New Dems - PolitickerNJ - Mapp gets in game against Robinson-Briggs

PolitickerNJ

January 26, 2009 - 6:16pm

In Plainfield, Mapp gets in the game against Mayor Robinson-Briggs

By Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ.com Reporter

[Image: Councilman Adrian Mapp]

PLAINFIELD - Pledging transparency in government, better city services and better advocacy for residents, Ward Three Councilman Adrian Mapp today formally announced his intention to challenge one-term Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs.

A former two-term member of the Plainfield City Council and former Union County Freeholder, Mapp won re-election to the council last year on a ticket with Annie McWIlliams, daughter of the late former Mayor Al McWilliams, whom Robinson-Briggs defeated four years ago.

"I had planned as far back as 2007 on running for Mayor," said Mapp, "but put that thought on the back burner after I was approached by residents about running for the Ward 3 seat. Folks were concerned that with the issues the country and the City were facing, a more experienced and pro-active presence was needed from the Third Ward.

“Like the rest of the country, Plainfield is facing an extremely difficult future for at least the next two years,” added Mapp, a chief financial officer for the City of Roselle. “People are losing their jobs and their homes, the likelihood that our tax receipts will be negatively impacted is very high, and we must come to grips with the realities of the situation. Plainfield simply cannot afford four more years of a mayor who rushes to hug people but seems incapable of actually helping them.”

Max Pizarro is a PolitickerNJ.com Reporter and can be reached via email at max@politicsnj.com.

Related topics: Sharon Robinson-Briggs, Rick Smiley, Jerry Green, Annie McWilliams, Al McWIlliams, Adrian Mapp

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or CLIPS endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

2009 Primary - PolitickerNJ - Robinson-Briggs vs. Mapp's New Dems

PolitickerNJ

December 21, 2008 - 6:05pm

In Plainfield, Mayor Robinson-Briggs
will try to withstand Mapp's New Democrats

By Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ.com Reporter

[image: Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs]

PLAINFIELD – Get it right in four years or you’re gone.

That’s the message the voters consistently deliver in the Union County city of Plainfield, and looking at past results, most of their elected leaders get it wrong.

In 125 years of political wrangling, only one mayor won reelection here.

That was the late Al McWilliams, a self-professed New Democrat who in 2005 failed to get over a rising crime wave and lost his bid for a third term to machine Democrat Sharon Robinson-Briggs by 325 votes, 2,713 to 2,388.

Now Robinson-Briggs, 49, Plainfield’s first woman to serve as mayor, readies for her reelection campaign next year in what will likely be a hard fought Plainfield contest with once and future councilman Adrian Mapp, a McWilliams ally and now leader of the New Democrats, who’s energized by his successful return to local politics.

Mapp already filed to run for mayor – a $35,000-per year part-time job - with the state’s Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), but insists he’s not yet made a final decision.

“If more and more people approach me I will consider running,” says the 52-year old former county freeholder and at-large city councilman, who earlier this year defeated Robinson-Briggs ally Don Davis by a 10 percent margin to become the 3rd Ward councilman.

“If there’s a groundswell of support for me, I would give it very serious consideration. I would be guided by the desires of the people.”

Should he run, Mapp, a CPA and chief financial officer in Roselle, is likely to make competence the issue as Plainfield’s nearly 48,000 residents this year lost Muhlenberg Hospital – the city’s biggest employer of 1,000 jobs; while homeowners fear the prospect of a local tax increase of 9.5 percent.

“The roads are in a state of disrepair, people are paying high taxes, and we have a shrinking commercial tax base,” says Mapp. “Residents don’t feel their tax dollars are offering a return on investment. They want to know their elected officials are capable of leading. Clearly, the city needs someone to get out front.”

In defense of her administration, Robinson-Briggs says the 9.5 percent figure reflects on a working $78 million budget that has not yet received state extraordinary aid. She continues to examine every option in difficult economic times, she says, including renegotiating contracts and implementing a four-day work week for city employees.

As for the hospital, Robinson-Briggs with pain in her voice argues that she did everything she could to avert what was ultimately a private sector decision made by the suits at Solaris Health Systems.

Her administration lobbied the hospital itself, and failing that, “We sent an overabundance of letters to Gov. Corzine,” says the mayor. “We proposed a statewide lottery with money to be divided among (urban) hospitals (like Muhlenberg). That was an idea that didn’t pan out. We started to work on the issue at the end of last year. We wrote over 2,000 letters. I understand the governor is in a tight spot and looking at things equitably in the State of New Jersey.

“But I told them, if you close the hospital, people will die.”

While the mayor refrains from listing her accomplishments days before her New Year state of the city speech, observers of Robinson-Briggs’ administration say positives during her four-year watch include crime reduction, fewer workers on the city payroll than when she took office, and construction of a senior citizen complex on Front Street for under $1 million.

People like her. What she lacks comparatively in schooling, she makes up for as a ceremonial force whose positive energy fills a room.

“The mayor is very warm can and can connect with people in an emotional way,” says At-Large Councilman Rashid Burney. “Adrian Mapp’s base is more affluent and educated.”

“No, Adrian’s not Bill Clinton,” admits 2nd Ward Councilman Cory Storch. “But he’s really good with constituent relations. I saw that when he first served on the council. Then there’s his financial background. He’s going to run on fiscal management and delivering overall quality of services.”

If the mayor’s poise and interpersonal skills – “Let me give you a Plainfield hug,” she tells a newcomer - and Mapp’s numbers-crunching prowess jump out as arguably the political antagonists’ most obvious strengths, both the councilman-elect and Robinson-Briggs also have important allies on their respective sides who underscore the city’s political divide between the regular Dems and the New Dems.

Robinson-Briggs boasts the political muscle of Assemblyman Jerry Green (D-Plainfield), speaker pro tempore in the state legislature, who championed her early in her career on the school board and who has ready access to Democratic Party campaign cash. Green’s own PAC dropped $8,200 on Shannon-Briggs’ massive $200,000 campaign effort in 2005, while the assemblyman generated significant campaign contributions from Statehouse allies like Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) and Assemblywoman Nellie Pou (D-Paterson).

Mapp, meanwhile, enjoys the alliance of the New Democrats’ symbol of polished poetic justice in the person of Annie McWilliams, 24-year old eldest daughter of the late and – in some quarters – beloved – mayor, who died of kidney cancer in April of 2007.

As Mapp’s running mate, the young McWilliams crushed the organization’s at-large candidate in the June primary by a 3-1 margin.

A Wharton School of Business graduate who will serve as the city’s at-large councilwoman when she gets sworn-in with Mapp come January, McWilliams comes out of the ward that contains the Sleepy Hollow neighborhood, Plainfield’s own ivy covered homage to Victorian grandeur. She supports a Mapp mayoral candidacy, and at the very least makes it clear, “I will be disappointed if we see this mayor back in office.”

Coming off their win, the Mapp-McWilliams duo can make a compelling case that the New Democrats have momentum as they consider a citywide contest in Plainfield’s four wards.

Mapp in November seized control of the council seat in the mayor’s home ward, officially dealing her some disrespect in her own neighborhood. In addition to his base support in the 3rd ward, where presumably he would have to fight the mayor house to house for votes, Mapp can count on the old McWilliams support in the 2nd ward, reanimated by his daughter and reinforced by Storch. The 2nd remains the New Democrats’ strongest ward, where Al McWilliams built his own base of operations.

In their 2005 face-off, McWilliams won the 2nd over Robinson-Briggs by 273 votes: 924 to 651.

The late mayor lost in the city’s three other wards, by 224 votes in the 1st, 170 in the 3rd, and 204 in the 4th.

