Jerry Green just doesn't get it. And it really shows in the way he is managing the Plainfield Democratic City Committee election process. As chairman of the City Committee, Green is showing he hasn't learned one thing from President Barack Obama about openness and transparency as a general policy.
Jerry is continuing the old and worn-out tradition of secretly hand-picking candidates for the committee, whose members are responsible for Democratic party matters at the city level. Every two years, each political party elects candidates at the local level to its municipal committee. This year is the turn of the Democrats. With 34 voting districts in the city and a male and female seat in each district to be filled, there are 68 slots for the city committee, whose candidates appear on the June primary ballot.
Ideally, city committee members are the ones to whom neighborhood Democrats would turn as a first resource for constituent questions and concerns. The committee is also responsible for helping to recruit and vet Democratic candidates for City Council and mayor. In their role as members of the County Democratic committee, members share with others countywide in the election of the County chairperson and the selection and approval of countywide and legislative candidates.
Members are really supposed to be representatives of neighborhood Democrats on the city committee, though under Green's chairmanship the members are given no active role, little advance notice of meetings, and are usually asked to simply rubber stamp decisions made by Green without their input. I think that is a miserable way to do business, and want to offer an alternative, one that is consistent with Barack Obama's commitment to openness and transparency and one that looks to involve new people with new ideas in the political process.
Here is what I propose:
Registered Democrats from throughout the city who are interested in serving on the Democratic City Committee are invited to contact me at amapp4mayor@gmail.com, with their name, address and contact information, and I will provide them with information explaining the duties of membership on the city committee and how to work with the Mapp For Mayor team to bring some sunshine into the process of electing the Democratic City Committee. I look forward to working with you for a better Plainfield!
Regards,
Adrian
Thank You, Plainfield!
9 years ago
Great proposal, Mr. Mapp. I am glad to understand what these elected people do.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Adrian. I am glad that you are running. I think you will make a great mayor. Keep your head up in face of the negativity that will be pouring in on you. I know that you are a strongly spiritual man and a faithful son of St. Mark's church. God will keep you and your family strong as you work to serve the people of Plainfield. Ignore Mr. Green and his desperate, pathetic attempts to smear you and the residents of this town who support you. I was present at the meeting when Al McWilliams, God rest his soul, passed the torch on to you. He told me that he wanted you to be the city's next mayor. I will work with you and your organization to make that happen!
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