Today:  "Will Robinson-Briggs lose favorite pay-to-play trick?"
• PolitickerNJ:  "Goodwin running with ELEC ball"
• ELEC:  "ELEC-tronic: July 2010" (PDF)

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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UPDATE: Plainfield Primary Election turnouts, 2010 vs. 2006

Did a contested Wards 2/3 Dem primary drive up voter turnout?

A Plainfield Today reader complained about what they considered the low turnout in the 2010 Democratic Primary. That got me to comparing the Wards 2/3 turnout with those two wards' registration, which gave a turnout rate of 21% (see here) and which I posted about last month -- not shabby at all!

While digging through the archives for another matter the other day, I stumbled across my report of the 2006 Primary Election (see here) --

...[y]ou may be forgiven if you hardly knew there was a primary vote yesterday for the City Council's Ward 1 and Wards 2/3 at-large seats. Signs for Rayland Van Blake and Rashid Burney were not in evidence before mid-day Monday -- the day before the election. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans did any mailings. So, for the first time in living memory, the number of voters who turned out outnumbered the yard signs it seemed to me. But you will look in vain in the print editions of either the Ledger or the Courier for numbers. The Ledger only checks off the winners, and the Courier's print edition snubs Plainfield altogether (remember when it used to be the Plainfield Courier-News?). Oh yes, the numbers? Ward 1: Van Blake - 166, Johnson - 18; Wards 2/3: Burney - 496, Perun - 124."

In 2006, a grand total of 496 Democrats turned out to vote in the Wards 2/3 (uncontested) race -- LESS THAN A THIRD of the number turning out in 2010.

On the other hand, Councilor Reid in the 2010 Ward 1 race outpolled Rayland Van Blake's 2006 turnout by 80 votes, nearly half as many more.

At the same time, the Republican votes in both Wards 2/3 and Ward 1 remained relatively constant --

	TOTAL VOTES CAST
WARDS 2/3 GOP
2010 (Pivnichny)	127
2006 (Perun)	124
WARD 1 GOP
2010 (Alfred)	13
2006 (Johnson)	18
WARD 1 DEM
2010 (Reid)	246
2006 (Van Blake)	166

As I don't have the 2006 registration figures, it is not possible to compare the actual turnout PERCENTAGES.

But make no mistake, the 2010 turnout clearly exceeded the 2006 turnout, and I think that having a contested primary had a great deal to do with it.

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• Plainfield Stuff:  "Plainfield 2000 Primary Election results (Council)"
• Plainfield Today, 6/7/2006:  "An election? Who knew?"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Plainfield officer elected national president of Latino peace officers group

Edwin Maldonado, new national president
of the National Latino Peace Officers' Assocation.

Plainfield police officer Edwin Maldonado was elected national president of the National Latino Peace Officers' Association (LPOA) at its 37th national convention in Austin, Texas this past weekend (more here).

Maldonado, a popular cop known to everyone as 'Eddie', is a lifelong Plainfield resident and a twelve-year veteran of the Plainfield Police Division. He founded the New Jersey chapter of the LPOA in August 2003, and quickly became recognized as a leader in the field of of law enforcement, community policing and community service. New Jersey now boasts six chapters of the national organization (see here).

The organization's goals include promoting equality and professionalism in law enforcement, recruiting Latinos into law enforcement, bridging the gap between Latinos and law enforcement, and honoring family, education and community through service and mentoring.

Maldonado has been recognized for his service and leadership with three Meritorious Duty awards, five Excellent Duty awards, five Commendation awards, one Life Saving award and  numerous letters of commendation. He is a graduate of the Union County Police Academy and is certified in arson investigation, hostage negotiation, community policing, and as a personal protection specialist, in addition to being an instructor at the County police academy.

The LPOA is the largest Latino law enforcement organization in the United States, boasting 75 chapters or chapters-in-organization (see here), grouped in five regional associations. The organization includes chiefs of police, sheriffs, police officers, parole agents and federal officers employed at the local, county, state and federal levels.

Congratulations, Eddie!

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• NJLPOA:  "NJ Latino Peace Officers Ass'n"
• LPOA:  "US Chapters"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Will Robinson-Briggs lose favorite pay-to-play trick?

Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs has been hard at work for more than four years now trying to show her support for those who helped put her in office in the first place (Remington and Vernick comes to mind). But the favorite trick of Plainfield pols (and others) -- awarding highly lucrative contracts by the 'fair and open' process -- may be facing its demise.

In its July newsletter (see here, PDF), ELEC's chairperson Jerry Fitzgerald English argues that the 'fair and open' contract awards process should be dropped.

