Clarity and Resolve

There are a few grey issues circulating that I want to bring clarity to and resolution. It seems that some of the people responsible for the City losing money that the taxpayers could use, are beginning to use the word ‘attack’ when I inform the community of such blights and correct misinformation. Citing facts are not attacks, especially when the city, let alone the nation, is in a fiscal crisis, and there are local elected officials who have a history of being poor fiscal managers.

For example, a few years ago, the City had to give $500,000 back to the State because of poor fiscal management: Fact. The City then had to lay off 15 police officers, yet another fact. These are not attacks; they are facts that show the truth of the Storch/Mapp team and its inability to manage finances productively and responsibly. In a year when the City, State, and Nation are in the middle of an economic crisis, our School District had to return $400,000 that could have been used to avoid laying off 75 employees at the Board of Education. Again, this is a fact and not an attack. Using the negative verbiage of ‘attack’ when I am simply laying out researchable truths is again, misinformation.

In addition, I would like to correct a comment that was made in one of the blogs: I did not vote against Abbott District funding, I voted for a new formula of school funding that avoided Abbott Districts from being dismantled. The courts told the State of New Jersey that it had to find a new way of funding communities such as Plainfield, and other districts that are not Abbott Districts but maintain similar criteria, like Hillside and Roselle for example. Under this new formula, Plainfield still received over $100 million dollars in aid, and qualified for even more federal dollars provided the City illustrates our legitimate need for this funding. So moving forward, we cannot look for handouts, we need to show our need for the funding.

Also, let me put to rest a baseless rumor: Dr. Gallon and I have no quarrels nor misunderstandings regarding the School Board returning the $400,000 of needed aid back to the State. Not once have I even attempted to lay any blame at his feet. We both have spoken about this issue and recognize that we will continue to keep an agreement we made since day one: an agreement of putting the children of this City first. Unfortunately, there are some in the community that would love to point the finger at him, and tried to use my statement to make that happen. He and I both recognized that when he took over the district, Dr, Bailey began to move the District in the right direction, which made it a lot easier to do damage control. When Dr. Bailey and Dr. Gallon took over the district, it was in total disarray. The previous ideology was to ignore mistakes and move forward. However, both Dr. Bailey and Dr. Gallon understand that constructive criticism is crucial in bringing about productivity and wellness. If one does not discuss problems of the past, one cannot move forward in progress.

So this word ‘attack’ I take to be very negative, vindictive, and far from the truth. My expressions are aimed to shed light on areas of question, and to bring clarity and accuracy to the issues in my Legislative District.