Check Notebook at Door?
The Senior Center newsletter is not only mailed to members, it is available at City Hall to the public. Events and comments this week raise the question of whether this group is members-only, and then even open to certain members only. Can a publicly-funded entity bar the public from attending and observing its activities?
As far as this member/blogger is concerned, the mayor has long been aware of my dual role. She has often acknowledged my presence by name at her monthly visits. My camera and notebook have been in plain view.Now of course news comes in two main flavors, good and bad. The image above is a good-news item where the mayor accepted the gift of a quilt handmade by the senior quilting club.
Here, after seniors marched from the center to a groundbreaking ceremony at 400 East Front Street, the mayor is moved by a song from a young girl for the occasion.
The signing ceremony in January 2007 was a happy and promising event.
The late center president Charles Nelson and director Sharron Brown are seen here with the mayor on that occasion.
Mr. Nelson and the mayor spent many hours working on plans for the new center.As months wore on, there was some bad news to deliver in terms of delays. Both the mayor's monthly reports and City Council actions were sources in following the story on the blog. Plaintalker reported on the May 20 ceremony at the new center and also on the unfortunate passing of Mr. Nelson.
So here we are in October 2009. A new member who is also a challenger to the mayor's re-election gets removed by two police officers for "campaigning" by asking questions during a question-and-answer session. Within minutes, the Democratic Party chairman turns up to take the microphone and points me out to my fellow seniors as persona non grata in his eyes.
Tuesday's events raise serious questions of free speech and the use of publicly-funded facilities. Expect more news, and decide for yourself whether it is good or bad for Plainfield.
--Bernice Paglia
posted by Bernice at 12:06 PM
12 Comments:
Jerry has engaged in this kind of "calling out" before. It is so unbecoming. And he seriously expects us to believe that anyone at the state level took him into consideration for speaker. He demonized "new" Dems or New Dems, or whatever, because they had the nerve to want someone else to be mayor. Can you blame them? Look at what this mayor has done to our city. Any democrat who doesn't see eye to eye with him is called names. I have witnessed him yelling and screaming at his own committee members and other active Democrats. He goes to the senior center and talks politics all the time. So does the mayor! I remember when the mayor went and handed out buttons along with her mother. I hope the seniors will see through this mayor. I don't see how she can sleep at night.
Bernice,
So as I understand it...you are not welcome because you represent the press...is that their argument? Does this mean that in the future...this Mayor and the District BOSS won't allow the press at their pre-election ribbon cutting ceremonies?
Or does this rule only apply to the free thinking press?
Bo Vastine
It is beyond words what these people are allowed to get away with. And it is our fault. If anyone in Plainfield votes for this mayor and Jerry Green (other than family members), you are rewarding this type of behaviour. And my guess is no where else would you put up with this vile demonstration.
Why aren't any of these things investigated? Aren't they breaking the law?
I cannot believe all we do is whine about these things and do nothing about it. How do we get these people prosecuted?
To Bo: It's apparently because I am a blogger, although once I got a call at home from City Hall to cover an event that was already in progress. Kind of a mixed message.
Bernice, There is NO mixed message -- per your comment. The Chershire Cat ( for those of you who don't get what that implies -- an empty vacuous nothingness behind that smile ) loves you when you Blog about Assistant Mayor Sharon showing up to shake everyone's hands and hand out Red Ballons but doesn't like it when you post that she held a bunch of Seniors Hostage or that she had the PUBLICLY FUNDED PLAINFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT THROW OUT SOMEONE FROM A PUBLICLY FUNDED CENTER OF WHICH HE WAS A MEMBER. She is a NAZI. She is a Nazi of the worst kind. She wraps herself in public adulation much like the Furher Hitler did himself as long as you were along for HER ride. Any deviation from her ( and by that folks we do mean JERRY GREEN as she has proven she couldn't cross the street like a chicken without Jerry telling her to ) plan is akin to blasphemy. She is as old as last weeks news. Someone call the ACLU on this woman and lets publicly hang her out to dry. That's right, I said it, LET'S PUBLICLY HANG HER OUT TO DRY. Humiliate her and she will run for the darkness which rats like her crave for security. Again, I repeat what I have posted before. How this woman looks into the mirror in the morning with anything less than complete and total shame is beyond me. And since we know both she and her puppet master Jerry read the blog and the comments start walking away now and make up the fake illness to give yourself a chance to spare the ounce of shame I pray you still have. BOTH OF YOU. And Bernice, you may feel this is a bit harsh, but even you KNOW they say worse about you so let me be the one who takes the low road for you. With pleasure I might add.
Oh Rob, please let us not indulge in such rhetoric. It is harsh. Let us not call folks rats and Nazis. Dehumanizing anybody in words is the first step to demonization. The next thing I know, you will be calling people Republicans.
I forgot to say LOL.
When the dust settles, remember that the REAL issue of violence and high crime in the City have NOT been reduced. While those police were muscling out dangerous Senior Citizens, your home was being scoped out to be robbed more then likely.
BERNICE --- You made me laugh SO LOUD !! THANK YOU ...And don't forget. I am a Republican! LOL. And on a side note... that quilt she received in the photo..how much did it cost and did she report it properly as a "gift" as a public official. I mean, since she and Jerry like playing hardball, seriously, I want to know how much that quilt cost ( estimated retail value of course ) and was it reported??? If it weren't I would totally understand, because as Mayor Jerry LOVES to say, even "Chris Christie makes mistakes."
- AND THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME SAY WHAT YOU WON'T.
Plainfield surrendered to Jerry Green a long time ago. Like most things in NJ, change will never come unless we have divine intervention...we must all pray.
I've decided. I'm tired of this vacuous smile in the mayor's office. Let's replace it with substance, and at this point an empty office would be an improvement.
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