Already in possession of a political structure in Robinson-Briggs’ home ward and anchored in the 2nd by McWilliams, Mapp faces the challenge of reaching out to those two wards where the sitting mayor has an advantage over the New Democrats, the regular Democrats’ bread and butter districts: the 1st and 4th wards.

Predicting the usual political conflagration here next year, politicos like Burney are staying uncommitted for the moment.

“If I pick a side now and that side loses, I’m out,” says the at-large councilman, who ran and won as a New Democrat but has since tried to be more independent, in his words.

“I respect and like Adrian Mapp a lot, as I do the current mayor,” says state Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union). “I will say that any attacks on elected officials regarding the hospital closing are absolutely unfair. From the get-go, market factors made it impossible for the hospital to remain open.

“The two main issues in Plainfield are education and crime,” adds the senator. “It’s no longer an Abbott School district. Crime is reduced. Usually in an economic downturn you see an escalation of crime but that’s not happening.”

Eighteen miles southwest of Newark, Plainfield resembles a smaller version of New Jersey’s biggest city – at least demographically: 62 percent African American, 21 percent white, 25 percent Latinos of any race. Its downtown looks like some headlong train trestle melding of Union City, Orange, and Passaic, heavily textured from the neon-lit windows to the curbs.

“The Queen City,” says native son, Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), who served on the city council representing the 2nd ward from 1985 to 1991 before he moved to Westfield, the second to last Republican to serve on the council.

On Friday, the city mobilizes to confront a snow and ice storm.

The mayor’s on duty in City Hall.

A fire truck slaps slush in the windshields of oncoming traffic as it heads downtown, through a blur of African hair braiding studios, Mexican restaurants, grocery, private detective and bail bonds stores, tattoo parlors, donut shops, past the Religious Society of Friends- Quakers, they settled the town - under train tracks and past Central Americans in front of diners trying to make eye contact with drivers of passing cars, and public works employees in yellow vests on foot in the falling snow, shoveling.

A gray public building, one of New Jersey’s blue collar pyramids - in this case a post office - emblemizes the older era, when some WPA architect dreamed Greek columns could as appropriately adorn Watchung Avenue as the Parthenon between the liquor stores and a passing beef-pork-poultry truck out of Elizabeth.

It’s been over 40 years since the 1967 Plainfield riots, an era when Mayor George Hetfield conducted city business from the auspices of a local country club and the hard luck 4th Ward went up in flames and a mob killed Officer John Vincent Gleason, Jr.

And Hetfield – guilty or not, those who were there judged – was voted out of office, carrying on the one and done mayoral cycle that Al McWilliams finally broke and that Robinson-Briggs wants to break again.

On the hill overlooking the rest of the city, above the factories and abandoned factories and projects of the 4th Ward - “There used to be a Mack Truck factory there, a great big factory,” remembers Bramnick – stand the 2nd Ward Wall Street millionaires’ massive summertime mansions of all styles - Colonial Revival and Jacobethan Victorian, Queen Anne’s, Tudor, Second Empire, after a while you can start inventing names that evoke elegance but still not get to the architectural finery that is only, of course, part of the city’s legacy; as Robinson-Briggs and Mapp and McWilliams and Green, and everyone, gets ready for yet another season of politics in Plainfield.

Max Pizarro is a PolitickerNJ.com Reporter and can be reached via email at max@politicsnj.com.

Related topics: Sharon Robinson-Briggs, Rashid Burney, Nicholas Scutari, JON CORZINE, Jon Bramnick, Jerry Green, George Hetfield, Cory Storch, Annie McWilliams, Al McWIlliams, Adrian Mapp

[Link]

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or CLIPS endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

Report Card on Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs

Like the report cards we used to take home for our parents' review and signature, Mayor Robinson-Briggs will be earning grades ranging from A to F (plus E for effort) --

A - Excellent
B - Above average
C - Passable
D - Does not meet standards
F - Fail
E - Evidence of effort

ITEM	GRADE	LINK	COMMENT
01/08/09: State of City Address: Homicides 01/12/09: Preparation of Council documents 01/12/09: Withdrawal of Resolutions 01/29/09: On Obama Stimulus	F C C F	See story HERE. See story HERE. See story HERE. See story HERE.	Failed to compare 2008 to 2007. No excuse for not reviewing. Half-fast not the way to go. No evidence of local proposal.

---

-- Dan Damon

2009 Primary - PolitickerNJ - SRB will try to withstand New Dems

Published on PolitickerNJ.com, Monday, December 21, 2008

December 21, 2008 - 5:05pm

In Plainfield, Mayor Robinson-Briggs will try
to withstand Mapp's New Democrats

By Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ.com Reporter

PLAINFIELD – Get it right in four years or you’re gone.

That’s the message the voters consistently deliver in the Union County city of Plainfield, and looking at past results, most of their elected leaders get it wrong.

In 125 years of political wrangling, only one mayor won reelection here.

That was the late Al McWilliams, a self-professed New Democrat who in 2005 failed to get over a rising crime wave and lost his bid for a third term to machine Democrat Sharon Robinson-Briggs by 325 votes, 2,713 to 2,388.

Now Robinson-Briggs, 49, Plainfield’s first woman to serve as mayor, readies for her reelection campaign next year in what will likely be a hard fought Plainfield contest with once and future councilman Adrian Mapp, a McWilliams ally and now leader of the New Democrats, who’s energized by his successful return to local politics.

Mapp already filed to run for mayor – a $35,000-per year part-time job - with the state’s Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), but insists he’s not yet made a final decision.

“If more and more people approach me I will consider running,” says the 52-year old former county freeholder and at-large city councilman, who earlier this year defeated Robinson-Briggs ally Don Davis by a 10 percent margin to become the 3rd Ward councilman.

“If there’s a groundswell of support for me, I would give it very serious consideration. I would be guided by the desires of the people.”

Should he run, Mapp, a CPA and chief financial officer in Roselle, is likely to make competence the issue as Plainfield’s nearly 48,000 residents this year lost Muhlenberg Hospital – the city’s biggest employer of 1,000 jobs; while homeowners fear the prospect of a local tax increase of 9.5 percent.

“The roads are in a state of disrepair, people are paying high taxes, and we have a shrinking commercial tax base,” says Mapp.  “Residents don’t feel their tax dollars are offering a return on investment. They want to know their elected officials are capable of leading. Clearly, the city needs someone to get out front.” 

In defense of her administration, Robinson-Briggs says the 9.5 percent figure reflects on a working $78 million budget that has not yet received state extraordinary aid. She continues to examine every option in difficult economic times, she says, including renegotiating contracts and implementing a four-day work week for city employees.

As for the hospital, Robinson-Briggs with pain in her voice argues that she did everything she could to avert what was ultimately a private sector decision made by the suits at Solaris Health Systems.

Her administration lobbied the hospital itself, and failing that, “We sent an overabundance of letters to Gov. Corzine,” says the mayor. “We proposed a statewide lottery with money to be divided among (urban) hospitals (like Muhlenberg). That was an idea that didn’t pan out. We started to work on the issue at the end of last year. We wrote over 2,000 letters. I understand the governor is in a tight spot and looking at things equitably in the State of New Jersey. 

“But I told them, if you close the hospital, people will die.”

While the mayor refrains from listing her accomplishments days before her New Year state of the city speech, observers of Robinson-Briggs’ administration say positives during her four-year watch include crime reduction, fewer workers on the city payroll than when she took office, and construction of a senior citizen complex on Front Street for under $1 million.

People like her.  What she lacks comparatively in schooling, she makes up for as a ceremonial force whose positive energy fills a room.

“The mayor is very warm can and can connect with people in an emotional way,” says At-Large Councilman Rashid Burney. “Adrian Mapp’s base is more affluent and educated.”

