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hariseldon
Citizen
Username: Hariseldon
Post Number: 125
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, May 9, 2003 - 12:41 pm: | 
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No one can argue that Brian O'Leary is one of the most committed, communicative members of the South Orange/Maplewood Board of Education. I would go as far as to say that I think he is the most valuable member, certainly to residents of South Orange and probably Maplewood as well.
If he wins in his race to defeat our longtime President, Bill Calabrese, we will have one empty spot to fill on the BOE and one untried and untested President who has never served on the Board of Trustees of South Orange Village. Not a trade that would benefit South Orange. Not a trade I'd like to make.
Keep the Board of Education strong and focused. Vote for Bill Calabrese for President. (Mr. O'Leary, your time will come. It's just not now) |
Brian O'Leary
Citizen
Username: Brianoleary
Post Number: 1382
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Friday, May 9, 2003 - 12:48 pm: |
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lol.. I disagree. Thanks for the thought, though.
www.opensouthorange.com
Vote Line B on May 13th
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hariseldon
Citizen
Username: Hariseldon
Post Number: 126
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, May 9, 2003 - 1:09 pm: |
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I'm not trying to be funny. Mr. O'Leary, do we really want Latz and CO. to stack the board one more time if you leave a vcacancy? We have a seasoned, experienced President who can and will get the job done. His only desire is to help S.O. stay the vibrant community it already is and help make any improvements necessary to continue. Change horses in midstream..I don't think that will benefit us at all.
Nor will your departure from the BOE. We need you to stay there and help the BOE and the SO BOT start and maintain open communications and interactions that will benefit us all.
Keep O'Leary where he can do the most good. Vote for Bill Calabrese for Village President. |
David Lackey
Citizen
Username: Davidlackey
Post Number: 20
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Friday, May 9, 2003 - 1:22 pm: |
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Suggesting that Brian is too valuable to the school board, so vote for Bill, is funny. All the skills that make him a valuable school board member would be put to use as Village President. If you are worried about changing horses midstream, I guess you don't care how long it takes to get to the other side. Don't let the recent flurry of development announcements cloud your memory of how many years these projects have taken to get where they are (which isn't really that far along). |
Brian O'Leary
Citizen
Username: Brianoleary
Post Number: 1385
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Friday, May 9, 2003 - 1:29 pm: |
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I didn't think you were trying to be funny; you did make me laugh, though 
If I agreed with you, I wouldn't be in this race. When Bill became Village president, he had four years of experience in local government. I have seven, plus experience working at the state level on property tax-related issues.
The current promises made by the incumbents mirror what we were told four years ago. After sixteen years in municipal government, Bill still has us midstream. I think that's why a change is needed.
There was one line in your initial post that reflects a view of government service that isn't mine. This is no more "my time" than it is Bill's. We are running a campaign of ideas on a platform that you can agree with (or not). I'm in this race because I think a change is needed, but my time is neither now nor later. If elected, I serve with anyone else elected by the voters of South Orange, and I will work with all of them to address the commitments we have made as part of our campaign. If I am not elected, I have had my say. That's what makes contested elections worthwhile.
I hear the stories about Steve controlling the Board; let's assume for the sake of argument that they are true. He and the other seven members of the Board who would choose a replacement were elected by those who decided to vote in the BOE elections. It's not any member's role, including mine, to "stop" what the majority agree to do. In fact, once a vote is taken, it's the opposite.
www.opensouthorange.com
Vote Line B on May 13th
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hariseldon
Citizen
Username: Hariseldon
Post Number: 127
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, May 9, 2003 - 1:44 pm: |
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But you, too, were elected to the BOE with the faith and confidence of the voters. We who voted for you expected that you would serve out your term and carry our wishes forward. Don't you feel guilty abandoned the wishes of the voters of South Orange and Maplewood that elected you to serve us? Maplewoodians should feel especially disenfranchised should you become President of S.O. |
mayhewdrive
Citizen
Username: Mayhewdrive
Post Number: 262
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, May 9, 2003 - 1:50 pm: |
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Give it a rest Hariseldon!
Why aren't you suggesting Bill devote more time to his pharmacy customers?
You want to vote for Bill...go for it. Don't criticize Brian for wanting to get involved in other areas of the town to help make a difference. |
hariseldon
Citizen
Username: Hariseldon
Post Number: 128
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, May 9, 2003 - 2:02 pm: |
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Hey Mayhew.. are you suggesting that being President is gonna be O'Leary's job? Is that how he will earn his money? Otherwise, your analogy doesn't hold.
An offical elected to office is duty bound to serve out his office unless physically unable. Should Hillary leave the Senate in midterm and run for President? |
Brian O'Leary
Citizen
Username: Brianoleary
Post Number: 1386
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Friday, May 9, 2003 - 2:23 pm: |
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Okay, one more bite. I appreciate people who support Bill because they think he will get the job done. I disagree with them, but that's why we have contested elections and not coronations.
On the Board of Education, I am for measurement and accountability, not against Steve Latz. In campaigning for village office, I am for action and inclusion, not simply against Bill.
David, Eric and others familiar with the process used to create our team can attest to the careful consideration I gave to my decision to join this race. They might even call it painstaking.
I feel strongly that, in this era or restricted resources, municipal and schools issues are deeply intertwined. For example, I have been concerned about the use of PILOT agreements for nearly three years. The Gaslight Commons agreement, which will shift the burden of school taxes to homeowners in Maplewood and South Orange for the next 30 years, is only the first of several such breaks that could be given to properties developed in town.
The current trustees are adept at making arguments about how these deals "help South Orange". They certainly help the South Orange municipal government, but they do so by maintaining municipal revenues while failing to develop a tax base to also fund the schools. Contending that it's okay because Maplewood picks up some of the slack is one of the least palatable of their arguments.
I don't know about guilt. Did Bill feel guilty when, two years after he was first elected village president, he ran for freeholder? In the last BOE election, I received 878 votes, 364 of them in South Orange. I don't know what the winning total will be, but I am pretty sure that it will be a lot higher than either 364 or 878. A vibrant South Orange whose tax base supports the village and the schools is a service to the schools and to Maplewood. I'm comfortable looking to the voters decide how to parse my time.
Thanks again for the thought. Even where we differ, it's clear that you care deeply about progress in both our schools and our village.
www.opensouthorange.com
Vote Line B on May 13th
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