Monday, April 8, 2013
New Jersey law allows contributors who donate less than $300 to remain anonymous.
A report published Sunday revealed New Jersey’s current campaign donation system needs to be revised after it was disclosed politicians can receive more money while still keeping the names of their donors secret — as long as the contributions are less than $300. The NJ.com report said most states allow campaigns to keep only those donors who give $100, $50 or less private, but Garden State politicians don’t have to report any information about people who contribute less than $300. The report said because of the state’s secretive laws, candidates were able to hide about $12 million out of the $100 million donated. The state’s rule allowing campaigns to keep these donors anonymous could undergo a re-evaluation after one of the state’s most …
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Just by showing up for interview, governor demonstrates how his relationship with union has evolved.
The fact that Gov. Chris Christie didn’t win the New Jersey Education Association’s endorsement for governor this weekend wasn’t all that unexpected. The surprise was that he participated in the process at all. Four years after Christie sent a public letter rather than showing up for his pitch to the NJEA, the governor walked across West State St. in Trenton -- right on time for his 6:30 appointment. In what was described as a cordial back and forth, Christie spent 45 minutes in front of the 15 union leaders who make up the screening committee, responding to probing questions about everything from pensions to teacher evaluation. Ultimately, the union’s PAC picked the Democratic challenger, state Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), by a …
Friday, February 22, 2013
A Quinnipiac University poll released this week shows Chris Christie with a big lead over his Democratic challenger, state Sen. Barbara Buono.
- ELECTIONS
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Friday, February 22
Gov. Chris Christie is the best person to lead New Jersey over the next four years, according to voters polled in a survey released this week by Quinnipiac University. Christie, a Republican, leads his Democratic rival, state Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), 62 percent to 25 percent in the state's 2013 gubernatorial race, according to the poll. The governor's overall approval rating also remains high. Christie's 74 percent approval rating and 69 percent favorable rating tie his personal record highs from January, the Huffington Post reports, both numbers buoyed by public perception of the way he handled Hurricane Sandy's impact and its aftermath. Christie appears to have strong support on the other side of the aisle, as well. In the …
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Former Springfield Township Attorney takes County Office.
On Sunday, Jan. 6, Bruce Bergen was sworn into the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Bergen, a Springfield resident and a partner in the Cranford law firm of Krevsky, Silber & Bergen, has practiced law in Union County for 32 years. A lifelong resident of Union County, he has been active in leadership and elected positions with the Union County Democratic Committee since 1979. Bergen was Springfield's township attorney for 17 of the past 19 years. Among other accolades, Bergen was recently picked by the Springfield B’nai B’rith to receive its 2012 International Citizenship and Civic Award. Last year, he was appointed as a Trustee of the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Institute of Local Government Attorneys, the state-wide …
Monday, January 7, 2013
Once again, the Republican governor picks Democratic Woodbridge to hold his campaign events.
Once again, Woodbridge is going to be the spotlight for Gov. Chris Christie. The Republican governor is going to hold his campaign kickoff fundraiser in Woodbridge next month. The event will be held at the Renaissance Woodbridge in the Iselin section of the township on Monday, February 4, at 6 pm. The announcement was made by the Christie for New Jersey campaign committee. Ticket prices range from $300 for the general reception all the way up to the $50,000 per person Founder's Club, which buys the donor and a guest an invitation to a photo reception with the governor. Always a colorful figure, Christie has grabbed his share of the national spotlight particularly in light of New Jersey's suffering from Hurricane Sandy. During the recent …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
School board election held to fund roof repairs and replacements.
This story was updated at 2:57 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12 to include comments made by Westfield Board of Education President Rich Mattessich. The hotly-debated $13.6 million bond referendum to fund district-wide roof repairs and replacement passed Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2,700 to 1,503, with 19 percent of voters casting their ballots. Work on Westfield High School's roof, which carries the most expensive price tag – an estimated $4 million – and is in the worst shape, with 83 percent requiring removal and replacement, is expected to be completed during the summer of 2013. Work on one other school is also expected to be completed during the same time frame. The remaining buildings will be worked on during the summer of 2014. In September, residents …
Polls close at 9 p.m.
Voter turnout is mixed across Westfield as residents are asked to cast their ballots for or against a $13.6 million bond referendum that would fund roof repairs and replacement on 12 Westfield school district-owned buildings. While voter turnout is typically low for school board elections, Westfield's Sept. 24th election in which residents soundly defeated a $16.9 million bond referendum that would have funded both the roof work and a lighted turf field, saw an uncharacteristically-high 24 percent of residents head to the polls. Patch surveyed six polling locations throughout town Tuesday afternoon and found a wide-range of answers when asking poll workers, "How is voter turnout today?" Poll workers at the Westfield Memorial Library said …
Monday, December 10, 2012
County results show the President bested challenger Mitt Romney by more than 500 votes.
After all provisional and mail-in ballots have been counted, President Barack Obama has won the majority of Westfielders' votes in the presidential election held on Nov. 6., according to the Union County Clerk's Office. Total votes amounted to 8,080 for Obama and 7,555 votes for former Masschusetts Governor Mitt Romney. On election night, based on ballots cast at Westfield's polls, it was reported that Romney had won Westfielders' votes by a narrow margin, with 6,543 ballots cast for the Republican candidate and 6,388 for the president. For a complete look at election results in Westfield, view the attached documents.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
The Westfielder sought a seat on the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
- ELECTIONS
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Thursday, November 15, 2012
Dear Voters, At this time I would like to thank all of you who supported me during the 2012 Election Year. With so much uncertainty in our County alone I did my best to express the concerns of the tax payer. Not many residents realize that while they are paying a mortgage/tax bill that an increase is due to the escalating tax bill to Union County and not their Municipality. While I was campaigning I spoke to a local tax payer about this subject and he stated, “Oh, I just pay what that little green stub tells me!” A little Green Stub, how long have we been blind sighted? I propose to the legislators that we request a separate tax bill from the County alone as many other states do. It would be a wake-up call to the voters. Why should we be…
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Once again, Democrats sweep freeholder race.
There were few surprises as the results were tallied in the race for three seats on the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, in which the Democratic party once again swept the GOP. Six candidates were competing for three openings on the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders including: Democrats Alexander Mirabella of Fanwood, who currently serves as chairman of the Freeholder Board; Mohamed S. Jalloh, of Roselle who is finishing up his first term and Bruce H. Bergen of Springfield, who joined the Democratic ticket this year. Republicans challengers included Diane Barabas of Westfield; Stephen Kozlovich of Union and Krzysztof Chris T. Nowak of Cranford. The Democrats have held complete control of all seats on the board for nearly …
b paterson
3:25 pm on Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Christie's for the affordable schools and a good education for our children, NJEA is for special interest, higher salaries and pensions for their members; and they back Buono. Shows the profound difference between the two candidates for governor. more ›