Affordable Housing / Local Campaigns / 22nd District

I want to bring the blogging community up to date regarding the campaign and the affordable housing issue, and activities within the 22nd District in general. As Chairman of Housing and Local Government, I am confident in working with the Assembly leadership and Senator Lesniak in finally constructing good policy, moving in a better direction in dealing with affordable housing here in the State of New Jersey.

I have already drafted and introduced a bill that moves the State in a new direction in terms of making sure that everyone is treated fair, and giving everyone the fair opportunity to live where they would like within the State.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has worked with me on this issue. What this legislation does is eliminate COAH, and brings clarity to new policies regarding the future of housing in the State.

This week was my second visit to the School District of Clark Township. I must say that Linda Stender and I were very pleased with the reception we received, and the fact that the elected officials made it very clear that they were very satisfied with the way we represent the Township of Clark.

The results show that the students in the school system are excelling and the town itself is recognized as one of the places to live in the State of New Jersey.

On the local beat dealing with the campaigns, I have spent a lot of time in Linden campaigning for the local officials. I have also spent time in Rahway and Scotch Plains because it is important that politics have a solid foundation on the local level. It is also very important to have a healthy working relationship with your local officials.

Locally in the City of Plainfield, I have put together the usual team of supporters that work with me regarding campaigns on all levels. I have met with Congressman Pallone, and it is important that we return him to Washington. I have met with the Freeholder candidates, and it is important to return our productive Freeholders with a new person, Linda Carter.

We have started our phone banks, making phone calls, identifying our supporters, and putting up signs throughout the City. So far, the results have been that the vast majority that we have contacted thus far will be supporting our team of Democrats.

We have a year-round headquarters on East 2nd Street, which unfortunately has had severe flooding issues. We have relocated to 19 Watchung Avenue. The three most important concerns that I have and support that I need are people knocking on doors, making phone calls, and helping on Election Day, get the vote out.

I have asked all Democrats to support ALL of the candidates on the Democratic line. So if there is anyone interested in working for or supporting the Regular Democratic Organization for the balance of the campaign, feel free to stop in to our Campaign Headquarters at 19 Watchung Avenue, or call Vera Greaves, who is organizing this year’s campaign, (908) 672-8701.

Ps
If anyone would like to help with any of the campaigns in the 22nd District, please call or stop by the headquarters.

Letter from NMDP/Testimony from NJCC

Information regarding Senate Bill 1534 - a bill supporting public umbilical cord blood banking in New Jersey

The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is pleased to support Assembly Bill 1642, which would provide funding to expand public cord blood banking in New Jersey. This legislation would create the New Jersey Cord Blood Bank Fund to support the expansion of public cord blood banking within your state through an existing public bank, specifically the New Jersey Cord Blood Bank (NJCBB).

In the past, when a baby was born, the umbilical cord was thrown away. But today, blood from the umbilical cord can be collected after a baby’s birth and donated to a public cord blood bank to help someone with a life-threatening disease. Like bone marrow, cord blood is rich in the blood-forming cells that can be used in transplants for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and many other life-threatening diseases. These patients rely on the NMDP to assist with locating a matching marrow donor or cord blood unit for transplant.

To date, more than 160,000 cord blood units have been collected and stored on the Registry via the NMDP’s partnerships with public cord blood banks. Unfortunately, the national inventory is well short of the federal goal and has far fewer units than believed necessary by the medical community, especially from racial and ethnic minorities.

In support of growing the national registry and increasing the number of publicly available cord blood units, the NMDP has adopted policy recommendations for state wishing to support the expansion of cord blood collections. This policy outlines a good framework for states to partner with the NMDP to expand the inventory of publicly available units by allocating resources to support storage and collect efforts in the state.

As per testimony heard by the Health and Senior Services Committee yesterday, the New Jersey Catholic Conference stated that stem cells derived from umbilical cord and placental blood already save lives and current research initiatives are very promising.

