Blog Fun in Flemington

by: the pollster

Fri Dec 14, 2007 at 12:16:54 PM EST

Joan Greiner, the wife of defeated Flemington Borough Councilman Phil Greiner, has got herself a blog.  And, boy is she using it to paint an interesting picture of Flemington.

Her husband lost the election to me.  Close-I won by about 4 votes.  And now the Council has a Democratic majority.  Mrs. Greiner feels that, somehow, I have ruined the whole temperament of Council, since 2007 was a productive and fairly cooperative year.  She labors under the delusion that the three Republicans who were up for re-election were somehow entitled to their seats, and that I got in the way of that lovely peace by seeking to disturb the beauty of a 3-3 even split.

I replied: "Yes, in 2007, Council worked well. I don't understand the "dismantle" argument. Phil, John, and Erica were not entitled to those seats in 2008. They had to earn them. Dismantle means to take apart-your assumption is that Council 2007 was a solid structure. It wasn't. No government body ever is. Each election brings change."  No matter how many other people reminded her that no political body is solid, that the nature of government is change, she never got it. 

And then she wrote: "I want this 2008 council to be better than what we had in 2007 as you saw fit to run and change its composition. Since it did not need fixing, I do think you have that responsibility."

I love that part, "as I saw fit to run and change its composition."  It's as if I performed some magic trick on the voters to get them to vote for me over her husband, and to get them to vote against their own self-interest.  For her, it "did not need fixing."  But, clearly, for some, it did.

She casts blame on me for winning (or maybe for beating her husband).  Now it is up to me to not disturb the "Pax Flemington" (yeah, she used that term!).

Anyway, it's an interesting blog and reply website.  Check it out:

http://cnflemington....

And feel free to post a comment.  She has heard from me, one other candidate, and the Democratic Councilmembers.  Maybe some intrepid Blue Jerseyan can enlighten her.