Would Rob Andrews be a better gubernatorial primary challenger...

by: rachael'sdad

Tue May 20, 2008 at 11:44:59 PM EDT

As we have seen from this lame primary campaign, there really is not much to talk about except Andrews' role in the lead-up to the war in Iraq and Lautenberg being unwilling to debate.  The fact of the matter is that there is very little, if anything, for anybody, much less a conservative Democrat like Andrews, to nitpick about in Lautenberg's voting record.

That said, even a conservative Democrat like Rob Andrews could come up with an alternative issues platform with which to emloy in a primary run against Jon Corzine.

Photos from Anti-Bush Protest in Edison

by: mitch

Wed May 30, 2007 at 07:09:01 PM EDT

Solidaridy Singers

Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ-6)

More below the fold

New Leadership Lights the Way in Edison

by: mitch

Wed Dec 06, 2006 at 03:37:29 AM EST

Edison Mayor Jun Choi hosted a star studded event Tuesday night with Governor Corzine and former Governor Florio.  At $1000 VIP and $100 per ticket, the event raised several thousands of dollars into the Jun Choi for Mayor campaign account.

The event was very high profile yielding a triple shot of press in the Home News & Star Ledger in only 2 days, attacking Mayor Choi's consultants, introducing a nemesis, and potentially leading up to a recall election in Edison Township.

While Mayor Choi is not up for election until 2009, there are four council seats up for grabs in 2007 and talk around the campfire is that Choi is gearing up for another battle in Edison.

Two of the council members up for election in 2007, Joan Kapitan & Charlie Tomaro, attended the Mayor's event.  While Councilmen Sal Pizzi and Peter Barnes III did not attend, and have been profiled in the papers as possibily supporting the idea of a recall election.

It looks like 2007 will be another fun and exciting year  of elections for New Jersey's 5th largest municipality.

News Round-up and Open Thread for Tuesday, August 15

by: Sharon GR

Tue Aug 15, 2006 at 09:13:20 AM EDT

• The state DEP was advised of the owner's plans to redevelop his former thermometer factory, according to new information released yesterday. The state has previously said it was unaware of the use of the property. Jim Sullivan Jr., the owner, has said he will pay for any necessary clean-up.
• A state appeals court ruled yesterday that a former Newark school student can sue the school district. The former student contracted HIV from his band teacher.
• Investigations continue into a $1.5 million no-bid contract given to Life Skills, an organization hired to provide inmates with tools to begin lives outside of prison. An audit recently cast doubt on the efficacy of the program and the costs.
• The PBA in Edison rallied yesterday against mayor Jun Choi, because of an internal police investigation instituted by the mayor. Tensions between the mayor and the police have increased due to an 8/3 rally where an Indian immigrant was arrested on a deportation warrant.
• Trenton finance director and comptroller Christine Stankiewicz has filed a counterclaim, saying she was targeted for firing so she did not reveal potentially damaging information when she retires later this year. Stankiewicz was suspended with pay two weeks ago on allegations that she covered up payment of four month's salary to a senior accountant who was absent. No charges are filed yet and investigations are pending- the investigations have crossed paths with the election challenge made by Tony Mack. This is only going to get uglier.
• We're numper one! Our Fair State has raised taxes more than any other state this year, according to a new report by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Well-buried in the article is Gov. spokesperson Anthony Coley's remarks about budget maneuvers to correct "years of fiscal mismanagement that undermines our children's future, the protection of our most vulnerable and the capacity to invest in our state's economic, financial and physical security."
• Nice side effect of the indoor smoking ban- more people may be trying to quit. Good luck if you're one of them!
• No relief if your breathing problems are caused by allergies, however. Hay fever season is getting an early start; it's been a good growing season for the ragweed. Aahh-choo!
• Dell is recalling 4.1 million notebook computer batteries at risk of overheating and catching fire. The batteries were shipped between 4/1 and 7/18/06. See the Consumer Product Safety Commission release for more info.

