PLAINFIELD TODAY

Friday, November 9, 2018

Despite Armady's overwhelming victory, Chairman Mapp has great cause for concern

Citywide at-large candidates Elton Armady (l) and Ron
Johnson (r) at the LWV Candidate Forum.
Though Armady trounced Johnson, Chairman Mapp
has great cause for concern.

Far from being the raging prairie fire his supporters hoped for, the campaign of Independent Ron Johnson against the Democratic Party choice of Elton Armady for the citywide at-large seat reminded me more of a man going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. (Excuse the mixed metaphors, please.)

Chairman Adrian O. Mapp may be justly satisfied at the outcome: Armady scored 7,788 votes to Johnson's 1,829 or 81% to 19%. But at the same time he should be greatly concerned.

As for Armady's victory, much of the credit goes to Donald Trump, the invisible face behind every ballot choice. As many have observed, New Jerseyans vented their frustration and anger at the President in the voting booth on election day.

Anyone not on that train got run over or left behind, which was Johnson's fate, though not at all his fault.

In this year of all years, being so locally focused as Johnson's campaign was doomed it from the moment it became clear to all that sending Trump a message was going to be on everybody's mind.

Hence the enhanced evidence of straight-ticket voting.

This does not mean at all that Armady outdid Johnson in campaigning.

The New Democrats -- with Rebecca Williams, Carol Bicket, Roni Taylor, Rick Smiley, and Frank and Liz Daversa in the lead -- long ago set a very high bar for door-knock canvassing, which any future candidate will have to struggle to even meet, let alone surpass.

Johnson failed to take a single one of Plainfield's 34 voting districts. In fact, he only broke the 100-bar in four districts -- all in the 2nd Ward: 2-6, 2-8, 2-9, and 2-10.

Let's take a closer look at the 2nd Ward (I will explain why later) --

Ward 2 Results - Citywide At-Large Seat
District	Total	Armady	%	Johnson	%
1	234	207	88%	27	12%
2	239	162	68%	77	32%
3	278	194	70%	84	30%
4	246	210	85%	36	15%
5	262	168	64%	94	36%
6	308	165	54%	143	46%
7	315	256	81%	59	19%
8	249	130	52%	119	48%
9	315	171	54%	144	46%
10	239	139	58%	100	42%
11	379	323	85%	56	15%
TOTAL	3,064	2,125	69%	939	31%

You will note even in his best district percentage-wise (48% in 2-8), Johnson did not break the 50% threshold; and his highest absolute number (143 in 2-6) only equaled 46% of that district's total.

Why go into such detail over the 2nd Ward?

Because it is an open secret that the 2nd Ward Democrats who have been alienated by Chairman Mapp were using Johnson's candidacy to test the waters for a potential run by one of their number (Sean McKenna) for the 2nd Ward seat currently held by Councilor Cory Storch, which is up in 2019.

Chairman Mapp has said that the 2nd Ward seat designation is Storch's once again "if he wants it."

But it should also be noted that Storch will have reached 16 years of service on the Council at the end of his current term -- the same number which turned out to be Liz Urquhart's undoing when the New Dems ran Rayland Van Blake against her, unseating the venerable councilwoman.

Notice should also be taken that Johnson's campaign team leadership included Jim Spear, Sean McKenna and Mary Burgwinkle.

As a matter of fact, Spear was Chairman Mapp's campaign manager in his successful 2017 mayoral run. Mary Burgwinkle has been the Plainfield Democratic City Committee (PDCC) treasurer ever since Mapp became chair of the PDCC. McKenna was appointed by Mapp to the Planning Board.

Their split with Chairman Mapp began this past Spring with the tussle over who should be Union County Dem chairperson after the late Assemblyman Jerry Green resigned: Sen. Nick Scutari or Fanwood Mayor Colleen Mahr.

Chairman Mapp thought to deliver the PDCC's 68 votes en bloc to Scutari. However, Burgwinkle, McKenna and others (though not Spear at the time) sided with Mahr.

In the throwdown, nearly one third of the PDCC voted for Mahr.

Could it have been otherwise?

