Williams Names Running Mate

In a surprise announcement Thursday at the Cedar Brook Block Association meeting, Councilwoman Rebecca Williams introduced Charles McRae as her running mate in the June primary.

Williams, who is seeking re-election to the Second & Third Ward at-large seat, and Councilwoman Gloria Taylor, an appointee running for the unexpired balance of the Third Ward term, both addressed an audience of about 100 residents. Taylor, widow of the late Mayor Richard L. Taylor, spoke first, recalling changes in the community over the years.

Gloria Taylor, Rebecca Williams, Adrian O. Mapp
"I remember the Plainfield after the riots, when we had to build the city," she said, referring to a major shift after 1967 from a predominately white population to one dominated by African-Americans.

Recalling the difficulties, she said, "I still believe in Plainfield."

Taylor now holds the seat vacated by former Third Ward Councilman Adrian O. Mapp after he won the November mayoral election.

""Although we differ, I want him to be a good mayor," Taylor said. "I think we need to re-brand Plainfield," she added, saying she got the term from the city of Newark.

After many years as an educator in Paterson, Taylor said she saw "a lot of division" in Plainfield" when she returned. She said people should be able to work together, "but something happened."

Among other comments, she deplored the recent closing of Suburban Jewelers, a city business since 1961.

"Something is happening in Plainfield," she said, pledging to work with economic director Carlos Sanchez.

She also noted many firefighters and police officers tell her they would not be where they are without the help of her late husband.

"They will not take your children to jail, they will take them to your house," she said.

Taylor spoke against residency requirement waivers for city officials, alluding to "carpetbaggers."

Saying as a retiree she should be "sitting back," she said she brings "skills and ability and commitment" to her service on the council.

"I am old school - I believe in Plainfield," she said.

Williams said she has been on the council for three years and said she hoped her constituents felt they had received service. Running for re-election, she said, "I too am focused on Plainfield, just as you are."

The city budget has been kept stable, she said.

"I knock on doors, I meet you," she added.

"The reason we are here tonight is to discuss Muhlenberg. Six hundred apartments is not what the community wants. We will not stand for it. We need quality medical services," she said.

She then introduced McRae, who is vice president of the block association, as her running mate.

McRae, who has also served as chairman of the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee, stood as the room broke into applause..

Talking about his longtime residency in the Third Ward, McRae said, "My neighbors and I get along well."

Regarding the city, he said, "We need to live in the future."

He named cleaning up the community, economic development and working to repurpose the hospital as a medical facility as goals while audience members murmured agreement.

"We need to support our mayor," he said. "The mayor of your city is your salesman."

He urged people to listen and not have their minds made up, saying people don't want to talk to each other. But he said he and his neighbors talk.

"I'm not trying to tell you, I'm trying to sell you," he said. "It is all about who is going to bring you good government, ethical government."

Obviously well-known to the crowd, he got another round of applause.

Candidates must file for the June primary by 4 p.m. on March 31. Williams passed out petitions Thursday and asked Third Ward and Second Ward residents to sign.

Besides the four-year Second & Third Ward at-large seat and the unexpired Third Ward term, the First Ward seat occupied by Councilman William Reid is also up this year. The primary is June 3 and the general election is Nov. 4.

--Bernice

Mayor, Economic Director Promote City Study of Muhlenberg Campus

Speaking to about 100 members and guests of the Cedar Brook Block Association, Mayor Adrian O. Mapp outlined steps he is taking toward restoration of a health care facility on the former Muhlenberg hospital campus and urged citizen participation in a city-sponsored study of possible uses of the site.

Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center closed in 2008, despite dozens of rallies and pleas to state authorities to keep it open. Since then,only a satellite emergency center with links to JFK Medical Center in Edison remains to serve residents of Plainfield and neighboring communties. In 2012, JFK Health System presented an appraiser's report saying the best use for the campus was development of 600 luxury apartments, a concept roundly rejected by city residents.

About 100 residents attended Thursday's meeting.
On Thursday, Mapp introduced the city's new deputy city administrator for economic development, Carlos Sanchez, to talk about the city-sponsored study. Sanchez, formerly the director of economic development for the city of Elizabeth, first assured residents that recent activity observed on the Muhlenberg campus had nothing to do with renovation or construction, but was only disposal of old equipment and furniture from a dialysis facility on the campus.  He presented a schedule of three community meetings that are part of the city planning study on the site - March 27 at Plainfield High School, April 24 at Washington Community School and April 29 at Emerson Community School - and said the information will also be disseminated in Spanish. Each meeting, from 7 to 9 p.m., will include a Spanish translator so that the city's Latino population, now more than 40 percent, can participate.

"We want to make sure everyone comes out," Sanchez said, urging those present to call others to attend the meetings

A draft report could be ready by late August or early September, he said.

