TOWN WATCH
NEWARK – Newark Council President LaMonica McIver, after a week of petition submissions and a court challenge, will appear on the July 17 Democratic special primary ballot. Former East Orange Second Ward Councilwoman Brittany Claybrooks is anticipated to be on the same party ballot – as well as Nutley Republican Carmen Bucco on his party primary ballot.
McIver, Claybrooks, Bucco and their supporters had to scramble to get petitions signed and submitted to the Essex County Clerk Elections Division office by 4 p.m. May 10. McIver, a two-term Central Ward Councilwoman with Essex County Democratic Party support, was challenged in State Superior Court-Newark by Claybrooks.
Claybrooks brought forward to Administrative Law Judge Kim Berlin McIver’s petitions on May 17, with the claim that mother Robin McIver could not have acquired all 1,081 signatures on her petitions over a 72-hour period. Councilwoman McIver’s aide, Hassan Abdus-Sabur, said that he had helped get some signatures himself.
Claybrooks, who was a campaign director for Cong. Andy Kim (D-Bordentown), asked Berlin to bar McIver’s signatures. The State Democratic Committee countered ted that Claybrooks should be banned for “illegible signatures.”
Judge Berlin, in her late Friday ruling, said that Claybrooks did not prove her case against the McIver campaign. Berlin also let Claybrooks stay on the ballot, after 153 or her 505 signatures were disqualified.
Berlin then told Susana Espasa Guererro that her 65 signatures failed to make the ballot cut. Bucco sailed through the process with 200 signatures.
McIver or Claybrooks and Bucco will have to renew campaigning towards the Sept. 18 special election to fill out the late Donald M. Payne, Jr.’s current term.
Irvington Settles Police Chief Chase Lawsuit
IRVINGTON – The Township Council ended an eight-year legal battle with its former police chief by approving a $480,000 settlement between Irvington and Michael Chase at their April 22 council meeting.
Council First and Second Vice Presidents Dr. October Hudley and Charnette Frederic and Council Members Orlander Glen Vick, John Brown and Sean Evans carried Resolution TA-24-0422-15. Hudley presented the measure, which Brown seconded. Council President Jamillah Z. Beasley and Councilman Vernon Cox were absent that night.
The resolution is in response to Chase’s lawsuit, filed in Superior Court-Newark Docket No. ESX-L-L-780-16, to resolve his remaining disciplinary charges against him. Chase was suspended with pay since 2016 on charges made by the then-Police Director Joseph Santiago during Mayor Wayne Smith’s administration. The settlement allows Chase to receive his police pension; he was months away from retirement when he was suspended.
Although his suspension was during the prior administration, Chase also named current Mayor Anthony “Tony” Vauss and Public Safety Director Tracy Bowers in his suit. Bowers is currently performing police chief The $480,000 settlement includes $350,000 drawn from a Self-Insured Retainer and the RUSI insurance fund.
State Comptroller: Irvington Needs Financial Monitoring
State Comptroller Kevin Walsh, while standing by his March 7 report that Irvington Township’s finances needs state oversight, has not said when a monitor from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs well be appointed.
The deficiencies, which date back to 2009, including an almost $800,000 in “improperly documented expenses,” without approval from the Township Council. In 2021, there was a $3.8 million discrepancy between a budget status report to the state and that year’s general ledger.
The latest report includes a 2017 audit and annual records from 2017 to 2022.
Irvington would not be the first “Local Talk” town to receive a state monitor to ride herd over its finances. The Nutley Board of Education, on May 6, was assigned a monitor after it had racked up a $7.3 million deficit in its current 2023-24 budget.
Belleville Public Schools had had a monitor since it made a $4.3 million deficit in 2014. That monitor, which has veto power over key expenditures, has been in the district less frequently.
Newark had a monitor from 2010-12 in exchange for receiving some extraordinary aid from the state to help balance its books.
Mayor Vauss has said that the comptroller’s sports ignores the financial progress his administration has taken since his July 1, 2018 inauguration. Some of the reported deficiencies, he adds, were left over from the Smith Administration.
EAST ORANGE – CareWell Health publicly responded to a New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services the day after it had received a pointed letter from Trenton May 6.