“No, Adrian’s not Bill Clinton,” admits 2nd Ward Councilman Cory Storch. “But he’s really good with constituent relations. I saw that when he first served on the council. Then there’s his financial background. He’s going to run on fiscal management and delivering overall quality of services.”

If the mayor’s poise and interpersonal skills – “Let me give you a Plainfield hug,” she tells a newcomer - and Mapp’s numbers-crunching prowess jump out as arguably the political antagonists’ most obvious strengths, both the councilman-elect and Robinson-Briggs also have important allies on their respective sides who underscore the city’s political divide between the regular Dems and the New Dems.

Robinson-Briggs boasts the political muscle of Assemblyman Jerry Green (D-Plainfield), speaker pro tempore in the state legislature, who championed her early in her career on the school board and who has ready access to Democratic Party campaign cash.  Green’s own PAC dropped $8,200 on Shannon-Briggs’ massive $200,000 campaign effort in 2005, while the assemblyman generated significant campaign contributions from Statehouse allies like Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) and Assemblywoman Nellie Pou (D-Paterson).

Mapp, meanwhile, enjoys the alliance of the New Democrats’ symbol of polished poetic justice in the person of Annie McWilliams, 24-year old eldest daughter of the late and – in some quarters – beloved – mayor, who died of kidney cancer in April of 2007.

As Mapp’s running mate, the young McWilliams crushed the organization’s at-large candidate in the June primary by a 3-1 margin.  

A Wharton School of Business graduate who will serve as the city’s at-large councilwoman when she gets sworn-in with Mapp come January, McWilliams comes out of the ward that contains the Sleepy Hollow neighborhood, Plainfield’s own ivy covered homage to Victorian grandeur. She supports a Mapp mayoral candidacy, and at the very least makes it clear, “I will be disappointed if we see this mayor back in office.”

Coming off their win, the Mapp-McWilliams duo can make a compelling case that the New Democrats have momentum as they consider a citywide contest in Plainfield’s four wards.

Mapp in November seized control of the council seat in the mayor’s home ward, officially dealing her some disrespect in her own neighborhood.  In addition to his base support in the 3rd ward, where presumably he would have to fight the mayor house to house for votes, Mapp can count on the old McWilliams support in the 2nd ward, reanimated by his daughter and reinforced by Storch.  The 2nd remains the New Democrats’ strongest ward, where Al McWilliams built his own base of operations.

In their 2005 face-off, McWilliams won the 2nd over Robinson-Briggs by 273 votes: 924 to 651.

The late mayor lost in the city’s three other wards, by 224 votes in the 1st, 170 in the 3rd, and 204 in the 4th.

Already in possession of a political structure in Robinson-Briggs’ home ward and anchored in the 2nd by McWilliams, Mapp faces the challenge of reaching out to those two wards where the sitting mayor has an advantage over the New Democrats, the regular Democrats’ bread and butter districts: the 1st and 4th wards.

Predicting the usual political conflagration here next year, politicos like Burney are staying uncommitted for the moment.

“If I pick a side now and that side loses, I’m out,” says the at-large councilman, who ran and won as a New Democrat but has since tried to be more independent, in his words.

“I respect and like Adrian Mapp a lot, as I do the current mayor,” says state Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union). “I will say that any attacks on elected officials regarding the hospital closing are absolutely unfair. From the get-go, market factors made it impossible for the hospital to remain open.

“The two main issues in Plainfield are education and crime,” adds the senator. “It’s no longer an Abbott School district. Crime is reduced. Usually in an economic downturn you see an escalation of crime but that’s not happening.”

Eighteen miles southwest of Newark, Plainfield resembles a smaller version of New Jersey’s biggest city – at least demographically: 62 percent African American, 21 percent white, 25 percent Latinos of any race. Its downtown looks like some headlong train trestle melding of Union City, Orange, and Passaic, heavily textured from the neon-lit windows to the curbs.

“The Queen City,” says native son, Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), who served on the city council representing the 2nd ward from 1985 to 1991 before he moved to Westfield, the second to last Republican to serve on the council.

On Friday, the city mobilizes to confront a snow and ice storm. 

The mayor’s on duty in City Hall.

A fire truck slaps slush in the windshields of oncoming traffic as it heads downtown, through a blur of African hair braiding studios, Mexican restaurants, grocery, private detective and bail bonds stores, tattoo parlors, donut shops, past the Religious Society of Friends- Quakers, they settled the town - under train tracks and past Central Americans in front of diners trying to make eye contact with drivers of passing cars, and public works employees in yellow vests on foot in the falling snow, shoveling. 

A gray public building, one of New Jersey’s blue collar pyramids - in this case a post office - emblemizes the older era, when some WPA architect dreamed Greek columns could as appropriately adorn Watchung Avenue as the Parthenon between the liquor stores and a passing beef-pork-poultry truck out of Elizabeth.

It’s been over 40 years since the 1967 Plainfield riots, an era when Mayor George Hetfield conducted city business from the auspices of a local country club and the hard luck 4th Ward went up in flames and a mob killed Officer John Vincent Gleason, Jr.

And Hetfield – guilty or not, those who were there judged – was voted out of office, carrying on the one and done mayoral cycle that Al McWilliams finally broke and that Robinson-Briggs wants to break again.

On the hill overlooking the rest of the city, above the factories and abandoned factories and projects of the 4th Ward - “There used to be a Mack Truck factory there, a great big factory,” remembers Bramnick – stand the 2nd Ward Wall Street millionaires’ massive summertime mansions of all styles - Colonial Revival and Jacobethan Victorian, Queen Anne’s, Tudor, Second Empire, after a while you can start inventing names that evoke elegance but still not get to the architectural finery that is only, of course, part of the city’s legacy; as Robinson-Briggs and Mapp and McWilliams and Green, and everyone, gets ready for yet another season of politics in Plainfield.

Max Pizarro is a PolitickerNJ.com Reporter and can be reached via email at max@politicsnj.com.

Online story here.

(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or CLIPS endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

Robinson-Briggs - Courier - Cooke: On not taking calls

Published in the Courier News, Saturday, December 20, 2008

[Robinson-Briggs...taking phone calls]

Color in Black And White
Being 'nice' does not qualify you to run for governor

By Jay Jefferson Cooke

I am sure you've heard the expression "Nice guys finish last."

Well, I sure hope so.

I don't know whether to be bothered beyond belief or disgusted to distraction with the announcement that Franklin Mayor Brian Levine has filed papers to run for governor.

Levine, who is referred to as a "nice guy" by almost everyone who mentions him to me, has a good chance of becoming governor. How do I know? Because if Central Jersey voters are an indicator of voters statewide, Levine can't miss. Let's face it — Central Jersey voters elected a kindergarten class to the South Plainfield government; elected an underqualified, pompous, "red-menace" fabricator Deborah Trout (who if she were not so dangerous might be referred to as a scalawag) as sheriff of Hunterdon County; elected Sharon Robinson-Briggs — who you never can get on the telephone unless she calls you to say "we need you to cover this fabulous event that I am going to be present at" — as mayor of Plainfield; and the less said about Mike Ferguson, the better.