The use of adult stem cells derived from placenta and umbilical cord blood has been proven to help treat patients with multiple sclerosis, lupus, juvenile diabetes, arthritis, and spinal cord injuries as well as many other autoimmune diseases. With the Catholic HealthCare Partnership; the New Jersey Catholic Conference is working with Catholic hospitals to encourage donations by expectant mothers at the time of childbirth.

The work of the New Jersey Cord Blood Bank (NJCBB) brings hope to those who suffer from Parkinson’s, anemia and blood and liver diseases, pediatric AIDS, juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and spinal cord injuries.

The Assembly Bill 1642 is consistent with our (NMDP) policy recommendations with the goal to increase the number of publicly available cord blood units through a state-focused framework, complimenting the federal program.

Clark Realtor's Day

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Superintendent Ken Knops in inviting Linda Stender and myself to Clark’s Realtor’s Day. As Chairman of Housing and Local Government, the majority of the realtors through the State have been in my committee on numerous occasions.

I have been very blessed in visiting Clark within these past few months. I believe the Realtor’s Day was a very important day for Clark because when people are looking to purchase a home, the first thing they want to know about is the school system, among other stats. With a program like today, Clark realtors were able to supply an abundance of information regarding Clark’s real estate market and town growth.

Now I see why Clark is regarded as ‘the place to live’ in the State of New Jersey. I have to specifically acknowledge the Superintendent, BOE and Mayor who worked together in terms of shared services. A prime example of such services is the athletic fields within the Township. They share the usage and ensure that everyone is fairly treated.

I would just like to share with you some of the information that I researched before I went to the meeting. So not only can I discuss education issues dealing with Trenton, but also be knowledgeable of exactly how the Clark school district operates. Their modes of operation, because of the student achievement, are results that parents are proud of.

Again, I thank the Mayor, Superintendent and BOE (and staff) for the warm welcome and reception, and in letting the public know how close we are working together as a team in moving Clark forward in the right direction. As clearly as I made it that I represent Clark in Trenton, they made their feelings of thanks and appreciation clear to me.

Clark Facts:

Education Rating (Arthur Johnson High School)-

Rated 8 out of 10 by the distinguished GreatSchools Rating System

-98% of the students pass the HSPA

-17 Advanced Placement courses administered at the High School

-Drop-Out Rate: 0%

Post Graduation Plans, Class of 2009

-4yr college/ University: 63.8%

-2yr college: 23.1%

-Other college: 5.5%

-Military: 0.7%

-Employment: 1.7%

-Uncdecided: 5.2%

Cost per pupil: $12,919

Foreclosures: Presently, there are 49 foreclosed homes in Clark Twp.

Real Estate Market: 92 properties for sale

Crime: Both violent and property crime rates are 4 on a scale from 1 (low) to 10 (high)

Affordable Housing / Thoughts on the Day

First I would like to thank everyone for their support in helping me put together affordable housing legislation that I feel would go a long way in the future of housing in the State of New Jersey. I am now meeting with the Governor’s office as well as talking to the Senate, as well as the leadership within the Assembly, gathering their input on this issue. We will be having a hearing on this issue in the Assembly very soon.

If you have any questions, feel free to call my District Office at (908) 561-5757.

Yesterday, I happened to spend a lot of time within the Linden area dealing with political issues pertaining to the 22nd District. I was out of the office all day yesterday, so in reading today’s blog referencing a City employee meeting with me to discuss City business that was not true.

Today, I had an opportunity to meet with the State and leadership over at the BOE to discuss school construction. Therefore, I am hoping in the future that people take very serious what I am trying to accomplish. I have not been involved with the budget process. I have not been involved with the day-to-day operation of the City, which has become a circus and an embarrassment to the City of Plainfield.

So for someone to try to draw me into this circus, I feel very offended because one, as I previously stated, I was not in the office yesterday and two, I met with NO City employees. So today, I am going to keep my comments very simple.

