Monday, May 22, 2017

Two More Forums To Go

With everything else on my mind, I totally forgot about yesterday's candidates' forum.

If you missed it too, you can see at least the mayoral portion on Facebook. Three of the four candidates took part. I found myself yelling at the netbook over some non-factual items.

If I attend the other ones, I will have to take notes, mind my manners and never mind the whoppers that may crop up.

Dan reports that there will be a forum at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (May 25 23) at Shiloh Baptist Church, 515 West Fourth Street. I thought it was somewhat unusual to have a candidates' forum in a church, but while searching online I found there had been a mayoral candidates' forum  at Shiloh in 2009, when six people were competing for the line in the June primary. This year, it's a four-way race.

The Plainfield League of Women Voters will hold a candidates' forum on May 31 at Emerson School. The mayoral candidates will give statements and answer written questions from the audience between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. City Council candidates will do the same from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The primary is June 6. Winners will be on the November 7 general election ballot, along with any independent candidates who file on June 6.

As a reminder, here are the four slates with their slogans:

REGULAR DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZATION OF UNION COUNTY
Mayor, Four-year term: Adrian O. Mapp
City Council, Second & Third Wards Unexpired Term: Joylette E. Mills-Ransome
Fourth Ward, Four-year term: Steve Hockaday

DEMOCRATIC PARTY UNITY CANDIDATES
Mayor, Four-year term: Dr. Henrilynn Davis Ibezim
City Council, Second & Third Wards Unexpired Term: Cameron E. Cox
Fourth Ward, Four-year term: Elliott Simmons

DEMOCRATS OF PLAINFIELD 
Mayor, Four-year term: Bridget Rivers
City Council, Second & Third Wards Unexpired Term: Alma Blanco
(no Fourth Ward candidate filed)


PLAINFIELD DEMOCRATS FOR CHANGE
Mayor, Four-year term: Tracey L. Brown
Fourth Ward, Four-year term: Terri Briggs
(Second & Third Ward candidate filing was ruled invalid)


17 comments:

  1. Mapp was a no show and the people were left to feel that he thinks that location is beneath him.

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    1. Hardly - but nice propaganda - ask Tracey for a raise, you have done your job for the day.

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    2. Ask Tracey for a raise? I'm a Doctors assistant. Lol

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  2. Thursday is the 25th, Tuesday is the 23rd. What day is the debate at Shiloh Baptist Church.

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  3. The NAACP was a very interesting discussion on the candidates points and how they will solve the issues for our city. It was a shame that the current Mayor did not attend.

    There was a cross section of residents in attendance from all 4 wards.

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    1. Timothy - you have only been here a hot minute but that doesn't mean you can't do your homework before posting. The Plainfield NAACP events have been missed for years by many candidates. The Plainfield NAACP is run by the husband of Sharon Robinson-Briggs and is about as far from neutral as it can get. In particular this year Sharon is helping to manage the campaign of Tracey (or Tracy - since her signs spell it both ways) Brown.

      Very few candidates take that forum seriously. And please enlighten us on the interesting discussions that took place - hopefully some detailed policy positions like:
      --- Building community through community resources (meaningless slogan)
      --- We need to do something about taxes (obvious, and a common goal, but no detail as to how they would do that)
      --- We need more activities for kids (ignoring the fact that two of them were on the council for a long period and Bridget was the chair of the recreation committee and didn't do a thing and only want to use it for their own friends to get jobs)

      I seriously doubt that any solid concepts came out of that forum - hasn't happened before.

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    2. For those who did not or forgot to attend the NAACP Mayoral Forum, it was a chance for the public to hear what the Mayoral candidates had to say about their vision for the city.

      When the evening began, the monitor was very clear that there would be no personal insults amongst the candidates or towards the candidate that did not attend.

      This was not a debate, it was a forum with questions pertaining to what can be done about Crime, Homelessness, Taxes and City Unity.

      The audience was respectful of each speaker, there were no personal attacks either between the candidates or from the audience. Each candidate was given the opportunity to present their vision and their ideas

      When someone enters the field of politics they must have thick skin and be able to attend many functions that sometimes may not be of their style. We all know that our current President does not have thick skin and sends out his surrogates to try and spin his word and actions to avoid the facts.

      Many people can only attack others due to their lack of knowledge and respect for other’s opinions.

      The residents of Plainfield must stop all the negativity towards one another especially during an election season. It is sad that neighbors take these issues beyond the point of civility. Remember, that this is a short part of our lives and it does not need to be the Hatfields and McCoys feud.

      We as taxpayers have the right to question every elected official and city employee in a respectful manner and we should demand transparency and accountability for the betterment of our community.

      As we move toward the next two public forums, we all must be knowledgeable about who is running for public office and then make your own PERSONAL decision on who you will cast your vote for. Please attend and educate yourself and not have others force their agendas on your right to vote.

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    3. Timothy - so the answer to my question is no - nothing was awford but slogans and incomplete sentences. By the way - this isn't a personal attack against anyone - it is an attack on empty platitudes that only use up air and don't move the ball. Tracey Brown and Bridget Rivers have had positions of influence and authority in the city and have accomplished absolutely NOTHING. The responsible question on behalf of voters is "what are your plans and what skills and experience do you bring to the table?".

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  4. Hi Bernice, is the forum at Shiloh Thursday May 25 or Tuesday May 23?

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  5. At any rate I would love to see Jerry Green in a debate. It really doesn't matter who is mayor of Plainfield, as long as Green is in office, nothing will ever change. If you think Green is not pulling all strings, think again.

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  6. To Anon, May 22, 2:01PM, You are really off and Timothy is right on point. It was a slap in the face for the NAACP for Mapp not to show up. Regardless of the president being Mr. Peter Briggs. Mapp does not care about the forth Ward and is afraid to visit that area without police escort. He will attend the Shiloh Forum, and of course his favorite TLWV which is the most bias of all, because they are Mapps people. The others should boycott because of his disrepect of the NAACP. I hope they do Robin. Don't forget where you come from, you are fast to knock everybody. When it rains you become who W. E. B. Du Bois was fighting for.

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    1. Anon 8:55 - you are so far out in left field is it laughable. The Mayor spends time in the 4th ward all the time - I actually saw him there twice last week talking to citizens - and guess what - not a cop car in sight.

      Timothy is making stuff up as he goes along.

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  7. Tracy Brown campaign Manager is John Cammpbell Jr., a Registered Independent. Sharon Robinson Briggs is not helping manage her campaign. The word is that she is trying to distance herself as far away from Sharon as LT. Gov. Kim Guadagno is trying to distance herself from Chris Christie.

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    1. If Jr is a registered independent then that is a new thing - surprised his republican parents gave him permission to do that.

      And btw - you can't run for Assembly in the GOP and not be a Republican.

      Tracey is distancing herself from Sharon in word only - go by any time there is a meeting at the Campbells and you can see them walking into the house together.

      Nice try though. Tracey keeps company with failed Republicans and failed Mayors - and Danny Dunn - not sure where to even start with that guy.

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    2. John Jr was a republican when he ran against Green for Assembly, he was a republican when Christie ran for re-elections his last team; if it quacks like a duck walks like a duck for goodness sake, it must be a duck. For Dunn, well I strongly suggest he takes advantage of Chris Christies new program that has been over publicized. That would be a good start for him and the entire Plainfield community. You cannot be part of the solution if you continue to part of the problem. Dunn is an embarrassment to Plainfield and himself.

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  8. A vote for Tracey Brown is a vote to have the Campbells, Sharon Robinson-Briggs and
    Danny Dunn running and controlling city hall. Is that what we really want or need?

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