IT'S MENENDEZ MONDAY -- It's been a rough week for Menendez in his quest to keep the Senate seat. With FIVE WEEKS to go to Election Day, PT wonders where the much-needed support from the Plainfield Dem City Committee's chairperson is.
Gov. Corzine went on the attack over the weekend, with a news conference slamming Kean Junior in Newark. Menendez, it is said, was in church, and unable to attend. But Plainfield...? Radio silence.
(Graphic from PoliticsNJ website, Friday, 9/29/2006.
Click to enlarge.)
It's bad enough that the Hudson County muck raked up in the last few days may not go away -- in fact, it may be only the OPENING SALVO in more of same.
Menendez didn't help himself by VOTING FOR BUSH'S DETAINEE LEGISLATION. This is an attack on the 800-year history of civil liberties in the English-American tradition dating back to Magna Carta, and Democrats are furious with Menendez over the spinelessness of his vote. (Check out the BlueJersey blog.)
It's not like NOBODY spoke out on the issue. Dem activist Dottie Gutenkauf wrote passionately over the last few days to rein in the Dem discontent (her recent BlueJersey posts).
But she writes as an INDIVIDUAL DEM and does not speak for the City Committee, which responsibility resides with the Chairman.
WHERE'S CHARLOTTE? -- Thinking the County Dem chair, Charlotte DeFilippo, would be on the case, PT went to the County Dem website. (The Plainfield Dems seem not to have one.)
Surely Charlotte would have posted some words of support? To PT's immense surprise, the County Dem website seems to be about TWO YEARS BEHIND THE TIMES. The Chair's letter approvingly cited the recent election of Freeholder Adrian Mapp and 'new Democrats' in Plainfield. That would be November, 2004.
Curiosity piqued, PT checked further. The Plainfield page informed PT that Al McWilliams was still mayor, Joanne Hollis still represented the 4th Ward, and Ray Blanco was stilll with us. Cruel deception!
A fluke, right? Other pages would be more current, right? Clicking randomly, PT got the Dem Women's Alliance page, to learn that the group had organized and that honored guests at the luncheon had been SENATOR Corzine and REPRESENTATIVE Menendez.
Guess that's all the help Menendez gets from the Union County Dems for now. It's not like it's the week before the election, you know...
DPW MAILER -- Your DPW mailer should have arrived -- PT's came over the weekend. It has the complete Fall pickup schedules. Play nice: READ and HEED. PT has no sympathy with those who can't follow these simple procedures which make it possible to service the entire community. Taking care of STREET TREES and BRANCHES KNOCKED DOWN BY STORMS is another matter. Keep making noise. FLOOD ZONES: The ONLY official maps are kept in the Inspections Division, 3rd floor of City Hall, or the Plainfield Public Library. The blue stuff on the DPW mailer is only an indication of the general extent of flood zones in the city.
LAZY LETTER WRITER? -- The mailer always includes a letter from the Mayor. PT thought this one looked familiar. Turns out the SAME IDENTICAL LETTER appeared in the recent Senior Center newsletter.
C'mon, folks. You've got high-paid help for this sort of stuff. Why not use it? (You didn't think public officials actually WROTE these things themselves, did you?)
This sloppiness makes the Mayor look lazy and inattentive. Not an image ANYONE would want to foster...
NEW HIRE STARTING TODAY? -- "Here's your desk. Now, get busy and clean up the mess we made for you." That's the welcome PT imagines the new Acting Director of Finance & Admin TYSHAMMIE COOPER will get this morning, if she starts today as PT has heard she will.
Besides the mess in putting the City's FINANCIAL RATING at risk, the Administration appears to want to DEPLETE THE RAINY DAY FUND to balance this year's budget. No self-respecting financial person wants to see rainy day money used to balance the books. We'll have to see how the new hire does. Will it be spiny, spineless or clueless? Or is there another choice?
WEB & CABLE CHECK -- You KNEW it was coming, right? PCTV-74 was still showing the July 20-26 schedule when PT checked over the weekend. As of Monday AM, however, PT has lost the way and cannot find the page. Where is threadgrrl when PT needs her?! At any rate, you get my drift.
And while you're checking out the City's website, note that CITY PRESS RELEASES have been taken down. Now, what's that about? The City doesn't want anyone to know what it's telling the press it wants people to know?
House of Mirrors, anyone?
-- Dan Damon
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