South Orange BOT election

Sheena is up against some pretty big money. Here's her statement on campaign financing: 

https://villagegreennj.com/election/sheena-collum-statement-on-pac-money-and-campaign-financing/

She's tough but needs your help. Every little bit helps. Thanks. 

https://sheenacollum.com/donate/

librarylady said:

mayhewdrive said:
lawn signs?  I’m hearing rumors of a mobile truck driving around promoting Deborah’s team.  Has anyone seen this?

 I heard that there was a sound truck going up and down Irvington Ave. Really? Is that necessary? Money could be spent in so many better ways

 It seems to me that a sound truck would alienate more people than it would attract.

PurpleMonkeyDshwashr said:
What are the rules on lawn signs? I was under the impression it was 1 per building unless on a corner in which case they are allowed 2. I'm seeing places with more (*cough* Bunny's and Gaslight *cough*).

 Yeah...we usually have our post Passover meal (and often a pre Passover meal too) at Bunny’s, but the density of signs there may put me off my appetite. 

Anyone ind the April 15 NJ Elec reports?

Steve said:
Anyone ind the April 15 NJ Elec reports?

 Doesn't seem to be online yet. Unless I'm looking in the wrong place.

I'm not a fan of Davis-Ford's campaigning and the flier that went  out recently about the fire department consolidation was pretty nasty. Also highly inaccurate according to this article in the Village Green.

I'm interested to know if anyone has seen this sound truck. I agree that seems like a bad idea but I'm no political strategist.

I previously lived in a town where candidates would use a truck to help get the vote out, but have never heard of one being used a month before election day.  Between that and the misleading flier, I am done with Ms. Davis-Ford and her ticket.

Following the truck around in a car blaring one's horn in a continuous manner is an effective and economic countermeasure any volunteer can perform.

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/soma/articles/conflicts-and-transparency

Can anyone help me understand the political leanings of the owners of the TapInto franchise here? And perhaps behind the individual who wrote this piece? This is gross journalistic malpractice in allowing someone to publish these statements, under the guise of an opinion piece, without attempting to get comment from Sheena. 

DDF already seems to be using TapInto as their news outlet of choice and trying to smear Village Green as being biases. Gaslighting at it's finest!

I saw someone post earlier that DDF had hired Steve Lenox as a consultant. He appears to open TapInto franchises for other towns. If that all is true, our TapInto site would be wise to include a disclaimer in any election coverage, as other respectable publications would in the interest of full disclosure. 

I believe that is posted as a "Letter to the Editor", not as "news.

The Author who wrote that op-ed is a long-time adversary of Sheena's who gave $5,633 to her opponent in the 2013 election.

mayhewdrive said:
I believe that is posted as a "Letter to the Editor", not as "news.
The Author who wrote that op-ed is a long-time adversary of Sheena's who gave $5,633 to her opponent in the 2013 election.

 Even so, it is a singular attack with many claims that aren't challenged, nor is any context provided. It's largely presented as fact, especially with disclaimer tucked in at bottom. I've seen how this plays out: this will prompt a back and forth response without either side ever getting challenged. I wish there was an outlet that would just cut through the BS from both sides and stop posting full statements. 

What is that author's problem with Sheena? That's quite a donation. Does she have other interests in town?

MasterP said:
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/soma/articles/conflicts-and-transparency


Can anyone help me understand the political leanings of the owners of the TapInto franchise here? And perhaps behind the individual who wrote this piece? This is gross journalistic malpractice in allowing someone to publish these statements, under the guise of an opinion piece, without attempting to get comment from Sheena. 


DDF already seems to be using TapInto as their news outlet of choice and trying to smear Village Green as being biases. Gaslighting at it's finest!


I saw someone post earlier that DDF had hired Steve Lenox as a consultant. He appears to open TapInto franchises for other towns. If that all is true, our TapInto site would be wise to include a disclaimer in any election coverage, as other respectable publications would in the interest of full disclosure. 

