| Author |
Message |
    
Aquaman
Supporter
Username: Aquaman
Post Number: 897
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, May 7, 2006 - 3:25 pm: | 
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Yes they did.
>>Gonna get my candidates some o' dat sweeeet News-Record front-page action!
> Aqua, are Nancy and Lester hurt? This is quite serious, let's face it, those are historic gates.
>>Nancy's knuckles will be OK after some Neo-Sporin. Lester? Let's just say he's big all right - a big fat baby.
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Crazy Guggenheim
Citizen
Username: Crazyguggenheim
Post Number: 892
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, May 7, 2006 - 5:19 pm: |
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Call me crazy, but there's more than one drunk in this town?
psssst....Nancy....pass the mezcal |
Aquaman
Supporter
Username: Aquaman
Post Number: 898
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, May 7, 2006 - 6:16 pm: |
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Crazy,
The lady likes her cocktails.
Nancy will put the "Par-Tay" back in the democratic party.
That's one campaign promise you can count on, oh craziest one. |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 5104
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 12:56 pm: |
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...who's more crazy here, Guggenheim or Aguaheim? BTW, speaking of Crazy and Aquaman, has anyone seen Nancy and Lester around town lately, or have they dropped out of the race?
Personally, things must be getting pretty desperate if you need your former spouse and Paul Surovell to support these candidates who were dug up to rotate the position of Mayor... Hey, maybe they need to drum up a peace demonstration in town, or get a Kennedy to come in and rally the rest of the far left segment of their party? Don’t say you were not warned!
IMHO, if Nancy and Lester were by some freak chance to get elected next month, the town better get ready to see national politics, the war in Iraq, and every other "far left national political issue" on the bi-monthly township committee agenda on a regular basis!!!
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Phil Legree
Citizen
Username: Fil
Post Number: 31
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, May 14, 2006 - 12:04 pm: |
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AJC has been letting the pancake batter ferment too long again. |
letters
Citizen
Username: Letters016
Post Number: 562
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, May 14, 2006 - 12:31 pm: |
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AJC,
C'mon now. I read the "Wretched News" every week and there are NO major problems in our town at this moment. Everything is going according to "The Plan" and progressing nicely (thank you TC). Therefore, we should have plenty of time during these meetings to discuss worldly events. After all, many people in this town are interested in the happenings outside of our cozy, little villa.
So stop trying to stir up trouble, you rabble-rouser. Look around and you see nothing but smiles. Everything is beautiful. Kinda reminds me of "The Stepford Wives". We are all getting what we wanted, so let it go, already. |
Paul Surovell
Supporter
Username: Paulsurovell
Post Number: 610
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, May 14, 2006 - 9:31 pm: |
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Art,
Your last post contains two errors:
(1) I'm not supporting any candidates in the primary nor have I been asked to support any of the candidates.
(2) Neither peace nor the war in Iraq are "far-left" political issues. They are both mainstream political issues.
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letters
Citizen
Username: Letters016
Post Number: 564
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, May 14, 2006 - 9:41 pm: |
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Paul,
You're a nice guy and I don't want to start anything, but, didn't I read a letter of support for Nancy from you in this weeks NR?
Letters |
letters
Citizen
Username: Letters016
Post Number: 565
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, May 14, 2006 - 9:45 pm: |
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PS: I agree with your statement about the war. I do not believe it to be a left or right wing thing exclusively. I think the outer fringes of each group have their strongly helds positions, but for the rest of us, it is still a concern that we have to deal with, especially those of us who are from the Viet Nam era. One of them in a lifetime is one too many.
Letters |
sbenois
Supporter
Username: Sbenois
Post Number: 15022
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, May 14, 2006 - 9:47 pm: |
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Paul's letter did not contain an endorsement or support for any candidate.
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letters
Citizen
Username: Letters016
Post Number: 566
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, May 14, 2006 - 9:53 pm: |
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OK, I'll take your word for it. I did scan them pretty quickly, so it is entirely possible that I mistook the intent of the letter.
Sorry, Paul.
Thanks, S.