I honestly think Mapp could have minimized the votes for Mahr if he had met with his PDCC Executive Committee and explained why a unified vote was important. But he did not. (Consensus-building, which admittedly is a tough slog, is not one of his strong suits.)

The wedge only widened when it became public that Mayor Mapp, on his own initiative, had amended the petition that City Council had forwarded to the Legislature concerning changes to Plainfield's special charter.

This move -- acknowledged publicly by the Mayor at a Council session and in a Courier interview -- was extra-legal. (The executive has no statutory authority to alter acts of the legislative body -- which the petition was -- even though the Council failed to protest this assault on its constitutional prerogatives.)

That is some of the history that has led us to this moment.

What needs to concern Chairman Mapp is the electoral scene in 2019.

Will McKenna run?

Will he and his supporters learn the necessary lessons from this 2018 "dry run" well enough to propel a 2019 McKenna candidacy to success?

What will Mapp do to either heal the breach or counter the threat?

How will Plainfield's Democratic Party fare amidst these swirling currents?

These are all important questions, and I will take them up in subsequent posts.

In the meantime, take a moment to catch your breath after the historic sweep of the House of Representatives on November 6.

-- Dan Damon [ follow ]

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Thursday, November 8, 2018

Looking closely at the Campbell upset in the Board of Ed race

How the Campbell slate won is a question on many minds.

Even in Plainfield, there are things that happened with Tuesday's election that bear closer scrutiny.

Today I will take up one that probably came as a complete surprise to Plainfield Democratic chairman Adrian O. Mapp.

Tomorrow I will take up one that was not a surprise but should be a concern.

Today's focus is on the Board of Ed races, where we have every reason to believe Chairman Mapp expected to sweep the field.

So, how could things work out so lopsided?

First, exactly how lopsided?

In the aggregate, the Campbell slate racked up 14,584 votes as compared to the Mapp team's 6,584. That is a whopping 55%-45% spread.

The spread between the highest vote getters on each slate is even more dramatic, with John Campbell logging 4,454 to Melba Mullins' 1,808 -- 71% - 29%.

Since there were nine candidates running for three seats, we need to pay attention to the top three vote getters in each of the city's 34 voting districts.

If we look at the contest district by district, we see that the Campbell slate took the top three slots in 28 of 34 voting districts (all of Wards 1 and 4, 5 districts in Ward 2 and 8 districts in Ward 3). In five districts, Campbell's slate took two of the top three slots (2-1, 2-2, 2-8, 3-3, 3-8) and in 2-9 it had only one top vote getter.

The Mapp slate's Melba Mullins was among the top three in two districts (3-3, 3-8), Rebecca Perkins among the top three in six districts (2-1, 2-2, 2-5, 2-6, 2-8, 2-9), Timothy Priano in three districts (2-5, 2-6, 2-9) and Harry Watson in one district (2-5).

The rest of the Mapp slate did not finish in the top three in any voting district.

So, what accounts for the disparity?

Each side had signs, but everyone in politics knows that signs don't vote.

They also both walked and knocked, but unless Mapp's people were slackers (for which I have no evidence), that could hardly explain the outcome either.

Anti-Trump effect? You would have expected the exact opposite if that were the case since Campbell is Plainfield's "Mr. Republican", so scratch that explanation.

CAMPBELL SECRET SAUCE?

No, it seems the Campbell slate had a "secret sauce". Now what could that have been?

First, I would suggest comparing the two teams' social networks.

John Campbell has been in real estate more years than I have lived in Plainfield (35) and has a substantial social network on that account.

Add to that his wife Wilma's career and contacts in real estate where she has probably sold hundreds of homes and you have a formidable base, not to mention her contacts through years on the school board.

Then you have to account for Richard Wyatt's own social resources.

First, he is the current Board president and has brought a calming effect (after last year's highly contentious meetings) and a presidential demeanor to the meetings. So count that for Wyatt.

Then you have his networks in the community. He is a respected Mason and was recently recognized with an award for his community service.

In addition, he is a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity and can rely on his fraternity brothers for support. Besides that he is also on the board of the Salvation Army and has launched a youth mentoring program.

