Thank You for Your Support!

The voters have spoken.  It's time for a 2nd Ward change.  I will finish 16 years of service as a City Councilman on December 31.  It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the city I love.  Plainfield is where Lois and I decided to spend most of our lives, buy a home, raise two wonderful children and become active members of the community.  In doing so, our expectations have been exceeded.  Where else could we meet such interesting people so committed to community.  We don't have the highest property values in Plainfield but our value in human capital cannot be beat.

There are too many people to thank individually but here goes:

Lois - my partner all the way.  From the beginning of our involvement at Cook School, to New Democrats/Al McWilliams election campaigns, to successful school board elections in the 1990's all the way to being my campaign manager for the 2019 primary election.

Adrian Mapp - who made some difficult years on the Council worth sticking it out.  The last 5 1/2 years proved that Plainfield's potential can be (and has been) tapped.  Leadership has been the missing ingredient at city hall and for the Board of Education and I am proud to say that I have  been part of the turnaround team.

Rebecca Williams - for being a great campaign manager who used to say she could never run for office.  Look at her now!  A great Council colleague along the way.

Linda Carter - who ran with me 16 years ago in support of Al McWilliams.  Look at her now!

Inez Durham - steadfast supporter and voice of reason.

Thank you to the many people who sent me a message or spoke with me after the election.  Working with you and serving you made the Council position gratifying. Thank you to the donors, most of whom were Plainfielders. 
 
Part of why I lost the election was because some constituents saw the job of Council differently than I do.  I stuck to the priorities I set from the beginning, to my detriment with the election result.  I will explain this someday with a blog post, perhaps when my term is up in December.  For now, lets all work to support Mayor Mapp, rebuild bridges and continue the progress Plainfield is making.

The Plainfield YMCA - Struggling But Still Alive

I came home late today from the Bridgeway Golf Outing to find a rather aggressive mailing against my opponent in the Democratic Primary Election.  It claimed my opponent was responsible for the Y’s troubles. A reader could assume the Y is closed and that would be wrong.  The YMCA has been a pillar of the Plainfield community and my family have been admirers and avid supporters for years.  We were sad to see the YMCA building sold but we hold hope for a comeback.

Currently the Y building is closed and sold.  On the other hand the Y organization is under the auspices of the Somerset YMCA.  When I last spoke with Kieran Anderson, a leader on the YMCA Board of Directors, he said the Y was looking to regroup and find a new location.  I wish them well.

I have experienced similar aggressive end of election campaign mailers in the past. Like this past weekends attack mailer against me.  Facts are withheld and examples are given that misrepresent my positions and votes.  There is one actual fact: I do have 60% attendance this year.  That is four absences and my opponent conveniently did not mention that two of them were because I was directly responsible for a family members health care.  My attendance at Council meetings over my four terms is excellent.

The bottom line for me:  support the YMCA.  I urge their leaders to do more to get the word out about future plans.  Going door to door for this election, I spoke with about a half dozen people who thought the Y was dead and gone and I had to correct them.  

Also, read political mailers very carefully.  When they make negative claims, find other sources to validate those claims.  Or that don’t validate them.