Letters |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 5113
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 15, 2006 - 1:26 am: |
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...OK guys, I guess I have to respond to all these posts. According to Nancy and Lester, Maplewood's development plans have stalled and our recreation opportunity for our children needs attention.
Letters, for once I think you may be able to help. Their promotional material states they are "Democrats Who Deliver". Seeing as how you know all about delivering, maybe you can tell us what they're talking about? Personally, I don't see what they have to deliver other than supporting their bosses "Plan".
Yesterday I picked up a flyer for Nancy and Lester, and neither one offers much in the way of real community service experience. I’m not sure Lester has been in town long enough to find his way around yet. As for Nancy, I didn’t know we had any commissioners or even a Maplewood Economic Development Commission?
Interestingly, the plot thickens. The flyer was paid for by their campaign committee located at 28 Hickory Dr... If I'm not mistaken, that's Gerard AKA Jerry Ryan's home. Now Jerry is someone with some experience and hopefully he at least still remembers how to get through those gates on Hickory... 
Letters, before I get too far into their lack of qualifications, I still have a couple questions I’d like delivered...
First, why did Nancy and Lester find it necessary to run outside the regular Democratic Party, thus avoiding the nominating scrutiny of Maplewood’s elected County Committee from our 21 different voting districts? And, who are the leaders of this new political splinter group from the regular Maplewood Democratic County Committee?
Sadly, from the way it looks, Jerry, Vic, and David are the new Maplewood Democrats pulling the strings, and Nancy and Lester are nothing more than their little string-puppets...
BTW Paul, and "S", IMHO, a vote for rotating the job of Mayor is supporting Lester and Nancy, and a thinly veiled endorsement of Vic, Jerry, and David's bid for that position. Give us a break, "David's election by the current "majority" on the Township Committee would go along way to creating the kind of unity bla, bla, bla..." You can't have it both ways Paul, supporting Vic, David, and Jerry's "Plan" for rotation is supporting Lester and Nancy.
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Paul Surovell
Supporter
Username: Paulsurovell
Post Number: 611
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Monday, May 15, 2006 - 6:06 am: |
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Art,
My letter, which was supportive of the incumbents and the Mayor, as well as the principle of rotation, was a call for unity in the local Democratic party. But I'm not surprised that a local Republican partisan would not want to see it that way.
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letters
Citizen
Username: Letters016
Post Number: 568
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Monday, May 15, 2006 - 7:32 am: |
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AJC,
I just checked the township website and there is no listing for the "Maplewood Economic Development Commission". Maybe it's one of those "double secret" boards.
As for what Nancy and Lester are saying, how in the heck would I know. Last time I checked, I had nothing to do with anyones platform.
As far as the rotation of mayor goes, we did not have one until Ellen became mayor and started it. I see no reason why it should be manditory unless the majority of voters think that way. Maybe we should put it up for a vote.
1) Selection of the mayor stays the way it is.
2) No mayor shall serve a term exceeding three (whatever) consecutive years.
3) The mayor is elected directly by the voters.
I am less concerned about who is mayor than I am about who is on the board. Everyone still has an equal vote. |
ffof
Citizen
Username: Ffof
Post Number: 4716
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 15, 2006 - 9:45 am: |
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Mandatory rotation is the silliest thing i ever heard of. It's very short-sighted. |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 5114
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 15, 2006 - 9:47 am: |
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"...I'm not surprised that a local Republican partisan would not want to see it that way."
Not this time Paul... why don’t you just concentrate your time on the war and Bush.
IMHO, the position of Mayor should be a "Peoples Choice Award", and your letter in the News Record is to clearly persuade the voters to allow the politicians to choose the next Mayor through “harmonious environment” that they so sorely need...
Your call for unity, whether intended or not, sides with the opinions of David, Vic, and Jerry. The people who understand the politics involved know that a vote for Lester and Nancy is a vote for rotating the position of Mayor every three years. The way I see it, if nothing else, this makes you guilty of partisanship by association.
If the election system remains the same, the election of Mayor should be based on a vote by the Township Committee of who is best qualified for the position, NOT on some bogus three year term policy they came up with to force the change regardless of qualifications or unfinished undertakings by the incumbent Mayor. It’s the most stupid "Plan" of governing I’ve ever heard of.
