South Orange BOT election

I haven't posted in ages, but wanted to come out of hibernation since it appears the May South Orange BOT election is starting to heat up.

There have been persistent rumors for months that Trustee Deborah Davis Ford plans to run for Village President (possibly against Village President Sheena Collum) which seems to be confirmed by this "teaser" that was posted on DDF's Facebook page today:  https://www.facebook.com/debdavisford/videos/2281377445230150

Discuss....

I wonder what the platform will be. Is there discontent with President Collum?

I'm not on Facebook so I could be uninformed about the general attitude toward her. I suppose you could run on an anti-development platform.

it’s baffling

https://villagegreennj.com/election/will-deborah-davis-ford-challenge-sheena-collum-for-south-orange-village-presidency/

Do they have a history of opposing each other?

I haven't watched the meetings in ages, but DDF used to rubber stamp everything Sheena proposed.  No idea what is prompting this new found "independence"

There’s been a few minor disagreements (dogs in parks, overdevelopment?) . Not really sure. If this is real, then DDF is getting complaints about the direction of the village or possibly personal support based on some issues.

I think the main controversy during Sheena's first term as Prez has been the development of several sites in S.O.

@mayhewdrive, why is it baffling that someone might run against Sheena?  Every election should have more than one choice.

yahooyahoo said
@mayhewdrive, why is it baffling that someone might run against Sheena?  Every election should have more than one choice.

 Of course anyone can run against her. I just have never seen two sitting members run against each other in South Orange (and rarely elsewhere) especially when the one running in opposition has voted in lockstep with the other, probably close to 98% of the time. 

Is Sheena running again?  I have not heard that she is.

mikescott said:
Is Sheena running again?  I have not heard that she is.

 According to the following article, she is.

 https://villagegreennj.com/election/will-deborah-davis-ford-challenge-sheena-collum-for-south-orange-village-presidency/

There will be at least one new member of the BOT - Mark Rosner is not running again:

https://villagegreennj.com/election/after-20-years-of-service-rosner-not-seeking-re-election/

mayhewdrive said:
There will be at least one new member of the BOT - Mark Rosner is not running again:
https://villagegreennj.com/election/after-20-years-of-service-rosner-not-seeking-re-election/

 Thank you, Mark Rosner for 20 years of service.

Rob_Sandow said:

mayhewdrive said:
There will be at least one new member of the BOT - Mark Rosner is not running again:
https://villagegreennj.com/election/after-20-years-of-service-rosner-not-seeking-re-election/

 Thank you, Mark Rosner for 20 years of service.

 Yes, thank you Mark.

-s.

From the Village website:

Petitions for the Municipal Election are now available for pick up in the Village Clerk’s Office. The deadline to file Petitions with the Village Clerk is March 11, 2019. 

Just saw DDF's announcement to run at good old Bunny's via FB.  They're looking for signatures, but no positions on issues were mentioned.   Also:  the campaign's logo looks like "SC Forward" (the initials of her opponent) even though the visual intent was "SO Forward".

And so it goes. 

Can someone remind me of the important things DDF has done in her 12 years on the BOT?

I’m not trying to be snarky, but honestly know more about the positions and activities of every other trustee than I do about hers. If she is taking on a dynamo like Sheena Collum, I’m waiting to hear why.

And I too thank Mark Rosner for twenty years of service, during which we saw dramatic changes in SO governance.  Things got bumpy at times, but he helped birth the modern South Orange. 

While this was probably the worst kept secret in South Orange, but for anyone who was living in a cave, here is the official story:  

https://villagegreennj.com/election/video-deborah-davis-ford-announces-run-for-south-orange-village-president/

Its hard to imagine Sheena Collum doing anything short of endorsing Donald Trump that would cause me not to support her reelection.  She really has been an outstanding leader for our community.  

