In just under 5 minutes, during a Comcast Newsmakers interview, Mayor Jerry Fried made his case for why he thinks the municipal elections should be moved from to November from May. Anchor Jill Horner asked the question “Could moving elections lead to greater voter participation? The mayor answered, basically, yes.
“It’s very common for May elections to have very low voter turnout. In 2008 — the year in which I was elected — only about 7,000 people came out to vote for the mayor and council, out of 26,000 registered voters in Montclair, whereas 6 months later, in November 2008, over 19,000 came out to vote,” he said in the interview. “I’m part of a group of citizens that is going out and talking to voters, in a drive to get it to be a referendum on the ballot. I’m helping to circulate this petition… If the signatures are collected by September 2, it’ll be on the ballot.”
Watch the video clip on the mayor’s Facebook page and then let us know where you stand. Have you signed the petition? Are you a believer?
I believe we have bigger issues.
Is that an earring?
My wife and I were thinking of following him around with our own petition for a recall. I saw him on Church Street with his petition and the couple he was trying to sign up didn’t seem sold on the idea. I wonder how many signatures they have so far.
“Is that an earring?”
Yes, looks like it. That’s hysterical. I can’t say I’m really surprised.
A woman was asking people to sign the petition at the Walnut Street train station Thursday morning. During the time I was there, no one (including me) would sign it. Good luck with that. I agree, jerseygurl; we have bigger issues.
Well, ROC. My only comment is, oy. At least he isn’t sporting one of those balding ponytail things. I know it’s childish and immature to comment on something he is wearing and not the substance of what he is saying but … well. I don’t know. There’s just so much baggage that comes along with that because he doesn’t usually wear it so it means he put it in for the interview and….whatever. He wants more renters to vote. I used to care about his doggedness on this issue but there is way too much else to care about now so good luck with the petition.
Mayor Jerry?
This You? We lose emailing address. We would like to accept your kindly invitations for Basketball Sportsmanship Clinic to be held in Clairemont. Nicely to please send 16 plane ticket.
Also many good lucks with Little Long March to glorious longer political term! (keep eye out for reactionaries).
An Shiyin,
Mayor Binzhou China
I signed it. I don’t see it as all that controversial.
In general I sign petitions if I am either for an issue or ambivalent about it. If I am very opposed I’d decline. In this case I agree that more people will vote if the elections are consolidated and am interested to learn how those who exercise their franchise in the next election will come down on the issue.
Any volunteer-led petition is a lot of work and even if I were opposed to the merits, I’d respect the effort.
Why aren’t we spending this good time and energy worry about REAL problems?
Here’s a translation of what the Mayor said on Comcast:
1.
Let’s try this again
1. Sure, the majority of the Council did not want to do the petition until the Commission met and make recommendations, but I feel real strong about this and therefore am free to bypass the will of the Council.
2. I can pretend I’m doing this as a private citizen but of course I’m introducing myself as the Mayor whenever I try to get someone to sign.
3. No one really believes this is a “citizens’ movement” – it is a “Jerry movement” because I’d like an extra six months in office
4. The 16 former mayors and members of Council who urged me to take a prudent approach to this issue because it has a lot of pros and cons really don’t see this as clearly as I do
5. I didn’t really mean to suggest that 19,000 people would vote in the municipal election if it was held in November (and even the interviewer suggested this) but if that’s what people think, it’s okay by me.
6. I’m counting on the fact that folks don’t realize I am only doing this petition because I couldn’t get the Council to pass this by ordinance.
This MIGHT be a good idea BUT:
1. Let a Commission take a serious look at this. Let’s give folks some real thoughtful analysis and THEN have a referendum.
2. Do we really want to go head-to-head with a national election in 2012? If you think you don’t have peoples’ attention in May, try getting “airtime” and focus during a nasty presidential election
3. Maybe we should be spending more time figuring out how to get more people to vote in May – maybe on the weekend?
4. We have to live with this decision for 10 years – let’s get it right
Ed Remsen
Amen.
Another way of looking at it is 7,000 voters are being asked to change the election to accommodate the 19,000 who did not vote.
one election every ten year work better.
“not one dime of taxpayer dollar was spent on it”
he keeps getting away with saying this, and everyone writes it down, but has anyone asked him who IS paying for the school officials baking cookies with the Chinese students? are they doing it anyway? are the teachers donating their time?
i agree with mister mayor, god help me, on moving the elections. more people vote in november. more people voting in elections is a good thing. i shudder at the thought of yet another committee commissioned to study something so damn easy. want elections moved? vote yes. don’t? vote no.
I’ll add that, even if this committee does come out in favor of moving the elections, I still don’t believe this council will vote to move them. So the committee itself is just a farce, just like every other committee.
Nick,
“not one dime of taxpayer dollar was spent on it”
he keeps getting away with saying this, and everyone writes it down, but has anyone asked him who IS paying for the school officials baking cookies with the Chinese students? are they doing it anyway? are the teachers donating their time?
Wouldn’t it be nice if someone in the MEDIA actually answered that question? No? Well to the best of my knowledge all the expenses are being paid for by an organization that promotes these types of things between China and the US and, yes, no taxpayer money is being spent, at all, and yes, teachers and perhaps others are being paid for their time.
As to the comment,
“more people voting in elections is a good thing”
I guess that’s true unless you’re talking about the School Board in which case its OK if NO ONE votes and the Mayor appoints them himself.
It’s costing someone something. Whatever. The sky is falling. We’re talking about nonsense.
It’s costing the Chinese government. Whatever.
Go through the Bill Resolutions (link on Council Meeting agendas) for a complete listing of expenses. Not in this week’s agenda, but in a prior bill listing, there has been a line item for Chinese visit expenses. It wasn’t for a lot, but there are related expenses.
I’m scratching my head on some of the items in the current bill listing. For example, we pay the state $1,580 for “annual safe drinking water fee” and then pay $280 for “40 cases of Diamond Rock Spring” water for one department. How about the $8,860 for DCH Redevelopment Study and $35,809 “Traffic Calming-Quiet Zone Items”. The list goes on.
The bill list is always an interesting area for exploring. If you have some time, all, perhaps you could find the Chinese expenses?
Cary, you won’t even admit that the $131,000 in design fees for South Park Street should be counted as part of the cost, and you suggest scouring the expense reports to look for paper plates and lemonade used at the welcoming reception for the Chinese?
It’s bizarre.
Cary is outnumbered. Watch how things go at meetings. Cary does his best of walking the fine line of being a good Montclair citizen, being effective as a council person and blowing the whistle on whatever he sees going on. It is hard to be successful at the last two simultaneously. Instead, he seems to opt for a little success on both of these items. If it were not for Cary, I’m sure the whole group would have been recalled. People seem to get a little feeling of satisfaction with the information he gives out, which dissipates the intense desire to file for a formal recall petition of the entire town council.
The comments by anshiyin are obnoxious and culturally insensitive. That’s all.