It's my turn now daddy, my turn, my turn, my turn, my turn, my turn, my turn, my turn, please daddy, Ellen, Jerry, and Vic, all promised it would be my turn now...
BTW Letters, I believe you when you say you have nothing to do with "Commissioner Nancy Adams". I'm surprised she isn't running for Maplewood Trustee or Councilwoman... Personally, with the list of her out of town involvements, I don't think she has time for being on another committee, especially the Township Committee.
Listen pal, when are we going to sit down and have that beer?
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sbenois
Supporter
Username: Sbenois
Post Number: 15023
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 15, 2006 - 10:05 am: |
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Dearest Arturo,
The more you protest and write, the more votes Lester and Nancy get. |
Paul Surovell
Supporter
Username: Paulsurovell
Post Number: 612
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Monday, May 15, 2006 - 3:19 pm: |
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Quote:Not this time Paul... why don’t you just concentrate your time on the war and Bush.
Sure, Art, I'll let that one stand as the last word in this exchange.
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letters
Citizen
Username: Letters016
Post Number: 569
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Monday, May 15, 2006 - 5:05 pm: |
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"Listen pal, when are we going to sit down and have that beer? "
I’m still doing the nightly New Brunswick thing (actually I'm leaving after I finish this). Hopefully things will return to some resemblance of order soon.
Damn, I'm getting real thirsty...
Mmmmmm... Beer..... |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 5115
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 15, 2006 - 6:08 pm: |
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Dearest Sbenois and Paul Surovell,
I speak for myself, not Fred, not Bart, not anyone, and I'm fairly sure most readers know that. Please guys, give me a break. Do you really think the way I see things politically has an impact on how the Democrats are going to vote in the Primary?
On the other hand, I'm sure the two of you probably carry a lot more whack with the Democrats than I do, and even a fair amount with other voters in town as well... Honestly, I don't understand what either of you are thinking. My issues are simply with fairness in dealing. If voters reading this think the election to Mayor by automatic three year rotation makes more sense than election by qualification, so be it.
And, as for who gets the last word, well that will be the day when one of us has nothing more to say, plus we all know it's really the voters who get the last word anyway.... We'll all just have to wait until June 7th. BTW Letters, best wishes to Mom, and whenever you're ready is fine by me.
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sbenois
Supporter
Username: Sbenois
Post Number: 15025
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 15, 2006 - 7:14 pm: |
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I am thinking that the least important factor in this election is how the candidates will vote for Mayor.
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Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 7432
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 15, 2006 - 8:31 pm: |
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Shouldn't we be more concerned about voting for the two candidates who will do the best job on the TC throughout the year, not just in the vote they cast for Mayor at the reorganization meeting? TC member is an imporatant position. Persons who hold that position get to make a great many decisions that affect our lives as Maplewood citizens. The "who would you vote for for Mayor issue" should be irrelevant.
Mandatory rotation of the Mayorality on a prescheduled basis is very short sighted and counter-productive:
(1) The person elected Mayor by the other TC members should be the best person for the job, not just the one whose seniority suggests that s/he should be the next one in the rotation.
(2) Rigidly imposed Mayoral term limits encourage short term planning and chewing-gum type solutions. So many of our current issues: economic development, real property taxation, crime perception and reality, loss of our seniors and recent grads, etc. need long term planning which is less likely to occur if the TC leadership is required to change every few years. |
Factvsfiction
Citizen
Username: Factvsfiction
Post Number: 446
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Monday, May 15, 2006 - 8:38 pm: |
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So if you elect the correct TC candidates, they have the power to bring our troops home from Iraq? Has anyone told Harry Reed? |
sbenois
Supporter
Username: Sbenois
Post Number: 15027
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 15, 2006 - 8:43 pm: |
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Dearest Joan,
Please reread my post...
Quote:I am thinking that the least important factor in this election is how the candidates will vote for Mayor.
I agree with you. |
letters
Citizen
Username: Letters016
Post Number: 571
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Monday, May 15, 2006 - 9:39 pm: |
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I've been a little distracted lately, so maybe I missed something.