The DOH Office of Program Compliance’s May 6 letter is more than a follow-up to its March 6 report on the East Orange hospital’s finances and staffing levels.
The state reminded CareWell CEO Paige Dworak it’s required disaster response plan was due on or by May 7. NHDOHSS claims that the hospital has no disaster plan, is running on narrow or negative margins, “high numbers of days accounts in Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable,” began withholding Medicaid reimbursements.
CareWell, in its May 7 response, said they are disputing projections of low cash on hand, mounting obligations and financial need. While the hospital has a disaster plan is found within its emergency response manual and that updating it will take time.
CareWell, which bought the hospital in 2022 and returned the 102-bed institution to non-profit status, touted its $5 million investment in renovating emergency and patient rooms. The former East Orange General Hospital is the city’s largest single employer and the last independent hospital in the county.
ORANGE – The New Jersey Court of Appeals, as of press time, has not yet scheduled a hearing of Orange Board of Education Member Jeffrey Wingfield’s challenge of an ethics charge made earlier this year by the New Jersey School Boards Association.
Wingfield filed with the appellate court after Acting New Jersey Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer, on April 9, let stand the state education department’s School Ethics Commission Decision 98-21.
The SEC had found that Wingfield had transmitted confidential OBOE email to Mayor Dwayne D. Warren, Councilwoman Adrienne Wooten and Avram White of the City of Orange Law Department. The state commission said that Wingfield had sent “confidential board and attorney-client privileged emails” to the said three respondents “multiple times.”
Wingfield, should the appellate court uphold the SEC’s ruling, will be more than reprimanded. The former OBOE president could lose his status as a Certified or Master Board Member.
Orange Public Schools could also be penalized by the education department’s QSAC evaluation and monitoring. QSAC, which all public school districts are subject to, was used as performance benchmarks by the NJDOE to gradually grant Newark Public Schools autonomy in 2016-20.
Candidate Hilbert Says, “Thank You.”
Current West Ward Councilwoman and recent mayoral candidate Quantavia L. Hilbert posted her “Thank You” on Facebook May 19: “We weren’t the winners though we remain champions to the people. I’ll continue to perform my duties as councilwoman and act on the initiatives that we shared during our talks for the future.
“Thank you to my team and supporters who had the courage and commitment to fuel this campaign. Let’s pray that real solutions arise from this season and that we become a progressive and inclusive community. Stay vocal on the issues, become visible at the events and remember we are one community.”
WEST ORANGE – State Sen. John McKeon was among the New Jersey legislators who pushed back on a NJTransit’s ticketing change while the agency’s July 1 price increase policy still had the consistency of wet cement.
NJTransit, on April 10, included a change in its honoring unused paper commuter rail tickets along with its 15 percent across the board fare increase.
The statewide transportation agency intended to stop honoring unused paper tickets on July 1. Paper tickets bought and printed from July 1 onwards would have a 30-day life span. There would be no refunds when any of those unused tickets expire. NJTransit had estimated that the then-new policy would save the $25 million annually.
McKeon and his colleagues got NJTransit to modify that policy on May 15. Riders with unused paper commuter rail tickets can request refunds Aug. 1-Dec. 31. Tickets bought July 1 and onwards, however, will have 30-day expiration dates.
“It’s great news that NJTransit heard riders’ concerns and will grant refunds to customers who purchased tickets without an expiration date in advance of its shift to enforcing a 30-day use window on July 1,” said McKeon. “Voiding unused tickets on July 1 would’ve been an additional financial burden on commuters who rely on NJTransit to get to work or school, especially in light of upcoming fare increases.”
It is to the understanding of “Local Talk” that the refund and expiration policies apply only to commuter rail tickets. It has asked NJTransit whether the policies also apply to paper tickets on its light rail and bus divisions.
SOUTH ORANGE – Although a First Baptist Church homegoing service and private burial for Thomas J. Gates were held at his boyhood Hoosick Falls, NY May 20, “Local Talk” area mourners will be welcome to a to-be-announced celebration of his life in New York City.