You have a Council that has done nothing for the last nine months, and now, you want to accuse me of taking part in the decision-making process. I have been accused over the past eight years of being involved in local politics. The only thing I do locally help those running, get the vote out, which is my duty as local Chairman.

9/29/10 Thoughts

Reading Cory Storch’s blog today, I was hoping for the next 5 weeks we could stay away from finger-pointing or even New Democrats versus Regular Democrats. But like I said in the past, I refuse to stand by and allow him to mislead the public.

Number one, the majority of the members of the Council are New Democrats.

For the record, I am not supporting the current ShotSpotter program until we have more information about it. I am already in contact with two other companies involved with this service, and they are already giving me different views on the short-range and long-range figures.

I find it very odd that when Cory gets a chance to mention the Regular Democrats, he would like to make it sound like the Regular Democrats are involved with the day-to-day operations of the City, but that is not true. Maybe under the past administration those lines were crossed, but that is not the case today.

Another example, this issue with Al Sharpton with the New Democrats making such a big issue out of it. They failed to inform the public that they spent thousands and thousands of dollars to sponsor a train ride to Washington D.C., where liquor and wine were so free that by the time they arrived in D.C., just about everyone on board was drunk.

So rather than sitting down and trying to work out the differences between the Administration and Council, they would prefer to make it sound like someone has done something illegal.

With the $20,000 spent on the broadcast, the New Democrats try to make it sound like the Mayor has bankrupted the City, but what about the $800 million that the children of NJ lost in this year’s budget? The wasteful spending of some of the BOE’s colleagues, trips and other goodies?

When the Council decided to rent a train to D.C., I wonder how Cory voted on that issue; did he go out and check to see whether that was the right thing to do?

Just this week a vendor came in to complain about the past administration, which Cory was a part of, having the City still owing them $50,000 for services rendered. So the Mayor should stop sitting back trying to clean up their mess, and inform the public of the mess she took over due to the past administration.

We are STILL paying bills of the past administration, and now it is obvious that the current administration is going to have to cut back on spending on current issues in order to clean up the past mess.

If I read the charter correctly, in the last 8 years, the New Democrats have been in charge of the budget. Once the Mayor submits the budget to the Council, it is then the Council’s budget. So it is time that the public realized that they have mismanaged the City for over 8 years.

Democratic Legislators Vow To Continue Fight For Women's Healthcare Despite Lack Of Republican Support

(TRENTON) – After Senate Republicans joined Governor Christie in turning their backs on the women of New Jersey, Democratic legislators vowed to continue the fight to protect access to women’s healthcare.

At a news conference following the veto override vote in the Senate – which failed due to a lack of Republican support – Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney joined Senator Loretta Weinberg, Assemblywoman Linda Stender, and other women’s health advocates in the Legislature to announce new legislation intended to restore a portion of the funding cut from women’s health and family planning programs in New Jersey and require the state to apply for federal matching dollars for Medicaid-eligible health care consumers.

“The sponsors of this bill have worked tirelessly to make sure that women have access to basic health services, including breast exams, cancer screenings, pre- and post-natal care and gynecological exams,” said Senate President Sweeney (D-Gloucester). “They’ve identified budget-neutral funding and they’ve found federal matching grants so that our investment brings back $9 for every $1 we put into the system. We’re disappointed with the outcome of today’s veto override, but we’re hopeful that the Governor and Republican Legislators can put aside partisan blinders and help Democrats quickly enact women’s health care funding, version 2.0, into law.”

“It’s clear that Republican lawmakers who had previously stood up for good health care policy over conservative political ideology were pressured by the Governor to vote against our override attempt,” said Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) Chair of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. “I’m certainly disappointed that more of my fellow lawmakers couldn’t show the political courage to defy their governor and restore access to women’s health care and family planning services in New Jersey. However, we don’t plan to go away quietly, and will continue fighting for access to services for women and men who have nowhere else to turn.”

