Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Today is election day . . . in 'nonpartisan' communities

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Voters in New Jersey's 25 'nonpartisan' communities go to the polls today to elect municipal officials.

In Newark, the state's largest city, the mayor and the entire city council are up for election. Those elected today will take office on July 1st.

A person may be forgiven if they find it somewhat confusing that a community which is so thoroughly 'Democrat' has an election in which the candidates are not identified as such.

The intent in many cases was to reform local elections by removing partisan wrangling and/or excessively expensive campaigns funded by donors who would then stand in line for contracts from the victorious candidate.

It's your call as to how effective these nonpartisan reforms have been.

Meanwhile, here's the Ledger's Q&A on Newark's nonpartisan election.

-- Dan Damon
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