Gates, 51, an 18-year village resident, was killed by a NJTransit train here at South Orange Station May. 8. He was commuting to Manhattan’s St. James theater, where he was stage managing a limited run of “Illinoise.”
Born in Bennington, Vt., Thomas Jeffrey Gates graduated from Hoosick Falls Central High School in 1991 and from Niagara University, with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, in 1995. Broadway and off-Broadway. The Actors Equity Association member worked on “Hairspray,” “Brooklyn,” “High Fidelity,” “Newsies,” “The Visit” and “Waitress” plus revivals of “Noises Off,” “Finian’s Rainbow” and “Pippin.”
“Thom” was known in the theater community as being a reliable, soft-spoken, compassionate and professional stage manager. On- and off- stage, he was known for his well-timed sense of humor and gardening work.
Although Gates’ burial was private, he may have been buried alongside father Floyd E. Gates and mother Irene Gates in Hoosick Falls’ Maple Grove Cemetery. Husband Rick Steiger, who also worked on “Illinoise,” and sisters Claudia Gates, Sylvia Carpenter and Renie George are among his survivors.
Memorial donations may be made to Broadway Cares (donate.broadwaycares.org) and/or the Michael J. Fox Foundation (give.michaeljfox.org). A GoFundMe.Com page has been established for Steiger.
The “Illinoise” production company has since dedicated its limited run in Gates’ memory. The musical has been nominated for several Tony awards.
MAPLEWOOD – The South Orange-Maplewood School District’s Board of Education, in what could be considered as post-budget damage control, effectively pink slipped two key district administrators at their May 9 meeting.
The board first voted not to renew School Business Administrator Eric Burnside’s contract, which means that he will be leaving the two-town district June 30. It was Burnside who told the board that its current 2023-24 budget is facing a $10 million deficit.
The previous board, on April 25, passed a 2024-25 budget that plugged the $10 million gap. The plan resulted in firing 18 employees, not filling 18 job openings and making cuts in the music, performing arts, STEM and Effective School Solutions departments. May 9 was also the BOE’s annual reorganization meeting.
Board Member William “Bill” Gifford sided with several public speakers in calling for a forensic audit of the 2023-24 budget, saying that it would give “valuable insights on the health of our district,” and “set up our future Business Administrator for success.”
The board also voted not to renew Columbia High School Principal Frank Sanchez’s contract. Sanchez will remain on administrative leave until his current contract expires on June 30.
The BOE move negates some April 25 and May 9 public speakers’ calls to have Sanchez reinstated pending the outcome of an internal SOMSD inquest and State Superior Court-Newark trial. Sanchez was accused of assaulting a CHS student in a hallway and was suspended with pay since Jan. 2. He had also been arrested and arraigned that same week.
BLOOMFIELD – The township’s top lawyer said that a sitting councilwoman does not have to choose between that job and her day job as an assemblyman’s aide in Trenton.
Third Ward Councilwoman Sarah Cruz, said Township Attorney Joseph Wentzel May 10, does not have a conflict of interest by being both an elected Bloomfield official and being an aide to the newly elected Assy. Michael Venezia.
Wentzel considers one employment as outside of the township and the other is an elected Bloomfield official. There may be specific instances, said the attorney, where Cruz should consult him or Bloomfield’s legal department to decide whether she should recuse herself as a councilwoman.
“She (Cruz) is not serving in a high enough capacity where she’s doing any policymaking (in Trenton),” said Wentzel. “For all those reasons, I don’t see any conflict.”
A public speaker brought up the conflict of interest claim at the council’s April 15 meeting, which led to a heated exchange with Cruz.
Venezia (D-Bloomfield) offered Cruz the aide’s job after he was elected to the 34th Legislative District in November and had resigned as Bloomfield’s mayor Jan. 6. Venezia retains residency here and remains Bloomfield Democratic Committee Chairman. Cruz was first elected as councilwoman on Venezia’s ticket in 2017 and again in 2023.
MONTCLAIR – The Township Council announced at its May 13 meeting that the township administration, its insurance carrier and CFO Padmaja Rao had settled the whistleblower suit she had filed in October 2022.
