Plainfield Gardens Tour (corrected info)

The Shakespeare Garden, maintained by the Plainfield Garden Club
and open to the public year-round is in its full glory in June.

Attendees may purchase day-of tickets ($30/person) and start the self-guided tour at 1200 Denmark Road. Tickets may be bought in advance at Swain Galleries or Enchantments, 234 South Avenue, Fanwood.

Plainfield's historic Shakespeare Garden will be the final stop of a tour this Sunday that includes the grounds and gardens of seven Queen City residences. A free carillon concert follows at Grace Episcopal Church.

The Shakespeare Garden at Cedar Brook Park will be in prime viewing condition, and the site will be abuzz with activity -- including music supplied by musicians from the Plainfield Symphony and local artists painting and sketching the gardens from various perspectives.

The tour runs from Noon - 4:00 PM Sunday and benefits the Plainfield Symphony, New Jersey's oldest community orchestra.

Tickets for the tour may be purchased in advance for $25/person at Swain Galleries, Watchung Avenue at East 7th Street, or for $30/person the day of the tour. 

CARILLON CONCERT

Also on Sunday, at 4:00 PM, a free carillon concert will be presented for the community at Grace Episcopal Church, East 7th Street at Cleveland Avenue.

The 47-bell Pittis Carillon will be played by two internationally renowned carilloneurs. The program by Janet Tebbel (carilloneur at First United Methodist  Church and the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal, both in the Germantown section of Philadelphia) and Lisa Lonie (carilloneur at Princeton University and Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia) will include music from Carmen, as well as baroque music and a medley of tunes from Disney movies.

Grace Episcopal Church is at East 7th Street and Cleveland Avenue. Bring a lawn chair if you wish. Parking available on the street and in the public lot across 7th Street from the church. For more about the Pittis Carillon, one of only four in New Jersey, see the Grace Church website here.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Plainfield Gardens Tour, Carillon Concert Sunday

The Shakespeare Garden, maintained by the Plainfield Garden Club
and open to the public year-round is in its full glory in June.

Plainfield's historic Shakespeare Garden will be the centerpiece of a tour this Sunday that includes the grounds and gardens of seven Queen City residences. A free carillon concert follows at Grace Episcopal Church.

The Shakespeare Garden at Cedar Brook Park will be in prime viewing condition, and the site will be abuzz with activity -- including music supplied by musicians from the Plainfield Symphony and local artists painting and sketching the gardens from various perspectives.

The tour runs from Noon - 4:00 PM Sunday and benefits the Plainfield Symphony, New Jersey's oldest community orchestra.

Tickets for the tour may be purchased in advance for $25/person at Swain Galleries, Watchung Avenue at East 7th Street, or for $30/person the day of the tour. The tour steps off at the Shakespeare Garden, near the Randolph Road exit from Cedar Brook Park.

CARILLON CONCERT

Also on Sunday, at 4:00 PM, a free carillon concert will be presented for the community at Grace Episcopal Church, East 7th Street at Cleveland Avenue.

The 47-bell Pittis Carillon will be played by two internationally renowned carilloneurs. The program by Janet Tebbel (carilloneur at First United Methodist  Church and the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal, both in the Germantown section of Philadelphia) and Lisa Lonie (carilloneur at Princeton University and Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia) will include music from Carmen, as well as baroque music and a medley of tunes from Disney movies.

Grace Episcopal Church is at East 7th Street and Cleveland Avenue. Bring a lawn chair if you wish. Parking available on the street and in the public lot across 7th Street from the church. For more about the Pittis Carillon, one of only four in New Jersey, see the Grace Church website here.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Plainfield police make war on illegal dumping

Needi I say more?

The day after Plainfield's Primary Election was one for catching up on errands and chores that had been put off in the crush of campaigning. This turned out to be more of an adventure than I had thought.

After picking up some shirts from the launderers, I grabbed a quick lunch at the Burger King on Park Avenue, including a large diet Coke. Ate the sandwich and disposed of the bag and wrapper (in a trash barrel) at Cedarbrook Park. I then went to my gas station at East 2nd and Church (shout out to Hari and Binder!) and filled up. Then on to Bank of America.

Nearly done with my soda, I looked for some place to dispose of the cup and pulled into the little strip mall (famous for the Ben Franklin Liquor Store) next to The Monarch/Senior Center. The four unsightly dumpsters that used to be out in the front of the parking lot were moved to the back corner after complaints from condo owners at The Monarch.

