South Orange BOT election
Sheena is not running with anyone.
There are two candidates running for Village President - Sheena Collum and Deborah Davis Ford (you can choose ONE)
There are six announced candidates running for Village Trustee (in alphabetical order) - Stacey Borden, Donna Coallier, Ed Grossi, Summer Jones, Matt Wonski, Bob Zuckerman (you can choose THREE)
Filing deadline for all candidates (and any additional candidates) is 4pm today
Interesting. I thought that I had read that she was going to announce her team at the kick-off party.
it’s official, there are
2 candidates for Village President:
- Sheena Collum
- Deborah Davis Ford
And 9 candidates for Village Trustee
- Stacey Trimble Borden
- Bobby Brown
- Donna Coallier
- Toshi Davis
- Edward Grossi
- Summer Jones
- Ed Moore
- Matt Wonski
- Bob Zuckerman
Steve said:
So, did Sheena announce with whom she is running?
From Sheena's Facebook page:
I've been asked numerous times, "Who's on your ticket?". The answer is me and I'm THRILLED to have contested elections! People, all people, should be able to run without barriers to be considered, so yes - I'm running an independent candidacy for Village President and I'm looking forward to listening and learning from what others have to say and how they propose accomplishing their goals. #democracy #choice #letpeoplerun
Did anyone go to this kickoff?
SHEENA COLLUM ANNOUNCES FOCUS ON TAXES, INFRASTRUCTURE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY CAPITAL AT CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF
South Orange, NJ (March 12, 2019) – Surrounded by nearly 200 neighbors and guests, Village President Sheena Collum kicked-off her campaign for a second term with a continued promise to focus on taxes, infrastructure, economic development, and community capital.
“Taxes in New Jersey are absolutely absurd and in South Orange, the average home is assessed at $580,000 with a $17,500 tax bill to go with it. Taxpayers are subsidizing inefficiency and duplication of services at every level of government,” said Collum. Recognizing Maplewood Township Committee members in attendance, Collum listed various shared services already successfully put into place including courts, code enforcement, field maintenance, senior services, and tax collection and argued having 565 municipalities and 600 school districts is not sustainable or efficient for taxpayers, “we’re better and stronger together and next up is fire services which is the second largest expense in both towns’ budgets that can operate more efficiently as one department and save money.” In the long term, Collum joked that she hopes one day both towns will have the community support and political wherewithal to finally “put a ring on it”.
Regarding infrastructure, Collum highlighted that deferred capital projects have been or are currently being addressed. “Under my leadership, we’ve tackled long idle projects,” said Collum. “Working together, with a steadfast vision of who we want to be as a community, we committed to stop the irresponsible practice of burying our heads in order to meekly kick the can down the road.” Recognizing the collaborative styles of attendees Trustees Clarke, Levison, Hilton, and Schnall, Collum underscored, “We now have safe and reliable drinking water, a long-term plan for our sewer utility, our tennis courts and skate house are beautifully refurbished, our police headquarters is almost done, and next up is our Baird Community Center as well as our library and Connett buildings.” Collum also reinforced the sale of Village Hall to a private investor for a historic renovation and opening of a restaurant and beer garden saving taxpayers $8M freeing up money to focus on other projects.
As Executive Director of the American Planning Association in New Jersey, Collum is best positioned to lead the community through the implementation of the new Master Plan, meeting compliance on the true construction of moderate and lower-income housing and addressing the challenges of balancing growth and change with a focus on smart growth and equity in planning. Beyond the visionary plan for Village Hall, Collum has been at the helm with downzoning of Orange Lawn Tennis Club to preserve open space, insuring all new developments have solid financial models based in good urban planning and design, maximizing revenue for the town while minimizing traffic and providing off-site community contributions.
“Our neighbors are eager for a strong retail presence in our downtown,” added Collum. “And, it’s with this in mind that I’m most excited about adding 2500 square feet of co-retailing and incubator space as part of the redevelopment of the former Blockbuster building that will be by the community and for the community.”
Recognizing the best ideas come from the volunteers and people of South Orange who ever day work to make the town stronger, more equitable, more exciting and a place everyone can be proud to call home, Collum reiterated her unwavering commitment to transparency and accessibility with a stronghold focus on “community capital and collaboration.”
The campaign also announced that a website will be launched shortly where community members can read the details of Sheena’s full platform, get involved and view calendar listings of upcoming events.
mayhewdrive said:
Did anyone go to this kickoff?
There was a very large turnout. It was a wonderful afternoon. Sheena made a sensational speech which I'm sure will be put up on her Facebook page.
Surperb heartfelt speech. She laid it all out there She has accomplished so much in her first term and I am excited
for what the next four years will bring
And damn, I wish I kept my blue booties
PurpleMonkeyDshwashr said:
I was there. It's my baby in the photo!
Great picture. Was it your baby that Sheena stopped her speech to say hello to? That was a great moment.
cramer said:
Great picture. Was it your baby that Sheena stopped her speech to say hello to? That was a great moment.
Yes that was him! He was being a little chatty.
kthnry said:
annielou said:This YIMBY lives on a busy thoroughfare with my immediate neighbors being Anthony's Landscaping and South Orange Disposal. I'm willing to put up with the noise, smells, and traffic because (1) I believe in the importance of increased density, (2) I appreciate the benefits of being close to town, and (3) I could afford it. I can't speak for Runner_Guy (my fellow MOL YIMBY) but YIMBYs I know in other cities feel the same way and practice their beliefs.
