LWV Forum Showcases Candidates

A candidates’ forum Wednesday revealed that the contenders for the Second & Third Ward at-large seat are friends and neighbors. The First Ward candidates share a background that includes experience in Housing Authority administration. And all are devoted to Plainfield.

It was one of the most cordial League of Women Voters forums this writer has ever seen, giving voters a roster nearly guaranteed to benefit the city, no matter which way the votes go. And all vowed to stay involved and lend advice on city matters, win or lose.

In the Second & Third Ward at-large race, veteran New Democrat campaigner Rebecca Williams is now stepping out for a council seat herself, saying, “My time has come.” Williams successfully backed several challengers to the Regular Democratic Organization and in fact beat the RDO-endorsed incumbent in the June primary to get the line for the November election.

Her Republican opponent is retired scientist and Habitat for Humanity volunteer James Pivnichny, who helped build the last five homes the non-profit group erected in Plainfield. Pivnichny was the Republican challenger to Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs last year in her campaign for a second term and has been a constant presence at City Council meetings for the past couple years.

In the First Ward, Democrat William Reid is hoping to retain the seat he has held since an initial appointment in December 2007, replacing Rayland Van Blake, who became a Union County freeholder. Reid was unopposed when he ran for the balance of Van Blake’s term in 2008 and is now seeking a full four-year term.

Republican First Ward challenger Sean Alfred previously ran for a seat representing the First & Fourth Ward, but had to drop out due to Hatch Act restrictions on his federal employment with the Housing Authority. Now free to run, he stressed the broad range of his experiences in the corporate, governmental and volunteer worlds.

Questions from the audience Tuesday included queries in how the candidates would handle road improvements, restructuring of city departments and crime reduction.

On roads, Pivnichny said the city is currently paying about a million dollars per mile to repair streets and called for competitive bidding on road contracts. Williams said a road improvement plan generated by the administration preceding the current mayor was “abandoned and neglected,” leaving gateways to the city in “terrible condition.” Reid said many of the bad roads have been repaired and cited a new city newsletter that gave road repair updates. Alfred said the real question was whether work should be done in-house or by competitive bidding and said once the city gets a chief finance officer, a competitive analysis should be made. (The city has been lacking a CFO since the end of 2007.)

On restructuring of city departments, Alfred favored modernizing them, while Pivnichny called for restoration of the police chief title that was scrapped in favor of a civilian police director. Williams said any such action should take place after the city gets a CFO and a finance director. Reid said the council was grappling with just that issue in budget talks that started this week.
On crime reduction, Williams suggested a review of how police officers are deployed and noted numerous burglaries in the Second & Third wards. Pivnichny said the post of police chief must be restored. Reid called for renewal of jobs program to provide an alternative to crime. Alfred said community assets should be brought to bear on the problem, such as easily accessible computer programs.

Voters will have their say Nov. 2, when polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Winners of the general election for council seats will take office on Jan. 1, 2011 for four-year terms.

--Bernice Paglia