South Orange BOT election

OMG, least website ever.  So far her “platform” is SO-is-doing-great-but-there-is-more-to-do-and-I-should-be-the-next-leader, so please give us your email address and volunteer.

Will go back at some point and see if they add a platform.

Yea it's weird to make a big deal about announcing a campaign and then having such a pointless website. How long can it take to write a short biography of the candidate, draw up a few position statements on some key things around town and maybe have a link to the Essex County voter registration page.

If she plans on running the Village like she's running her campaign.....

Klinker said:
If she plans on running the Village like she's running her campaign.....

 In fairness, it’s still very early. A better indicator are her “accomplishments” during 12 years on the BOT and how she differs from her opponent. 

Scenario: Sheena realizes it doesn't look good to run unopposed and asks friend to run.

That sounds pretty ridiculous to me.

I don't know if Sheena plans to run for higher office, but I could see DDF or someone else who might be interested in being VP at some point running despite the long odds in order to position themselves as the logical next choice.

dave said:
Scenario: Sheena realizes it doesn't look good to run unopposed and asks friend to run.

 Nah..don't think so ,Dave. Can't see Sheena being so duplicitous . She's a straight shooter. Like her or hate her, she's always honest

mayhewdrive said:

Klinker said:
If she plans on running the Village like she's running her campaign.....

 In fairness, it’s still very early. A better indicator are her “accomplishments” during 12 years on the BOT and how she differs from her opponent. 

 On second thought, Klinker might have a point - over 3 weeks since the “kickoff party” and no filings regarding the campaign financing are available: 

https://www.elec.state.nj.us/ELECReport/SearchCandidate.aspx

That’s a big no-no. 

What are the rules for that?  I admit  ignorance.

FilmCarp said:
What are the rules for that?  I admit  ignorance.

Form D-1: If a candidate plans to spend any money, including in-kind contributions, in an election, the candidate must file Form D-1 designating a treasurer and a campaign depository. Note that a candidate’s personal funds used for campaign purposes are contributions and are subject to reporting. Use of personal funds for campaign purposes without first depositing them in the campaign depository is prohibited. Form D-1 is filed within 10 days of receiving the first contribution or making the first expenditure.

https://www.elec.state.nj.us/pdffiles/forms/compliance/man_cf.pdf#page14

So, do you all think it might be better to have uncontested elections?  find a person you like and speak ill of anyone who wants to run against her?  Sounds undemocratic!

maybe we should just let the biggest bullies run everything. Does that sound familiar?  It’s always a good idea to have an actual choice!  It’s the American way unless you think the few of you who dominate the convos and push our people who disagree are the smartest ones!  I believe a group of people who disagree on various issues may actually come up with the best policies. That’s just my idea tho and I notice our online culture doesn’t allow for deviation from the norm. Pity. And it’s so damn mean. 

Lovesagoodsale said:
So, do you all think it might be better to have uncontested elections?  find a person you like and speak ill of anyone who wants to run against her?  Sounds undemocratic!

 Huh???  Contested elections are a good thing.  Not following campaign finance reporting rules is a bad thing. 

Get it?

I get a lot of things. I might even be smart! Have a great day!

I’m really glad Ms Davis Ford said part of her platform is not to cut our firefighters. I welcome a leader who isn’t looking to “save us money” by cutting our services. I think our cops and firefighters and DPW are part of why this town is so pleasant to live in and cutting our services seems counter intuitive. I also understand we need development but I do think we need to do so carefully and in compliance with local codes. 

I welcome anybody who wants to run. I met Ms Davis Ford for the first time the other night at one of those Master Plan submeetings. It was very poorly attended but Ms Davis Ford obviously is aware of all the local regulations. She’s an actual font of local code and regulation knowledge so I can’t imagine she would blatantly break any rule. 

Accusations are just that. Let’s see what happens. Competition in elections is healthy. 

There is no plan to "cut firefighters".  There is a proposal to merge the SO and MW Fire Departments, based on the recommendations of a thorough study: http://www.southorange.org/DocumentCenter/View/1146/South-Orange---Maplewood-Fire-Departments---Mantiou-Final-Report---October-2017-?bidId=

As a simple example, this can easily save money, while providing equal or better service, since each department today has a separate minimum staffing level required, that must be maintained, usually by incurring significant overtime.  A combined department would increase efficiency greatly.

The most frustrating thing that I see on this thread are the numbers that illustrate how few people bother to vote.

I haven't seen notable comments by DDF at meetings and I have attended many. She is up against a dynamic VP.

I think an outsider would have a better chance than someone who has been on the board for years and not fought for any memorable issues.

I know a few of the board members are on certain committees but I haven't discovered any of consequence that Ms. Ford is a part of.

Now if Sheena decides to pursue higher office, I think she would have an excellent chance.

I have lost a few issues that I fought for and griped loudly, and I will continue to be a nuisance, but I recognize a talented politician when I see one, and I think Sheena is one.

Morganna, thank you for saying it so well.