Besides all that, his mother is a 30-plus year employee of the City and is well-liked and head of the municipal employees union, which provides her with a sizeable network.

Emily Morgan is also well-known and liked in the community. We should not forget that she won her first term on her own and that must count for something, though it seems entirely likely that she was dinged somewhat for her leadership style when she was Board president.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Let's contrast the Campbell slate with Chairman Mapp's.

The Mapp slate's top vote getter was Melba Mullins, a newcomer to running for public office. An educator and a thoughtful and well-spoken candidate, she still seems to have lacked the necessary clout, though I surmise she got a slight boost from the PEA's endorsement.

Then there are Mullins' running mates.

Alma Blanco was a longtime and fervent supporter of Mayor Mapp's nemesis former mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs.

In that capacity she ran for City Council more than once but failed to get much traction electorally. Although she is well-known among Plainfield Latinos, I do not get the impression she is well-regarded by all in this socially fragmented community, especially among those who toiled for Mayor Mapp when he was on the outs with the political establishment.

In fact, eyebrows were raised when the Mayor appointed her to the Planning Board (seemingly without regard to other Latinos who had labored hard for him over the years), and especially after he designated her for the school board race.

Then there is David Graves, a former Board of Ed member who for years has been active with the Cedarbrook School parent-teacher group. There was some buzz that some find him overly assertive and that may account for his showing as the lowest vote getter on the Mapp slate.

(I am leaving out a discussion of the candidates for the unexpired term -- Dorien Hurtt (Mapp) and Eric Andrews (Campbell) -- in order to keep this post from getting overly long.)

COMMUNICATIONS

Though both slates had the standard mailers, the Campbell team had an additional "Children's First Press" broadsheet that was mailed citywide.

Done in the format of a newspaper, it contained several "feel good" stories about the school district --

How $61M was saved

Wyatt honored by the Masons

Volunteers fixing up the Family Success Center

Solar energy and the District

Three schools on track for achievement

The Farm-to-Table program

Introducing the Interim Superintendent

a Basketball star, and

a Swimming record broken.

Mixed in with all this were an anonymous "letter to the editor", a signed testimonial by a former Plainfield student, and an upfront pitch by the candidates.

It was a masterful stroke not matched by Campbell's opponents.

BALLOT POSITIONING

For the first time I can ever remember, the Union County Clerk decided to group the slates in columns on the ballot. Since there were nine candidates for three seats, plus two for the unexpired seat, space was at a premium.

However, it did have the effect of bunching up the slates so that they were easy to find. (In previous elections, I worked on campaigns where the team members were spread all over the ballot.)

In the event it became easy for folks to simply vote a slate -- an advantage that was equally shared by the Mapp and Campbell slates.

MONEY

The last lens through which to examine the campaigns is spending and funding. This I will save for a later post on campaign finances.

I hope this analysis will give readers some insight into how and why the Campbell slate was able to upset expectations.

Tomorrow, I will take up the other problem for Chairman Mapp, which may prove more difficult to solve, if it is solvable at all.

-- Dan Damon [ follow ]

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Fire literally stops dress rehearsal of free play at Senior Center set for Thursday evening

A car fire interrupted the dress rehearsal of Thursday's
free theater production at the Plainfield Senior Center.
(Photo courtesy Nat Singleton.)

Shouts of "Fire!" rang out about 8:00 PM on Wednesday as the cast and crew of Thursday's free theater production at the Plainfield Senior Center was wrapping up its dress rehearsal for the production.

Everything came to a standstill immediately.

There was a fire indeed, right at the front door of the Senior Center, where a late model minivan had caught on fire (see photo above), sending billowing clouds of smoke into the night sky.

But not to worry, no one appears to have been hurt and the Fire Division arrived quickly and extinguished the blaze within a couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, the free production of local playwright Ben Marshall's "Incident at Willow Creek" will take place Thursday evening (see my previous writeup here).

The doors open at 5:00 PM and the play begins at 6:00 PM promptly. The playwright and local elected officials will be present. There will be a short Q&A after the production.

