Posted on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 - 2:15 am:

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This time around, council's resolution supports possible war

Members first opposed military action in Iraq


Thursday, February 20, 2003


By Jason Fink
Journal staff writer


Three weeks after passing a resolution opposing a possible war with Iraq, the Jersey City Council approved a resolution supporting a possible war with Iraq.

In a bizarre turn of events, the same council that voted 7-1 on Jan. 22 to approve a resolution stating its opposition to "any military strikes or acts of war" against Iraq unless the United States was directly attacked by the Persian Gulf nation, voted 5-2 with one abstention for a resolution supporting "whatever action is deemed necessary" by the federal government to disarm Saddam Hussein.

The vote came after a period of heavy criticism from some who accused the council of stifling the voices of those who support military action during debate over the antiwar resolution. .....

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Posted on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 - 2:19 am:

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Anti-war resolution removed by council

Friday, February 21, 2003


By Julia Scott

HOBOKEN - The city council yanked an anti-war resolution from its agenda this week, winning applause from dozens of veterans who had come out to blast the idea.

Saying such a resolution on a national issue was inappropriate for a municipal council, Council President Ruben Ramos removed it during Wednesday night's meeting.

Councilman Anthony Soares, who had sponsored the resolution, was absent because he is on vacation.


The resolution, copied from a Jersey City council resolution that was passed last month but later rescinded, had said America should not go to war against Iraq "unless it is a response to a direct military attack by Iraq upon United States soil."

"The resolution is weak," Councilman Richard Del Boccio told the crowd.

Councilman Michael Cricco went even further, calling it "a piece of garbage."

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Posted on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 - 2:24 am:

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Mayor, City Hall report widespread opposition

by Tom Coombe February 22, 2003

Word of Ely's groundbreaking vote - the community was the first in Minnesota to pass an anti-war resolution - spread quickly through daily newspaper reports, local television coverage and old fashioned word-of-mouth, putting council members in a firestorm of controversy.
Public reaction was swift - and overwhelmingly negative - to Tuesday's city council resolution opposing a pre-emptive war against Iraq.

Word of Ely's groundbreaking vote - the community was the first in Minnesota to pass an anti-war resolution - spread quickly through daily newspaper reports, local television coverage and old fashioned word-of-mouth, putting council members in a firestorm of controversy.

Mayor Frank Salerno said Thursday that he has taken over 100 phone calls - all from people opposed to the council resolution.

"(Tuesday night) I didn't get any sleep, there were so many calls," said Salerno. "I'll be up front with you. I haven't gotten one call yet in favor. Every one I've gotten has been opposed."

City Hall, meanwhile, has been bombarded with calls both from media outlets around the country and from angry citizens.

"I would say 95 percent are appalled," said Patti Wellvang, Ely's deputy clerk. "I'm just being the conduit and passing the messages on to the council's mailboxes. I would say between phone calls and people stopping in there have been about 100."

Calls for a special meeting to rescind the vote have gone unheeded - at least for now - but it's likely the issue will be raised Tuesday, when the council holds its regular study session (5:30 p.m.) at City Hall.

Opponents of the resolution are organizing and say they'll be out in full force.

One of them is Elyite John Chelesnik, who has promised to "do what it takes" to get the council to rescind its vote.

Chelesnik said Friday that the council stepped beyond its mission by offering an opinion on national affairs.

"It isn't a question of whether you're pro-war or anti-war," said Chelesnik. "The question is that this has nothing to do with city business. In my opinion, the city council in passing that resolution, states that the people of the city of Ely are anti-war. I think that's a stretch.

"If it can't be rescinded, as I see it somebody has to validate what that resolution represents. Whether it's a petition or something else. I think if you went out and polled the city of Ely and asked whether the council should have acted, I think 90 percent would have said no."

The vote also ruffled some feathers in Ely's veterans community.

Jim Schepers is commander of Ely American Legion Post 248 and a veteran of the Vietnam conflict. His oldest son is in the military and could be part of U.S. action in the Middle East.

According to Schepers, the council vote and the protests of those opposed to war play into the hands of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

"The way things are now, I believe that everybody should back our country and back the president because this Saddam Hussein is an evil person," said Schepers. "People have every right to feel the way they do. That's our American right, but they don't realize how they're putting our servicemen in danger. This can divide our country and that isn't going to be a positive."

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Posted on Thursday, February 27, 2003 - 6:49 pm:

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Park Forest trustee quits after anti-war vote by board




Thursday, February 27, 2003







By Erika Enigk
The Star

The Park Forest Village Board may now be on record as opposing war, but the relationships between some board members are anything but peaceful.

One village trustee resigned Monday after his fellow village board members supported a resolution denouncing a possible war in Iraq.

Trustee Ron Wilson resigned from the board after trustees voted 4-3 in favor of the resolution.

Wilson, a member of the Army Reserves, had said he "vehemently opposed" the resolution because it is not the village board's place to tell the federal government whether to go to war or not.

Wilson did more than just respond with words. He also voted with his feet, leaving the building after the vote and ignoring the calls of other board members.

Wilson could not be reached for further comment on Tuesday or Wednesday morning.

Village President John Ostenburg said Wednesday the verbal resignation is valid, but he would reappoint Wilson if he wanted to rejoin the board.

Trustees and Ostenburg had weighed in on the resolution before voting.

Initially, three of the board members said they had decided to vote for the resolution, while four indicated they had elected to vote against it.

When the vote took place, Trustee Bonita Dillard changed her position and voted to support the measure, resulting in its passage.

Dillard had said most residents who contacted her about the resolution were against it, and she would not support it because she wanted to represent the residents.

She later said she changed her mind after listening to the comments of others and thinking about the people who would be going into battle.

Dillard was not the only board member who changed sides on the issue.

Trustee Kenneth Kramer, who last week spoke in favor of the resolution when it was first brought before the board, on Monday voted against it.

Trustee Harold Brown said last week he would abstain from voting because he did not believe it was his place as a local elected official to comment on national issues that did not "directly affect" the village. He told the board Monday that he would vote against the resolution.

"I was originally going to abstain on the vote, but I decided that it would not accomplish what I was objecting to," he said. "I am voting 'no' to the acceptance of the resolution because I honestly do not believe we should be here discussing war or peace for our nation.

"I did not run for this position and was not elected for that purpose."

Wilson said last week he also would abstain from voting on the matter because he is a major in the Army Reserves.

Ostenburg and Trustees Katherine Armstrong, Steve Campbell and Dillard voted in favor of the resolution. Brown, Kramer and Wilson voted against it.

Earlier in the meeting, resident Nancy Stafford had asked the board to vote against the resolution. She said she was not happy to see the resolution on the agenda.

Village Manager Janet Muchnik said Ostenburg requested the resolution be drafted after resident Fred Gaboury previously brought the matter before the board.

Stafford said she did not feel that the board had the right to say how the village feels about the issue because it had come directly from one resident without a petition.

"The board took the wrong direction," she said. "Not one of you was elected to represent us in national or world affairs."

Two other residents spoke in favor of passing the resolution.

Stafford asked that an additional resolution be attached to the original saying that not everyone in the village wanted to protest the war.

Brown asked Ostenburg to put an addendum on the resolution to indicate the measure had passed by a 4-3 vote. He also asked that the board consider the events of the evening next time an issue comes up that does not directly affect the village.

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