Challenged by resident Regina Bagley-Gray to describe his background, Sanchez noted his service in Elizabeth, with the Union County Economic Development Corporation, with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and in commercial lending with various banks.

"Economic development cannot be done in a vacuum," he said. "What I bring to the table is relationships."

But he added that economic development cannot be done from City Hall alone, but has to involve with the community and businesses.

Bagley Gray asked whether he lives in the city and what he wants to see in Plainfield, to which another resident said what Sanchez wants "is not nearly as important as what we want."

Sanchez said he was not a resident, but the issue was not what he wants.

"That's why we are having all these community meetings," he said.

Residents raised several other issues, including why Mapp chose Ron West to be finance director when he was linked to JFK Health System as a board member.

"That's like having your drug dealer become your therapist," the resident said.

Mapp said he insisted on West severing all  ties to JFK Health System and West is not included in any city discussions about the campus.

Other speakers included activist Dottie Gutenkauf, who said a planning study was proposed during the previous administration "but did not make it into the budget." In support of the current one, she said, "We need our own planner who will put Plainfield first."

--Bernice 

HAP Discussion Dropped, More Details on YMCA Plan

At Monday's agenda-fixing session, City Council President Bridget Rivers announced there would be no discussion of the Housing Authority of Plainfield's proposal to build on two city-owned lots, but more details emerged on another project, the conversion of YMCA space to 30 apartments for young adults aging out of foster care.

The YMCA has had a foster care program since 1987 (see here). When foster children reach 18, they "age out" of care programs and are more or less on their own. The YMCA is proposing to convert space now occupied by its 60 current single-room occupancy (SRO) for men into 30 efficiency apartments for low-income young adults aging out of foster care. The residents will pay no more than 30 percent of their earnings for rent and will receive intensive supportive services to help them learn to live independently.

The YMCA's location at 518 Watchung Avenue gives residents easy access to public transportation as well as nearby stores, restaurants, Union County College and other community resources, the agency said in a description of the program. It was identified as "a natural centerpiece of the YMCA's evolving Youth Development programs."

At Monday's City Council meeting, YMCA president and CEO Ravenell Williams IV said the agency will be applying for HMFA tax credits, among other funding sources. The apartments will be on the second and third floors of the building and will not affect the emergency shelter on the main floor. Williams was accompanied by YMCA Board Chairman Kieran Anderson. (Click here to see more about the YMCA.)

Councilwoman Tracey Brown said as a former juvenile officer she felt the proposal was "an excellent idea." Councilwoman Gloria Taylor said she was just concerned about "people who have issues" that might result in complaints about loitering and such.

The council agreed to put a resolution "authorizing the determination of a special needs project" for the YMCA on the agenda for the March 10 regular meeting. The YMCA expects to seek 4 percent tax credits in the second quarter of 2014 and to start construction in the first quarter of 2015.

--Bernice

Reid Faults West in Budget Fracas

A discussion on temporary appropriations for the month of April devolved into a dispute over inclusion of a year's worth of costs for the mayor's office as well as high pension costs.

Councilman William Reid repeatedly accused the administration of trying to "pull the wool over our eyes" as Finance Director Ron West attempted to explain the budget appropriations Monday. West also caught flak from Councilwoman Gloria Taylor, who told West, "Say what it is you are doing and just be truthful."

"Don't be antagonistic," Councilwoman Vera Greaves chided West as he tried again to answer Reid's questions.

Reid, head of the council's finance committee for 2014, said he will be meeting with West Friday, but instead of having the April budget on the March 10 agenda, Reid said the council will probably have to hold a special meeting before the March 31 deadline to approve the temporary budget..

The council is still in the process of naming members of the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee and is not anywhere close to budget adoption, so must make appropriations month by month to run city operations..

While the whole-year appropriation for the mayor's office did sound like something new and unusual in the budget process, the reason for needing to pay about $5 million in April for pensions dates back to 2009, when the council at the time agreed to a deferral plan that lowered taxes but incurred a future debt for 15 years starting in 2012. See post here.

In April 2012, the tab for the deferred payment was $5,199,585 for the Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS) and $1,407,810 for the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), just the first installment in paying back the debt incurred to keep taxes low in 2009. See post here.

Perhaps Reid forgot about the deferral plan. As for the $99,000 in the April budget for the mayor's office, a full explanation is in order.

