PMUA and Jerry Green

Dear friends,

I have been receiving a great deal of correspondence from residents who are supportive of my plan to rein in expenses at PMUA, along with questions as to why Jerry Green has resorted to unsubstantiated lies in order to defame my character.

I find it perplexing that, instead of dealing with the unprecedented 20% plus rate increase at PMUA and the questionable expenses related to a recent trip to California made by several commissioners and executives that we as PMUA ratepayers are funding, Jerry Green has instead decided to engage in libel about what was said at a meeting with PMUA Director Eric Watson.

Director Watson has not contacted me about the assemblyman's lies, although Green's blog post implies that Watson told him what was said at this meeting. Watson has not publicly come out to validate Green's lies or to correct the record, so I must. I would hope that Director Watson would make clear his role, if any, in Green's melodrama.

With the kind permission of its author, what follows is sample correspondence from one of the emails I received from a PMUA ratepayer who has become very concerned about Jerry Green's recent attack on me. My final response, sent yesterday, is immediately below:

Re: In Plainfield, it costs more to flush than to drink...pee water v. potable water‏
From: Adrian Mapp (amapp4mayor@gmail.com)
Sent: Thu 5/07/09 1:19 AM
To: Sandro La Rosa (sandro.larosa@gmail.com)

Sandro:

Assembly Green will do everything he can to spread lies and misinformation about me over the course of the next 4 weeks. I can assure you that I made no such promise to Mr. Watson.

Everything Jerry said is a lie; I stand by my very public position on the PMUA; I am a man of my word. Please do not allow Mr. Green's attempt to tarnish my credibility and reputation to succeed.

There will be many of these attacks during the next 26 days, please reject them. When I met with Mr. Watson I did so with Annie McWilliams and Nat Singleton; they can attest to the fact that no such offer was ever made. Fortunately I never meet with anyone by myself.

Having said the above I will say the following: In 2005 my late friend and former mayor Al Mcwilliams was attacked repeatedly by Mr. Green and he spent a lot of energy responding to those attacks instead of focusing his energy and resources on his opponent, Sharon.

It was a big mistake. Al lost the election. Jerry's strategy worked. With all due respect, I have no plans to engage Jerry or to respond to his lies, I will remain focused.

I am running against Sharon not against Jerry. I need your help in order to defeat her and to be in a position to bring positive change to Plainfield.

That said, rest assured that I remain true to my stated goal of reining in the PMUA and lifting the burden that it places on all of the property owners in Plainfield.

I have no allegiance to Mr. Watson, my allegiance and commitment is to you and to the rest of Plainfield. I don't owe Mr. Watson anything and I did not promise him anything but, I will promise you this, with your support I will rein in the PMUA.

Regards,
Adrian


On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 1:12 PM, Sandro La Rosa <sandro.larosa@gmail.com> wrote:

Adrian:I came across this piece by Assemblyman Jerry Greenhttp://jerrygreenspage.blogspot.com/2009/04/city-committee-chairmanship-up-for-sale.html

Mr. Green writes"A few months ago, Adrian Mapp met with the Director of the PMUA, EricWatson. Adrian Mapp solicited to Mr. Watson that if he [Watson]encouraged the election of Adrian Mapp for Mayor, he would not only close his eyes to PMUA’s problems, but would also support Watson as the new Chairman of the Democratic Party of the City of Plainfield. "These are grave accusations, given your public position on the PMUA.

I believe that many Plainfield citizens are fed up with the PMUA and are willing to support you in the upcoming elections for Mayor, given your past statements on your willingness to rein on the PMUA. We found the allegation raised by Mr. Green very disturbing and expect you to strongly rebuke this accusation.

Thank you for your attention and best regards, Sandro

On Sat, Mar 28, 2009 at 5:21 PM, Adrian Mapp <amapp4mayor@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Sandro:

Thank you for your email and the copy of the letter you sent to the PMUA. Rest assured that as mayor I will be looking at the overall cost structure of the PMUA with a view towards reducing its financial burden on tax payers. Again, thanks for the feedback.

Regards, Adrian

On Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 11:28 AM, Sandro La Rosa <sandro.larosa@gmail.com wrote:

Dear Mr. Mapp:

I read with interest your OpEd on the PMUA http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20090310/OPINION04/903100339/1063 and I am fully suppostive of your proposal to dismantle the PMUA, eliminate redundant and costly layers of management, rationalize the service, and - as a result - provide much-needed relief to the workers and to the Plainfield rate/tax-payers. As for the current burden to the tax payers, I noticed that you focused mainly on the solid waste issues. I wanted you to be aware that I found another major problem, having to do with the absurd sewer fee charged by the PMUA. For details, you may want to read the attached letter I sent to PMUA in February - not replied yet - after finding out that flush water in Plainfield costs 170% of potable water. It took me a while to figure this out because PMUA does not disclose the measurement unit of their sewer rate. I eventually was able to calculate back that these are $/hundred ft3. In my case, I have to pay $5.78 for sewer v. $3.36/100 ft3 I paid on average to my water supply company. As my visiting daughter pointed out, "If sewer water in Plainfield is so precious, maybe I should start drinking from the toilet." It sounds comical but I believe it is a very serious issue for Plainfield residents.

Best regards, Sandro

End Correspondence

Folks,

I am running against the current mayor and her record of failed leadership. I am running against wasteful spending and mismanagement at City Hall and PMUA.

I am running for Mayor to restore transparency, fiscal accountability, and stable taxes to our city.

With your support, we can change the negative, divisive, unethical "Jerry Green-style politics" of lies and polarization.

Regards,

Adrian

On June 2, you can make a change.

Vote Column F

Mapp for Mayor

Smiley for Assembly

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