All are welcome!

-- Dan Damon [ follow ]

Menendez tops the list of Plainfield winners

Assemblywoman-elect Linda Carter and Freeholder-elect
Rebecca Williams share a moment of victory Tuesday.
(Photo courtesy of Councilor-elect Ashley Davis.)

Sen. Bob Menendez swamped his GOP competitor Bob Hugin in Plainfield, 9,704 to 915 according to unofficial returns from the office of Municipal Clerk "AJ" Jalloh.

At the local level, Plainfield Democrats swept the field. Unopposed candidates Ashley Davis (Ward 1) and Joylette Mills-Ransome (Wards 2/3) marched in with 2,105 and 5,483 votes, respectively.

In the only contested race -- Citywide at-large -- where Elton Armady was the Democratic nominee for the vacancy created by Rebecca Williams' move up to the Freeholder Board, Armady bested Independent candidate Ron Johnson by 7,788 to 1,829.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, who Plainfielders regard with almost fan-like affection, swept the board with 9,423 (her opponent logged 752), but she was upstaged ever so slightly by Plainfield's own Linda Carter, replacing the late Assemblyman Jerry Green, who logged 9,438 votes.

In the Freeholder race, Democrats also took the honors, led by Plainfield's own Rebecca Williams (filling Linda Carter's seat) with 9,158, followed by longtime and popular Al Mirabella with 9,021, then newcomers Andrea Staten (8,977) and Kimberly Mouded (8,705).

Carter's sweep beats Jerry Green's record going back as far as I can recall (his numbers ran behind his teammates and usually behind the lead freeholder).

Brenda Gilbert, who ran off the ballot for the citywide at-large seat, is also expected to receive some votes, though they will not be tallied until the certified results are released.

In addition, it should be noted the absentee and provisional ballots are not included in these totals.

Using the totals cast for the Senate race, the guesstimate of the turnout of registered voters in Plainfield is 45% -- exceeding the target set by Chairman Mapp as the campaign got under way. This is due in no small part to the infusion of resources by the Menendez campaign in the final days.

The counting of provisional ballots statewide is expected to lead to considerable delays in certifying the results as each provisional ballot must be individually scrutinized to make sure the voter is on the rolls, and then manually recorded.

All the above is the good news; the bad news for Chairman Mapp is that his Board of Ed slate was swamped by the Campbell crew. Here are the Board of Education results --

2018 Board of Ed Results (unofficial) * indicates winner
Harry Watson	Unaligned	1,785
Rebecca Perkins	PEA-endorsed	1,539
Melba Mullins	Mapp, PEA	1,808
Alma Blanco	Mapp	1,707
David Graves	Mapp	1,453
Richard Wyatt*	Campbell	3,576
John Campbell Sr.*	Campbell	4,454
Emily Morgan*	Campbell	3,143
Timothy Priano	PEA-endorsed	1,084
Dorien Hurtt	Mapp	1,621
Eric Andrews*	Campbell	3,411

It should also be noted that the candidates endorsed by the Plainfield Education Association (PEA), the teachers' union -- Perkins, Mullins, Priano -- failed to take a single seat, though Mullins obviously benefited from the endorsement.

It seems possible that Morgan's performance reflects people's disaffection with how she handled her year as board president -- one of the most contentious ever.

The really sad thing is that fewer than half of voters bothered to cast a ballot for the school board, simply ignoring that portion of the ballot, although the number is higher than the old separate school board election in April.

Tomorrow I will look into what some of these results mean on the ground in Plainfield.

-- Dan Damon [ follow ]

Monday, November 5, 2018

Is Donald Trump tweeting about you?

Now why on earth would Trump tweet about you?

So, if you don't vote Column A Democrat all the way in Tuesday's election, you can expect President Trump to tweet you the following --

Thank you, sucker!
Doesn't matter whether you were too busy or too tired or too depressed or just didn't want to go out in the rain, by not voting for those nasty Democrats you just gave me another two years to be mean and cruel and to undermine the American way. You just helped me in a YUGE way. Thanks again, sucker!

