Candidates Declare for Primary

Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Green gave the line for the June primary to incumbent appointee Vera Greaves in the First & Fourth Ward at-large race and to Tony Rucker for the Second Ward at a party committee meeting Thursday.

Others who declared their candidacy were incumbent Councilman Cory Storch and newcomer Danielle Bush for the Second Ward and Delois Dameron for the First & Fourth Ward at-large seat.

Green said he acted as one of 21 trustees who decide who gets the line for the Regular Democratic Organization of Union County. Committee members had no role in the selection Thursday.

Green, who represents District 22 in the state Assembly, also permitted others to speak before naming his slate. Storch said he was planning to run in the primary, but not on the line. Storch said the city is facing many problems in a time of limited resources but said there are “serious disagreements” on how to use those resources.

“We have to learn how to come together and not fight,” he said. “We have to make government more effective than it is now.”

Storch said he wanted the primary to be about issues, not personalities, and notdivisions along lines such as race and class.

“I’m standing for honest competition,” he said. “I think the Democrats have to stand for new ideas, progress and change.

Storch cited a controversy over recreation programs as an example of the need for change.

“If you are satisfied with the number of children served, you probably don’t want to vote for me,” he said.

Noting past attacks on his family, he concluded by calling for a “clean campaign.”

Councilwoman Rebecca Williams asked whether there would be a vote after the presentations, but Green said thre would be no vote.

Next, Bush, a minister and health professional, named crime and safety as some of her major concerns, along with health care. She said funding that could have been channeled to Plainfield “left and went to another county.”

Bush said there was plenty of funding for mental health, which could help the city deal with gang violence. She cited the city’s HIV rate as “catching up with Newark.” She mentioned a city needle exchange program and also said she had talked to gang leaders in Plainfield.

On employment, Bush said there are corporations who guarantee employment to people with records.

“What I have done all my life is bring about change,” she said.

Rucker described how he came to Plainfield by way of Connecticut and Vallejo, Calif. and said his wife is a Plainfielder. He said he had heard of the city’s potential for many years and called council members “”all talented and all eager to make Plainfield a better place,” but said they are struggling with “group cohesiveness.”

Rucker said the city does have a master plan, but people have to get involved.

Having been a president of the Netherwood Neighborhood Association and been involved in church and youth work, he said, he wants to create an “exchange” for all those with good ideas, a place “like the New York Stock Exchange” where buyers and sellers come.

“Another thing I am passionate about is kids,” he said. “You can tell a lot about a community by its quality of life for children.”

But he said there is not a lot for children to do here and said he wants to create “a series of community centers.”

As the city competes with neighboring communities, he said, “We cannot fight with each other while they look at us in the rear view mirror.”

Citing what he learned from a recent visit to Oakland, Calif., Rucker said, “If we come together, it’s a beautiful city.”

“I am ready to work as hard as I can to make the city better,” he said.

Referring to Storch, Green told the audience, “I did not hear one thing he accomplished in eight years.” He said he was “very impressed” with Bush, but there is “more about Plainfield she needs to know.”

Green said he got offended when he did not hear candidates talk about “what happened last week,” alluding to a championship game.

“I’m so proud of the kids,” he said. “Nobody talked about this.”

Green said that’s why he decided to support Rucker, adding he did not make up his mind until that evening.

Two candidates for the First & Fourth Ward at-large seat spoke.

Greaves, appointed after Councilwoman Linda Carter vacated the seat in January to serve on the Union County Freeholder Board, said she has lived in Plainfield over 30 years. If elected, she said, she would serve both wards equally. Greaves said she wanted to start a program for young people “8 to 18” to channel them and said she is working with churches in her neighborhood to help youth.

“I cannot do it by myself,” she said. “I am asking everyone to pitch in.”

Greaves said on the drug problem, “We need desperately for something to happen.” She said she was hoping to work with police and “all those in charge” to “bring people back – not even back, but to a better place.”

Dameron also declared her candidacy for the First & Fourth Ward seat. Saying she came to Plainfield six years ago when her father became ill, she said seniors are faced with taxes that are too high. On a fixed income of $18,000, she said, her mother pays $12,000 in taxes.

As a member of the Citizens’ Budget Advisory Committee, she said she feels the budget is out of control and spending is out of control.

“I believe we can change Plainfield,” she said. “We cannot allow Plainfield to decline.”

Dameron said she had helped in campaigns for Green, Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs and Congressman Frank Pallone and was “always available.”

She said she did not consider herself a politician, but was “merely a servant.”

“I believe we can work together,” she said, to help youth and “mostly our seniors.”

By helping the seniors, she said “that will in turn help our youth,” she said.

After Dameron spoke, Green called for a motion to adjourn the meeting, but then said Dameron she had not come to him about her candidacy.

“Not one person in this room is my enemy,” Green said. “My enemy is in Trenton.”

Green said Rucker had been a “New Democrat” and so was Greaves, whereupon longtime committee member Rosemarie Cathcart called out, “Why can’t we be one party?”

Green then said of Greaves, “I have never seen a woman work harder. A lot of people say she’s got a lot to learn.”

But Green called her “a good learner” and said, “I feel she is not going to be a disgrace to us.”

Greaves said, “When I am committed, I am committed 100 percent. I will work 110 percent for the benefit of Plainfield.”

Committee member Frank D’Aversa attempted to bring up the matter of a slur-filled flyer that turned up in employees’ mailboxes at City Hall this week, but Green shut him down.

After a slam at city bloggers, Green said, “That letter did not cross the line” (Clarification: Olive Lynch reports that Green based his comment on a review by the Union County Prosecutor's Office) and added a bank parking lot will be opened for day workers before adjourning the meeting.

After the meeting, Plaintalker asked Dameron whether she was running on a slate. She said she is running as a “New Democrat.”

The official deadline to file for the primary is 4 p.m. Monday. All 68 Democratic City Committee seats and all state legislative seats are up for re-election this year.

--Bernice Paglia