A 'Ps' to Yesterday's Courier News Editorial

Courier News Editorial - Plainfield officials have once again made their jobs much more difficult with a foolish decisions.

In other words, normalcy reigns in the Queen City.

Here's just the latest example of a governmental blunder: The City Council has hired an old ally of the late former mayor, Al McWilliams, to conduct an investigation of Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs' expenditure of $20,000 on a summer radio appearance by the Rev. Al Sharpton.

That event — a part of the city's anti-gang initiatives — is a legitimate target for investigation, considering the dubious value of Sharpton's show as well as the mayor's failure to gain council approval for the spending. It also reinforces Robinson-Briggs' history of poor fiscal management.

But the choice of Jacqueline Drakeford, McWilliams' former corporation counsel for nearly a decade, virtually guarantees that the probe will be tainted, regardless of the outcome. And that has nothing to do with Drakeford herself, but rather the enduring divisions in the city's Democratic party and its leadership.

McWilliams rose to power as the leader of the so-called "New Democrats," who positioned themselves primarily as an alternative to the old-guard Dems operating under the favored hand of Assemblyman Jerry Green. While some of those battle lines have blurred in recent years, the fractures clearly remain, and Robinson-Briggs, fairly or not, has been characterized as little more than a Green puppet. So we can presume it's no mere coincidence that McWilliams' daughter, Council President Annie McWilliams, was among those supporting the choice of Drakeford.

Residents at last week's council meeting in which the choice of Drakeford was approved complained about the potential conflicts involved, but the council wasn't deterred.

It should have been.

What city officials don't seem to understand here — or are ignoring - is that the perception of conflict is more than enough to warrant a more independent investigator. If the public believes, rightly or wrongly, that a probe may be compromised in some fashion, then it's already effectively tainted, even if the investigation itself is carried out with complete integrity and professionalism.

Any particular expertise Drakeford may bring to the investigation isn't necessary to root out the facts. This isn't a complex issue. Robinson-Briggs has countered that most of the money was reimbursed by an unnamed sponsor. And what seems to trouble council members most of all is whether the proper legal protocal was followed in allowing such an expense of taxpayer money.
What Plainfield needs is someone without any agenda — or just as importantly, perceived agenda — taking a look at this issue. That should have been obvious from the start.

Ps

I am happy to see that the Courier News has finally opened their eyes to the New Democrats and how they operate. If we are going to investigate something, we surely should do so in how the City spent thousands and thousands of dollars to sponsor a train ride to Washington, D.C., where alcohol was flowing freely.

Secondly, we have one vendor that the past administration never paid, and is now considering suing the City. We currently have another vendor who the City hired who donated thousands of dollars to the New Democrats and Cory Storch, and winds up being charged by the State for activities that embarrassed the firm and the City.

We bought thousands and thousands of dollars worth of pipes and to this day, no one can tell the City who ordered the pipes, nor who paid for them. This is why I agree with the Courier News, we need to have an impartial attorney to investigate ALL of these activities. How can you ask an attorney to investigate current expenses when in fact, she served as legal council for the City when the above-mentioned activities transpired?

The City needs to wake up and realize that whether it is over at the BOE or the City’s governing body, the New Democrats have been in control. I want to personally make it very clear that I do not get involved with the day-to-day operation of government, so for the Courier to mention my name in the article, I find it very offensive. I do not tell the Mayor nor Council what to do. Fortunate enough, I am doing my job in Trenton, which I have been elected to do.

I have taken great pride as Chairman of the Plainfield Democratic Party, helping to get our current President elected. This last election, with the support of the City, I was able to get Frank Pallone elected, wherein Pallone amassed nearly 8,000 votes, his opponent got 675. As Chairman of the party, I am to do my best to support the Democratic ticket in its entirety, regardless of any personal problems I may have with members. In the past, I have supported the Mayor, just like any other Democrat I have supported.

So just like I should not be blamed for the actions of the President, Congress, or Freeholder Board, I also should not be blamed for the actions of the Mayor of the City of Plainfield. Over the years, this has been the strategy of the New Democrats, which cannot challenge my record as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly, but has tried to tie me into local politics, a place where it seems no one listens to anyone. My position has been to offer help where ever the local body needs. Unfortunately, when elected officials in the City do something wrong, they do not publicly make it clear that I have nothing to do with it.

In the future, I have no problem, just as I am doing today, letting the public know that I have nothing to do with any false accusations voiced against me on the local level.