Did Ken and/or Kathleen ever come out and say they were for Fred being Mayor again? I guess what I am asking is when did this become THE campaign thing, is it THE campaign thing, and if not, what is then?
Maybe I shouldn't be getting all of my election coverage from MOL. |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 5116
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 12:30 am: |
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IMHO, Ken and Kathie will without question vote for the Mayor who they feel will best lead the Township Committee. Their running again is not just to keep Fred as the Mayor.
However, this is not the case with Nancy and Lester. Vic, David, and Jerry very early on raised the issue of the three year term for Mayor, NOT Fred. Rather than bring the argument of why David is better qualified to be Mayor, they brought up the three year term argument. When there wasn't agreement, they dug up two candidates who would agree with them. I don't believe the conversation was ever about how bad a job Kathie and Ken were doing... which of course wouldn't be true anyway...
"S", I believe from what was posted that you, me, Joan, and I'm sure many others all agree that the person elected Mayor by the other TC members should be the best person for the job, not just the one whose seniority suggests that s/he should be the next one in the rotation.
As I've said before, my only issue is how and why Nancy and Lester are in the race. And, we all know it's for one reason which has nothing to do with the great job the incumbents have done during the past three years.
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Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 7435
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 5:07 pm: |
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Sbenois: I was agreeing with you.
Unfortunately, others seem to be making a big deal out of the "who will be the next Mayor" thing and that is most unfortunate. |
Hank Zona
Supporter
Username: Hankzona
Post Number: 5586
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - 8:01 am: |
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maybe the next mayor should be someone who doesnt so obviously want to be the mayor. |
shestheone
Citizen
Username: Shestheone
Post Number: 277
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - 8:28 am: |
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Ken Pettis would be a great mayor. |
Stevef
Citizen
Username: Stevef
Post Number: 209
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - 8:58 am: |
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Utter stupidity. The person with the most votes should be mayor. Keep a running tally of votes in a candidates successful elections. Change the town's charter to reflect this and use your time and energy for real issues. |
Bob K
Supporter
Username: Bobk
Post Number: 11536
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - 9:27 am: |
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This is my fourth try at this post and I still don't think I am expressing myself all that well. 
We have a system where the Mayor is selected by the Town Council. As such the job reflects the views and policies of the majority of the TC. This is inherently a "weak" mayor form of government, although Maplewood has had a long history of rather strong Mayors dating back to Bob Grasmere and including Jerry, Vic and Fred. This is somewhat of a paradox and one I can't explain.
The idea of rotating the mayor job was in reaction to the Grasmere years, when Bob was the mayor for god knows how many years. This worked to feed the egos and ambitions of the then members of the TC and since they were, more or less, in lockstep not a major problem. There is nothing in our charter that requires this and even in the 1990s seniority wasn't how the mayorship was determined.
At the present time Maplewood has on the TC two groups who have different visions of where the Town should be going and how to get there. I don't think it is any secret that Profeta is a member and the leader of one group and Huemer is a member, but probably not the leader, of the other group. To ignore the fact that the mayorship is determined by the members of the TC and that the odds are that Ken and Kathy will support Fred while Nancy and Lester will support Huemer is unrealistic.
As most of you know I no longer have a horse in this race. However, reality is reality. The election, actually the primary, will determine in what direction the Town is going to go for the next few years.
Personally I agree with Shestheone, I think Ken Petis would be a great Mayor. He is smart, independent and hard working. |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 5118
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - 12:45 pm: |
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"Keep a running tally of votes in a candidates successful elections."
Not a bad idea, but if that's the case why not just vote for the Mayor for a fixed term? Depending on the vote, your way could mean every year the position of Mayor may change. And, what if the person with the most votes doesn't want to be Mayor? I SAY, KISS...
Furthermore, any changes in the town's charter would be a voting function of the residents; where the TC for the most part wouldn't need to take any time and energy away from the "real issues" they are working on, let's say like tree's, B&B's, and PD's... |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 5119
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - 2:53 pm: |
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BTW, I guess this thread is as good as any place to record a complaint about candidates Nancy and Lester...