The problem with many YIMBY’s is that they reside in areas that are unaffected by development. They tend not to live in the already dense parts of the village and potentially having some five story building overlooking their property.
I've become more passionate about it in recent years after attending zoning board hearings and listening to lame reasons for objecting to projects. ("It will block the afternoon sunlight through my stained glass window!")
In the meantime, our young adult children can't even begin to afford to live in our neighborhoods or anywhere decent in the NYC area. A lot of us in our wealthy towns are in a position to help our kids, but where does that leave young people who don't have family support? Living in death traps like the Ghost Ship or crushed by housing expenses, unable to afford children of their own.
What kind of world are we creating, where we fight to maintain our privilege at the cost of the next generation? And with our declining birth rate, who is going to pay into Social Security to support us when we're old and unable to work? Will Medicaid still be able to pay for my nursing home if/when I need it and all my money is gone? These are legitimate concerns.
@ktrnry,
I also live on a busy street, only a few hundred feet from SO Avenue.
If you ever want to set up a SOMA YIMBY group that exists to encourage our elected officials to be bold in accepting new high-density development I'd be part of that.
“A busy street only a few hundred feet from SO Ave?” Cmon now. You can do better than this. I’d be willing to bet that you would not be affected by high density development in the least.
annielou said:
“A busy street only a few hundred feet from SO Ave?” Cmon now. You can do better than this. I’d be willing to bet that you would not be affected by high density development in the least.
I know where Runner_Guy lives (he mentioned it in a post once) and he lives within spitting distance of the Third &Valley development as well as Gaslight Commons.
Well he must enjoy car exhaust and other fun high density offerings.
annielou - A serious question: If you're thinking about moving because of the high taxes, shouldn't you be in favor of development which will help lessen the tax burden without decreasing services and allow us to maintain our infrastructure. Taxes certainly aren't going to decrease, but the additional development will help us come under the 2% budget cap without cutting services.
btw - I think the taxes are insane. The average property tax in South Orange is $18,000 and we pay a lot more than that.
There are those who cannot stay if taxes creep up another hundred or more per month. And they will. Would I like to stay? Sure! But as far as I can tell, no new developments are priced for downsizing within South Orange.
Even though this development is near me, and in one case is adjacent to me, I'm okay if it is well done, in part because of the tax base. Mainly, though, I believe dense infill development near train stations is the only way to get cars off of the highways, and the progressive liberal in me needs to see progress in this area. Talking about "green new deals" while opposing the actual action isn't right.
annielou said:
There are those who cannot stay if taxes creep up another hundred or more per month. And they will. Would I like to stay? Sure! But as far as I can tell, no new developments are priced for downsizing within South Orange.
What price point are you looking for? For what amount of space?
We can’t expect to have development to compete with rural zones, but I definitely see things I could downsize into, and applaud well thought out development that adds to my eventual downsizing options. (Not a realtor, FWIW)
Profiles of the last 3 candidates to enter the BOT election race are now posted:
Again, to re-cap, there are
2 candidates for Village President:
- Sheena Collum
- Deborah Davis Ford
And 9 candidates for Village Trustee
- Stacey Trimble Borden
- Bobby Brown
- Donna Coallier
- Toshi Davis
- Edward Grossi
- Summer Jones
- Ed Moore
- Matt Wonski
- Bob Zuckerman
The 9 Trustee candidates have organized as 3 three-person "slates", but people can pick any 3 out of the 9 candidates for Trustee and any 1 out of the 2 choices for Village President.
Not sure that development near train stations necessarily impacts the environment in a positive way. Sitting in an idling car in third street traffic does nothing for nearby air quality. Additionally, developments come with parking spaces. Do we know if residents are jumping on the train or jumping on the highway? In any case, cars are being used.
You may not be sure, but study after study shows that infill development near public transit is far less damaging to the environment than more suburban sprawl. Sitting in third Street traffic is nothing at all like idling for two hours approaching the GWB .
annielou said:
Not sure that development near train stations necessarily impacts the environment in a positive way. Sitting in an idling car in third street traffic does nothing for nearby air quality. Additionally, developments come with parking spaces. Do we know if residents are jumping on the train or jumping on the highway? In any case, cars are being used.
I hear this argument all the time that it's the developments that are responsible for all of the traffic. Are the developments responsible for all of the cars backed-up on Wyoming in the morning? People talk as if the entire traffic problem at Third and Valley is because of the development. There was traffic there before the development. Most of the cars going in and out are for commuter parking.Before the development there was commuter parking on the lot. People forget.
“Taxes in New Jersey are absolutely absurd and in South Orange, the average home is assessed at $580,000 with a $17,500 tax bill to go with it. Taxpayers are subsidizing inefficiency and duplication of services at every level of government,” said Collum. Recognizing Maplewood Township Committee members in attendance, Collum listed various shared services already successfully put into place including courts, code enforcement, field maintenance, senior services, and tax collection and argued having 565 municipalities and 600 school districts is not sustainable or efficient for taxpayers, “we’re better and stronger together and next up is fire services which is the second largest expense in both towns’ budgets that can operate more efficiently as one department and save money.” In the long term, Collum joked that she hopes one day both towns will have the community support and political wherewithal to finally “put a ring on it”.
Rentals
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2007 Honda Fit $4,400
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REVO luggage $100
More info
So, did Sheena announce with whom she is running?