 I think at one time, possibly still, Ms. Harris (author of the letter) owned a commercial property in or near the redevelopment zone.  Perhaps a reporter can clarify that for full transparency one way or the other, as I don't want to be the origin of unsourced speculation.

They have also published an opinion piece ostensibly by SO Firefighters. It reads as a hit job.

PurpleMonkeyDshwashr said:
They have also published an opinion piece ostensibly by SO Firefighters. It reads as a hit job.

I read that article.  An independent study was done and recommendations were made. Whenever unionized civic employees get involved in electoral politics, it is generally because there is one side that wants to cut taxes and that means streamlining municipal services, which the employees perceive as possible job cuts.  And there is another side that wants to buy the support of the public employee unions by promising status quo or even more lucrative contracts- AKA higher taxes.  I leave it up to the readers to determine for yourselves which is which. 

PurpleMonkeyDshwashr said:
What are the rules on lawn signs? I was under the impression it was 1 per building unless on a corner in which case they are allowed 2. I'm seeing places with more (*cough* Bunny's and Gaslight *cough*).

 I was told by someone who picked up a pizza at Bunny's today that there were promotions on the tables supporting DDF.

Have any of you been following the discussions on Next Door? A letter to the editor of Tap? Another piece written by the members of SO Fire Dept. 

And saw something about campaign leaders discussing a possible 3 debates, as suggested by Sheena. The desire is to have it live streamed.

I'm all for debates  Something to be seriously taken into consideration is Sheena's skill at handling the public comments at BOT meetings.  As someone who came to the mic frequently on my favorite issue, I feel it is extremely important to be able to address the surprise questions, comments and complaints that arise. While the auditorium may be sparsely populated, it is taped and archived for those who can't make it down to SOPAC.

ETA  Just realized I missed the above discussion of the Fire Dept. letter.

Morganna said:

PurpleMonkeyDshwashr said:
What are the rules on lawn signs? I was under the impression it was 1 per building unless on a corner in which case they are allowed 2. I'm seeing places with more (*cough* Bunny's and Gaslight *cough*).

 I was told by someone who picked up a pizza at Bunny's today that there were promotions on the tables supporting DDF.

Yes....”Vote Line A” placemats.   Thinking we need a vacation from our family Bunny’s habit at least until after the election. We are 20 year regulars, but occasionally give the place a break when the politics get too in-your-face.

This may be the first year in a long time when we don’t have our post-Passover “pizza night” there.

Campaign finance reports are now posted at https://www.elec.state.nj.us/ELECReport/SearchCandidate.aspx

The report for Deborah's slate are filed under her name (not under the slate) for some reason.  Her biggest contributors appear to be:

Elaine Harris - $2500

Carlos Estrella - $2600

Wonski's parents - $1500

Britnee Timberlake - $1000  (I love how she used money that she received for her re-election to give to Deborah, instead of spending her own money)

I didn't see any PAC money listed.

Who is Carlos Estrella?

And what is best way to track PAC spending? Assuming you have to know name of PAC? For all talk of big money, there don't seem to be any direct lines drawn from outside interests to SO Forward slate. Don't doubt that they may have done good job covering tracks with contributions below limits that trigger reporting.

SO Forward paid $5745 to Kennedy Communications in Washington D.C., which is the same firm that represented Joe D. 

http://www.kennedycommunications.com/

MasterP said:
Who is Carlos Estrella?

The address for Carlos Estrella is 10 Ridgewood Rd., which is the address of Ridgewood Commons. Ridgewood Commons is owned by Ed Ayuso, who developed The Gateway. Ayuso owns the property at South Orange Ave. and Church St., and is currently negotiating with the town to develop the property. 

Just a $2600 coincidence?

cramer said:
MasterP said:
Who is Carlos Estrella?
The address for Carlos Estrella is 10 Ridgewood Rd., which is the address of Ridgewood Commons. Ridgewood Commons is owned by Ed Ayuso, who developed The Gateway. Ayuso owns the property at South Orange Ave. and Church St., and is currently negotiating with the town to develop the property. 
Just a $2600 coincidence?