I pulled back to the area of the dumpsters and finished my soda, but noticed that they appeared to be chained shut. Figuring I would dispose of the cup elsewhere later, I left. Just as I approached the County Office Building on West 2nd Street, I was pulled over by an unmarked police car.

Hmmm. I wasn't speeding. The officer, well-known as one of Sharon's favorites, was crisply polite. Driver's license. Registration and insurance. He goes back to his car. Pretty soon another officer arrives. He walks up to the side window and says, 'Oh, I recognize you, you used to work for the city.' He returns to his car and shortly leaves.

After a few minutes the officer returns with my documents and tells me the stop was because residents of The Monarch have been complaining about illegal dumping in the area of the dumpsters. Since I had never gotten out of the car, I was left to assume he had read my mind and knew I was thinking of putting the soda cup in the dumpster. A little creepy.

If you've been following the city website's press releases, you know that Plainfield's violent crime has dropped DRAMATICALLY since Mayor Mapp took office in January (see the press release dated May 22 on the media page here).

Hopefully this means more time can be spent on annoying issues like illegal dumping.

After illegal dumping  near The Monarch is under control, perhaps we can get after the dumpsters behind The Horizons at Plainfield and behind the stores on East Front Street.

And then there's Cottage Place, site of the agency's promotional anti-dumping video, but where illegal dumping continues apace despite the PMUA's camera surveillance of the area.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Plainfield Dem Primary a proxy for things to come?

Who is this guy? And what does he have to do with Plainfield, anyway?

 
Was Tuesday's Plainfield Democratic Primary a proxy for things to come?

Consider the results --

Ward	Candidate	Tally	Percent
1	Emmett SWAN	199	25.75
	Diane TOLIVER	491	62.50
	Siddeeq EL-AMIN	83	10.75
2/3	Rebecca WILLIAMS	1082	53
	Charles EKE	948	47
3	Charles McRAE	507	46
	Gloria TAYLOR	560	51
	Rasheed ABDUL-HAWW	31	3

The first thing to note is that Assemblyman Jerry Green was powerless to stop incumbent New Democrat Rebecca Williams, despite his refusal to give her the line, his continuous smears throughout the campaign (including the so-called 'Sweeney letter'), and his dissing her in interviews with the media (for detailed coverage of the Plainfield contest, see various articles on PoliticerNJ here).

Secondly, though Green spent a fortune on mailers, flyers, cable TV spots, robocalls and street workers, his candidate Gloria Taylor only won by a whisker over New Democrat Charles McRae in the contest to fill Mayor Adrian Mapp's unexpired Ward 3 Council seat -- especially if the votes for longtime activist Rasheed Abdul-Haqq are taken into account.

The surprise is the strong showing by newcomer Emmett Swan, who vied with Green's handpicked candidate Diane Toliver to replace retiring Councilor Bill Reid. Swan garnered 25% of the vote, not shabby at all since Green has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to sandbag the Ward after his humiliating defeat in Ward 1 at the hands of the New Democrats in 2002's primary.

WAR BY PROXY IN PLAINFIELD?

While many recipients were shocked by the so-called 'Sweeney letter' mailing piece in which the Senate President attacked and smeared Rebecca Williams, it was only the latest evidence of a longstanding and deepseated connection between Jerry Green and South Jersey political boss George Norcross.

Sweeney, a Norcross front man, has ambitions to run for governor in the next race. This mailer is only the latest in a string of connections -- of which perhaps the most dramatic was the 'wheeling' by the Norcross machine (at that time by Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts) of $36,000 at the last minute to help elect Sharon Robinson-Briggs mayor back in 2005.

Meanwhile, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop is also making moves to position himself for next governor's race. And it is no secret that Mayor Adrian Mapp has close ties with the dynamic and progressive new mayor, whose city is one of the economic bright spots in an otherwise bleak landscape presided over by a wounded Chris Christie.

Jerry Green must run for re-election next year. Though, at 75, others might be thinking of retirement, one has to recall Charlotte DeFilippo's apt characterization of Green as 'like a firehouse dog that must get up and run every time the bell rings'.

I don't think Green will ever think of stepping down.

So, the next question is whether he wll face a challenger next year in the bullpen warmup for the governor's race.