So, if you don't want to get a tweet like that from the President of the United States, get to the polls on Tuesday (they are open from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM) and cast your ballot for the Democratic Column A all the way from Sen. Bob Menendez to your local City Council candidate(s).

You will have struck a blow for true democracy.

-- Dan Damon [ follow ]

Sunday, November 4, 2018

A firearm is a silent character in "Incident at Willow Creek", a free play for the community Thursday at the Senior Center

The city offers a FREE production of Plainfield playwright
B.V. Marshall's play this Thursday at the Senior Center.

A firearm is a silent character in "Incident at Willow Creek", a FREE play for the community being produced Thursday at the Plainfield Senior Center.

Plainfield Mayor Adrian O. Mapp has encouraged the production of this play by Plainfield's award-winning playwright B.V. Marshall as part of the city's community outreach effort.

With violence very much on everyone's mind (especially with the recent horrific attack on Jewish worshipers in their Pittsburgh synagogue), the play is a gripping take on a current issue that involves us all.

Verité, an African-American professor, is at a crossroads.

She’s smug about her neutral stance regarding guns, yet she obsesses over a recent gun incident that resulted in the killing of an innocent black man. She closely follows the story on TV and radio and is torn between the need to defend oneself and the need to comply with law enforcement.

At the same time, a student perplexes her with his own fixation on guns. He even offers to teach her how to shoot, and that conflicts with her sense of self. With her own college preparing for security risks, Verité is forced to confront her beliefs, her passive nature and her own physical safety.

B. V. Marshall, the playwright (known to many of us as "Ben"), is a longtime Plainfield resident and teaches at Middlesex County College.

Marshall’s work has been performed and developed at the HBO New Writers Workshop, Theatre for the New City (New York), Luna Stage, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Interact Theatre in Philadelphia, WBEZ Chicago public radio, the Kennedy Center, the Warner International Playwrights Festival and the Berrie Center at Ramapo College.

Most recently, “Incident at Willow Creek” was awarded the Stanley Drama Award, a national competition that is judged by New York City's Wagner College, which is considered the premier university drama program in the country.

A reading of Marshall's “Five Husbands” was also presented as part of the city of Plainfield’s 2018 Gay Pride Celebration.

Some of his honors include fellowships from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities and four playwriting fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

His recent essay appears in the book, “What Does It Mean to be White in America?” He has directed numerous productions and readings, including the upcoming musical “Harlem Ladies Knittin’ ” and “Bitchin’ Society.”

As an associate professor at Middlesex County College, he specializes in African-American literature, creative writing and playwriting. The school recently named him its scholar of the year for his creative work.

This production has been mounted by the City of Plainfield.

Nat Singleton is the producer, and Danielle Tucker of M. PoWeR Arts is directing the production with an ensemble from her theater group including the following --

Stage Manager - Myra McDonald
Verite' Jackson - Onyx Keesha
Maxwell Adams/Police Officer - Claudio Venancio
Sophie Capella/Cashier/Nurse/Passerby - Sharon McGuire
Ray Copeland/Brother/2nd Police Officer - Donell Stevens

The play starts at 6:00 PM sharp this Thursday (November 8), with the doors opening at 5:00 PM. The Plainfield Senior Center is at 400 East Front Street. Parking available in the street (and in the Bank of America lot). The Senior Center is ADA-accessible.

The playwright will be in attendance, and there will be a short Q&A afterward.

-- Dan Damon [ follow ]

Board of Ed race: Campbell crew cheats, Priano pranks Campbell, #getmad sticks to its plan

Candidate Timothy Priano pranks the Campbell slate in
this Photoshopped group photo showing them holding signs
for the PEA-endorsed candidates rather than themselves.

As the Board of Ed race hits the final stretch, a little review is in order.

As is par for a Campbell campaign, cheating is the norm -- from the free hot dogs and hamburgers at the Maxson back-to-school night (no permission sought from the district), a spurious rumor about an opposition candidate on the Cook School campus (not true), and then their first mailer -- shot in the Plainfield High School Library.

