| Author | Message | ||
     doctoralissa Citizen Username: Doctoralissa Post Number: 125 Registered: 1-2004 |
I'll admit to being ignorant of town politics, but i'm trying to learn. can folks please tell me what they feel the key differences between these (democratic both?) candidates are? thanks! | ||
| growler Citizen Username: Growler Post Number: 586 Registered: 11-2001  |
Let the flaming begin!!!! | ||
| L'Angelo Misterioso Citizen Username: Misterioso Post Number: 210 Registered: 10-2003  |
Doctor - you may want to take a look at another MOL item, in the Politics Soapbox area - here. Then go back and read the rest of that thread. | ||
| Parkbench87 Citizen Username: Parkbench87 Post Number: 2056 Registered: 7-2001  |
Or you might prefer just sticking a hot fork in your eye. That might be less excruciating. | ||
| kathleen Citizen Username: Symbolic Post Number: 27 Registered: 3-2005 |
doctoralissa, The primary is a Democratic party, but you ask exactly the right question: Are they both Democrats? Fred Profeta has lived in Maplewood his entire life, and until 2000, he was a registered Republican. In the year 2000, a new real estate tax assessment of all the houses in town was completed and it caused a political uproar against local government. (Details on request). At that time, all the sitting members of the TC were progressive New Jersey Democrats, allied with such liberal figures as Bill Bradley, Jon Corzine and Corey Booker. Fred Profeta spied an opportunity. He went to the local Republican party and tried to persuade them to run him as their official candidate against the next liberal Democrat up for re-election in Maplewood. The Republicans turned out to have someone else they wanted to run, so Fred went to the local Democratic party and said that despite being registered as a Republican on paper, he had actually voted for Democrats in every election since he was old enough to vote except the time he voted for Richard Nixon. The local Democratic Party turned down his offer to be their standard bearer. So Fred Profeta declared himself the candidate of the self-organized "Independent" party. He went around making impassioned speeches about how he was the "real deal" when it came to being truly independent of both parties, and how horribly corrupt they were. He had all sorts of one-liners about how "There is no Republican or Democratic way to pick up the garbage." He said he was running to insure independent thought and diversity on the TC, because nothing but Democrats working on the TC was a terrible, terrible thing. He ran on a platform of abolishing the county system of government in the state and ending the power of party machines in our lives. Fred was running against David Huemer that year, and because David ran a superior campaign in every respect, Fred lost. In response, Fred started a movement to abolish partisan elections in town so that people -- he actually posted this on Maplewood Online -- who consistently voted for the Democratic Party in national and state elections would be more likely to stay home for local elections and not automatically vote for a Democrat. Fred's "movement" to abolish partisan elections in towns went nowhere. But the following year, the Essex County Democratic politcal machine that has kept Sharpe James in office forever took a sudden interest in Maplewood politics. The machine saw that there was still organizable animosity against the liberal Democrats in town who had been in office during the revaluation, and they approached Fred Profeta with an offer he apparently couldn't bring himself to refuse: The machine would give him the money and organization to run as THE party Democrat against the progressive incumbents and not only get elected, but get control of the local party apparatus. To get control of the local party apparatus, Fred had to find enough non-liberal Democrats prepared to run on his "slate." He couldn't find them, so he got several right-wing Republicans (who really hated the liberals and have no principles) to re-register as party Democrats with glee. Under that stinky pretense and with the county machine behind him, Fred gained full control of the Democratic party machinery n town. Fred picked as his running mate Ian Grodman. To this day, no one -- perhaps not even Ian Grodman -- can tell you where he stands politically on any set of Democratic principles. He has never run for anything without Fred. During the last election, many of the most prominent and loyal members of Fred's campaign teams campaigned for Republican candidates. My understanding is that Vic DeLuca will put up his website by the end of this weekend. As soon as someone has the link to it, I'm sure they'll put it up here. The main difference between them is that Fred favors autocratic, top-down government (he opposes a state Constitutional Convetion for property tax reform, has tried to use eminent domain to seize private property with viable businesses on them, and favors hand-selected committees and private polling as the basis for public policy decision making, Vic DeLuca believes in open, community-based process, including a state Constiutional Convention for property tax reform. | ||
| crabbyappleton Citizen Username: Crabbyappleton Post Number: 56 Registered: 1-2004 |
doctoralissa- kathleen is so hung up on labels that apparently she can't see the forest for the trees. Who cares about all this democrat/republican he said/she said? Not any one. Vic DeLuca did nothing as mayor except to alienate the police department. Fred's list of accomplishments goes on and on. | ||
| Joan Supporter Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 5511 Registered: 5-2001 |
Doctoralissa: First of all there are three democratic candidates in the primary running for the democratic party nomination for two seats on the TC. The third candidate's name is Ian Grodman. Since all three candidates have served previously on the TC, two of them as Mayor and one as Vice Mayor, they all have reviewable records which you may want to check. All three candidates are also very approachable. Rather than rely on what is apt to be very filtered information regarding the candidates (depending upon which voters you speak with), I would strongly suggest speaking with the candidates individually regarding their position(s) on issues you think most important and attending or watching a broadcast of one or more of the debates which are likely to be held between now and primary election day. | ||