Now, Levine may be as nice as the smell of a rose garden after an April shower, but what in the world has he done as mayor of Franklin to make anyone believe he should be the governor of New Jersey? As previously stated in this column, I have heard precious little else about Franklin this year but the growing gang problem that exists there. At the township's 11th Anniversary Community Breakfast Commemorating the Life & Work of The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., Levine inappropriately used his speech to say "we have to take Franklin back from the gangs." Well, he failed. And probably because he had no plan, and neither did the Franklin Police Department. And who can forget that under Levine's watch, Franklin Councilwoman Kimberly Francois, who during the past few years has been one of the most vocal when it comes to talking about expelling gangs from our society and spearheaded a supposed effort to purge gangs from Franklin, still has not said "boo" on the subject of her son Rahmel Francois' criminal and gangster activity. Rahmel Francois (before he went on the lam to who knows where) lived with Madame councilwoman and has been indicted on charges of conspiracy, eluding, possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, unlawful possession of a weapon, unlawful possession of an assault firearm, violation of weapons laws, unlawful possession of a large-capacity ammunition magazine, receiving stolen property and being a person not to have a weapon.

Mr. Francois, who is much too despicable a criminal to be called a rapscallion, still presumably is running from the law (if he hasn't stopped running because apparently no one is trying to find him) and has been linked to gangs by law-enforcement officials. But the Boys in Blue haven't managed to produce him for trial. Maybe they should check Ms. Francois' basement, but they must be careful not to trip over any weapons of mass destruction that President Bush believed were in Iraq.

Ms. Francois refused my call to resign from the Council, and Levine has done nothing. Perhaps Levine would find it gauche to ask Ms. Francois why her offspring is Franklin's Most Wanted. Perhaps as governor he will allow the entire state government to let their offspring deal dope, stash weapons, launder money, etc., etc., from their homes. Maybe Drumthwacket can be turned into a hideout for America's Most Wanted.

Perhaps if that happens, Levine will make a speech saying something like "Drumthwacket cannot and will not be a place that gangsters can use as a safe haven — we must take it back from the gangs!"

I took another spin around Franklin Township this week. It's reasonably big. But it isn't the entire state — heck, it isn't even the entire county. Levine hasn't done a sufficient job leading that municipality. I hope Levine changes his mind and decides to do a better job in his own backyard. I don't trust New Jersey's voters not to elect him governor.

Thanks for reading. If I ever need an ambulance, I want the dangerously delightful duo Diana Rivera and Kimberly Selmer to give me the ride. And I may just need an ambulance after receiving a collection of stupid holiday newsletters, which naturally I did not read.

Online story here. Archived here.

(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or CLIPS endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

Muhlenberg - Courier - Green airs differences with Solaris

Published in the Courier News, Thursday, September 4, 2008

Plainfield, Solaris air differences at Muhlenberg meeting

By MARK SPIVEY
STAFF WRITER

The State Department of Health and Senior Services is attempting to mediate a series of disputes between the city of Plainfield and Solaris, Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center's parent company, regarding the recent closure of the 131-year-old hospital.

Department of Health and Senior Services Commissioner Heather Howard met with Assemblyman Jerry Green, D-Union, and officials from Plainfield and Solaris in Trenton on Wednesday in a session that lasted nearly three hours — the talks revolving around disagreements regarding some of the 18 conditions outlined by Howard in a written decision released in late July approving Solaris' certificate of need to close the hospital.

"They got to discuss a variety of concerns centering around the (certificate of need)," said department spokeswoman Donna Leusner, "And she (Howard) is working with both parties to resolve the issues."

Those issues include a dispute over the adequacy of schedules for transportation to other medical facilities supplied by Solaris to city residents, plus the lack of a "watchdog" entity to ensure the conditions for closure continue to be met by the company, two topics that, according to Green, dominated the meeting. The assemblyman said he believed that without tangible amendments to the original approval of the certificate of need, the city would lean toward filing a formal appeal of Howard's decision, the deadline for which Green said is next week.

"I would say right now that I'm more inclined (to believe an appeal is pending), because there's so much mistrust there. I would say unless the commissioner makes these adjustments, there's a good opportunity that the city would appeal," Green said. "If she doesn't render a decision in a favorable way, there's going to be a problem, but I want to give her the benefit of the doubt first."

Leusner said her department was aware of the possibility for such an appeal. Yesterday's meeting was the second in three weeks to include the commissioner, Green, and Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs in discussing the hospital, which city officials have said was vital to the community. Solaris has cited massive financial struggles stemming from low patient volumes, high rates of charity-care patients, and continuing state and federal reimbursement cuts for such patients as reasons for closing the hospital, the annual losses for which officials have said were approaching $20 million.

Solaris spokesman Steven Weiss characterized yesterday's meeting as being positive, expressing optimism that its eventual outcome could prove agreeable to both his company and the Plainfield community.

"The meeting itself was really a beneficial and healthy dialogue between the interested parties," Weiss said. "They're (the Department of Health) going to look at what can be done to look at some of the conditions to see if they can simplify some of them to make them more beneficial to the community."

Weiss said yesterday's meeting also touched on the hot-button issue of the possible sale of the hospital or parts of the hospital grounds. Green and others have accused Solaris of being uncooperative with prospective buyers, but Weiss said his company explained during the meeting that such transactions are complicated.

"We were clarifying the parameters that our investment bankers use for the sale," Weiss said. "There are a lot of specifics when it comes from turning a nonprofit (facility) into a for-profit."

Weiss added that Solaris remains willing to listen to any offers for parts of the 17-acre campus. Green has said he knows of no fewer than four interested parties.

"We remain open to being approached," Weiss said.

Yesterday's meeting originally set up as a showdown between Green and Solaris over the possible approval by the state of nearly $170 million in bonds for the financially distressed health-care company, funds that the assemblyman last week said he hoped to get the state to defer pending the city's grievances being addressed.

Green softened his stance slightly yesterday, saying Solaris officials spent part of the meeting emphasizing the fact that the denial of the bonds in question could spell financial disaster. The matter was originally due to come before the New Jersey Health Care Facilities Financing Authority on Aug. 28, but was postponed, although the case now appears on the authority's Web site under a list of pending business with a decision date yet to be set.

"They were pleading their case, and they made it very clear that without financing in place, all the things we're talking about, including employees, (could be in jeopardy)," Green said. "Without that revenue needed for Solaris to get in good financial shape, then it could be a crisis for them. That's why it's important it should be give-and-take on both sides — they have financial concerns, we have health concerns."

Mark Spivey can be reached at mspivey@mycentraljersey.com or 908-707-3144.

Online story here.

(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or Clippings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

Muhlenberg - Courier - Green calls for freeze on Solaris bonds

Published in the Courier News, Tuesday, August 26, 2008

August 25, 2008

Assemblyman calls for freeze on funds
for Solaris upgrades at JFK Medical Center

By MARK SPIVEY
STAFF WRITER

State Assemblyman Jerry Green will ask the state Department of Health and Senior Services to put a hold on possible approval of nearly $170 million in bonds for Solaris Health System, the nonprofit parent company of the recently-closed Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center in Plainfield and JFK Medical Center in Edison.

It was first reported nearly three weeks ago that Solaris had requested a $169 million bond issue to pay for expansions and renovations at JFK and to refinance the debt of the two hospitals.

Green. D-22nd Dist., said he will ask that those funds be put in limbo until specific grievances regarding Muhlenberg's closure are directly addressed by the state.

"This is no longer people hollering that "I want to see Muhlenberg stay open,' " Green said yesterday. "Now the argument from the people in the community is...that they support the (Department of Health) Commissioner (Heather Howard) and the treasurer not moving forward with this bond issue until they get some questions answered."

State Department of Health and Senior Services spokesperson Dawn Thomas confirmed yesterday that Howard and state officials had scheduled a meeting with Green for Sept. 3 in Trenton, but would not comment on the nature of the meeting.

Solaris' bond request was originally scheduled to go before the New Jersey Health Care Facilities Financing Authority in Trenton on Thursday, Aug. 28, but company spokesman Steven Weiss said yesterday the date has been pushed back to sometime in September.