John Campbell and running mates Richard Wyatt and
Emily Morgan posed for this campaign photo in the
Plainfield High School Library. Not appropriate.

This proprietary attitude toward District property should be an alarm signal to voters.

Independent candidate Timothy Priano pranked the Campbell crew with a Photoshopped image of them holding up "signs" for the PEA-endorsed candidates (Rebecca Perkins, Melba Mullins and Timothy Priano).

Meanwhile, Mayor Mapp's #getmad slate is sticking to its knitting with phone banking and door-to-door canvassing.

Meanwhile, the #getmad team has this mobile billboard
being towed all around town.

Plus a little last-minute fizz with a mobile billboard being towed around town.

Board of Ed choices are nonpartisan and appear in the box below the partisan candidates on Tuesday's ballot. Don't forget to vote for school board candidates after voting COLUMN A ALL THE WAY.

-- Dan Damon [ follow ]

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Oprah on why everyone should vote on Tuesday

Oprah campaigned in Georgia and made an impassioned plea
for everyone to vote Tuesday. View the video here.

In case you missed it a couple of days ago, Oprah rocked the news world when she canvassed for Georgia Democrat candidate for governor Stacey Abrams.

What she said about the importance of voting is just as true for New Jersey as for Georgia.

View the CNN coverage and Oprah's impassioned plea HERE.

This is the final stretch. America needs you at the polls on Tuesday, November 6.

Vote Column A Democrat all the way, and send Donald Trump a message he won't ever forget.

You'll be glad you did.

-- Dan Damon [ follow ]

Dem women headline rally for Menendez Sunday

Women's Rally for Menendez Sunday.

The second of two high-profile events scheduled in Plainfield in support of Democratic Senate candidate Bob Menendez is slated for Sunday afternoon (November 4) from 5:00 to 7:00 PM.

Billed as a women's rally in support of Menendez, it takes two direct political pokes in the eye -- the first at America's sexual harasser-in-chief Donald Trump, and the second at the sleazy (and false) ads of Menendez opponent Bob Hugin alleging trysts with teen-age prostitutes. (These have been totally debunked, yet Hugin persists in running the ads -- desperation?)

The rally features thirty (30) high-profile women elected to public office -- a number the Republicans, being the party of old white men, simply cannot match.

For starters we have Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, Sens. Loretta Weinberg, Sandra Cunningham, and Teresa Ruiz among others.

And assemblywomen, leading off with our own Linda Carter and including Annette Quijano, Britnee Timberlake, and Cleopatra Tucker among many others.

(Unmentioned on the flyer, but I am sure she'll be there is our own Freeholder Rebecca Williams.)

Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker are both expected to make appearances and speak briefly.

The event will take place at the Art Loft, corner of East 2nd Street and Gavett Place. Parking available in the public lot across 2nd Street. (Parking is free on Sundays.)

Come on out and hear from these strong women who are helping lead New Jersey into the future.

-- Dan Damon [ follow ]

Friday, November 2, 2018

Day of Action for Menendez Saturday

Saturday is a "Day of Action" for Plainfield
in support of Sen. Bob Menendez.

As the 2018 Senate campaign enters its last weekend, the forces of Sen. Bob Menendez have scheduled two high profile events in Plainfield.

The first, on Saturday (November 3), has been designated a "day of action" for the Senator's campaign and gets under way at 1:00 PM at Plainfield Democratic Headquarters, 31 Watchung Avenue (next to Antojito's Restaurant).

Parking available in the public lot adjacent to headquarters (mind to feed the meters!).

There will be volunteer opportunities.

-- Dan Damon [ follow ]

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Rainbow mystery

This rainbow crossing box suddenly appeared
at Park Avenue and Second Street last week.
(Photo by Plainfield developer Mario Camino.)

Suddenly last week, the rainbow crossing box shown above appeared at the corner of Second Street and Park Avenue.

I was going to snap a photo, then saw this (better) one on Plainfield developer Mario Camino's Facebook page.

There are similar crossings in Montclair and Maplewood, but no one seems to know how Plainfield's came to be. Or why.

The rainbow flag is commonly viewed as the symbol of gay activism. But what message is being conveyed here?