Last night was to the best of my knowledge Lester's first TC meeting since entering the race for Township Committee. Who knows it may have been his first time ever at a township meeting. He managed to stay almost two hours of the five hour meeting. Most of that time was chatting with his running mate Nancy, who kept putting both of her shoes up on the back of the bench in front of her. It kind of reminded me of that movie, Dumb and Dumber, only I wasn’t laughing…
I thought if I looked over enough at them, maybe one of them might realize that's no way to show interest or respect at a Township Committee meeting, much less how to treat our towns furniture. But no, they never caught on. Then rather than go over and tell her to take her feet off our furniture, I thought well maybe Vic or David might say something to their "Economic Development Commission Commissioner” during the break, but no such luck. Those two had bigger fish to fry last night… The feet stayed up, their conversation continued between themselves, and if they learned anything at all, it had to be that these meetings are all business, boring at times, uncomfortable, and long…very long!!!
Well, after the vote in favor of the B&B Ordinance passed, I had had enough of Vic and David's nonsense about trying to define everyone who stays at a B&B’s as guests, including family friends and relatives, including visiting dignitaries and the like from staying as guests for free.
Thankfully, common sense prevailed and the definition for B&B guests was defined as any guests who stay at a B&B for compensation... A fair comparison to the way David and Vic were headed would be like telling a tavern owner he couldn’t buy a customer a drink now and again if he wanted. I’ll probably have more to say on this topic later...
Anyway, before I left I looked at the bench in row seven on the right side where the Commissioner Adams had been sitting, and it was all marked up with her shoe prints. I then walked up and down both sides of the isle to see if any of the backs of the other benches were also marked up. As by now I guess you can imagine, none were... First it’s the Gates, last night it was the Town Hall benches, what’ next? Maybe tomorrow night at the Dehart Center we’ll learn more about them than we have on MOL?
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Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 7438
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - 5:06 pm: |
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The casndidate who gets the most votes for TC isn't necessarily the one who would make the best mayor. This is not (or should not) be a popularity contest. There are skills a person needs to make an effective mayor, which are in addition to those needed to be an effective TC member.
Furthermore, some years the competition for TC member is greater than others. Some years we have had only two candidates competing for the TC slot; other years, we could have as many as six or more -- depending on the number of minority party candidatea and/or independants who enter the race. Thus raw number of votes is not a valid measure of popularity with the electorate. |
anon
Supporter
Username: Anon
Post Number: 2703
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - 6:43 pm: |
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There are skills a person needs to make an effective mayor, which are in addition to those needed to be an effective TC member.
Please explain. Why is the Mayor anything other than the Chairman of a Committee who sits in the middle seat and wields a gavel? |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 5120
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - 8:08 pm: |
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"Why is the Mayor anything other than the Chairman of a Committee who sits in the middle seat and wields a gavel?"
Anon, maybe if you came to some meetings and didn't spend all your time being so anonymous; and openly engaged life there in the arena of true, candid, and accountable opinions, you wouldn't be asking such silly questions all the time...
I’m sorry, but on second thought, you strike me as the kind of person who might also be putting your feet on our furniture. Maybe you should stay just the way you are, anonymous.
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anon
Supporter
Username: Anon
Post Number: 2705
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 8:17 pm: |
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Didn't ask you. I asked Joan. |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 5125
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 1:18 pm: |
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I'm sorry Anon, I didn't realize this was a private conversation.
Listen pal, my comments out number yours 8 to 1 in this thread. FWIW, I'll honor your request in the future, that is if you also agree to keep your nose out of my threads as you so often have not done in the past...
BTW, maybe Joan didn't reply to you because she also thinks your question was stupid. No, Joan is to nice, she answers just about everyone...  |
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 7442
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 5:02 pm: |
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Art, Anon:
Sorry. I have been too busy working on next week's Memorial Day parade and ceremony (one week and two and one half days to be precise)in addition to my regular responsibilities to be able to get to this thread before now. As an aside, I know Art will be in the parade (hopefully marching with the Veterans). I hope Anon (whose IRL identity I do not know) will be at the parade as well, either as a participant or as a spectator. Everyone else reading this post is more than welcome to attend the parade as well. Please tell your friends - that's May 29, 2006 at 9 AM. Check my Memorial Day thread in the Virtual Cafe for full details.
