| "Y'all know my steelo" -> Nas
I am not sure how long this entry will be, so this is my essay topic:
Re-elect Charlotte Bennett Schoen for 2nd Ward Councilwoman in Englewood. Say no to Michael Wildes? puppets.
Vote Lieutenant Allen Gailes Jr., for Bergen County Sheriff. Say yes to diverse and independent government.
This is my conclusion:
Vote for the Real Bergen Democrats, Column 1. Vote for the Weinberg/Johnson/Huttle team.
Englewood Report Interviews Lt. Allen Gailes Jr.
Englewood Report Endorses Charlotte Bennett Schoen for Reelection
Bergen Grassroots Endorsements
Exhibit D: From noon to 8pm this day, you can support the Real Bergen Democrats candidates who are opposed by Boss Ferriero's hand-picked candidates in the June 5 primary. They are Englewood Council President Charlotte Bennett Schoen; Bergenfield Council incumbent Bruce Carlson, Timothy Driscoll for Mayor and Barry Doll for Council, and County Sheriff candidate Allen Gailes, Jr. All have the endorsement of Bergen Grassroots.
The polls open soon, so I have not had the time to write this in Spanish. I will add this post to my "to translate" list. And I should have probably written this post last night or maybe a couple nights ago, but I tend to procrastinate. But for the record, my two centavos. |
| Believe it or not, Bergen County is still in one piece. The long awaited civil war is here but not quite. County committee elections should be fun. The most important lesson that I have learned about politics is the following: I know nothing of politics.
I am writing as an exercise in self political therapy. This is about how simple the world is to me and why I am holding dearly, desperately and doggedly to the last remaining shred of hope I have in Bergen County Politics.
Allen, Charlotte, Loretta, Gordon and Valerie: No pressure, but I need to believe in you if I?m to believe that there is a reason to write on bluejersey.
Loretta, Gordon and Valerie: You?ve thoroughly confused me. I will not try to understand. I am not ready to forgive. But I am ready to move on, to be practical, to know that there is a bigger picture and to understand that battles are to be picked and chosen carefully. (Though I still believe Michael had a real shot against Loretta)
Enough melodrama, this is the difference between the single malt and arbor mist.
To reiterate, in a few hours the single most important county in the universe will be up and about and most will not know that there is an election. Primaries will be in full swing and voters will be treated to what I believe must be a ballot with one of the most bizarre histories in the history of ballots.
Loretta Weinberg, Gordon Johnson and Valerie Vainieri Huttle will be our District 37 Legislators one more again. That much we know for sure.
But this post is not about the District 37 team of Weinberg/Johnson/Huttle. This is about why I will vote for Lt. Allen Gailes Jr. and Charlotte Bennett Schoen.
I am a minority and biased. Guilty as charged. Leo McGuire is currently serving as the Sheriff of Bergen County. I don?t know anything about Leo McGuire. I do know that since I have known that he is my Sheriff, he has earned my respect and lost my respect in one day with two quick statements. At an event that I attended he said that it is not the role of the police to enforce immigration laws because it detracts precious energy and resources from the real police work. Much respect. He then highlighted how he increased women and minorities in the department?s personnel by 100% if not more. But just consider the following for a second: Picture two baskets. One basket has two apples and the second has two oranges. If you transfer one orange to the apple basket then you have diversified your apple basket by a factor of infinite orange percentage points. Furthermore, if you calculate that the original orange basket is now populated by one lonely orange and is somewhere way way down south, then?I can?t think of a simpler analogy and my math is sketchy.
Governor Jon S. Corzine called Bergen County to endorse Leo McGuire and the incumbent Freeholders. Let me repeat that. The Governor of the State of New Jersey decided that one of the most important and absolutely critical things he should do in his tenure as Governor of our state, in the name of honoring his duty to all New Jerseyans, was to take time to robo-call all of Bergen County in support of a local Sheriff and Freeholders in a county primary. En algún momento alguien escribió que las minorías en el Condado de Bergen estábamos jodidos, mejor dicho, llevados del hijueputa.
