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Sip Whitaker, Beverly Lynn, and Leonard Dupree with Shelley-Ann Bates, seated.
Two former rivals and father who serves on the township Recreational Advisory Council make up the at-large council team led by mayoral candidate Shelley-Ann Bates.
Former school board president Sip Whitaker, former school board member Beverly Lynn and Compton Terrace resident Leonard Dupree say voters should elect them Tuesday to combat Hillside’s high taxes and its government’s lack of concern for residents.
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Posted in Mayor/Council '09 | 3 Comments »
Shelley-Ann Bates
remembers when a good night’s sleep was a commodity in her neighborhood on the north end of Liberty Avenue.
That was two years ago, when the Ranch Bar & Grill was still open and its often riotous clientele liked to take the party outside at all hours of the night. Residents who slept in the homes surrounding the bar, once located on Liberty Avenue between Oakland and Bernard terraces, were desperate for help, Bates said.
“We complained to the the council, to the [Alcoholic Beverage Control] Board, to the police chief, to the fire chief. Everyone pointed fingers but nobody took responsibility for the situation we were forced to live in,” recalls Bates, a Bernard Terrace resident.
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Posted in Mayor/Council '09 | 39 Comments »
Eleven of the 12 at-large council candidates in next week’s municipal election participated in Monday night’s forum hosted by the League of Women Voters, answering questions about how they would stabilize property taxes, bring businesses into Hillside, and improve communication between the council, mayor and the Board of Education.
The four mayoral candidates, meanwhile, are scheduled to appear at their own forum Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the municipal building.
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Posted in Mayor/Council '09 | 5 Comments »
Voters on Tuesday will pick from six candidates to fill three three-year seats on the Hillside Board of Education.
Incumbent school board members Elbert Smith and Angela Menza each head a slate of three candidates.
Voters will also get to decide on a $25.8 million school tax levy that would raise school property taxes on average by 3.5 percent.
Running with Smith on a platform to “change our children’s future” are Diane Murray and Jamar Cherry. Shelby Robinson and Danny Santos are running with Menza on a platform of “Progress — moving forward.”
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Posted in BOE '09 | No Comments »
An open letter from council-at-large candidate George L. Cook III.
My name is George Cook and I am a candidate in the upcoming mayoral and council election on May 12. But that is not why I am writing this letter. I am writing this letter because of something I have seen and heard firsthand as I have campaigned in town. I have seen and heard that some want to win so badly that they are willing to divide this town across racial and ethnic lines to do so. Who these people are does not matter. Neither does pointing fingers and assigning blame. Not if we stop this now.
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Posted in Columns, Hillside Votes '09 | 30 Comments »
This will be the first in a series looking at all the campaign literature put out by candidates in this spring’s school board and municipal elections. We’ll take a critical look at the messages and rhetoric and invite readers to comment.
First up: Jerome Jewell.
Jewell was the first candidate to mail out literature — and that was before he was officially a candidate for mayor.
The Hillside Democratic Campaign Committee sent out this mailer “from” Councilman Jewell in February, reminding everyone “to never forget” on Black History month. It does not mention Jewell’s candidacy.
The mailer evokes Barack Obama a month after his historic inauguration.
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Posted in Mayor/Council '09 | 54 Comments »
Second Ward Councilwoman Shelley-Ann Bates announced today in an email to supporters that she will be a candidate for mayor in May’s nonpartisan election.
“Over the course of the next few days I look forward to introducing you to my slate of candidates for the three at-Large Council seats and discussing how we plan to make Hillside a BETTER place to live and work,” she said in the message.
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Posted in Mayor/Council '09, Township Hall | 22 Comments »
UPDATE — April 30 — Sandra “Sandy” Cureton announced April 20 that she would no longer run on the Daniels slate.
Andre Daniels came onto Hillside’s political scene in 2004 — but he wasn’t running for office or supporting a candidate then.
Daniels was with a group of parents seeking to reinstall Hillside’s Pop Warner football program, which had been inactive for eight years. Despite some friction from Township Hall, they persisted.
“When they said we couldn’t start up Pop Warner four years go,” Daniels told a crowd at his mayoral campaign kick-off last Saturday, “We did it.”
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Posted in In the Schools, Mayor/Council '09, Township Hall | 16 Comments »
The Hillside Township Council is allowing the public to sit on departmental budget sessions next week for the first time ever.
“While no questions from the public will be allowed during these meetings, I’m sure taxpayers will give the Councilmembers their input at a later council meeting,” 2nd Ward Councilwoman Shelley-Ann Bates writes on her blog.