Precident set for 'unreasonable fees' in Edison

by: mitch

Fri Mar 24, 2006 at 07:08:32 PM EST

The $55 fee that Edison Township charges the public for copies of its council minutes on computer diskette is "unreasonable," a state appeals court ruled yesterday.

The unanimous ruling, which sets a precedent that must be followed statewide, was a victory for the Libertarian Party, which chal lenged the fee as excessive. The appeals court agreed, noting that the minutes are created in electronic form and can easily be copied to a computer diskette.

  "The actual cost of the diskette is far less than $55," Appellate Divi sion Judge Jose Fuentes wrote. "Thus, the only discernible rationale for the fee is to discourage the public from requesting the information in this format. Such a policy is not legally sustainable."

Fuentes said the $55 fee puts "an unreasonable burden on the right of access guaranteed by OPRA," the state's Open Public Records Act...

The case was argued in November before Edison Mayor Jun Choi took office. In January, shortly after his inauguration, Choi said he wanted to make township workings "open and transparent."

"I'm sure we can come up with a mutually agreeable rate. It's a new day in Edison," Choi said. "We have some questions why the previ ous administration even contested this in court."

John Paff, secretary of the Libertarian Party of central New Jersey, said he wanted computer copies of council minutes so he could search them electronically and share them with party members via e-mail and the party's Web site.

"We're very pleased," Paff said. "I'm really hopeful this is going to make a big difference in opening public records."

Toxic debris from Ford plant being spread around state

by: kwilkinson

Mon Mar 20, 2006 at 01:32:50 PM EST

The 8th construction site receiving toxic debris was found last week, a hotel being built in Edison.  From the Star Ledger:

The debris, tainted with low levels of PCBs, is at the center of a civil and criminal investigation being conducted by the Department of Environmental Protection and the Attorney General's Office, as authorities try to determine how it was allowed off-site without state approvals. The U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also are investigating.

The coverage began on March 7 with a mention of developer Jack Morris, whose Edgewood Properties owns the other 7 sites that received the debris:

Middlesex demands Ford offer plan for toxic debris at Edison site

Ford Motor Co. must devise a cleanup plan for the thousands of tons of PCB-tainted concrete debris remaining at its old assembly plant in Edison, a Middlesex County health official said yesterday.

For three hours yesterday, Ford representatives, county health staffers and officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection met in Trenton to discuss the handling of the contaminated concrete, officials said.

David Papi, the director of the county health department, assigned six staffers from his department to investigate the tainted debris, which is also the subject of a criminal investigation.

Last week the state Attorney General's Office announced it was launching a probe to determine how PCB-tainted concrete from the Ford site ended up in five residential and commercial sites in Middlesex and Mercer counties owned by Piscataway developer Jack Morris.

Morris, who owns Edgewood Properties, claims he was not aware the debris it received was contaminated, while Ford has said it informed the developer that the debris had low levels of PCBs -- polychlorinated biphenyls -- which are classified as a probable cause of cancer.

Papi said his department was "skipped over" when Ford began disposing of the concrete left when the old assembly plant was leveled. Last Friday, the county won a restraining order in court against Ford, stopping the automaker from moving any of the 93,000 tons of debris left on its property.

It looks like a big challenge for Edison's new mayor, Jun Choi:

Edison Mayor Jun Choi said he learned yesterday the hotel site received more than 8,000 tons of concrete contaminated with polychlo rinated biphenyls, which are classified as a probable cause of cancer.

"Obviously it is a concern," Choi said. "Every day we learn something new as we investigate."

Although the state is responsible for the oversight:

To partly avoid the expense of disposing of concrete debris from the site, the automaker made the material -- some of it contaminated with low levels of cancer- causing PCBs -- available for free.

Piscataway-based developer Edgewood Properties carted away thousands of tons of the debris, depositing it in at least six of its sites in Middlesex, Mercer and Ocean counties.

