How Short is Short

Miracle of miracles...our meeting ended at 8:30PM. I don't pride myself on it being my great skill as a President, but rather on the fact that nobody from the audience spoke. Must have had too much Thanksgiving spirit.

Well, it's all over but the shouting, at least until May. As I look around on the Dais at those around me, it is quite conceivable that every last one of them may be running for something in May. I don't have a crystal ball, but it sure sounds that way from listening to everyone try to make points. It should be an interesting, and painfully long, election.

I have no idea who will be the slate for Dems, Pubs, or Independents. There may be more candidates than ever, but who knows. I guess we have a short respite for the holidays, and then it all begins again after the new year. I would like to disappear until after May, but I guess that's not possible. It should be a no-holds-barred election, and it aint gonna be lovey dovey either. Oh well, I've lived through it before, and I'll do it again.

I shall keep writing as more transpires.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and The Painful

Council meetings will continue to be a circus until the November election is over. I believe there might be one meeting of peace while the dust settles, and then we'll be off and running for the May election. Aint politics grand?

The Good: We did manage to establish a Safe Roads Advisory Committee. I believe the more eyes that look at the problem, the more apt we are to work to its solution. I think this will be a valuable addition to our Township.

The Bad: Would have been the billboards along 195. I love that road, and I would hate to see it spoiled by a plethora of billboards. Also bad is speaking inappropriately from the dais, or taking a photo that was in incredibly poor taste.

The Ugly: The anonymous letters to a Westlake resident and his wife. It was a cowardly and unusually nasty thing to do, no matter how you feel about someone. I really felt for them, and I hope nothing like this happens again.

The Painful: The attack on me and the Women's Club for a communication failure was extremely difficult to swallow. Anyone who knows me understands that Breast Cancer is off limit for politics. As bad as the crap we all take in public life, that was one I couldn't stomach very well.

But time marches on. There will be new issues and new attacks. I think if they didn't exist, some people just wouldn't know what to do with their time.

We Got Trouble Right Here in River City

I have been trying to come up with a way to write about the August 11th meeting, but words escape me. The badgering from the audience and the inappropriate comment from the dais were mind boggling. I believe we need to keep our cool no matter what. But I also believe that personal attacks from the audience have no place at a meeting.

At the next meeting, the attacks continued. I do not mind if someone disagrees with me. I do not mind if someone believes the Council is doing a lousy job and says so, I do not mind if someone thinks I, Bobbie Rivere, am doing a lousy job and says so. But I DO mind when that disagreement is accompanied by a personal attack. We all have our personal lives and go about our business. Sometimes public officials make mistakes like anybody else in the world. But to continue to badger someone every single meeting is just plain wrong. And to respond inappropriately is just plain wrong also.

When I climbed aboard this train, I never expected the politics to be so intense and so personal. The hatred at meetings is palpable, and it isn't just because of something one of has done or not done. Apparently, it's been years in the making.

I know someone out there reads this blog and is just waiting to take a potshot at me no matter what I say. But I will still express my feelings, and they are MY feelings, because that is the purpose of this blog. If I in any way insult anyone, it is unintentional, but this is MY blog and I will continue to write it MY way.

Hail to the Chief

And the Chief can keep it. It is not easy being President. Any anger in the audience is directed at you. I can certainly take it, but I sure as hell don't have to like it. I don't understand why people need to be rude or accusative to make their point. But as I said last time, it's political season.

It might be shaping up to be an interesting race. Nobody has filed a petition, but petitions were picked up by half the town. I may not have it all right, but I believe for the Mayor position, petitions were picked up by John Gaskill, Mike Hoffman, Mike Kafton, Anthony Stallone, Mike Reina and Ann Updegrave (listed alphabetically!) For Council, I believe the people who picked up petitions were Ken Bressi, Kevin DiGesu, Peter Gjerzlak (spelling) and Howard Tilis. Again, I am not sure, but this is how I heard it, and candidates have until September to file. If they all choose to run, it will be a complete zoo. However I believe everyone has the right to seek office. I will make it a point to get along with whomever the township elects.

The wording of the open space referendum will be discussed at the next meeting. I wonder if Mike Reina fully heard the discussion we were having when we put the item off until the attorney can draw up wording. It was Mr. Gilmore's suggestion that we do so, and I don't understand what caused Mike's outburst. I am sure he didn't hear the whole discussion, and I'm sure it wouldn't have happened if he had.

I just wish the Council members and Mayor were in place for awhile. The politics are driving me nuts. When we are not in high political mode, all of the Council members, whom I like and respect, work well together. I am on many committees with Scott, and we really have worked together on creating ordinances. I also work on committees with Ann, Howard and Mike K. No problems at all. Mayor Seda did us no favor resigning when he did and causing this political upheaval two more times between now and May.

Well, I took this on for four years, and I am sure after the May election, the dust will settle, and we can get back to the business of running this town.

VP or not VP

At last night's reorganization meeting, I was elected once again to the post of Vice President. It was sincerely flattering to have the unanimous vote of my colleagues. It is humbling to get a vote of confidence on this Council. Mike Kafton was once again elected President, and so we continue as we were before.

Last night's appointments, both from the Mayor and the Council were quite seamless. There was little dissension on the appointees, and it was good to see the Council working together with the Mayor. The only fly in the ointment was that Blanche Krubner was not reappointed to either the Environmental Commission or the Planning Board. That is a true loss to the people of Jackson, as Blanche is very bright and very knowledgeable.