During a series of 17 meetings over four days, administrators from the township’s various departments and offices will make 15-minute presentations to the council to ask for their share of the 2009 municipal budget. [The meeting schedule is below]
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Posted in Township Hall | 1 Comment »
When it comes to open government, Hillside has lagged behind other municipalities. For years, other towns have taken advantage of local-access cable channels and the Internet to televise meetings and post information online. Not here.
But that will hopefully change next year when Hillside’s new open-government provisions kick into effect.
In fact, Hillside may become the leader in government openness.
The expansive law authored by 2nd Ward Councilwoman Shelley-Ann Bates not only calls for broadcasting public council meetings, but that emergency and closed-session meetings be sound recorded and posted on the Internet and that public notices, minutes of meetings of all the township’s advisory boards, financial disclosure statements, a roster of township employees, lawsuits against the township, and budget information be posted online. In addition, the law lowers the fees for hard copies of public records.
The law has gotten the attention of the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government and at least one other activist in the state.
But the Hillside Township Council may not have approved this necessary law if not for the public showing up in force at council meetings and demanding it. (If the council had rejected it, Bates was prepared with petitions to force a referendum vote on the proposal.)
The public’s work is not done.
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Posted in The Hillsider says..., Township Hall | No Comments »
Hillside’s new open government ordinance is beginning to catch on.
A version of the ordinance — which was written and introduced by 2nd Ward Councilwoman Shelley-Ann Bates last year and approved this month by the Township Council — has also been introduced by candidates in Middletown.
Like Bates, the two Democratic candidates for the Middletown committee who introduced the bill say municipal government in the Monmouth township has kept the public in the dark.
“It’s time to let the sun shine on what this administration has done to our town,” Patricia Walsh said in a statement.
Hillside’s own public access law does not go into effect until next year.
Read the full text of Hillside’s open government ordinance.
Posted in Township Hall, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
In the reader-submitted photo above, we see Councilman-at-large Lenny Gilbert in action (literally) at this week’s council meeting.
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Posted in Mayor/Council '09, Township Hall | 5 Comments »
CORRECTS EARLIER VERSION:
The fireworks that erupted at last night’s Township Council meeting are the very reason why the public meetings should be videorecorded and broadcast on cable television.
Residents and activists turned out in full force to support 2nd Ward Councilwoman Shelley-Ann Bates‘ ordinance to televise township meetings and post public documents on the Internet. The ordinance passed unanimously 6-0 with Council President John Kulish absent.
One of the law’s supporters was former Mayor Barbara Rowen, who hasn’t attended a council meeting in years, and who was escorted from the microphone last night by an officer at the council’s urging.
Rowen came out to support the measure, an idea she championed as mayor in the late 90s but was rebuffed by councilmen who are still in office today.
One of those councilmen, Lenny Gilbert, seemed to “jump out of his skin” last night when Rowen got up to speak, one observer said.
Rowen’s speech in favor of open government prompted a tirade from Gilbert, who shockingly said he would not vote for an ordinance named after late Hillside resident Joseph Loeb because, Gilbert said, he was a racist.
The outrageous remark was lambasted by speaker after speaker who, like Gilbert, are black.
Bates named her ordinance after Loeb, an open-government crusader who made two unsuccessful bids for township council, the most recent in 1999 against then 2nd Ward Councilwoman Karen McCoy-Oliver, who later became mayor.
Loeb, a Holocaust survivor, was a Clark Street resident for decades, living there until his passing a year ago.
One speaker noted that as African-Americans began moving into the neighborhood and whites began leaving, Loeb and his family stayed put.
“How could you call that man a racist?”
But Gilbert is prone to making outlandish claims, including baseless conspiracy theories about the Rowen administration.
The council now has 120 days to begin implementing the law by next year.
Before that happens, however, the council may take its pruning scissors to it.
Among the changes already reported include stripping the law’s name and posting only documents dating back to January 2008 rather than to 2000.
More from today’s Ledger.
Archive: How we first broke this story.
Don’t touch that dial . . .
Posted in Township Hall | 1 Comment »
Star-Ledger:
Hillside would broadcast township council meetings for the first time under an ordinance to be considered for adoption tomorrow night.
The open-government measure, sponsored by Second Ward Councilwoman Shelley-Ann Bates and introduced after the certification of a citizens’ petition demanding a referendum vote, does not stop there.
The Joseph T. Loeb Township of Hillside Sunshine Act of 2008 would require the township to record every public meeting and make agendas, minutes, resolutions, ordinances and other records available to the public on the Internet.