Now back to the question at hand. The Mayor of our town needs the same skills as any of the other TC members but the Mayor, by virtue of holding this title, has the additional function of being frontperson for the township government. This includes attending Statewide functions as town representative, making policy and position statements on behalf of the township, making speeches at major town functions, dealing directly with developers, politicians and others regarding ecopnomic development, Town's needs in Trenton, etc. Plus, as chair of the TC, the Mayor should be able to provide direction to and facilitate deliberations among TC members in private session and in public TC meetings. These additional responsibilities require skills in addition to those required of the other TC members. This does not mean that the other TC members do not or should not possess these skills as well but their role is slightly more limited.
I hope this helps to clarify my earlier position.. Sorry again for the delay in making this response.
Joan |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 5145
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, May 27, 2006 - 2:31 pm: |
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...Joan, I'm sorry for my delay in accepting your apology for your delay to respond to our position. Anyway, all is well that ends well!
BTW, I'm looking forward to seeing you again on Monday. It looks like the weather will be perfect. Thanks for all you do to make it such a nice town event...
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kathleen
Citizen
Username: Symbolic
Post Number: 508
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, May 27, 2006 - 4:31 pm: |
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Quote from Joan:
"The Mayor of our town needs the same skills as any of the other TC members but the Mayor, by virtue of holding this title, has the additional function of being frontperson for the township government. This includes attending Statewide functions as town representative, making policy and position statements on behalf of the township, making speeches at major town functions, dealing directly with developers, politicians and others regarding ecopnomic development, Town's needs in Trenton, etc."
So why did I read this announcment that Kathy Leventhal, not the Mayor, is going to Trenton to lobby for all-important aid money for the town? Hmmm. Might it possibly be we're nearing an election? It would appear that at least some politicians in town view the duties of Mayor as less a real responsibility than a way of staging politically-motived photo-ops at every turn.
And if representing the town in Trenton is the Mayor's job, why doesn't the current Mayor join with others in going to Trenton to lobby for property tax reform? I went to Trento as part of a group that included Vic DeLuca and David Huemer and even elected officials from South Orange. The Mayor was absent. (So were the incumbents for re-election.)
Isn't the first duty of a Mayor to be politically active on behalf of the fundamental interests of the entire town, not just wealthy property owners whose property tax bill is a fraction of their income? I look at the current campaign in the Democratic primary and what I see is a bid to entrench a two-tier system for Maplewood, mainly financed and endorsed by Republicans. Most of the endorsements I read for the incumbents, on MOL and in the News-Record, are coming from Republicans and outspoken conservatives who don't even vote for Democrats. What they're creating for Maplewood is a system where very wealthy people finance campaigns to elect policy conservatives and keep out candidates who actively work for property tax reform, and who oppose measures like surveillance cameras. Republicans basically have control of the apparatus of the local Democratic party and they are using that position to enact purely Republican policies (tax money for more secret surveillance and jails, not for crime prevention; using eminent domain for corporate development at the expense of less-wealthy home and business owners; favoring property taxes over income taxes for school funding, etc.)
I was thinking yesterday morning that if you asked Ronald Reagan's famous question in Maplewood about the public sector -- "Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago?" -- the only possible "Yes" would be the police department bureaucracy. For the rest of us, with respect to public services, it's been higher taxes, higher crime (unless that big "emergency gang meeting" was just a ruse to get public approval for surveillance cameras), a near-complete absence of candor from local government and foot-dragging on the improvement of Springfield Avenue in ways that would benefit neighborhoods, not developers. To top it off, the incumbents show absolutely no interest in property tax reform to get adequate school funding and genuine tax relief for middle and lower income home owners.
On the national level, the vast majority of Maplewood voters outright reject Republican politics of driving toward a two-tier system, but they seem to be unable to decode what's happening locally. I think if my neighborhood experienced the kind of property-value lowering crime and disruption we were told is going on in isolated parts of Maplewood, my neighborhood would have gotten cops added to the force, not surveillance cameras. And all the money being spent on the bloated police facility means less money available for people to support incraesed school funding. Instead, the conservatives are pushing a "private school model" for the public schools, with wealthy people giving large gifts of charity for pet projects. This is the very essence of a two-tier system.