This is, of course, the election year. I expect to see the politics once again heat up as people must declare their intentions by September. It should be an interesting race, but really only a prelude to May when the real action will take place. I really wish everyone well, and I hope the race doesn't get nasty. HAH!!! I'm glad I am not a contender, as I don't have the stomach for another political Broo-ha-ha. Lots of luck everyone!

Things Are Heating Up

Well, I've been on the Council for a year now. As the election season approaches, politics will rear its ugly head with a bang. Both Mayor Mike Reina and Councilman Howard Tilis must run to continue to serve in their appointed positions. The Mayor's term is until May of 2010, and the Councilman's term is until May of 2012. I have heard so many rumors about who is running for what that my head is spinning.

Since I am not running for anything, I will just go about my business of doing the job I was elected to do. The Council has recently done some great things. One of the issues I am extremely proud of is the new TNR ordinance. We are one of the pioneers in Ocean County in this area. I am sure it will save the township a lot of money as well as being more humane to the animals.

We are currently working to finalize the budget. The budget documents were daunting to say the least. There were four HUGE books to wade through, and it took many hours. I feel I have a handle on it. I realize our backs are to the wall in this year of revaluation, and many people are really hurting in this economy.

The Council is also active in legislative issues. Jackson Township has continued to protest to our county and state officials on issues that will adversely affect our residents.

The most exciting experience I had during my year was my "ride along" with the police department. I was outfitted with a bulletproof vest and police jacket, went to a briefing session and rode with my "partner" on his beat. The highlight of the evening was when the police had to serve a Final Restraining Order on someone who was quite drunk. The police finally got him out of the house and put him in the back seat of the car in which I was riding. He started out complaining in a moderate voice about how unfair this all was. His volume increased geometrically as we drove him to his friend's house, which was about 20 minutes away. He swore in very colorful language in a heavy foreign accent at the police, his first wife, his current wife, the USA in general, his lot in life, his dog, and former President Clinton. When we finally got to the house, he turned to police officer and said, "Thanks for the ride."

I am going to write on my blog more often now as I will not be putting my Council impressions in any other venue. But I can only say to my constituents, "Thanks for the ride"

It's Been Awhile

Well, I haven't posted for two months, but all was fairly smooth, so I didn't even have much to say. Meetings came, and meetings went, and all seemed pretty calml. I was very happy to see that.

Last night I conducted my second meeting. We were out of there pretty early, even though we had numerous presentations. The CERT group graduated, and I was very proud to be presiding over that particular meeting. It is so nice to see the volunteers complete their courses. Also we honored two retiring police officers and an officer who was promoted to Lieutenant. I am happy to honor our policemen. I know full well, they are out there for me.

The audience seemed rather subdued last night. This is a good thing. I didn't have to control an angry mob, although we got the Solar Avenue decision which wasn't exactly in our favor. The Planning Board won a victory in that the builder must make some safety changes to his plan. That will be good.

Next week is the school election. I am very concerned that I will have the school budget on my desk if the budget goes down. As a former school board member, I would be hard pressed to have to cut another board's budget. I think they tried hard to keep the numbers fair this year. And, for the first time, they had input from a lay committee. But, whatever will be, will be, and I will do what I have to do.

And So it Goes

I enjoy being on the Council. I really do. I have met some great people, including my "peeps", and I like being involved in trying to do something right for Jackson. But holy cow, how do I deal with the lack of civility that goes on at meetings? It is very hard to listen to, and it is even harder to control.

I have always been taught that you can disagree without being disagreeable. In all my years of public service (Council and School Board), I have never raised my voice to anyone. Shouting back and forth gets us nowhere, and it certainly doesn't appear very professional to the public. Party politics and personalities have no place on the dais, and I wish it would stop.

But it doesn't end with public meetings. Nastiness appears in e-mails as well. Why do people feel that in order to get their ideas across, they have to be nasty? I have never answered anyone that way, despite what is written to me.

I remember my most memorable public display scene. I was not in agreement with a fellow School Board member, and he said, "If my colleague weren't so stupid...." Everyone in the audience took a collective breath, and all I said after a pause was, "I accept your apology, Dick". He didn't know what to say to that, and the moment passed. I learned a valuable lesson in self control that night, and I wish some other people would learn it as well.

President for a Night

Mike Kafton, Council President, was unable to attend the meeting on Tuesday. This came about just two meetings after I was elected Vice President. And I thought all that the title got me was a parking space closer to the door. I was wrong.

The actual meeting itself went very smoothly and ended at 8:30PM. I really thought we had a shot at getting home early. But alas, I was mistaken.

I have run many meetings in my life, and some of them could have gotten out of hand. This was clearly one of them. There was a very emotional issue brought before us during the public portion of the meeting. The "Manhattan Street Project" is a water treatment plant being constructed on London Drive behind the Holman School. The main municipal parties involved are the MUA and the Board of Education. Several residents were at the meeting to talk about this issue. They do not want the building on the site that has been selected. Since Dave Harpell from the MUA, Bill Allman from the MUA Board, and the water project engineer were all present at the meeting, I knew that the people's questions would be answered. After we ascertained that there was going to be an honest give and take, everyone calmed down long enough to listen to each other and express their points of view. Although the meeting lasted long, it was not a shout fest, and that was all I asked. I have already taken a drive through the project, But I will be walking the site with Scott Martin, Mr. Harpell, the Mayor, and Mrs. Hamburg ( a resident) . I hope we will be able to put some of the issues to rest, but I am sure it will be brought up again at a Council meeting.

I have been told that the meeting ran very well. But let me say this. Welcome back, Mike.