The contaminated debris is now at the center of a civil and criminal probe being conducted by the Department of Environmental Protection and the Attorney General's office. The U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are also investigating.

The probe puts a spotlight on the business practices and relatively lax oversight of the concrete recycling industry in New Jersey, which produces 4 million tons of concrete, asphalt brick, cinder block each year.

It isn't over when the election ends

by: DBK

Tue Jan 31, 2006 at 12:27:57 PM EST

He addressed the issues of police department reform, overdevelopment, and the town's $10.1 million budget deficit.  He also addressed community division and ethnic diversity.

Spadoro's last hurrah

by: kwilkinson

Mon Dec 26, 2005 at 01:36:55 PM EST

Edison mayor wrong to appoint new chief

Edison Police Chief Edward Costello apparently saw the writing on the wall. And so on Thursday, a little more than a week before a new mayor was due to be installed, Costello abruptly announced his retirement, saying he didn't "choose to work with the incoming administration." The truth, of course, is that there is every likelihood that Costello himself might have been unchosen had he stuck around for the independent review of the troubled department promised by the incoming mayor, Jun Choi.

As it is, outgoing Mayor George Spadoro did the public, the new mayor and his own reputation one last disservice by promptly installing a new chief, without seeking input or even informing the man due to replace him. There were those who said Spadoro acted within his legal rights; but as Abraham Lincoln noted, some things that are legally right are not necessarily morally right.

Who knows what Spadoro had in mind by acting as he did: spite, one last power trip, or even a last attempt to reward another political friend? The man he appointed to succeed Costello, George Mieczkowski, also has served 33 years in the Edison Department and will likely see a boost in his pension from even a temporary stint as chief.

Besides the chutzpah involved in naming a replacement 11 days before he was due to lose his job as mayor, Spadoro also failed as a leader. There is no doubt Edison residents deserve a top-to-bottom review of operations within the department, given the embarrassment it has generated over the years, particularly in the last 12 months. It may be that Mieczkowski is the man who can bring change. But certainly every other option -- including brand-new blood -- ought to have been considered before the job was handed to him, seemingly without a moment of hesitation or review.

Another Recount Winner

by: Jeff Gardner

Thu Dec 01, 2005 at 06:17:58 PM EST

Federally monitored elections in Edison

by: kwilkinson

Mon Nov 14, 2005 at 12:26:35 AM EST

Thursday's Home News had some pretty damning comments about the election for mayor of Edison:

Race is no longer an unspoken topic in township politics.

William Stephens, who lost his bid for the mayor's seat to Korean American Jun Choi, said residents voting along ethnic lines determined Tuesday's election.

"The township was pushed further apart," Stephens said. "He played the Asian card."

...But the race issue has been around Choi since the Democratic primary campaign, where he launched his meteoric rise and upset three-term Mayor George Spadoro.

In April, Craig Carton and Ray Rossi of New Jersey 101.5 FM's "The Jersey Guys" propelled Choi's name to newspapers across the state and into the Philadelphia and New York City media markets.  During the show, Carton ridiculed Asian-Americans.

"No specific minority group or foreign group should ever dictate the outcome of an American election. I don't care if the Chinese population in Edison has quadrupled in the last year, Chinese should never dictate the outcome of an American election, Americans should," said Carton, according to a transcript of the show.

The radio-show hosts and the station apologized, but because of that broadcast a New York City-based Asian voting-rights group called on the U.S. Department of Justice to monitor the primary polls.

The Justice Department outlined its observations in a letter sent to the Middlesex County Board of Elections. Some of the findings were: poll workers telling federal observers voters should learn English in order to vote; and a poll worker stating when a Gujarati or Hindi-speaking voter appeared she would "send them to the nearest gas station."

These observations led to federal monitors overseeing polls during Tuesday's vote.

In the primary, Spadoro's campaign also sent out three mailings featuring Choi's face with a tight focus from his cheekbones to his forehead.

At the time, Choi had no comment, and Spadoro's campaign said the mailers were in no way meant to be racist.