Meanwhile, Jerry Green was so focused on the Plainfield contest, he dropped the ball elsewhere in his Union County domain (where an anti-machine Democrat captured the Linden mayoral Democratic primry). This may make him vulnerable as Union County Dem chair when that re-election takes place -- also next year.

A victory for Green in Plainfield yesterday?

Yes, but Pyrrhic.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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VOTE. As if your life depended on it.

Rebecca, Charles and Emmett as they appear on your ballot.
In Ward 3, vote for BOITH Reb and Charles!
Click image to enlarge or print.

Plainfield polling places are open for today's Primary Election from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM.

VOTE. As if your life depended on it. It does.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Guest Post: Jerry Green and ‘His” Democrats Have Ruined Plainfield Long Enough!!

The following is an OpEd piece submitted by longtime Plainfield resident Tom Kaercher to the Courier News and the Star-Ledger today. I am putting it up as a guest post as the newspapers may not publish it in time. -- Dan

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Jerry Green and ‘His” Democrats Have Ruined Plainfield Long Enough!!
 

 For 20+ years Jerry Green, Plainfield Democratic City Committee Chairman, has personally chosen Plainfield’s elected officials with very few exceptions.  In Plainfield, registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans 9 to 1, making the June Democratic Primary the de facto election for city-wide offices. The general election in November is a mere formality.  At this year’s Democratic City Committee meeting, Jerry completely subverted the electoral process by just announcing “his” candidates for City Council and never even holding a vote.  Jerry’s Democrats always get the official Democratic Party line in the primary, which is a huge advantage. Even in 2005, when Jerry lost control of the Democratic City Committee and thereby the democratic line in the primary for the duly elected democratic candidates, he conspired with the Union County Democratic Party leadership to “steal” the democratic line in the primary for his chosen candidates and moved the duly elected candidates to an outside line on the ballot.

 

Jerry chooses ‘his’ Democrats, not based on their expertise or competence, but to carry out ‘his’ agenda. Unfortunately for Plainfield residents, Jerry’s priority always seems to be to spend the City’s resources to help his friends and political allies.  The needs of the citizens of Plainfield seem to always come in a distant second. Plainfield’s city budget is $74.6 million dollars, which gives Jerry’s democrats plenty of money to shower on Jerry’s friends and allies. If any of “his” democrats break with his agenda, Jerry gets rid of them by throwing them off the Democratic line in their next primary election.

The simple fact is, Jerry Green has run Plainfield for over 20 years. Plainfield’s corruption, dysfunction, waste and abuse are Jerry Green’s political legacy.  By any objective measure comparing Plainfield to the surrounding communities, Jerry has failed the citizens of Plainfield.  In the nearly 27 years I have lived in Plainfield, my taxes have gone up 500%, while my property is worth about what I paid for it in 1987.

Last year Jerry made a deal to become Union County Democratic Chairman in return for giving Adrian Mapp the democratic line as mayor in the Plainfield Democratic primary. Mr. Mapp ran on a platform of bringing experienced professional ethical leadership to city government in order to boost economic development, increase the tax base, and reduce taxes on all citizens. He was elected with 70% of the popular vote. In the five months since Mr. Mapp took office, Jerry has had “his” democrats on city council block the mayor’s progressive agenda even to the point of almost losing federal funding for rent-support of 96 low income families because Jerry wasn’t “included” on the sale of the Liberty Village housing complex.  It is deplorable that one man puts his own interests above the needs of the people.

On June 3^rd, Plainfield residents have the opportunity to break Jerry Green’s personal stranglehold on Plainfield by voting against “his” democrats on Line A on the ballot and voting for the NEW Democrats (Williams, Swan, McRae) on Line E on the ballot. The choice is clear: continuing the corruption, dysfunction, waste, and abuse by Jerry Green and “his” democrats or moving Plainfield forward to benefit all citizens. It’s time to say ‘NO” to Jerry Green and “his” democrats!

Sincerely, 

Tom Kaercher

Plainfield, NJ       

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Could Jerry Green face federal charges in job-for-affidavit allegation?

Assemblyman Jerry Green is chair of the Plainfield and Union County
Democratic Committees as well as Speaker Pro Tempore
of the New Jersey Assembly.

David Rutherford made a startling allegation in a blog post on The Plainfield View yesterday (see post here).

In recapping the history of the Jerry Green 'motherf***er' video (see video here), Rutherford says that Rickey Williams -- shown in an altercation with Green in the video clip -- was present when Rutherford originally uploaded the clip's from the camera of the person who took them.