I do note this town is ripe for smears. We’ll see what happens. It’s early to accuse Ms Davis Ford of cheating already since she may not have started. Criticizing her website is one thing you can do and it sure may not be fancy but it may not track us either. Who knows?

No one is accusing her of cheating.  Perhaps ignorance of the rules, which is not good, but not cheating

ok. Good! Just for the record, she doesn’t seem to be ignorant. Let’s see what happens!

Morganna said:

I know a few of the board members are on certain committees but I haven't discovered any of consequence that Ms. Ford is a part of.

 All Trustees are members of 3 of the 6 standing committees (public safety, public works, recreation, legal, finance, planning/zoning), and act as Chair for one of them.  They are also each liaisons to many other committees/boards, such as SOPAC, SOVCA, CCR, Senior Citizens, Holocaust Remembrance, Parking Authority etc etc. Each Trustee is typically assigned around 10 or so (http://southorange.no-ip.org/WebLink8/DocView.aspx?id=600817&dbid=0). However the level of attendance and participation by each Trustee varies widely. 

mayhewdrive said:

Morganna said:

I know a few of the board members are on certain committees but I haven't discovered any of consequence that Ms. Ford is a part of.

 All Trustees are members of 3 of the 6 standing committees (public safety, public works, recreation, legal, finance, planning/zoning), and act as Chair for one of them.  They are also each liaisons to many other committees/boards, such as SOPAC, SOVCA, CCR, Senior Citizens, Holocaust Remembrance, Parking Authority etc etc. Each Trustee is typically assigned around 10 or so (http://southorange.no-ip.org/WebLink8/DocView.aspx?id=600817&dbid=0). However the level of attendance and participation by each Trustee varies widely. 

 Thank you.   I'll take a look at the link. 

mayhewdrive said:

mayhewdrive said:

Klinker said:
If she plans on running the Village like she's running her campaign.....

 In fairness, it’s still very early. A better indicator are her “accomplishments” during 12 years on the BOT and how she differs from her opponent. 

 On second thought, Klinker might have a point - over 3 weeks since the “kickoff party” and no filings regarding the campaign financing are available: 
https://www.elec.state.nj.us/ELECReport/SearchCandidate.aspx


That’s a big no-no. 

 Ah...the power of MOL: The day after this post, a filing was submitted:  https://www.elec.state.nj.us/ELECReport/SearchCandidate.aspx

Thank you!

mayhewdrive said:

mayhewdrive said:

mayhewdrive said:

Klinker said:
If she plans on running the Village like she's running her campaign.....

 In fairness, it’s still very early. A better indicator are her “accomplishments” during 12 years on the BOT and how she differs from her opponent. 

 On second thought, Klinker might have a point - over 3 weeks since the “kickoff party” and no filings regarding the campaign financing are available: 
https://www.elec.state.nj.us/ELECReport/SearchCandidate.aspx


That’s a big no-no. 

 Ah...the power of MOL: The day after this post, a filing was submitted:  https://www.elec.state.nj.us/ELECReport/SearchCandidate.aspx
Thank you!

 I often ask myself, who else can wield such power while sitting home and petting a cat other than Dr. No.

As far as the plan to merge firefighters is concerned, when two towns merge forces, there are cuts. Also, there are different ways of seeing things and no one way is right to everyone. That’s actually why we vote!  We, in SO, have full-time firefighters I believe and I believe Maplewood has a mix of full time and part time. Maplewood also has many more residents than South Orange so by merging towns, we lose some voting power over these public services. 

I always wonder about the idea of cutting even a single firefighter in a town full of historic homes, many without electrical upgrades. I guess we all just hope for the best and try to have the best public services available. I think we have that with our own public services and I worry that a merger would not give us any better service, would cost the same (taxes never go down!) and we dilute our power to make decisions about going forward by merging. 

Our taxes are high for many reasons. Cutting or merging our local services would be voting against our best interests IMO. If the towns want shared services, then merge the towns. Otherwise, keep our well-trained and highly responsive police, firefighters and DPW depts in tact. 

Our potholes get filled faster than Maplewood’s. Our firehouse is filled with people who are willing to run into our burning homes to save our lives and property. I’m willing to stand up and thank them and help them keep their jobs. They are great public servants and I’d like to look out for myself and my neighbors by keeping them all working here, for us.  

Merge the town office locations. Maybe we can save some rent money. 

I worked for M&A lawyers for a few years. I called the department “Merge and Destroy.”  Lol

I wonder how the firefighters feel about a possible merger. I'd probably prefer a larger combined department because it would offer more opportunities for advancement. Interesting to hear from people affected. 

That’s a great point, kthnry. I bet they’re 100% against it.  I’ve spoken to a few people about this but not at length and certainly nowhere near a majority of our firefighters. I did meet a Maplewood firefighter who was the person who explained some of their crew are part-time. I do know that I wouldn’t want to be subject to a company merger, for example, where the structure of my employment was likely to change but it isn’t clear exactly how. Would you?