--Bernice

Third Ward Meeting Thursday

FYI: The Planning Board meeting is canceled Thursday, so if you were trying to choose which to attend, there is no longer a conflict
Update: Robin now says she had the wrong date and it is Thursday, March 6

From Robin Bright:

CEDAR BROOK BLOOK ASSOCIATION
WE NEED YOUR INPUT AND SUPPORT
We are having an intimate meeting with 
Mayor elect Adrian O Mapp
And newly appointed 3rd ward council woman Gloria Taylor
Please come out on Mach 5, 2014 to our regularly schedule block association meeting. Now is the time to speak directly with our Mayor Elect and newly appointed 3rd ward council woman Gloria Taylor. JFK has 3 dumpsters in front of the Kenyon Building on Park Ave. Here’s your opportunity to hear her views and ideas for the Muhlenberg property and to question our newly elected Mayor on the study that was ordered by our city council and the recent movement of JFK. 
This promises to be a truly informative meeting but, only if you are there to give your input. You can ask anything that is on your mind in relations to Plainfield and our neighborhood. Let’s not forget that JFK is still trying to get buy-in from the community and our elected officials to build a 600 unit apartment complex in our neighborhood. We have done an excellent job so far but we need to stay diligent and keep the pressure on our elected and appointed officials. 

Refreshments provided!!

Meeting time: March 5, 2014 at 7:30pm
Place: Senior Citizens building located on 1272 Park Ave, rear entrance lounge. 

7:30 p.m.

Taylor Blasts Mapp Deal on Legal Shield

The three-month controversy over a payroll deduction plan for legal services exploded into charges of "dirty politics" by Mayor Adrian O. Mapp at Monday's City Council meeting.

The council and administration were chewing over the same pros and cons of the Legal Shield plan when Councilwoman Gloria Taylor said she was asked to approve a mayoral nominee to the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority in exchange for allowing the payroll deduction plan.

Taylor said City Administrator Rick Smiley offered the deal to her by telephone.

"Don't do it again to me," she said. "I don't do deals when I am a public servant."

Mapp defended the ploy, telling the council, "I am very comfortable attempting to negotiate with you. I would do it with a bullhorn."

Mapp said the city's 50,000 residents and 16,000 households were being affected by "what is happening at PMUA," citing employee furloughs, a wage freeze and a $1 million settlement with two former authority executives.

"What I want is for you to work with me to allow me to appoint the right people at PMUA," he said, to which Taylor responded again with a charge of "dirty politics."

Asked after the meeting if he indeed was proposing a quid pro quo, Mapp said, "A quid pro quo happens in politics every day."

His proposed trade would result in replacing PMUA Commissioner Malcolm Dunn with Thomas Crownover, whose nomination the council rejected in January. (See post here.)

Jilletta Riley urges approval of Legal Shield payroll deduction
A main supporter of Legal Shield is Dunn's son, Jeffery, who along with Legal Shield representative Jilletta Riley has argued that the previous administration allowed the payroll deduction plan and it should continue in Mapp's new administration. Both again gave many reasons why the plan is a benefit for employees who may not have bank accounts, and again Councilwoman Rebecca Williams pointed out that Jeffery Dunn has personal ties to the company. Williams outlined her objections on her blog Monday.

Notwithstanding Taylor's umbrage and Mapp's aplomb, longtime union activist Dottie Gutenkauf raised another argument against the Legal Shield plan.

Dottie Gutenkauf addresses the council.
"I think that the council and administration and public have had to spend far too much time on this Legal Shield stuff," she began, suggesting that if employees really want the plan, they should take it to their unions.

"Put it on the bargaining table,":she said.

Gutenkauf warned that allowing a payroll deduction for a company that hasn't been compared to other companies was "opening Pandora's box" and letting loose "all the nasties."

"You are asking for trouble if you do this," she said.

For all the talk, there was no outcome Monday, as Legal Shield was only on the agenda as a discussion item. Mapp said he had a resolution prepared on his PMUA nomination that the council could have agreed to put up for a vote at next Monday's regular meeting, but the council moved on to other items without giving consensus.

--Bernice

Twin City Vignette

Lately the phrase, "You don't get out much, do you?" applies to me, but Saturday evening I ventured over to the Twin City supermarket for a few things.

A family of four was walking ahead of me when one of the little girls started skipping, In a moment of pure whimsy, all four, including the dad, held hands and skipped to the entrance. I was touched by the dad's willingness to please his daughter, even at the risk of looking silly.

Later I saw a woman shopper dressed in white from head to toe - a long tiered skirt,. flowing blouse and jacket, slippers and a head wrap, all white. She ended up at the checkout counter next to mine and I kept stealing glances at her garb and many beaded necklaces. I guessed that I was looking at an initiate of the Santeria religion. I knew of the religion from my informal studies of beliefs and have seen other local indications of its presence here, including a woman who attended a City Council meeting similarly dressed. Initiates must wear white for a year.It reminded me again of Plainfield's diversity.

The last experience was being handed more than thirty-two dollars in change, though I had given the cashier only a $20 bill. My musings on the woman in white had distracted me, but not enough to pocket the "change" without registering the error. I gave the money back and got the proper change.

These small incidents that I found so interesting probably prove that I have been housebound, or nearly so, for too long this winter. I left feeling sentimental about the little family, intrigued by seeing the iwayo and glad the cashier didn't get in trouble.

--Bernice