“It’s been clear from the start that the Governor has opposed this measure on ideological grounds,” said Stender (D-Middlesex/Somerset/Union). “This is an issue of paramount importance, one that we cannot allow to fall victim to a shortage of solutions. If Republicans want to treat this issue with casual indifference and side with the Governor in his attempts to make a name for himself on the national conservative stage, then they should all be prepared to accept responsibility for denying women access to crucial medical care and prevention screenings, and ultimately contributing to increasing the abortion rate in our state.”

The first piece of legislation - sponsored by Senators Loretta Weinberg and Sandra Cunningham and Assemblywomen Pamela Lampitt, Linda Greenstein, Linda Stender, Valerie Vainieri Huttle and Celeste Riley and co-sponsored by Senators Nia Gill and Bob Gordon and Assemblyman Jason O’Donnell - mirrors the vetoed legislation (S-2139/A-3019), but scales back the appropriation from $7.5 million to $5 million and identifies a new funding source. Under the bill, family planning centers would be supported by $5 million in unexpended funds from FY 2010 that are part of an account set aside to pay counties for housing certain prisoners.

“This new legislation reaffirms our commitment to being fiscally prudent, while maintaining our commitment to provide access to health care for women and families across New Jersey,” said Lampitt (D-Camden). "We have heard the Governor's concerns, and we call on him to work together with us on this crucial, nonpartisan issue. The new funding we have identified is budget-neutral and would otherwise sit idle while women and families suffer and go without critically-needed health care."

“We’ve asked the Governor and his administration to work with us in finding a funding solution, and were shut out time and time again,” added Weinberg. “However, through this bill, we were able to find additional surplus funds contained within the Governor’s budget to restore at least a portion of the resources for women’s health programs. At a time when New Jersey is trying to do more with less, we need to use these additional resources to make sure we’re not leaving any federal matching dollars on the table for women’s health or family planning services.”

“It is unfortunate that our Republican colleagues do not share our belief that everyone, regardless of socio-economic status, deserves access to vital healthcare,” said Greenstein (D-Mercer/Middlesex). “Hopefully, the new funding source we have identified will alleviate their concerns over the fiscal impact of this bill.”

The second bill - sponsored by Senators Teresa Ruiz and Nia Gill and Assemblywomen Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Linda Greenstein, Celeste Riley, Pamela Lampitt and Linda Stender and co-sponsored by Senator Loretta Weinberg and Assemblyman Jason O’Donnell- directs the state to immediately apply for additional Medicaid coverage for family planning services available under the recently enacted federal health care reform law.

“The federal government is actively encouraging states to apply for this supplemental funding, knowing how important it is to cash-strapped states and the women and families who depend on it,” said Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen). “If this is truly an economic issue as the Governor maintains, then we should be taking advantage of every available federal resource.”

Under the current state plan, the Medicaid program only covers family planning services for individuals with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. However, the new provision in the federal health care reform law created a state option to provide Medicaid coverage for family planning services to individuals with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. State’s exercising this option will receive $9 in federal reimbursement for every $1 they spend for family planning services.

“We simply can’t leave this money sitting on the table when family planning centers throughout the state will soon be forced to close or turn patients away,” said Riley (D-Salem/Cumberland/Gloucester). “This is one of the fundamental duties we were elected to perform – maximize the resources available to provide basic essential services to the residents of this state.”

At stake, the lawmakers noted, are the more than 136,000 patients who were served by family planning centers in New Jersey last year. Not only did these centers help prevent 40,000 pregnancies, 19,000 abortions and save the state more than $150 million, but they also provide extensive services that include: birth control; routine gynecological exams; prenatal care; screenings for high blood pressure, anemia, diabetes, sexually transmitted infections, and breast and cervical cancer; as well as critical education and outreach.

The lawmakers also stressed that the new legislation reiterates the provision in the vetoed legislation that bars public dollars from being used to fund abortions. Both bills will be introduced in the Senate and the Assembly today.