Primary Election Notes

As other observers have noted, the 2012 Democratic Primary has four candidates vying for two City Council seats, but their alliances and support make this political season one of the most confusing in recent memory.

The local Democratic Party line went to Rev. Tracey Brown, the pastor and friend of Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, for the citywide at-large seat, and to the mayor's political arch-enemy, Council President Adrian Mapp, for the Third Ward seat. Challengers are Veronica "Roni" Taylor for the citywide at-large seat and Rasheed Abdul-Haqq for the Third Ward. Taylor is backed by New Democrat council members Rebecca Williams and Cory Storch, while Abdul-Haqq has the support of political "kingmaker" John Campbell.

Brown formerly served on the school board and is a current commissioner on the board of the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority. Mapp won his council seat in 2008 with Campbell's backing and is the longtime leader of the New Democrats, who often stand in opposition to the Regular Democratic Organization.. Taylor has held many roles in the community and is a teacher and coach with the Plainfield school district. Abdul-Haqq won a school board seat with Campbell's backing, but was forced off the board through legislation sponsored by Green, whom he has often criticized in letters to the editor.

In recent days, a social media campaign has appealed to voters to choose Taylor and Mapp in the June 5 primary. Earlier, observers noted the mayor was openly backing Abdul-Haqq along with Brown.

With such a mixed bag of affiliations, voters are perhaps better advised to look at the individuals rather than their political "brands." The role they seek is that of legislators, representing residents on the governing body. The citywide at-large seat, currently held by Annie McWilliams, represents all four wards, while the other one up this year is for the Third Ward, a largely residential area in the city's southwest section.

The audience at the Friends of Sleepy Hollow forum heard a lot of rhetoric on all sorts of topics, some very far afield from the City Council's purview. The forum was taped for viewing on local channels 34 and 96, so maybe you can see it there if you did not attend.

Brown stressed her pastoral work, including free funerals and repasts for families of youthful victims of violence; her accomplishments as a basketball star; and her community work. She pledged to lower property taxes, expand jobs and restore decorum at council meetings. Abdul-Haqq promoted his plan to create jobs by launching a flea market in the West End as an economic hub. He also detailed his many years of activism in the schools and for causes such as getting NJ Transit to refurbish rusty railroad overpasses.

Taylor noted her past community involvements and said now that her children are older, she is ready to commit to a council role. She named her strengths as the ability to collaborate and a "proven track record" of service. Mapp cited his record as a councilman and freeholder, promised "honest, ethical leadership" and said "I have a passion for public service."

The two sticky wickets in this campaign are where candidates stand on the Muhlenberg and PMUA issues. Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center closed in 2008, and since then, there has been only a satellite emergency room on the premises, itself due to close next year. Nothing much has changed since the linked article above was published in October 2008, except that now the parent company wants to build 660 apartments on the site, a proposition that, if possible, is even more controversial than the hospital's closing.

None of the candidates are in favor of a high-density rental project in the Third Ward neighborhood that now has mostly one- and two-family homes. All want a health care facility on the site. But the governing body will not be the absolute decider in either case.

As for the PMUA, officials are mulling its dissolution and putting solid waste and sewer services under the city's aegis, but again such action is not purely a City Council matter. Discussion at the forum ended up focusing on Brown's stated "conflict of interest" in talking about the PMUA while campaigning, despite which she was able to say she voted for arbitration before a controversial $1 million settlement with two former top PMUA executives. She was absent when the board of commissioners voted approval of the settlement.

At the FOSH forum, Taylor was quite clear on the role of a council member, both as a legislator and steward of public money. Mapp, a certified financial officer, has often called the administration to account on fiscal matters while recognizing the division of power between the executive and legislative branches. Neither Brown nor Abdul-Haqq seemed as clear on the role of a council member, the former pledging to "work very hard" and the latter promising to "do the right thing."

Voters - a possible 3,497 Third Ward Democrats and 11,992 city-wide, along with any unaffiliated who declare themselves Democrats at the polls - must sort all this information as well as their personal feelings about the candidates for the June 5 primary. In this heavily Democratic city, a win in June is considered to be tantamount to election in November. As always, no matter where candidates stand, the key factor is getting out the vote on Election Day. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Check your sample ballot to verify your polling place.

And don't forget, this year school board candidates must file by 4 p.m. June 5 in the County Clerk's office in Elizabeth to run in the November General Election. Three three-year seats and one one-year unexpired term are up this year.

Two Republicans have already filed to be on the November ballot. They are Bill Amirault for the Citywide at-large seat and Randy Bullock for the Third Ward seat. Independents must also file by 4 p.m. June 5 to be on the November ballot.

On this Memorial Day weekend, remember that people have fought and died for your freedom to vote. Honor them by exercising this hard-won right.

--Bernice