The meeting was changed without explanation from Tuesday night to tomorrow.
Bates says the council has not discussed the proposed ordinance at all — except to say that it will be cost a lot of money.
More from Ledger.
More from The Hillsider.
Posted in Township Hall | 1 Comment »
The same officials who opposed bonding a few years ago to renovate and expand the township’s overcrowded schools now want to embark on a multi-million dollar plan to, among other things, build a new library and expand police headquarters.
The Star-Ledger reports today that the township engineers, Harbor Consultants, estimated the project to cost $3 million, but some on the council think the final tab could be upwards of $7 million.
The council now has about $2.6 million to contribute to the project, and would have to bond for the difference.
Mayor Karen McCoy-Oliver, who supports building a new library, said the issue should be up to the voters.
“I know the council has said it is receptive to open government, and letting people speak their mind,” the Ledger quoted her as saying. “What’s most appropriate is to do a referendum. Let the people decide. We are in tight financial times, so bring it to the people.”
The renovations would include:
Building a new library on the site of the former War Memorial Building, which has been torn down.
Fixing drainage under the current library, which is prone to flooding.
Use the current library site to expand Police Department offices.
Renovate the Municipal Building.
Possibly renovate and expand the William H. Buie Community Center.
A few years ago, the school district tried to construct additions to three school buildings under a $33.8 million plan in which the state would pay a third.
By state law, the plan had to be voted on in a December referendum, which was defeated 1,155 to 496 after an ugly opposition campaign by the Township Council and Hillside Democratic Committee.
Posted in In the Schools, Township Hall | 1 Comment »
Second Ward Councilwoman Shelley-Ann Bates says she’s “disappointed that the council still wants to keep things closed” after her colleagues “co-opted and diluted” one of her open government laws.
The ordinance — one of several the councilwoman has authored in an effort to make Hillside government more accessible — seeks to make the process by which residents are selected and appointed to the township’s various regulatory boards more open and understandable.
The version the council passed this week, however, strips some of Bates’ original provisions, which included posting a register of all appointments online.
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SHELLEY-ANN BATES
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The register would list the members on each board, their qualifications and each board’s responsibilities.
The version of the ordinance the council passed this week simply requires the list to be posted at the Township Clerk’s Office — and makes no mention of the Internet.
At the meeting Tuesday night, Council President Leonard Gilbert said the entire council had met and discussed the changes. Bates called that assertion a “rewriting of very short history.”
“We never met to discuss or go through this ordinance. It just never happened,” she said.
Still, Bates called the vote a “step in the right direction.”
“It’s a small victory because it shows the community that by banding together, we can make a difference,” Bates said.
The council last month also passed another of Bates’ ordinances to reduce the cost of obtaining public records.
Records other than police reports under 10 pages are now free, any page thereafter costs 10 cents. Previously, Hillside charged 75 cents, the maximum allowed under the Open Public Records Act.
The council took out Bates’ provision to post documents online.
“It’s another baby step, but it’s creeping to where it needs to be,” Bates said.
Still on the table is Bates’ Joseph T. Loeb Hillside Township Sunshine Act, which calls for broadcasting township meetings on its cable channel and posting council meeting agendas and minutes online.
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Posted in Township Hall | 1 Comment »
Below are the minutes of the Community Forum held March 8 at the Hillside Public Library.
Here’s The Hillsider’s report and video about the forum.
The next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, April 12 at 1 p.m. at library.
THE HILLSIDE COMMUNITY FORUM
Minutes for Meeting on Saturday, March 8, 2008 at the Hillside Public Library
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Posted in Calendar, News, Township Hall | No Comments »
Star-Ledger: The Hillside Township Council approved a $41.4 million budget, raising taxes another 6 percent.
N.J. poll: Clinton or Obama beat McCain
Union County Clerk finds problems with electronic voting machines
Almost: Middlesex Jail inmate who ‘vanished’ is found on roof — The inmate, held on assault charges, is an Elizabeth man who had warrants out of Union Township, among other places.
Bravest vs. Finest — Newark cops, firefighters argue over who saved baby.
Open government fight — State Supreme Court will decide whether to extend the deadline for filing a lawsuit against an agency for failure to comply with OPRA — and whether the agency should pay the complainant’s legal fees. “Justice Barry Albin speculated if a government did not have to cover legal fees when it was sued for not providing public records, it could delay until a citizen dropped the request because the individual could not afford a lawyer to go to court.”