Not only that, David says Rickey Williams asked him to edit out footage showing Williams as he is a state employee. (The clips as now posted are unedited and clearly include Rickey Williams and Assemblyman Green arguing.)

More interestingly, David says that Williams held out for a state fire inspector's job as a condition of swearing the affidavit now at the heart of the video cease-and-desist wrangle.

CEASE-AND-DESIST

Jerry Green's attorney enclosed Rickey Williams' affidavit alleging the video had been edited or dubbed with a cease-and-desist letter hand-delivered to blogger (and Council candidate) Rebecca Williams address on May 29. David received a copy of the same letter on May 30, which he scanned and posted on his blog here. Further, a copy of the cease-and-desist letter was mailed to the New Democrats treasurer and received on Saturday.

That Jerry Green is trying to stamp out the video is quite clear.

Did Rickey Williams and Jerry Green engage in a quid-pro-quo exchange of a job for a suborned sworn affidavit?

That is the gist of David's report of events.

Rickey Williams retired in 2009 after more than 25 years as a Plainfield firefighter and collects a $51,999 annual pension, according to data published by the Asbury Park Press (see here). The same source shows him as a state employee in the Special Services (Unit Q) of the Department of Community Affairs (see here), where he is listed as an hourly employee at $26/hour.

Coincidentally, the Department of Community Affairs is under the oversight of the legislative committee which Jerry Green chairs. Interesting coincidence.

If Rickey Williams was made a state fire inspector as David says, it would appear to be since the January data captured by the APP. That would jibe with David's story that a job was part of the deal for Rickey Williams to swear that the original video was tampered with.

THE SATURDAY MAILER

All this huffing and puffing about the video comes into focus when we look at the mailer, paid for by Jerry Green's campaign committee, that landed in voters' mailboxes Saturday, May 31.

In this piece, Jerry Green asserts that the video was 'doctored' by Council incumbent (and candidate) Rebecca Williams to smear him. The allegation against Rebecca co-stars with another Green makes against Mayor Adrian Mapp over Mapp's recent video putting forward his vision for Plainfield (see here, where the video has picked up 500 views since last Thursday).

Tellingly, Jerry Green says in the mailer that 'the Plainfield City Council has voted to investigate' the Mayor's video.

This is where it gets interesting. Follow me for a moment.

In order for the mailer to be delivered on Saturday, it would have had to be MAILED on Thursday. Which means the printing would most likely had to have been done by TUESDAY, MAY 27, in order to allow time for the ink to dry and set before it could be addressed by the mailing house. Which means that the design and layout -- including all these assertions by Green -- would have had to been finished BEFORE even Tuesday.

So, a man who claims he never said 'I run this motherf***er' has to be able to know in advance that Council President Bridget Rivers was going to call a special Council meeting for Thursday, May 29 -- which the public only learned of at the special Council meeting on Tuesday, May 27.

And not only know that a meeting was to be called -- but know in advance the outcome of the vote to be taken at that meeting. And that Councilors Gloria Taylor (a Green candidate), Bill Reid (treasurer for Green's council candidates committees), and Vera Greaves could be counted on to line up with Council President Bridget Rivers to do the deed.

Nice hat trick for Green, huh?

A FEDERAL CASE?

So, did Jerry Green suborn a perjured affidavit from Rickey Williams?

Did Rickey Williams extort a state job from Jerry Green in exchange for a perjured affidavit?

Did Council President Bridget Rivers conspire with Assemblyman Green to rig a special Council meeting and vote to give Green cover for a campaign mailer?

Did Green's council candidate Gloria Taylor take part in planning these 'dirty politics' (to use her phrase)?

These are the kinds of questions a prosecutor might ask.

But is it a federal offense? If, as David says, emails can be found that discuss a job-for-affidavit deal, the answer could be yes.

The late Donna Vose, who wore a wire for the FBI during the years that Mark Fury was mayor and she was on the City Counil, always told me that Jerry Green was terrified that people with whom he dealt might be 'wired'.

Could the canny politician be undone not by a tape recording, but by an email?

We will have to watch and see.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Never Forget: Tuesday is a referendum on Jerry Green

Brought to you by Jerry Green. His team's sign in front of
a vacant house.

