Tag: elections

Reading the signs:Uphill for local GOP

Local Republican candidates John O’Sullivan and Steve Walrond are facing long odds in the campaign for Township Council.

The evidence — admittedly unscientific — is the dearth of signs around town, especially when compared to the ubiquitous presence of Barrett-Carley-Camarota signs.

Signs, to be sure, are a somewhat dubious way in which to gauge support. But a lack of signs, when combined with several factors both current and historical help paint a larger problem facing the GOP.

Consider some recent history: During the previous five elections dating back to 1998 campaign, when the council was created, 15 council seats have been on the ballot. Of those, the GOP has won just two — and both times it was incumbent Ted Van Hessen who won.

Of the other 13 candidates, eight had run in the past (seven of whom had lost) and the party has had difficult during the last three elections — including this one — finding people to run or money to fund their campaigns.

Add to the mix a demographic change that has turned the township bluer with each passing year and you have two Republicans running up hill during an avalanche. That’s not to say they won’t win. It just won’t be very easy.

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Unfortunate news

Jamesburg Borough Councilman Thomas Bodall was arrested yesterday and faces charges related to an investigation by the Bergen County prosecutor’s office. According to a release he allegedly

engaged in conversations via the Internet, specifically chat and instant messaging, with what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. During the course of those conversations Bodall initiated sexually explicit dialog. On several occasions, Bodall transmitted pictures of his exposed penis to the presumed child.

I don’t want to prejudge this, especially since we have not spoken to Mr. Bodall. But I would encourage Mr. Bodall to end his re-election bid and give the Democrats a chance to replace him on the ticket (they have until Sept. 14).

My reasoning in simple: It will keep the charges from being an issue in the campaign. This would allow Mr. Bodall and his family to deal with what has happened and allow borough residents to maintain their focus on that issues that are most important to them.

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Election, Part IV: countdown to reform

There is a good post on Blue Jersey about how Tuesday’s status quo election may offer the Democrats a two-year window to get reform done and that, should they left it close, they are likely to find themselves feeling the wrath of voters.

Here is the response I offered:

I am in complete agreement with Mr. Rudy that the time has passed for reform to take place. Property taxes are too high, there are too many layers of government in this state and too many people with too many hands in too many tills.

But I am less optimistic that the voters want reform. My suspicion, from covering elections over the years and writing about local and state government, is that voters know their is a problem and want it fixed, but that they want it fixed without there being any pain — or at least no pain for them.

So suburban voters are ready to toss the urban school kids overboard and residents of towns who are unlikely to face consolidation want to see consolidation happen elsewhere.

Consider Jamesburg, which has almost no tax base and nearly had to close its library this year. Jamesburg should merge with Monroe — it is the donought hole to Monroe’s donought — but its elected officials are vehemently opposed to consolidation, as are Monroe’s. I understand this from a purely parochial point of view — no one wants to put themselves out of a job — but it is an example of the difficulties that consolidating municipalties will face. That’s why I was chagrined to find that the consolidation commission that was created earlier this year was defanged before it ever came into being (originally, towns would have been forced to merge after a vote of the Legislature).

There is a need for progressives to craft a bold plan for reform — municipal and school consolidation, a general reduction in the number of taxing districts (there are about 1,400 in the state right now), a realignment of the counties (elimination??), a new school-funding formula, an increased reliance on income taxes (this would not only reduce property taxes but change the warped, tax-chasing incentives that drive our land-use decisions), etc.

Much of this may not be popular — as I said, New Jerseyans tend to want others to pay for their reforms — and it could lead to some volatility. I would argue — as Mr. Rudy does — that the volatility already is there.

We’ve wasted too much time spinning our wheels. Let’s get the reform
train moving forward.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

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Election, Part III: the broken GOP

Republicans in South Brunswick and Monroe can’t be too happy with the results of Tuesday’s election.

While Bill Baroni won a Senate seat rather handidly, he only squeaked by in South Brunswick — he bested a weak candidate, South Brunswick resident Seema Singha — a town that he has visited often and in which he has always been popular. Mr. Baroni was the top votegetter in town in 2005, as well, but only by 24 votes in his last Assembly race — plus, his runningmate, former South Brunswick Police Chief Michael Paquette, managed only a third-place finish, raising questions about Baroni’s coattails.

Taken together — along with Linda Greenstein’s huge showing in the township this time around (she was the top votegetter with 1,966, which probably helped put her over the top) — show once again how difficult it has become for Republicans to win in South Brunswick.

The same goes for Monroe, where a controversy over the proposed new high school should have inflicted some damage on the Democrats, especially with Mayor Richard Pucci topping the ticket. Instead, as has been the case for several years, the GOP offered only the barest of challenges (though, if the party can find a decent candidate for Ward 3 in 2009 and find some real cash to fund him or her and not come off sounding shrill and petty….).

There are several reasons for this, I think, including demographics — senior voters in Monroe, a more affluent, East Coast voter in South Brunswick. But the big reason is that both GOP organizations are broken (Monroe Chairwoman Sidna Mitchell has been working dilligently to repair things there, but the party does not have much of a farm system at this point) and have failed to offer decent candidates or a coherent platform in years.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

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