Green outlined a number of issues his task force planned to discuss with the commissioner, including a claim that state-mandated transportation service to other area hospitals offered to Plainfield residents by Solaris does not currently meet the department's standards and the fact that the company has refused to publicly release an asking price for prospective buyers of the 131-year-old hospital.

Another issue Green said he planned to discuss with state health officials is the existence of a potential buyer for Muhlenberg who has claimed massive delays in arranging a tour of the Plainfield campus. A person from within DBR Healthcare, a Philadelphia-based coalition of investors, said earlier this month that his group had been attempting to arrange an evaluation of the hospital grounds since April, but only received approval the Thursday before the hospital's closure.

Green said he is also seeking detailed documentation of Solaris' financial records, ranging from a 10-year revenue report down to a list of all the assets and property on the Plainfield campus and how much is owed on each by the company.

"The community needs to know, because over the last 130 years, the community has not only used this facility, but donated money to it," Green said. "We need to get a clear picture of exactly what Solaris paid for the property, but also what they owe on the property...they're asking the state to back these bonds, so there should be the ability for the state to ask these questions."

In response to the assemblyman's statements, Weiss claimed that Solaris' transportation services to the Plainfield community not only meet the state's requirements, but that the state has already confirmed as much.

"The Department of Health has sent people to look at our transportation to make sure we are meeting the requirements of the certificate of need (for closure)," Weiss said, "and they have been pleased with our efforts to not only comply, but exceed."

Weiss also said that Solaris is annually audited by a private firm and that the information stemming from those audits is available to the public on the company's Web site.

In response to Green's statement that the public is interested in knowing what collateral the company plans to offer in seeking approval of its loan, Weiss said that a working group will discuss the matter this week.

But Weiss said his company was not yet prepared to discuss what, if any, parts of the 17-acre Plainfield campus are currently up for sale, or to publicly issue any specific asking price.

"Solaris won't speculate on the price or the use of the campus in the future when, right now, we are putting all of our efforts into satisfying and exceeding the conditions set forth in the certificate of need (approval)," Weiss said. "The bottom line is, we're not there yet."

Solaris' original bond request called for $22.2 million in capital improvements, while the rest would go toward debt restructuring. The largest chunk of capital-improvement money was to go toward 59 additional inpatient beds at JFK, with other funds being used to expand the emergency room and renovate the cardiac catheterization lab and hyperbaric wound center.

Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, who said Muhlenberg would be a key topic of discussion for a community forum to be held at 6:30 tonight by the city at Washington Community School, said the assemblyman has the city's support regarding his planned meeting with state officials.

"I'll tell you, this is a mutual request," Robinson-Briggs said yesterday regarding Green's stance. "We also want the state to please hold back on giving this loan to Solaris."

Mark Spivey can be reached at mspivey@mycentraljersey.com or 908-707-3144.

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080825/NEWS/808250346

Online story here. Archived here.

(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or Clippings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

Santiago elimination - Courier - Council abolishes position

Published in the Courier, Thursday, March 06, 2008

[Removal of Chief Santiago - Ordinance - 1st Reading; Officers detailed]
Latin-American group backs Plainfield chief

By BRANDON LAUSCH
STAFF WRITER

PLAINFIELD — As City Council members moved forward Wednesday night with plans to abolish the position of police chief and create the title of civilian police director, the head of the city's Latin American Coalition and others continued to denounce the proposal as a personal vendetta.

Shortly before the City Council session — where council members passed the companion ordinances on first reading — Flor Gonzalez, president of the Latin American Coalition, called for a brief rally in support of Chief Edward Santiago, who faces retirement or demotion to captain next month under the pending laws. The ordinances still require another reading and a public hearing, which will be held March 19, before they are formally adopted.

Gonzalez, who has defended Santiago throughout his embattled tenure as chief, gathered with a dozen members of Plainfield's Hispanic community to wave signs in English and Spanish that signaled their support.

One poster was covered with photographs of Lazaro Tista, a Guatemalan immigrant whom authorities have said was beaten to death last year by three Plainfield men because he was Hispanic. Gonzalez credited the chief and city police for quickly capturing the suspects.

"He's a great asset for the city of Plainfield because he works for our needs," added Pedro Santana, co-owner of Caribe Cab Taxi Corp.

Gonzalez, as she has in public meetings, repeatedly questioned the council's motivation for abolishing the position and claimed the move has no justification. But city officials have countered that hiring a civilian director will add a level of performance accountability to the Police Division.

Under the city's proposed ordinances, a candidate for police director with at least five years of experience in public administration or law enforcement would be appointed by the mayor with City Council consent.

The director, who would serve at the mayor's pleasure, would report to city leaders and the public safety director. The proposed ordinance creating the title also allows the public safety director to hold both positions. Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig has not indicated if he would accept the additional responsibility if asked.

Also included in the ordinance is a provision giving the sitting mayor power to hear and determine any charges filed against a member of the city's police or fire divisions.

Hellwig's pending police reorganization plan, which includes abolishing the chief's position, would expand the responsibilities of the city's five captains and create a sixth bureau for information technology. The administrative duties held by Santiago would be transferred to the police director while his police-related functions would be absorbed by bureau commanders, which could include Santiago if he accepts a demotion.

The proposed ordinance creating the director's position also allows for a significant expansion of the 151-member force. Under the pending law, the Police Division could expand to include up to eight captains, 24 lieutenants, 50 sergeants and 250 patrolman. Though Hellwig and city Corporation Counsel Dan Williamson said the provision will give police leaders future hiring flexibility, some council members have questioned if the numbers are necessary to include.

Online story here. Archived here.

(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or Clippings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

Santiago elimination - Ledger - Council abolishes position

Published in the Star-Ledger, Friday, March 07, 2008

[Removal of Chief Santiago]
Council votes to abolish police chief's position


PLAINFIELD: As expected, the city council approved two controversial public safety ordi nances at Wednesday night's meeting.

The first abolishes the police chief's position and creates a civilian police director, while the second reorganizes the police department and allows the public safety director to simultaneously hold the position of police direc tor.

The measures must now be approved on second reading at the next council meeting, which is March 17. Should that happen, both would take effect April 11, city officials said.

On the vote to eliminate the police chief's position -- Edward Santiago currently holds that title -- the seven-member council voted 5-0 with two abstentions. Council members Rashid Burney, Linda Carter, Don Davis, William Reid and Elliott Simmons approved; while Council President Harold Gibson and Councilman Cory Storch abstained.

On the vote to reorganize the police department, the council passed it 5-2, with Burney, Davis, Gibson, Reid and Simmons approving. Carter and Storch op posed the measure.

Santiago has said he will appeal any attempt to remove him, contending it is politically moti vated on the part of Mayor Sha ron Robinson-Briggs' administration. The mayor says the ordi nances are meant to create a more efficient and accountable police department.

Online story here. Archived here.

(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or Clippings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

Santiago elimination - Courier - Editorial: Wrong choice in PR effort

Published in the Courier News, Friday, March 07, 2008

[Editorial - Removal of Chief Santiago]
Plainfield makes wrong choice in PR effort


In their quest to win public support for a plan to oust Police Chief Edward Santiago and replace him with a civilian director, Plainfield city officials this week brought in a man described as "a leading authority on police matters."

His name is Joseph Santiago, no relation to the chief, but rather well known in the state for all the wrong reasons.

Joseph Santiago, the current police director in Trenton, is the former -- and short-lived -- superintendent of state police, one of many ill-conceived appointments by former Gov. Jim McGreevey.

The choice of Santiago, who had been Newark's police director, had all the earmarks of cronyism from the beginning, thanks to McGreevey's ties to former Newark Mayor Sharpe James. Santiago had a checkered personal and professional history in Newark, including a conviction for beating up a corrections officer and tax delinquency.