Tuesday's Plainfield Democratic Primary is a referendum on Jerry Green's role in Plainfield's future. Having his candidates -- Diane Toliver, Charles Eke, Gloria Taylor -- positioned to win in November would give Green absolute control of the Council and the ability to stymie the voters' expressed desire to get Plainfield moving forward. He would then 'run this motherf***er' as he says in his now-famous video (see here.)

It is important not to be distracted by the blitz of misleading mailers (New Dems as Tea Party? Gimme a break!) Jerry Green has been stuffing our mailboxes with in the past few days. (Dottie Gutenkauf think's he's out of control and driven by fear -- see her post here.)

A friend has kept every slimy and misleading Jerry Green mailer and flyer for years in a folder she calls her 'Never Forget' folder. This year's pieces have already been added in.

But the real thing we must never forget is what is at stake in this election.

• Jerry Green has connived with JFK to advance a plan for 660 apartments on the Muhlenberg Hospital site. Toliver, Eke and Taylor will smooth the way for Jerry and JFK if they win on Tuesday.
  
  
• Then there is the PMUA. Jerry Green wants to keep his pals Malcolm Dunn, Cecil Sanders and Charles Eke on the PMUA board -- even as they give  $1 million payout to former executives, causing layoffs and furloughs to the workers and rate hikes to residents. Toliver, Eke and Taylor will continue the PMUA mess if they win on Tuesday.
  
  
• Lastly, if Jerry Green continues to throttle development by insisting 'nobody does business in Plainfield without leaving something on the table', homeowners' property taxes will spiral out of control. With Plainfield's ratables shrinking every year, the only possible relief for property owners is by attracting new businesses with new jobs to the Queen City. But investors are gun shy of Jerry Green. If Toliver, Eke and Taylor win on Tuesday, the future for taxpayers will be bleak.

This past November, Plainfield voters opted to support Adrian Mapp's vision for moving the city forward -- by over 70% of the vote.

Yet Jerry Green has made up with former Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, whom he unceremoniously dumped last year. Her 'resuscitation' (as Rebecca refers to it) signifies Jerry wants to turn back the clock and bring back the days of dysfunction, waste and abuse that were Robinson-Briggs' hallmarks.

If Toliver, Eke and Taylor win on Tuesday, it will be easier for Jerry Green to do just that.

But you can do something about it. You can use your ballot as you did last November to give Plainfield a chance to move ahead.

On Tuesday, VOTE COLUMN E at your polling place -- Rebecca Williams for Wards 2/3 at-large, Emmett Swan for Ward 1 and Charles McRae for Ward 3.

For Plainfield's future.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Jerry Green: The 'motherf***er' video

Jerry disputes he said 'I run this motherf***ker'.

 
Friday evening, David Rutherford showed me the 'cease-and-desist' letter he received from Jerry Green's attorney. It appears to be exactly the same as the letter sent to Councilor Rebecca Williams.

Why all the bullying? What does Jerry have to fear from folks seeing and hearing what he said during a dust-up with Ricky Williams outside Barlow School on Election Day 2013?

David's two brief clips (49 seconds) are below. The language in dispute is in the second clip. You be the judge --

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Jerry's 'M-F' video; Council defames itself; Rivers disrespects flag

Assemblyman Jerry Green puts up his dukes during the 'Motherf**cker' scuffle
on 2013 Election Day (from video by David Rutherford).

 
As we head into the weekend before Plainfield's Democratic primary, some sensational developments: Jerry bullies Rebecca over his 'motherf**cker' video; City Council defames itself; and Council President Rivers disrespects the flag.

JERRY BULLIES REBECCA

As you can read on Rebecca's Council blog (see here) and in today's Courier (see here), Assemblyman Jerry Green is trying to bully Councilor Williams regarding Green's intemperate 'motherf**cker' comments caught on camera last November and posted by Plainfield blogger David Rutherford at the time. (David has reposted the original clips today, see here.)

The comments occurred during a scuffle between former Plainfield firefighter Ricky Williams and Assemblyman Green outside a polling station last November 5 (as shown by the time stamps on Rutherford's clips).

Williams is alleging the video does not accurately represent the exchange that took place between them, and suggests it may have been 'dubbed' or edited in some other way.

See for yourself. I am posting David's two very brief clips below (total time is 49 seconds). The language in dispute is in the second clip --

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COUNCIL DEFAMES ITSELF

As expected, a resolution 'disapproving' of Mayor Mapp's video was passed 4-1 at last night's special meeting. (For: Greaves, Reid, Rivers, Taylor; Against: Williams; Absent: Brown, Storch.)