A huge loophole, 'fair and open' allows contracts to be awarded without public bidding to those firms on a list of vendors whose 'qualifications' have been solicited through advertising or on the municipal website, and which list has been adopted by the governing body. Although everything takes  place (theoretically) in public view, there is no public bidding.

The lists of 'qualified' vendors just happens to include major donors to the politicians, and it is all legal though it stinks to high heaven.

At least up until now.

ELEC chairperson English wants to see several changes made --

1. A SINGLE pay-to-play law covering state and local situations;
   
   
2. Eliminate the 'fair and open' contract-awarding loophole';
   
   
3. Lower the reporting threshold on contracts to $17.500 per year;
   
   
4. Raise the contribution disclosure level from $300 (to $1,000 is suggested).

All of these would help to further cripple New Jersey's notorious pay-to-play culture, of which the 'fair and open' abuse is a leading example.

Let's hope the Legislature sees it the way ELEC does.

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• ELEC:  "ELEC-tronic: July 2010" (PDF)
• DCA:  "Fair and Open Process FAQ" (PDF)

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Census 2010 may bring big changes to Plainfield

Dr. Ernest Reock's guide to redistricting in New Jersey.

Plainfield's 2010 Census is being handled much differently from that of 2000, as far as I can see, and that portends possible big changes coming.

Depending, of course, on what is happening elsewhere in New Jersey and whether or not Gov. Chris Christie will speedily 'promulgate' the Census findings when they are expected to be delivered to him in early February 2011.

Breaking the 50,000+1 barrier for Plainfield has consequences that have previously been noted (see here) --

...[g]etting a census figure of 50,001 residents would mean that Plainfield would get its CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) monies DIRECTLY from HUD. For decades, Plainfield has had to suffer the indignity of monies generated for the programs by virtue of its economic profile going to other Union County communities whose profiles would not generate the same level of revenues. All under the watchful eye of a committee said to be attentive to the desires of 65 King Street [the home of Union County Dem chairperson Charlotte DeFilippo]...

But there are other impacts -- the city's wards will have to be redrawn, the Legislative district may shift as well as the Congressional district.

PLAINFIELD WARDS

Plainfield's four wards were redrawn after the 2000 Census.

Based on the Supreme Court's 'one man, one vote' ruling (Reynolds v. Sims, 1964 -- see here), Plainfield four wards are supposed to represent approximately one fourth of its total residents in each. (Voting districts are an entirely separate matter; a district is determined by the numbers of voters who turn out on average, accounting for the disparity between high- and low-turnout areas in the city.)

As population distribution patterns in the city fluctuate, Ward lines are redrawn to maintain the relative equality. After the 2000 Census, Ward 2 was extended northward to George Street (from South Avenue) and Ward 3 was extended northward to include portions of West 4th Street (from West 7th Street). Both these adjustments reflected a growth in the total populations of Ward 1 and Ward 4.

My gut feeling is that that trend will show itself to have continued in the 2010 Census, and that may mean further changes to the boundaries of the four wards.

Those changes will be made by a Board of Ward Commissioners that will include the four members of the Union County Board of Elections (2 Dems and 2 Republicans) plus the municipal clerk (who has the tie-breaking vote).

I have the current Ward maps online --

• Ward 1 

• Ward 2 

• Ward 3 

• Ward 4

It is most likely the new ward alignments will be in effect for the 2012 election cycle.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS

The 22nd District includes towns in 3 counties.

Demographic changes may also affect the outlines of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts. Although Union County is not expected to have grown that much, growth spurts in other areas of the state can cause the average number of voters to be included in a legislative district to cause the boundaries of the 22nd District to shift (for more on our district, see here); for more on municipal population estimates statewide, see here).

This will be an interesting one to watch, also expected to first affect the 2012 election cycle.

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Our Congressional district is a textbook case of gerrymandering.

After the 2000 Census, Plainfield was added to the 6th Congressional District, whose representative is Frank Pallone.

The district is the very model of modern gerrymandering, Plainfield looking like the head on a very attenuated dragon.

New Jersey is widely expected to lose one of its 13 seats in Congress in this next go-round, meaning all of the Congressional district boundaries will have to be redrawn by the NJ Redistricting Commission (the responsible body -- see more here). This is sure to get interesting as incumbents try to jostle each other to keep their seats. As growth has shifted to central and southern sections of the state, boundaries of the districts in the urban north and east are likely to be shifted outwards.

For a detailed overview of the complete redistricting process, you can do no better than to download, read, mark and digest Dr. Ernest Reock's Redistricting New Jersey After The Census of 2010 (available here, PDF).

Whatever Plainfield's final count in Census 2010, there is certainly going to be plenty else to keep an eye on, which is likely to affect us in ways both large and small.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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