I don't know how many of you followed her interactions with the crackpot on Nextdoor but her persistence and humanity in trying to accommodate someone who, in the end, proved to be suffering from debilitating mental issues was above and beyond the call of duty, a true act of kindness in the service of a constituent.

susan1014 said:
Can someone remind me of the important things DDF has done in her 12 years on the BOT?

I thought she was going to move on once she landed her payday at the county.  

I applaud someone challenging Sheena. I hope we can find a way to adhere to strict standards when we develop properties in town. Ignoring zoning regulations and overdeveloping is a problem not easily undone. I welcome any challenger to the status quo which seems to be to attack people who ask questions in public if they don’t adhere to the accepted narrative of the majority. Sad!

Lovesagoodsale said:
I welcome any challenger to the status quo which seems to be to attack people who ask questions in public if they don’t adhere to the accepted narrative of the majority. Sad!

 There was something sad about that exchange and it wasn't Sheena.  She went above and beyond (far, far above and beyond) to try to make accommodations for a constituent and, unfortunately, the individual in question simply proved incapable of engaging in public discourse.

Lovesagoodsale said:
I applaud someone challenging Sheena. I hope we can find a way to adhere to strict standards when we develop properties in town. Ignoring zoning regulations and overdeveloping is a problem not easily undone. I welcome any challenger to the status quo which seems to be to attack people who ask questions in public if they don’t adhere to the accepted narrative of the majority. Sad!

 Do you understand that whatever development you are referring to happened on DDF’s watch also?

I understand that when you ask simple questions you get smeared and censored. I understand a lot. I welcome anybody who wants to run. Elections are good. Change is good too if the taxpayers in a town feel like they have some say. Have been met with less than acceptable responses from our current president and welcome change. 

smeared and censored?   

I might even be that “Krackpot” Klinker was referring to above. I asked a bunch of questions on next door and was censored right off.  Nobody paid much attention until somebody googled me and figured out I actually stand behind the things I say and poof, I was unable to log into nextdoor. Yes!  It’s happening everywhere. Maybe name calling isn’t actually such a good idea!

I believe somebody made a comment about some mental problem I must be suffering from on next door and I was censored before I could respond. Smear jobs are really popular these days. Be careful out there in the internets, it’s not always friendly. 

for those of us who do not read nextdoor, it is impossible for us to know enough about the incident.  But you are making it sound as if Sheena Collum was the one who censored and smeared you and I would like to see some shred of evidence.  otherwise you are doing the same to her on here and hiding behind a phony name.  

Sheena has been less than cordial to me. I asked her several questions. I was dismissed casually in a meeting after waiting 45 mins for the executive session to finish. The way the meetings are set up, there’s no actual interaction and it is, in my opinion, unnecessarily formal. 

I then took my questions online. People in this town seem to all agree with each other online. I can’t tell if it’s because they all agree or if they just kick out the people who don’t agree. Soma Lounge was such a place for me. So, just trying to let people know that not all of us agree and not all of us support Sheena and that’s OK. elections are a good thing and people running unopposed doesn’t always work out well. 

I am not impressed with the people I communicated with on Next Door. I am enouraged that young people are finding ways to disagree without bullying online and hope all the adults find a way to follow suit. 

I will also add that pushing people to ask questions by email negates the collective good that can come from communication in a public forum. If I am indeed the person Klinker is referring to, perhaps Klinker can make it into a teachable moment. 

Why would anyone want to discourage people from running for public office?  Doesn’t make sense to me. Let the constituents decide. 

Lovesagoodsale said:
I applaud someone challenging Sheena. I welcome any challenger to the status quo which seems to be to attack people who ask questions in public if they don’t adhere to the accepted narrative of the majority. Sad!

 Sure, contested elections are a good thing.  Although to be fair, on NextDoor, Sheena engaged with you for WEEKS with very detailed responses.  Did any other member of the Board of Trustees engage with you at all?  I'd be curious to see any public responses you have from the person challenging Sheena.  if there are none, I'd urge you to pose the same questions to her and share the responses so we can compare candidates side by side.