Berkeley Heights Board of Ed chair appeared to have used Ringers

Doug Reinstein does not seem to represent the residents. He is a prime example of a politician that is willing to manipulate the public meetings rather than listening and fighting for constituents.

In what appears to be an official email from him, as a member of the Berkeley Heights Board of Education to the rest of the board, Doug states “most residents who spoke were against … however, I had organized three guys to speak in favor of it and they helped offset those comments.”

This was in response to a large number of residents speaking out against a Board of Ed project. Regardless of how you feel about the project in question, it is not appropriate for a board member to manipulate the public meetings in this way.

The residents have spoken out against the Board’s decision but rather than listen to the public comments, Doug Reinstein seemed to have staged ringers, “three guys” that he sent in there to speak in favor of the project he was backing. That is unethical. Period!

With a budget of $52,000,000 we do not need leadership that tries to trick the residents like this, we need a chair and a representative who listens to what the residents say, especially when it does not align with their personal interests. For this reason I believe we need a change this year for the Board of Ed.