That background alone made him the wrong choice to head up an agency that itself was struggling so mightily with its own image after racial profiling scandals. But Santiago went on to commit a series of embarrassing blunders during his brief reign as superintendent. Santiago at one point took to wearing a badge and uniform he had supposedly earned from taking a state trooper class that only existed on paper. Santiago also reportedly ordered confiscation of all files potentially critical of himself and his executive staff. And state police investigators also discovered alleged mob links to Santiago.

Joseph Santiago eventually resigned under fire, but found a soft landing in Trenton, although his stint there has not been without its own controversy. A lawsuit citing the city's residency requirement -- which was waived in Santiago's case -- wants Santiago to either move to Trenton or lose his job.

Why does any of this matter now, to Plainfield? City officials already have a credibility problem on this issue. There remains good reason to assume they are motivated primarily by the desire to rid themselves of Chief Santiago. But they can't publicly admit that in gaining state approval for their restructuring plan, so instead, they've crafted the proposal to emphasize the benefits of a civilian director.

Joseph Santiago was invited to speak at a City Council meeting on Monday to reinforce the message, but city leaders could scarcely have found anyone with less credibility. Joseph Santiago may be a fine law enforcement official. But given all of his baggage, is he the one officials should want helping out in what amounts to a public relations campaign?

Officials need to do better than that. If they can't, it only raises more questions about the wisdom of the restructuring plan.

Online story here. Archived here.

(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or Clippings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

Muhlenberg - Courier - Mayor: Status dire but hopeful

Published in the Courier News, Thursday, March 06, 2008

[SPEAKING OUT]
Mayor reports Muhlenberg status dire but hopeful

I want to address Plainfield about a very important issue, Muhlenberg Medical Center.

First, I am compelled to address the leadership of the Courier News on behalf of the people of Plainfield.

Courier writers, please note that the Plainfield readership has the absolute right to be informed by your paper when their mayor is in attendance, is an active participant and when an address is made on behalf of the residents, employees, business owners and all interested parties, specifically involving our quality of life.

As an instrument of the news that is also an official newspaper for the City of Plainfield, it is your obligation to be inclusive and respectful of the Office of the Mayor, City Administration and City Council. This level of respect should also be extended to Assemblyman Green and Assemblywoman Stender, if they are in attendance at an event in Plainfield, as they serve the 22nd Legislative District which includes Plainfield.

In reading your article in the Sunday, March 2, 2008 newspaper about Muhlenberg, your writer missed an opportunity to inform the people of the comments of their steady supporter, their mayor. For those who know me, they know that my comments are not about "seeing my name in a newspaper." I am always very proud to support my community and my people, and the community frequently lets me know how pleased they are to see me "everywhere." Rather, the important point that I am making at this time is the desire for the people of Plainfield to regularly be informed when I am advocating on their behalf, to protect their rights.

Last week, when I learned of the scheduled Muhlenberg rally, the event was placed on my calendar, as I felt that it was important to provide a factual account of the city's position as it relates to the status of Muhlenberg. Subsequent to making that decision, my office received calls inquiring about the city's position and whether the Plainfield mayor would be at the rally. Many people came out who wanted to know the city's position. As mayor, I provided the information, but it was omitted from the article. I extend my thanks for the comments and the photos that you did print. Those are views that are also very important. Again, as mayor, just as mayors of other communities, as the representative of the people of Plainfield, my comments should have been included.

On another note, I am respectfully renewing my request to you to please be proactive and remember to print "positive" stories about events and achievements which occur in Plainfield. I feel very comfortable in informing you that my request is a mirror request of many people who love Plainfield. It's our home, our place of employment, where we have youngsters who attend school and folks who own businesses. This request is made on behalf of the Democrats, Republicans, Independents, all genders, personal preferences, nationalities, all religions, residents, employees, business owners, educators, veterans, parents, grandparents and guardians, young people, senior citizens, those representing all economic levels and all walks of life.

We all want to read in your newspaper about the good things that occur in Plainfield. We are a thriving, diverse, friendly community with lots to offer. Our media department is pleased to provide you with information for at least three positive weekly stories.

We know that the Courier enjoys coming into Plainfield and reporting on our Queen City. We appreciate your hard work. Please merely accept this as a friendly reminder that if we work together, we can be successful on a huge common goal -- keeping Plainfield properly informed about important issues.

Here's an update regarding a very important issue for the City of Plainfield -- Muhlenberg Medical Center and its status.

On Saturday, March 1, 2008, after attending a funeral in Metuchen, I hurried back to Plainfield to attend the Muhlenberg rally. I express my humble thanks to the hundreds of caring people who I had an opportunity to march and chant with and speak with as we braved the cold, because our collective voices needed to be heard about the dire need for the full services of Muhlenberg to remain in full force.

Many to thank for hospital rally

Thank you to Steve Hatcher, Dr. Cofield, Joan, Larry, Dottie and Joe and the members of POP (Peoples Organization for Progress) for hosting the rally. Thanks to Assemblyman Green, Assemblywoman Stender, Council President Gibson and members of the council for attending. Thanks also to the Plainfield Area NAACP (Pete, Johnny, Larry, Barbara and others), Bishop and Mrs. Benbow and all clergy, Marie and members of the Pemberton Area Block Association and other block associations represented, our youth and many senior citizens, Latino leadership, members of the Frontiers International, various city employees, including our media department, police division, fire department, OEM, city clerk's office, public works and others, various local organization representatives, chamber of commerce members, SID members, educators, business owners, Union County representatives, Plainfielders, friends of Plainfield and representatives of other communities.

Thank you to the Courier News, the Star Ledger, all media and News 12 for being in attendance. Last but not least, thank you to the physicians, nurses, staff members and volunteers of Muhlenberg Medical Center. Thank you to everyone who came out to show their dedication, unification and simply for coming together to fight collectively for what we feel is rightfully ours and the need to voice our opinions and concerns about Muhlenberg remaining as a full-service hospital. Our health cannot come with a price tag. If we do not have a system of good, available managed health care, we have nothing.

Muhlenberg is Plainfield's largest hub and Plainfield's largest employer, employing roughly 1,100 people, many of whom reside in the City of Plainfield. Closing and/or downsizing this facility will hurt many people. Not just the residents of Plainfield, but also people in surrounding communities, such as Scotch Plains, Fanwood, North Plainfield, South Plainfield, Dunellen, Piscataway and even the folks who have been coming from Perth Amboy.

Also, besides having a devastating impact on our ability to offer specific types of medical care to prospective patients, downsizing could result in families being hurt, as some employees will probably be laid off. Those being laid off could possibly end up with no health-care insurance and also an inability to pay their rent or mortgages. If people no longer have health insurance or jobs, they will have to be treated in an emergency room, without a means of payment.

Further, if people are unemployed and can't pay their rents or mortgages, they would have an inability to pay property taxes, which would have a negative effect on the communities where they reside. This total scenario is frightening, as it can have a negative impact in so many ways.

Last year, hospital representatives informed me and Assemblyman Green that Muhlenberg was in a financial situation. In October, the hospital had a $17-million charity care bill, and the State of New Jersey at that time had reimbursed them in the amount of $7 million that resulted in a $10- million deficit for the hospital. Assemblyman Green, Assemblywoman Stender, myself and many hospital representatives traveled to Trenton to meet with New Jersey State representatives. We expressed our strong support to have the hospital remain open, on behalf of the people of Plainfield and the many other communities that it serves.

The state agreed to advance roughly $4.5 million of charity care funds. That helped for a short period of time, but the funds allocated still left a deficit. Unfortunately, there are many people who are currently uninsured in this country, and specifically in this area, who have no choice but to use emergency rooms as a private care facility, then apply for charity care to request the state to pay for the medical services rendered. This is what happened with Muhlenberg Medical Center.