Excessive force is denied in arrest of Samaritan in Roselle — “It seems to me they don’t want to deal head-on with the violation of Monica’s civil rights,” Montoya’s lawyer said of the Prosecutor’s Office.
Posted in News, Township Hall | No Comments »
Any benefit the boost in state school aid would have provided will likely be obliterated by the increase to the township and county’s property tax bills.
The Democratic-controlled county freeholder board is seeking to raise their taxes by about 6.5 percent to fund a $22 million spending increase for a $436.8 million budget.
The county raise would follow a hike in the township government’s budget, which will increase by $400,000 over the 2.5 percent increase cap suggested by state law.
Considering that the township council majority is itself controlled by the county Democratic machine, it’s unlikely we’ll hear any of them criticize the freeholder board the way they blast the school district’s modest budget increases.
There is much to lambast in the county’s budget, which the County Watchers estimate will cost $1.357 million each day. Since 2000, county taxes have increase nearly 60 percent, the Watchers report.
Despite the increase, Charlotte DeFilippo’s freeholders will eliminate Meals on Wheels, a prescription drug program and concerts in the parks.
These cuts are “very odd,” writes County Watcher Patricia Quattrocchi. “[S]eniors contribute to the cost of their meals, the prescription drug program is paid for by the participants and the concerts, according to county officials, are funded by sponsors. How did these items impact the budget?”
Meanwhile, the county hired 177 more employees last year, bringing the total to over 3,300.
And what does Hillside get from all this? If the Open Space Trust Fund is any indication. . . not much.
Since the inception of the Union County open space tax in 2001, Hillside taxpayers have contributed $1,527,261 only to get back $466,768 in grants. That’s a net loss of $1,060,492. Hillside would be better off keeping all that money and taking care of its own open space needs. But our council doesn’t make that argument.
Posted in County Watchers, Township Hall | No Comments »
The Star-Ledger today once again has an article about the bickering between township council members, this time at last week’s meeting.
Bickering is what happens when you have a majority of members from one “party” and two other independents who disagree with the majority’s closed-door, machine politics.
The flames are also fanned when the council president — Lenny Gilbert — can’t help but to make obnoxious comments about people who disagree with him or the council.
The Ledger also quotes school board member Nathalie Yafet on broadcasting council meetings on Channel 35:
“Over the years we’ve been given one reason or another why this can’t be done,” she said of catching up to most other towns in broadcasting government meet ings. “It was the wires don’t work one year. We even heard that you can’t get the closet (that contains the cable TV equipment) open.
“In this day and age, you have to be able to broadcast over public access,” said Yafet. “The more information the people have, the bet ter. Then people will not think you’re trying to hide something from them. It’s in the best interest of the township to be as open and transparent as possible.”
IN OTHER NEWS:
Otis Blunt claims he bribed jail guard who killed self — Prosecutor says that’s unlikely.
Like the state, Rutgers set to approve stadium project without securing funding — Pricetag: $102 million.
Posted in News, Township Hall | No Comments »
And now, the rest of the story . . .
Township Clerk Janet Vlaisvaljevic apparently told the local Union Leader that the fees her office charges for copies of public records are “dictated by state law.”
A petition drive is under way by 2nd Ward Councilwoman Shelley-Ann Bates in support of her open-government ordinances. Her proposed laws — first reported here and here — would require greater transparency in how residents are appointed to township boards and, among other things, lower the cost of obtaining public records.
Currently, the township charges 75 cents for each page — the maximum allowed under the Open Public Records Act. Bates seeks to reduce that fee.
While the maximum fee is certainly dictated by law, the law doesn’t prescribe any minimum charge. In fact, the township could give away copies of the municipal budget for free.
If they wanted to.
Posted in Township Hall | No Comments »
Remember when you could get all your booze when you did your shopping at the Hillside Shop-Rite?
State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, D-Elizabeth, has proposed allowing supermarkets in Urban Enterprise Zones (which include Hillside’s shopping areas) to hold multiple liquor selling licenses in the state.
Trenton is now debating to do away with a 47-year-old law limiting individuals and corporations to just one license statewide.
Lesniak thinks allowing supermarket chains to sell liquor will entice them to open in struggling urban areas, which generally lack the supermarket options of the suburbs.
He tells the Star-Ledger: “It would provide a benefit to the neighborhood.”
Really?
Hillside 3rd Ward Councilman John Kulish, who holds a liquor license in town, is probably watching this one closely.
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Meanwhile, Hillside and Union County Democratic Chairwoman Charlotte DeFilippo has responded to legislation that would curb the influence county party chairmen have over their primaries. Both state party chairmen object, arguing the state constitution views the political parties as private organizations, not arms of the government.