Montclair is to pay Rao and her two attorneys $1.25 million in exchange for her dropping her suit, said Interim Township Attorney Paul Burr that Monday night.
Rao is to be paid $250,000 for emotional stress and will keep her job; the rest will go to attorneys Nancy Erika Smith and Roosevelt Nesmith. Insurer Garden State Join Municipal Fund is to cover 20 percent, or $250,000, of the settlement.
“There’s no admission of any wrongdoing by the township or (former Town Manager) Mr. (Timothy) Stafford,” said Barr.
Rao accused Stafford of retaliation and creating a hostile work environment after she had brought an illegality with allocating the township’s health insurance benefits policy among Township Council members. The CFO said that several council members were receiving benefits although they had not qualified for the 35 hours per week minimum.
Rao’s account has been collaborated by other town manager office employees. The council at the time had put Stafford on administrative leave and then fired him by May 25, 2023. The current outgoing council approved the settlement, 5-0, May 13.
The settlement was approved after At-Large Councilman Robert J. “Bob” Russo left for the night. Russo, a former mayor and deputy mayor, said that he could not tolerate his colleagues’ verbal abuse. Russo – who never accepted the health benefits offer – was the only incumbent who ran for re-election – and lost on May 14.
Mayor Sean Spiller and the other six council members, some of whom had taken the illegal benefits offer, had declined re-election. They, on May 13, either said that Rao’s suit had no bearing on their leaving the council or refrained from comment altogether.
NOTE: The Montclair Board of Education is accepting prospective board member applications until May 31 towards June 5 interviews. The appointed finalist will complete Cheryl Hopkins’ term until Jan. 6 and will have the option to run for a full three-year term Nov. 5. Hopkins, citing work commitments, resigned May 13.
BELLEVILLE – A campaign handbill which residents of a contested ward seat here May 7-8 may land its producers in court.
The large, professionally made handbill accused Tracy Juanita Williams that she had helped pass the 2024-25 public schools budget that carried a $413 property tax increase on the average voter for that year.
“Before you vote,” said the handbill, “did you know, Tracy Juanita Williams, a renter, council candidate and current Board of Education Trustee just voted for a huge tax increase.”
There are several problems with that statement. First, Williams, citing “a conflict,” abstained from the May 7 budget vote.
Second, the budget failed to pass due to the 3-3-1 tie vote. Third, that $413 average property tax increase on the average Belleville homeowner may be lower, pending on what the district finally sent to the NJ Department of Education on or by May 15.
Williams, who was elected to the Belleville Public Schools Board of Education Trustees in 2022, was also running against “A Better Belleville” – backed runner Patricia Inaugurato to succeed the late Marie Strumolo-Burke in May 14’s First Ward nonpartisan municipal election.
“The independent “Believe in Belleville” candidate, with Strumolo-Burke’s endorsement, thanks to a majority of ward voters, won that seat over Mayor Michael Melham’s ABB candidate.
Williams, on May 8, said she was considering legal action against her opponent, the ABB team and the producers of the said palm card.
“I’m very disappointed but not surprised by the recent slanderous statement made by my opponent in her latest mailer,” said Williams. “Clearly, everyone could see that a mailer was sent out before the Board of Education vote was even made. The only conclusion I can make from this outright lie by my opponent and my team is that it was done to inflict malice on myself and my reputation.”
NUTLEY – None of the authorities who had responded to and investigated a fatal motorcycle accident here on Route. 21 South April 27 have since released follow-up details.
The Nutley Police Headquarters dispatcher, after receiving several 911 calls of “a motorcycle crash on Rt. 21 South at 12:40 a.m.” that Saturday, redirected a pair of patrol cars on to that state highway.
The first NPD responders found what appeared to be a single motorcycle accident within their borders. They promptly called for backup, including the State Police and ECPO’s Accident Investigation Unit.
NPD cruisers blocked off the highway at the exits and entrances above and below the otherwise unelaborated crash scene. Local EMS was also called, whose medics declared the rider dead at the scene.
Traffic was detoured around the Rt. 21 crash scene during the field investigation, which lasted until dawn. The deceased rider remains unidentified, other than the next of kin being notified.