Recently, Gov. Corzine met with the mayors of Union County. The main purpose was to discuss the state budget and the possibility of raising toll rates. The mayors had an opportunity to discuss their issues. I chose to discuss two issues as they pertain to Plainfield -- money for our school district (whether taxpayers would ultimately have to absorb some of the school funding per the new school formula) and the status of Muhlenberg.

Looking for funds to keep Muhlenberg open

I asked if we "could keep the hospital?" I told him that I needed to be able to report to the people of Plainfield. He told me that last year we closed five hospitals and this year we would close four hospitals. Regarding Muhlenberg, Gov. Corzine said that although he could not make any guarantees, he wanted us to know that he was doing whatever he could to help keep the doors of Muhlenberg open.

I know that the State of New Jersey is financially in debt, and that some drastic cuts have to be made, and that our governor has to make some really tough decisions, but somehow, the funds must be found to keep the doors of Muhlenberg open.

Going forward, Assemblyman Green and I will meet this week with several hospitals, and we have formed a task force to provide review. The City of Plainfield has had meetings with various groups that provide medical assistance, to see if they can merge with the hospital, offer their services from the hospital location and provide some of their funding sources to the hospital. There is another idea which will be discussed with some other stakeholders which involves shared services.

My understanding is that it will take the hospital roughly six months to complete its downsizing. Plainfield and surrounding communities, that gives us several months to complete our review of this situation, financial and otherwise, and to keep working together on this very important issue. Muhlenberg is privately owned, and if there are any serious entities wishing to purchase it and maintain it as a full-scale hospital, please contact hospital officials immediately.

How can residents and past patients help? Please write a positive letter of support for Muhlenberg, and mail it to my office: Office of the Mayor, Mayor Sharon M. Robinson-Briggs, Plainfield City Hall, 515 Watchung Ave., Plainfield, NJ 07060. Kindly forward your letters to my office by March 15. I hope to receive thousands of letters, as I will share them with our legislators.

Hopefully, with your help, funding sources will be made available. Thank you in advance for your commitment and desire to work together to help save Muhlenberg and to ultimately save lives. I love you and support you.

Sharon M. Robinson-Briggs is mayor of Plainfield.

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StoryChat

Why is it being forced to close when it's part of the Solaris Healthcare System? Yeah yeah, the state is cutting back, hospitals statewide are taking a huge hit. Is somebody mishandling money? Are they using the profits from the hospital to go on all expense paid "business meetings"? Why isn't JFK (Muhlenberg's counterpart) Closing? How much was the CEO and VP making? I mean really - let's be fair, this hospital does not need to be closed. People ought to just cut back their spending and focus on patient satisfaction.

If Muhlenberg were run by the right people, regardless of how much the state has cut funds, our fellow residents would not be losing our beloved Muhlenberg. I can't believe that it has come to this and I'm furious!! My 2 sisters are out of jobs, and I bet you that they're still spending and abusing hospital funds. I think all NJ hospitals should be under federal scrutiny and review. Where is the money Muhlenberg? What happened to it!!! I don't buy this story for a minute that medicare, medicaid and state funding is the real reason it's closing. I think it's the Board of Directors fault. Twisted Evil Evil or Very Mad Twisted Evil

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 2:43 pm

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Kudos to the Mayor and her team for making an effort to address an almost untenable situation. The fact of the matter is that Muhlenbergs demise is a combination of the effects of changing local demographics and cuts by the feds to charity care programs.

The mayor is but one person and not a magician... however this situation makes her an easy scapegoat for people who always want to high light the problems and never acknowledge the efforts that are made.

Everyone has criticisms , but I don't see anyone stepping up to the plate with any real solutions. I don;t know how Mayor Briggs has managed to operate with all her actions being scrutinized under a public microscope... something no other Mayor has had to deal with.
The information age has its benefits and its drawbacks, and some people just abuse it.
If the Courier News wants to be acknowledged as an unbiased voice for local news then they should report the good as well as the bad. Good for you for standing up for your self and for plainfield - Mayor Briggs!

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:11 pm

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I read this letter twice and all I can say is Where is the report?

I am so glad the newspaper published this letter as evidence to all of our "leadership" in Plainfield.

We are paying exhorbitant taxes and this is all she has to say? Reprimending the newspapers for a job that is suppossed to be done by an incompetent, and very expensive, PR and Community Relations Department?

Where is her concern for the community when she keeps two body guards (never mind that are the same ones that campaigned for her) at her side 24/7?

Where is her long term plan to keep avoiding loses? Where is her plan to support businesses and taxpayers? Is begging the State for more money all she can do?

She says she is concerned with the school, well, she was a member of the Board until she was pulled by the Democratic Party to be "the mayor". I want one, only one, good thing that she did for the schools.

3 years into her administration and not even a working city website. Is that "leadership" and "concern" for her taxpayers and constituents?

Yes, CN. Why don't you report more on her so people can see for themselves what kind of fiasco we have for Mayor.

It's not the closure of Muhlenberg that will run people out of Plainfield, it's her and the council's lack of leadership that will.

I challenge more people to speak up their minds here.

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 7:44 am

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Online story here. Archived here.

(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or Clippings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

Muhlenberg - Courier - Green forms task force

Published in the Courier News, Friday, March 7, 2008

[MRMC]
Task force formed to study alternatives to Muhlenberg

By BRANDON LAUSCH
STAFF WRITER

PLAINFIELD — A day after City Council members unanimously adopted a resolution demanding the continued full-service operation of Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center, Assemblyman Jerry Green said Thursday he convened a task force to address the impending closure.

Meanwhile, residents and community groups continued to organize additional protests aimed at pressing officials to find a way to keep Plainfield's largest private employer in business.

"It is vital to have all of the health-care providers in the area at the table, working together, to develop alternatives and options for our most vulnerable residents impacted by the closing of Muhlenberg," Green said in a statement. "We have set an aggressive agenda that will produce specific recommendations by May 2008."

Green said the first task-force meeting included, among others, Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, executives from Muhlenberg and its parent company, Solaris Health Systems, as well as representatives from surrounding hospitals that will likely see an influx of patients following the closure.

The Democratic Assemblyman said the task force will identify priorities that area hospitals and health centers need to address, such as adequate transportation options for local patients who will need to travel elsewhere for service.

Muhlenberg's financial crisis, officials have said, is the result of declining patient volumes, competition from free-standing outpatient surgery centers and millions of dollars in losses from underfunded charity care the facility must provide to uninsured patients.

The medical center is expected to shut its acute-care facility by the end of the summer, leaving only a satellite emergency room and school of nursing operational. The closure could equate to the loss of 1,000 jobs, according to officials, who said they will work to retain employees at other medical centers.

Included in the city's resolution supporting Muhlenberg are paragraphs lauding the hospital as a "beacon of health" for the region for more than 130 years that has "rightfully earned a reputation as a consistent provider of emergency, acute and long term health care."

Medical-center employees and members of the public told officials as much during passionate testimonials Wednesday, when a parade of residents implored City Council members to save the hospital or rallied each other to keep up the fight. Many residents also told stories of how Muhlenberg personnel saved their lives or those of loved ones — some more than once.

Plainfield's chapter of the People's Organization For Progress, which has coordinated a curbside rally in front of the hospital, will hold another organizational meeting in the ongoing campaign against the closure at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the duCret School of Art, 1030 Central Ave.

The group has scheduled a second protest for noon March 15 at the corner of Randolph Road and Park Avenue.