So far there has been no acknowledgment by the city about the mysterious rainbow's appearance.

What do you think?

-- Dan Damon [ follow ]

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

DaVita treats clients with Boo-bag Halloween treats

Spooky costumes couldn't hide friendly staff.

They left a Boo-bag of candy and snacks.

And I devoured the salty pretzels, which help me
fight low blood pressure which comes with dialysis.

So Wednesday was both Halloween and my regular dialysis day at Plainfield DaVita in the old Kenyon Nurses Residence at Park Avenue and Randolph Road.

The staff mostly smiles at my refusing to watch TV (who would watch daytime TV if you had any kind of alternative?) and leaves me alone for my three-hour stint once I'm hooked up.

As on most other days, I was busy doing email, reading the news, and writing a draft of tonight's Plainfield Today post.

But soon I became aware of a group of figures moving about in the corner where I and several other patients were tucked.

It was staff members in costume (though I was able to figure out who was who) -- and distributing small Halloween Boo-bags of candy and snacks.

When they gave me mine, I asked them to pose for a picture and -- spotting forbidden stuff in the goody bag -- asked whether I was allowed to indulge.

The dietitian, who was one of the ghouls, said "I give you my blessing ... for today."

'Nuf said.

I ate the pretzels (the saltiness helps me fight off low blood pressure, which is a problem in dialysis) and the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and saved the rest for later.

It really is like being part of a family after a while, with the staff and patients familiar with each other and on friendly terms.

I love being at DaVita. Of course, if I weren't there, where would I be? Lol.

-- Dan Damon [ follow ]

11 reasons not to vote on November 6

How long before NJ adopts paper trail voting?
Oh, I forgot. That's another topic.

In case you're thinking of skipping voting on November 6th, I thought of 11 reasons not to vote just to strengthen your resolve. (Ten is such a boring number, don't you agree?)

1. You think that "grabbing women by the p***y" is presidential and something all Chief Executives should do.

2. You think that denying ACA coverage to those with pre-existing conditions is just fine.

3. You think that your children should spend half their working lives being gouged to pay back their student loans.

4. You're OK with demonizing Democrats and love Trump-style my-way-or-the-highway governance.

5. Corrupt cabinet members are just your cup of tea.

6. The Donald couldn't have done better than pick Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh, who is committed to turning back the wheel of history.

7. The hell with protecting clean water and clean air; let them choke us and give us cancer.

8. Demonizing Latino immigrants (who after all were here before the Anglos) and separating families seeking asylum is the Christian way.

8. You're OK with losing your SALT (State and Local Taxes) exemption on your income taxes.

10. You really appreciate paying more for necessities because of the Donald's tariff policies.

11. Lastly, you know in your heart of hearts that Russia is our true friend and Canada is our mortal enemy. Blame Canada!

So, if you're just fine with all of the above, stay home next Tuesday. Donald Trump will thank you for doing so.

If on the other hand, you want to send the Fearful Leader a serious message, vote and VOTE COLUMN A DEMOCRAT ALL THE WAY!

And be proud you stood up for Truth, Justice and the American Way!

-- Dan Damon [ follow ]

PLAINFIELD TODAY

Friday, November 9, 2018

Despite Armady's overwhelming victory, Chairman Mapp has great cause for concern

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Looking closely at the Campbell upset in the Board of Ed race

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Fire literally stops dress rehearsal of free play at Senior Center set for Thursday evening

Menendez tops the list of Plainfield winners

Monday, November 5, 2018

Is Donald Trump tweeting about you?

Sunday, November 4, 2018

A firearm is a silent character in "Incident at Willow Creek", a free play for the community Thursday at the Senior Center

Board of Ed race: Campbell crew cheats, Priano pranks Campbell, #getmad sticks to its plan

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Oprah on why everyone should vote on Tuesday

Dem women headline rally for Menendez Sunday

Friday, November 2, 2018

Day of Action for Menendez Saturday

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Rainbow mystery

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

DaVita treats clients with Boo-bag Halloween treats

11 reasons not to vote on November 6

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