Governor Jon Corzine decided it would be in his best interest to go against a rare, but beautiful, inspiring campaign, emblematic of progressive politics. In a nation and a state where our prisons are predominantly populated by black and hispanic men and women?in a nation and a state where racial profiling is a slap to the face of the civil rights movement, our very own governor decided to needlessly, shamelessly and outrageously intervene in a local race to endorse candidates. This is not about the individuals Jon Corzine endorsed. This is about Jon Corzine losing my support, my trust, and that of many other minorities across Bergen County. This is about a governor throwing the enormous weight and influence of his name in a local election.
In an already heavily uneven and unfairly stacked playing field, he egregiously offended the peoples with the least representation at all levels of government in this county, state and nation.
But maybe, and this may be a bit of a stretch, Corzine?s ill fated robo-call against his candidacy is a badge of honor for Lieutenant Allen J. Gailes Jr. Why? Because the powers that be felt the fear. A determined man?s grass roots campaign compelled his opponents to twist the arm of the most powerful elected official in our state to support them with the most miserable and trashy of political gimmicks. Corzine owes Lieutenant Allen Gailes a public and personal apology. As a minority and a voter in this state, I will proudly cast my vote in favor of Allen Gailes today and in the future.
The Bergen Record recently ran an article about what should be obvious to anyone living in this country. The nation?s demographics are changing rapidly. The article cites the following figures: Minorities make up 37 percent of New Jersey's population, outpacing the national minority percentage of 33 percent, according to estimates released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
In my very brief experience in local politics I have met elected officials that have done little to nothing at all to inspire my participation in local government. In the city of Englewood, the Hispanic peoples are rapidly becoming almost one third of the city?s entire population. In the eighteen years that I have lived in The Wood there have been but two candidates for public office that have earnestly engaged the Hispanic community. In a city that boasts of having only one elected Hispanic official (Margaret Mora in the Board of Education), Charlotte Bennett Schoen has redefined constituent outreach. For three years I have personally witnessed Charlotte participate, educate and empower the Hispanic community of the city of Englewood. She has and continues to support grass roots Hispanic organizations, patiently attending meetings held in Spanish without the benefit of translation. While most residents of our city fear crossing the tracks to venture where black and hispanic folk mingle (a scary thought), Charlotte has visited our homes, our bakeries (for all those of you that have seen the movie Barbershop and are not Hispanic, you must know that if Barbershop were reproduced with an entirely immigrant Latino cast, it would be called the Bakery), our restaurants and our after school programs to integrate herself to our community. But it is not enough to simply listen and talk. An elected official must follow through with his or her promises and do what is needed to address the concerns of his or her constituents. Charlotte has recognized that the Hispanic community in Englewood is critical to what makes Englewood Englewood and not Tenafly, Englewood Cliffs or Alpine. These three municipalities truly define diversity. (Suffice to say that Tenafly would secede from the Union should the words ?school regionalization? be whispered ever again). As such, she has worked to make sure that the Hispanic community feels welcome and appreciated in their hometown. She has and will continue to work to make sure that our community has a place in our city by standing up against the rampant, irresponsible, gentrifying development that has many of us considering leaving the city. She has and will continue to support the educational and recreational programs that will ensure the success and well- being of our youth. She believes that if the Latino population is to participate in government, then government should speak the language of its constituents. She will work to implement an initiative to ensure that all city ordinances and publications are translated into Spanish. And because she appreciates the contributions of our entire community, Englewood will soon join other progressive cities as a safe haven for immigrants. Open and transparent government defines Charlotte.
"I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death"
"I ain't the type of brother made for you to start testin" -> Nas
p.s. Bob Stern was the second candidate.
p.p.s. I purposely put in question marks where there should be apostrophes. |