It's a closed circle. The same people pushing for a two-tier system for public services -- whether it be schools or the fact that when wealthy neighborhoods experience crime or get their gates bashed, they demand and get additional police involvement, while less wealthy ones get surveillance cameras and a building -- are the same people donating large amounts of money to keep control of the local Democratic party out of the hands of those favoring real reform. The reformers can't match the scratch being poured into campaigns against them. They're rendered invisible. It's become a two-tier political system too. Ken and Kathy like to say they aren't in lockstep, but they're ineffective in stopping any of it if they truly do oppose it, and raise no objections to being the beneficiaries of it.
Republicans became a minority party in Maplewood because a majority of people are opposed to the two-tier social policies of the Republican party. The local Democratic primary ought to be a contest about who will most effectively work for equity in government policy for all citizens, which is what the Democratic party stands for. The people presently in control of the Democratic party in Maplewood dearly hope the local Democratic voters don't start looking at it that way. They might just vote them out.
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Fruitcake
Citizen
Username: Fruitcake
Post Number: 296
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, May 27, 2006 - 5:25 pm: |
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So, Kathleen, how did your lobbying effort go? Did you bring home the bacon? Will property taxes be coming down soon? |
Wendy
Supporter
Username: Wendy
Post Number: 2517
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, May 27, 2006 - 5:51 pm: |
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Fruitcake, why should anyone respond to such a simplistic question. That's like asking someone during FDR's time: "How did trying to get a social safety net paid for by everyone go?" "Will I have Social Security in my lifetime?" I may not agree with everything Kathleen wrote (well I agree with most of it but not how she wrote it) but I applaud her and all others who are working hard towards property tax reform. While I wouldn't call those not working towards it Republicans I will ask where their priorities lie. |
anon
Supporter
Username: Anon
Post Number: 2715
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, May 27, 2006 - 7:23 pm: |
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I may not agree with everything Kathleen wrote (well I agree with most of it but not how she wrote it) but I applaud her and all others who are working hard towards property tax reform.
Wendy: You and I are sooo in sync! |
Fruitcake
Citizen
Username: Fruitcake
Post Number: 297
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, May 27, 2006 - 11:34 pm: |
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I'm tired of people bragging about lobbying for property tax reform. Anybody can go grandstand down in Trenton. So called property tax reform is a complete red herring, a smokescreen. It will never happen in our lifetimes. |
Wendy
Supporter
Username: Wendy
Post Number: 2518
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, May 27, 2006 - 11:55 pm: |
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Up until about 8 or so years ago (that number may be off) school districts received about 1/2 of its funds from the state and 1/2 from local property taxes. It has now swung to a much higher percentage from local property taxes. That swing didn't take a lifetime but took a type of political viewpoint that can and I hope will change and put us back to the fifty-fifty split at the least. I don't agree that property tax reform is a red herring or a smokescreen. I do agree that the politics involved in tax reform makes the issue complex, heated and, in the case of our state viz. northern and southern NJ, divided. |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 5147
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, May 28, 2006 - 1:51 am: |
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"You and I are sooo in sync!"
Woo, Woo... All you girls looking at who's working hard for property tax reform makes me laugh!
Kathleen, as usual you talk the talk, and now you want us to believe by going to Trenton you walk the walk. Your post is a lot of blabber about nothing. Were you all holding hands when your group went to Trenton to lobby? Give us some good news woman, not another lecture about local, state, and national politics.
Tell us who your group spoke with in Trenton and what were the results? Did you call ahead for an appointment? Who was your spokesman? Did any of you ask for or receive a commitment? Come on, tell us what you guys did. Put up or shut up with all your usual rhetoric, its really getting old.
Listen, Trenton has to downsize, privatize, and prioritize its inflated bureaucracy. Did any you lobby them to NOT RAISE OUR TAXES? The only way tax reform will occur is when the spending stops exceeding the tax revenue. Everything else is a big circle jerk...
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