 Interesting...     and thanks for connecting the dots.

I received two different mailings from DDF and her team prior to this report being filed.  I'm assuming that these mailings went to a lot of people.  How is it possible that it was done for so little money?

mikescott said:

cramer said:
MasterP said:
Who is Carlos Estrella?
The address for Carlos Estrella is 10 Ridgewood Rd., which is the address of Ridgewood Commons. Ridgewood Commons is owned by Ed Ayuso, who developed The Gateway. Ayuso owns the property at South Orange Ave. and Church St., and is currently negotiating with the town to develop the property. 
Just a $2600 coincidence?

 Interesting...     and thanks for connecting the dots.

 Politics makes strange bedfellows. 

mayhewdrive said:
Campaign finance reports are now posted at https://www.elec.state.nj.us/ELECReport/SearchCandidate.aspx

Britnee Timberlake - $1000  (I love how she used money that she received for her re-election to give to Deborah, instead of spending her own money)

The mayor of Irvington, Tony Vauss, also used funds from his campaign - $600 from Tony Vauss for Mayor. 

cramer said:

mayhewdrive said:
Campaign finance reports are now posted at https://www.elec.state.nj.us/ELECReport/SearchCandidate.aspx

Britnee Timberlake - $1000  (I love how she used money that she received for her re-election to give to Deborah, instead of spending her own money)

The mayor of Irvington, Tony Vauss, also used funds from his campaign - $600 from Tony Vauss for Mayor. 

 Yes - I noticed that.  Can you imagine how annoyed people in South Orange would be if the contributions they gave to Sheena were subsequently used to support a politician elsewhere, instead of for her campaign as they intended?  I don't understand how they get away with that.  It's gross.

mayhewdrive said:

cramer said:

mayhewdrive said:
Campaign finance reports are now posted at https://www.elec.state.nj.us/ELECReport/SearchCandidate.aspx

Britnee Timberlake - $1000  (I love how she used money that she received for her re-election to give to Deborah, instead of spending her own money)

The mayor of Irvington, Tony Vauss, also used funds from his campaign - $600 from Tony Vauss for Mayor. 

 Yes - I noticed that.  Can you imagine how annoyed people in South Orange would be if the contributions they gave to Sheena were subsequently used to support a politician elsewhere, instead of for her campaign as they intended?  I don't understand how they get away with that.  It's gross.

 Vauss has quite a war chest -  $250,000. The contributions go back to 2015, and there are a lot of legal and engineering firms from outside Irvington who were contributors. I think he ran unopposed in 2018. 

cramer said:
 Vauss has quite a war chest -  $250,000. The contributions go back to 2015, and there are a lot of legal and engineering firms from outside Irvington who were contributors. I think he ran unopposed in 2018. 

Over the years, Deborah has held fundraisers for "Friends of Deborah Davis Ford", yet no ELEC reports exist for this money.

Yet - "Friends of Deborah Davis Ford" gave money to Donald Payne Jr and "sponsored" a debate watch party:

http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/015/14978351015/14978351015.pdf

http://www.bluejersey.com/2016/10/wednesday-night-final-clinton-trump-debate-watch-parties/

Even the footer on her signs at her kickoff used the designation....but no ELEC reports.

cramer said:
MasterP said:
Who is Carlos Estrella?
The address for Carlos Estrella is 10 Ridgewood Rd., which is the address of Ridgewood Commons. Ridgewood Commons is owned by Ed Ayuso, who developed The Gateway. Ayuso owns the property at South Orange Ave. and Church St., and is currently negotiating with the town to develop the property. 
Just a $2600 coincidence?

Might one interpret this donation as that DDF and her ticket might be more pro-development than her opponents?

I don't think Ed Ayuso's buildings have been attractive, but I think anything would be better than having a vacant lot at SO+Church Street.