For more information on the rally, call Steven Hatcher, chairman of the Plainfield branch of People's Organization For Progress, at (908) 731-1518, or state Chairman Lawrence Hamm at (973) 801-0001.

Brandon Lausch can be reached at (908) 707-3175 or blausch@c-n.com.

Online story here. Archived here.

(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or Clippings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

Redevelopment - Ledger - Landmark Developers loses designation in Orange

Published in the Star-Ledger, Thursday, March 6, 2008

[Landmark Developers]
Orange ends deal for new housing
Project put on hold for lack of progress

BY KEVIN C. DILWORTH
Star-Ledger Staff

The Orange City Council has voted to terminate an agreement with a housing developer to construct market-rate housing, including a high-rise apartment building, in the city's Valley section.

The 2006 redevelopment initiative would have covered 10 lots, including the Bravo supermarket on Scotland Road, but is now on indefinite hold, Marty Mayes, the city's director of development, said yesterday.

Frank Cretella, manager of Landmark Developers, also known as LMD Orange Urban Renewal Co., said in a letter to city officials that he tried to make the dream come true, but found no investors and he himself determined the venture to be way too costly.

"We're going to look for another developer, but we're not going to look for one right away because we want to concentrate on other redevelopment areas, primarily the (former) Hospital Center at Orange site, and two former hat factory sites," Mayes said.

Those three housing initiatives are expected to finally take shape this year, officials have said.

In a Feb. 13 letter to Mayes, Cretella wrote that building market-rate housing on the Bravo store site, part of Orange's Central Valley Redevelopment Area, is not financially viable.

"My anticipated acquisition costs, along with the relocation fee to Bravo, bring my cost, per dwelling unit, too high," wrote Cretella, whose Landmark Developers firm is based in Jersey City. "In addition, the project, as designed now, in accordance with the redevelopment plan, calls for a seven-story structure.

"The cost of constructing a seven-story-versus-a five-story structure is about $50 per square foot higher," Cretella said. "We had analyzed redesigning the project to five stories, as well as decreasing the average unit from 1,150 square feet to 950 square feet, but I still feel our cost basis remains too high.

"I also have not had any success in attracting other investors or developers in today's market," Cretella said.

Should the city of Orange find a replacement developer to undertake the market-rate housing venture, all architectural plans, tests and appraisals will be provided to them and to the city, Cretella promised.

That is not the only Orange redevelopment project that has been sidelined.

The multimillion-dollar clustered-brownstone residential community in the East Main Street redevelopment area, a 2 1/2-square-block area near the East Orange border, has been sidelined since September 2005.

The two property owners -- Nicholas Del Spina Jr., of Dell Spina LLC, operator of Truck Body East, and Allied Health Care Systems, a 6,400-square-foot medical equipment rental and supply business at 64 Main St., filed a lawsuit as part of an eminent domain fight with the city.

The owner of each property complained they operated viable businesses and should not be forced to give up their livelihoods for the proposed 283-unit residential brownstone community.

That case remains in litigation, officials said.

The three Orange developers whose housing developments are about to finally see the light of day -- partially because of 20-year-long payment in lieu of tax deals the city council approved -- are:

Metrovest -- the $100 million Avenue at Orange

Following a projected year-long asbestos removal effort that is expected to get under way soon, every building on the 8.8-acre, long-closed hospital site will be demolished.

That will pave the way for the construction of a midrise building complex called the Avenue at Orange, which will consist of 375 luxury one- and two-bedroom condominiums, 18,995 square feet of retail space, and a 12,000-square-foot community center with a pool and gymnasium.

F. Berg Hat Factory -- the $10 million Valley Renaissance Center

Berg Development Urban Renewal Associates -- a consortium consisting of the nonprofit Housing and Neighborhood Development Services agency in Orange, the Alpert Group of Fort Lee, and Ironstate Holdings LLC, a division of the Applied Development Co. of Hoboken -- is behind the plan to convert the building into a residential and commercial locale.

The new structure off Nassau and Jefferson streets will feature 29 condominiums on the upper floors and artist's studios and artist-related retail spaces on the ground level.

No Name Hat Factory -- a $1.4 million artist's loft residence

Harvard Development Associates LLC, a co-developer with the Housing and Neighborhood Development Services Inc. agency in Orange, plan to convert the three-story, century-old building at Mitchell and Jefferson streets into 16 lofts where artists will both live and work.

Kevin C. Dilworth may be reached at kdilworth@starledger.com or (973) 392-4143.

Online story here. Archived here.

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Police - Courier - Trenton police director presents to Council

Published in the Courier News, Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Trenton police director opines on chief issue

By BRANDON LAUSCH
STAFF WRITER

Trenton Police Director Joseph Santiago told City Council members Monday night that appointing a civilian to oversee the city's 151-member force -- while abolishing the chief's position -- would likely infuse a higher level of accountability and a fresh managerial focus throughout the Police Division.

During a 20-minute presentation, Santiago said an appointed police director, by design, would be "transparent and more responsive" than a sworn chief, a position chiefs argue is protected from politics by tenure guidelines and other laws.

"I don't think that the notion of having a civilian automatically transcends into political interference," Santiago said. "I think that's what some people will try to convince you of, but I've rarely seen cases of it."

Local officials invited Santiago to visit Plainfield as City Council members move to finalize a controversial plan -- which last month gained state Department of Personnel approval -- to eliminate the position of police chief as part of a wider reorganization of the city's Police Division.

Under the proposal, Chief Edward Santiago would be stripped of his position April 11 -- two days shy of his ninth anniversary as the city's top cop -- and would be forced to retire or accept a demotion to captain.

His supporters, including a contingent of fellow chiefs who lined one wall of the council's meeting room, were likely prepared to criticize the proposal during public comment, but citizens' participation was scheduled past Courier News deadlines.

Joseph Santiago -- described by Plainfield officials as a leading authority in police issues -- is also a polarizing figure in New Jersey law enforcement. A former Newark police director, Joseph Santiago served seven months as state police superintendent before resigning amid several controversies.

Most recently, Trenton residents and politicians have sued the city and its mayor, Douglas H. Palmer, over a requirement that employees live within city limits. The pending lawsuits demand the police director move to Trenton or lose his job.

In Plainfield, the layoff proposal is part of a reorganization effort by Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig, who found "serious management and operational issues directly related to the Police Division's organizational structure" after a review of the force.

The pending reorganization would expand the responsibilities of bureau commanders, revamp existing units and create a sixth police bureau dedicated to solving information technology issues and reporting crime statistics.

The administrative duties held by Edward Santiago would be handed over to the civilian police director while police-related functions of the chief would be absorbed by bureau commanders who hold the rank of captain.

"Thoughtful deployment of resources and strict accountability for the delivery of services has been a missing ingredient in the administration of police resources. I intend to end that practice," Hellwig wrote in a reorganization report. "The redeployment of all captains and reorganization signals a new way of doing business in the police division."

The city's Fire Division would maintain the rank of chief, Hellwig said, because the "efficiency with regard to the Fire Division is not in question to my mind."

Under pending resolutions, a police director with at least five years of experience in public administration or law enforcement and would be appointed by the mayor and City Council. The person would serve until the mayor's successor decides to accept or reject the choice. The director would report to city leaders, including the public safety director.

But why appoint two civilians to oversee the city's police officers, creating what some critics have called an unnecessary layer of expensive bureaucracy?

"It could be me," Hellwig said the proposed ordinance to appoint a police director, which includes language to allow the public safety director to assume both roles.

"Taxes are of main concern to the council and the administration, obviously, and that's why this (wording) was put in there," Hellwig said, adding that "it's still up for discussion" about whether he would accept the added job.

Online story here. Archived here.

(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or Clippings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)