The resolution passed after fourteen residents spoke on the measure -- most against it.

Those suggesting a wiser course of action for the Council pointed to President Obama's own use of the media to lambast recalcitrant Congressional Republicans and the NJ Legislature's Democratic majority website, where plenty of videos can be found calling out their legislative opponents.

Council President Bridget Rivers failed to uphold her usual high standard requiring comments be pertinent to the business at hand -- for instance she allowed former mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs' rant on a 'boatload of Hispanic voters' and Mr. Muhammad's saying he's 'tired of hearing about what Jerry Green is doing'.

The Council's action has made it an object of derision and the dignity of the body has been defamed -- of its own volition.

RIVERS DISRESPECTS FLAG

What was unusual at last night's Council meeting was the manner in which Council President Bridget Rivers had the room set up.

Instead of those coming before the Council being seated at the end of the table opposite those presiding over the meeting, speakers were instructed to sit in the end chair of the table, next to Councilor Taylor.

Then I noticed that the flags -- the U.S. flag and the city's flag -- had been placed against the wall behind Councilor Taylor and framing her. The New Jersey flag was nowhere to be seen.

This was a blatant disrespect of flag protocol. The U.S. flag is not a decoration to be used to frame a shot for a sitting member who happens to be in a campaign.

The proper protocol is for the flags of the U.S. and the state to be displayed behind the rostrum, dais or speaker's table of the presiding officer(s) of the meeting. The flags should have been properly displayed behind Council President Rivers and Chairman Reid.

I was reminded of the Moscow show trials of the 1930s, staged by Stalin to eliminate dissent among the Soviet leadership. But of course, that was a tragedy. This was a farce.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Council snit turns Mapp video into hit

Mayor Adrian Mapp addressed the residents of Plainfield
on his agenda for the City.

 
In a sign it may have shot itself in the foot, the Plainfield City Council's snit over Mayor Mapp's PCTV video advocating his agenda for the city has turned the video into a hit.

The YouTube version of the video has picked up almost 200 views since I posted it to Plainfield Today yesterday, about half again the numbers of views before that point. (It is also broadcast on Plainfield's public access TV station, for which no viewership figures are available.)

Council President Bridget Rivers has called a special meeting for 8:00 PM this evening in the City Hall Library. The only item of business will be a discussion of the video and a proposed resolution disapproving of the video and referring it to the NJ Local Government Ethics Board.

What is all the fuss about? Check out the video and offer your thoughts.

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Who's backing who? A guide to Plainfield's Dem Primary

Winning Plainfield's Democratic primary is
tantamount to election.

The list of who's backing who in the June Democratic primary shows a tectonic shift in alignments in the Queen City's political sphere.

In Plainfield, with its heavy preponderance of Democratic voters (about 10-to-1 over Republicans), the outcome of a contested June Democratic primary virtually signifies who will take office next January 1.

This year, three Council seats are up: the First Ward and the Wards 2/3 at-large seats are up on their regular rota. In Ward 3, the contest is to fill the seat of former Councilor (now Mayor) Adrian Mapp for the balance of his unexpired term.

Assemblyman Jerry Green, chair of both the Plainfield and the Union County Democratic Committees has fielded a hand-picked team -- which he imposed on the Plainfield City Committee without consultation or a vote.

JERRY GREEN'S SLATE

• Charles Eke for Wards 2/3 at-large. Eke is currently a commissioner of the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority (PMUA).
  
  
• Diane Toliver for Ward 1. Toliver is the wife of former PMUA commissioner Alex Toliver who helped engineer the $1 million payout to two former PMUA executives.
  
  
• Gloria Taylor for Ward 3. Taylor, a retired school administrator, moved to Plainfield from elsewhere a number of years ago. She has been vocal against what she refers to as 'carpetbaggers' in Plainfield.

THE NEW DEMOCRATS

For more than a decade, Democrats concerned for Plainfield's future have rallied behind the banner of 'New Democrats for Plainfield', fielding candidates for council and mayor in an effort to move the city forward. This year's slate --

• Rebecca Williams for Ward 2/3 at-large. The fiery incumbent, Williams was passed over by Jerry Green, no doubt because she refuses to kow-tow to the man known as the 'King' of Plainfield politics. Rebecca has been an energetic voice for ethical leadership.
  