| doctoralissa Citizen Username: Doctoralissa Post Number: 127 Registered: 1-2004 |
Thanks for the info MOLers. I'm going to be more proactive about learning about local politics. I plan on attending any of the debates that are upcoming. I'll keep an eye out for the ads. Thanks again and I appreciate you not sticking a hot fork in my eye!  | ||
| sac Supporter Username: Sac Post Number: 2149 Registered: 5-2001 |
Hurray for Joan! Maybe we need a grassroots movement to draft Joan for TC ... or BOE? Always a voice of reason. | ||
| Just The Aunt Supporter Username: Auntof13 Post Number: 1052 Registered: 1-2004  |
You guys in Maplewood think you have problems with your elections? Read the South Orange election thread! Nasty! | ||
| Bob K Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 8368 Registered: 5-2001 |
Harpo, you are back with a new name I see. Is Harpo still suspended? Doctorallisa, the best thing to do is attend the debates, and watch for the posistion papers the candidates are going to post here on MOL. Kathleen's little diatribe is full of plain falsehoods and half truths. The local GOP has denied any offer to have Fred run on their line and many people here back in the 1970s and 1980s voted for the then Mayor, Bob Grassmere, who was a Republican. Most of us who lived here during that period, regardless of party affiliation, think he was a very effective Mayor. Among other things he prevented Route 78 cutting through Maplewood and helped to form the Joint Meeting for sewage disposal. | ||
| wharfrat Citizen Username: Wharfrat Post Number: 1779 Registered: 6-2001 |
Care to elaborate, Bobk? BTW-You don't need to be a cheap-shot artist. You really are a nice guy. | ||
| Nohero Supporter Username: Nohero Post Number: 4467 Registered: 10-1999  |
Excellent advice from Bobk, to listen to the candidates and find out what their positions are. It is possible to talk about the primary without name-calling, accusing people of dishonesty, or trying to re-write history. It’s even possible to do it without talking about the reval. Although, I have to say, my jaw dropped when I read the letter in this week's News Record, that suggested that if Mr. Profeta had been the Mayor, he would have done what the protestors demanded and kept the old, out-of-date and unfair property valuations. I’ve never seen or heard anything to suggest that – but I digress. Maybe everyone should take a deep breath, back away from the keyboards, and give some thought over the weekend to how to talk about the Maplewood election, without turning it into a road-show version of the mud-fest which is winding down in South Orange. | ||
| crabbyappleton Citizen Username: Crabbyappleton Post Number: 59 Registered: 1-2004 |
Seems obvious that DeLuca and some of his supporters will say ANYTHING to get votes. He is not good for this town. | ||
| Bob K Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 8370 Registered: 5-2001 |
Wharf, Kathleen's post is up there with her posts about deer and lime disease. Remember? The ones where deer ticks didn't live on deer and the ticks were carried by white footed field mice, of which we have thousands and thousands here in Maplewood. The discussions on non-partisan elections were mostly instituted by yours truly. I was and remain a partisan of this approach, although with the mess going on in South Orange I may change my mind. Fred wasn't enthusiastic as I recall. Her conspiracy theroy on Sharpe James, Joey D and company is a classic of fantasy. The Profetanistas started a grass roots campaign to elect districts leaders and were succesful in ousting a majority of the DeLucaites. While the Democrats received, from memory $7,000 from the County Democratic Committee, this was a franction of the cost for the election. I am also interested in how all those Profetanistas voted form Dubya last November, when he and Dick polled 25% of the vote here in town. Am I a total supporter of Fred and Company? No. However, diatribes aren't going to do anyone any good. | ||
| Vviceroy Citizen Username: Vviceroy Post Number: 13 Registered: 4-2005 |
Hi, gang. I'm the guy who posted the cell tower thread. This may be a question for Wednesday's gathering at iirc the library...but maybe some informed folks here could answer: Does anyone know where the candidates for town council stand on this tower. Is everyone resigned to its going up and throwing up the white flag rather than appeal the court ruling? I still don't understand why town wasn't more aggressive getting Verizon to demonstrate their desired tower as the "least intrusive solution". (It isn't - pole boxes work better.) Or why the town didn't at least present real estate agents who've had market experience with the difficulties inherent in selling homes near sources of electromagnetic radiation like cell towers or electric lines to counter Verizon's "experts". | ||
| yabbadabbadoo Citizen Username: Yabbadabbadoo Post Number: 228 Registered: 11-2003  |
The township did apppeal the court's decision in favor of Verizon's use variance appeal. They lost. The township attempted to stay Verizon's site plan application in court. They lost. The tower is going in. FF | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 3779 Registered: 9-2001  |
I thought the tower was going up... | ||
| Reflective Citizen Username: Reflective Post Number: 931 Registered: 3-2003 |
I am writing a book on delucca revisionism. Like Al Gore, vic and supporters just keep on re-inventing him..... | ||
| Vviceroy Citizen Username: Vviceroy Post Number: 15 Registered: 4-2005 |
As I understand it, the township 1st attempted to stay Verizon's site plan application in court and as you note Yabba, the court said no. The township was supposedly still going to appeal the decision but the question was whether they had standing. By your saying they lost, are you saying it was ruled that the township didn't have standing (i.e. they aren't specifically the zoning board) or that such an appeal actually took place and the township lost? |