DeFilippo tells today’s New York Times:
I think that the legislation is gratuitous,” said Ms. DeFillippo, the only woman leading a county party in New Jersey. “Individual political problems should not forge general public policy. I also believe this is constitutional. So I agree with both state chairmen, and that’s a rarity.”
Speaking of party chairmen and primaries, Ms. DeFilippo was recently served with a handful of subpoenas that seek, among other things, information on her involvement in last year’s primary.
Posted in News | No Comments »
Citing a need to have better representation on the township’s advisory boards and committees, 2nd Ward Councilwoman Shelley-Ann Bates introduced an ordinance this week that would require greater transparency in township appointments.[Click to read the ordinance.]
Residents often criticize the mayor and council for not posting vacancies on the township’s advisory boards and for choosing their appointments from a select group of political allies and Democratic committee members.
Bates’ proposed ordinance — which was tabled for legal review at this week’s council meeting — would require the township to maintain a register detailing all the possible positions and their responsibilities. The register would be available at the Clerk’s Office and on the township’s Web site. Board or committee vacancies would be posted at Township Hall.
The ordinance also calls for a paper application to be created for residents seeking to volunteer. Residents who apply would be kept abreast of their application and what action the council or the mayor take on it.
This is Bates second stab at introducing reform legislation. Last month, Bates drafted and introduced an ordinance that would broadcast meetings on public-access cable TV and post meeting minutes and agendas online. The council has not acted on that ordinance.
Posted in Township Hall | No Comments »
Knowledge is power.
So says 2nd Ward Councilwoman Shelley-Ann Bates who thinks residents should have easier access to government records and be able to watch council meetings on cable TV.
That was the idea behind the “sunshine” ordinance the freshman representative introduced at a council meeting this week.
The Joseph T. Loeb Hillside Township Sunshine Act of 2007, which Bates named in honor of the late Hillside political activist, would mandate the broadcasting of meetings on cable-access channel 35, use the township Web site to post local laws and meeting agendas and minutes, and lower the fees for copies of public records.
The ordinance also calls for expanding the 3-minute public speaking time limit at council meetings to 10 minutes for each person.
“I believe that there is a desperate need by Hillside taxpayers to have open government and a need to know how their money is being spent,” Bates told The Hillsider after the council caucus Monday evening. “We have a governor who says he’s going to create a more open and transparent government, why shouldn’t the township do the same?”
The boldest initiative in Bates’ proposed legislation is to broadcast the council meetings.
For years, local activists have called on the council to air its often-contentious meetings on the under-utilized cable channel. The council has also been accused of preventing the Board of Education from broadcasting their annual budget meetings.
The cable channel became a campaign issue in the spring council elections, with incumbent 1st Ward Councilman Edward Brewer — a member of the governing Democratic majority — promising greater use of the tool.
But the ordinance introduced by Bates, an independent, is the first move since the election to televise the meetings.
The proposed ordinance would also grant citizens the right to make their own video or audio recordings of meetings. A current township law states that a citizen must first seek the council’s approval before videotaping.
Bates believes her ordinance, which was referred to the Finance Committee for review Monday, was well-received by her colleagues and said she will be following up to make sure the legislation doesn’t get put off indefinitely.
The councilwoman said she decided to name the ordinance after Loeb as tribute to the hard-nosed political activist who was often a thorn on the side of the Democratic machine and who once ran unsuccessfully against then 2nd Ward Councilwoman Karen McCoy-Oliver, who would later become mayor.
“I met Joseph T. Loeb last winter during the campaign,” Bates said. “He had advice for me, which was to stay true to my values and don’t become corrupt. He was very blunt and I took that to heart.”
Loeb passed away last month of complications from cancer.
Posted in Township Hall | No Comments »
A Union County Superior Court judge upheld the county’s use of standardized request forms for public records requests after groups sued, protesting the forms slowed down the public’s access to information.
The suit was brought by the Union County Watchdog Association, which blogs at The County Watchers, and the New Jersey Press Association.
Watchdog president Tina Renna vowed an appeal.
“This state has such issues with open government, and it’s the basis for all the corruption here. It’s insane that you need a form to request public records. Somebody has to do something about this,” she told the Star-Ledger.
JERSEY CORRUPTION
DISGRACE:Aptly-named Assemblyman Steele |
Chaos: Gunman shoots girlfriend, self at Menlo Mall
Shot Newark tot ‘critical’
Posted in County Watchers, News | No Comments »
