Montclair Op-Eds: Ballot Challenge, Planning Board Member

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The following op-eds come courtesy of Montclair Patch community members. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site.

SAVEMONTCLAIR COALITION: ‘KEEP SCHWARTZ ON PLANNING BOARD’

The following letter comes via Linda Cranston of the SaveMontclair Coalition.

“As the Founder of SaveMontclair, a coalition of nearly 500 members who are supporters of better planning and preservation, I wanted to reach out during this transition period to express the importance of maintaining Mr. Martin Schwartz on the planning board. The loss of his extensive knowledge and commitment would be a great disservice to residents of Montclair.

“As current Council members know, Mr. Schwartz has served as an essential member as the mayor’s representative on this board since the Master Plan reviews. When Mayor Jackson decided to step down from the planning board to focus on other issues, he asked Mr. Schwartz to act as the mayor’s representative.

“Mr. Schwartz has worked tirelessly during these years, consistently demonstrated clear and detailed understanding of the complexities of development for the town and neighborhoods. On many occasions he is the lone voice willing to state what needs to be done for project improvements or to respect zoning by eliminating excessive variances not in the public good.

“Thank you for your time and attention.”

• Linda Cranston, Founder, SaveMontclair www.SaveMontclair.org
• Cary Africk, Former 3rd Ward Councilor
• Jinni Rock Bailey, Former Warden, St. Lukes Church
• Serges Demefack, Coordinator, Frog Hollow Museum and Cultural Center
• Jason DeSalvo, Former Vice Chair, Planning Board
• Lori Gladstone, Founder, Owner, Secret Montclair Facebook site with 11,633 members
• Frank Gerard Godlewski, Architectural Historian
• Dick Grabowsky, Commercial Property Owner
• David Greenbaum, Member, Historic Preservation Commission
• Caroline Levy, Member, Historic Preservation Commission
• Elaine Molinaro, Former Chair and Member, Montclair Arts Advisory Board
• Imke Oster, Former Chair and current Commissioner, Montclair Environmental Commission
• Adriana O’Toole, Board of Trustees, Aging in Montclair
• Andrew Pincus, Founder, Study Hall Gang
• Scott Pollack, Former President, Watchung Plaza Business Association
• Christa S. Rapoport, Esq. Chair, Civil Rights Commission
• Cathy Shandler, 3rd Ward Community Leader
• Aminah Toler, 4th Ward Community Leader
• David Toler, Member, Civil Rights Commission
• Ilmar Vanderer, Board of Trustees, Montclair Library
• Carole Willis, Member, Montclair Planning Board

RENEE BASKERVILLE: ‘VOTES NOT COUNTED’

The following op-ed comes courtesy of Councilwoman Renee Baskerville.

“The decision reached yesterday between the League of Women Voters, NAACP and Secretary Way, establishing a notice and cure process for mail-in and provisional ballots in New Jersey’s July 7 primary election, is tremendous news for New Jersey voters who will vote in the July 7th Elections.

“As with the other expos facto adjustments Governor Murphy has ordered to remedy the flawed vote-by-mail only process that was used in the May 12th nonpartisan Montclair municipal elections and others, this is a most welcome next step moving the State toward having in place an elections process that will ensure that every vote cast will be fully and fairly counted.

“The unfortunate matter is that for the roughly 1086 Montclair voters who risked their comfort and in some instances their health to exercise what is for them and so many others the most important right in this democracy, the right to vote. More particularly, the right to vote, unfettered, unfettered, and have your vote count.

“I urge and encourage Governor Murphy to consider taking his remedial action one step further. The proposed action does nothing to give back to the voters in the May 12th elections whose votes were not counted, their most prized right, their vote. In Montclair, more than 400 voters had their vote denied due to signature flaws. Hundreds of others has their vote denied dur to the failure of the Post Office to put its stamp ballots; and others still were denied the franchise because of the early closure of some of the Post Offices the last two days of the election, and the strict adherence to the 48-hour rule, when the US Post Office suggested that COVIC-19 made it impossible for them to meet standard service times.

“I urge and encourage Governor Murphy to take Executive Action to give back the most powerful weapon in our participatory democracy, to those who voted in the May 12th election fully expecting that their votes would be counted, only to learn after the outcomes were certified, that an untrained signature reviewing official, rejected their ballots because they thought the signature did not match an earlier one.

“In the spirt of thanksgiving for what Governor Murphy and Secretary Way have done and are continuing to do to right the voting process for the July 7th elections, I humbly request that Governor Murphy issue an Executive Order consistent with the broad and equitable measures he has put in place using lessons from the May 12th elections, to ensure a fair and equitable process for the July 7th elections, requiring that all votes cast with the expectation that the ballots would be counted, must be counted.

“When in doubt about the status of votes cast, the State of New Jersey must err on the side of participatory democracy and the voters. This equitable action, would make whole the 1086 Montclair voters whose votes were not counted as well as those whose votes were not counted in other May 12th municipal elections. It would position the State of New Jersey as a gold standard bearer in our evolving democracy, for such times as these.”

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Montclair Facebook page. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com