Commentary: Queen of Denial

Those who found Monday's meeting to be peaceful and congenial may have missed the end of it, in which former Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs invoked the royal "we" and indulged in a bit of revisionism.
Then her supporter Roland "I say things the mayor can't say" Muhammad took a few jabs at Mayor Adrian O. Mapp before declaring, "This is a new year - this is the year of the people," and "We're going to make a change."

Mapp had delivered his State of the City address, including this statement:

"When I took office in 2014, the state of Plainfield’s finances was no secret. I inherited a derelict city
government that was devoid of fiscal integrity. This was not the fault of our city employees, who
were doing the best job they could with outdated technology – or no technology at all -- lack of
employees in key positions, and no accountability from the former administration.
Simply put, the City’s finances were thought to be of no significance and thus, were ignored and
were not considered a priority for seven years prior to me taking office."

Robinson-Briggs, who was shaking her head while Mapp spoke, first told new Councilwoman Diane Toliver, "We welcome you."

Fretting over Mapp's  depiction of her tenure in the televised meeting, she said, "I have to stand in support of the previous administration."

She said the employees worked hard and she was "extremely proud of the job they did."

However, it is a fact that the city went without a permanent chief financial officer after Peter Sepelya left in 2007. The mayor and entire council were facing state fines of $25 per day for not filling the post when Ron Zilinski was hired in November 2010 to serve 28 hours a week. Zilinski left after one year and the city began relying on the business administrator/CFO of South Plainfield to spare five to seven hours per week to help out.

After Sepelya retired, some dubious fiscal moves led to an investigation and even the mayor's campaign treasurer, Bill Reid, commented on the lack of leadership in the administration.

Judging by the comments that have come in since the meeting, the Sharonistas out there are convinced that Mapp deserves all the blame for whatever went wrong between 2006 and 2013. Here's one:

Why does mapp constantly bash Sharon, she was not allowed a COS or CFO. He blocked everything she tried to do, and now has the audacity to bash her and talk about her failed tenure.

"COS" is apparently short for chief of staff, a position the council majority deleted from Mapp's 2014 budget. The former mayor did have a confidential aide and, for a time, two bodyguards. 

Even though she said Monday, "Together we'll have a great year in Plainfield," somehow the "we" did not sound all-inclusive. When someone in the audience muttered, "Sit down," the former mayor bristled and tried to identify the malefactor.

There is an agenda-fixing session at 7:30 p.m. Monday and a regular meeting at 8 p.m. on Jan. 20, both in Municipal Court, 325 Watchung Ave. Believe it or not, Mapp is now in the second year of a four-year term.

--Bernice