  
• Emmett Swan for Ward 1. Swan's eyes were opened to Plainfield realities when he bought a condo in the Monarch, former Mayor Robinson-Briggs' debacle on East Front Street. He soon realized that the incumbent had done little to actually address the needs of First Ward residents, especially regarding public safety and the development of the East 2nd Street business district.
  
  
• Charles McRae for Ward 3. A long-time Plainfield resident, McRae has been active in school and neighborhood groups, serving in the Cedarbook School PTO and in the Cedar Brook Block Association, where he recently served as president. Charles also is a long-time member of the council-appointed Citizens Budget Advisory Committee, which reviews the annual budget and gives citizen input.

SIDDEEQ EL-AMIN

Retired Plainfield police captain Siddeeq El-Amin is also running as a Democrat for the First Ward seat. El-Amin is a longtime resident who has served as president of the board of Neighborhood Health Services, formerly known at the Plainfield Health Center.

WHO'S BACKING WHO

The earth moved when several well-known Plainfield figures announced their support of the New Democrats slate.

• Lillian Jamar, doyenne of First Ward Democrats and a resident since 1956, came to the Council table recently to declare her support for the Mapp administration and appears in campaign literature endorsing Emmett Swan for the First Ward seat.
  
  
• Retired City Clerk Laddie Wyatt, also a longtime First Ward resident, is endorsing Emmett Swan for Council in a letter being mailed to ward residents.
  
  
• Dottie Gutenkauf -- who, with her late husband Joe, is considered by many the brains behind the Regular Democratic Organization -- has come out with a blog post (see here) in which she backs New Democrats Rebecca Williams and Charles McRae (she votes in Ward 3).
  
  
• Dr. Harold Yood, retired Plainfield physician and watchdog known to all as 'Olddoc' also has posted his endorsements in the Democratic primary race (see here). He backs Rebecca Williams (he votes in Ward 2) and endorses Charles McRae for Ward 3 and Siddeeq El-Amin for Ward 1. A number of years ago Dr. Yood, a lifelong Republican, changed his registration to Democrat in order to have some say in Plainfield's local elections.

Endorsing Jerry Green's team are, besides Assemblyman Green himself, former Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs and Minister Mustapha Muhammad.


Full disclosure: In case there is anyone in Plainfield who still doesn't know, I am among the founders of the New Democrats club and am serving as campaign coordinator in this year's primary contest. -- Dan.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Council passes budget, moves to refer Mapp video to state ethics board

Title frame from Mayor Mapp's video.

 
The 2014 Plainfield municipal budget was only a co-star at Tuesday's special Council meeting. It could even be argued that the budget was upstaged by  several councilors' reactions to a video by Mayor Adrian Mapp about the need for progress in the city.

Several residents spoke during the public hearing, most to protest the Council majority's cuts to the budget -- specifically the elimination of funding for the Mayor's chief of staff and the public information officer. Only former mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs and Jerry Green council candidate Charles Eke spoke in favor of the amended budget.

Councilor Storch addressed his colleagues before the vote was taken, saying that he was voting for the budget, but 'with a lot of reluctance'. He complained that as part of the Finance Committee (chaired by Councilor Reid, with Council Taylor as the third member), when they met to discuss amending the budget, 'everything seemed pre-determined'. It should be noted that Councilor Taylor took no part in the Council's public budget deliberations. Storch's comments jibe with rumors I have heard that several Councilors conducted a secret (illegal?) meeting to draw up the budget amendments.

All of this though was overshadowed by disapproval of a video by Mayor Mapp arguing Plainfield's need for a progressive agenda that appeared on PCTV, Plainfield's public access TV channel and was posted to YouTube.

Clucking like some sort of big bird, Councilor Taylor took several minutes to express her shock and dismay at such a turn of events -- all the while mugging for the PCTV cameras which were rolling to record the Council meeting. It was a performance to rival Claude Rain's famous 'I'm shocked, shocked' scene from the movie Casablanca.

Council President Bridget Rivers was so shocked she has called a special Council meeting for this Thursday to discuss the video, pass a resolution of disapproval and refer the video to the NJ Local Government Ethics Board.

That meeting will be held at 8:00 PM, May 29, in City Hall Library.

Was Mayor Mapp right to use the bully pulpit of his office to lobby for his position? You be the judge. Here's the video --

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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