The Primary Is Underway: Republicans Keep Problematic Ballot Design and a Familiar Name Runs for County Office
Ballot Design The ballots are out, and Democrats have moved forward with ending the line while Republicans will continue with the old ballot design. As we wrote in April, “the line” refers to a ballot design both party machines have used in NJ to ensure their candidates have a strong advantage in the primaries. Earlier this year, Senate Candidate Andy...
The New BOE Majority is Turning Things Around, and the Party Machines Are Getting Nervous
I am writing a lot this week but have more to say than usual. If all you’ve been paying attention to is the noise on the forums and theatre in Council meetings, you would have missed a few significant developments. With a new majority in place within the BOE, some significant changes that will benefit families have arisen: (1) Budget : For...
05/07/2024 Town Council Meeting – Two Issues Come to a Head
While much attention has been given to the Board of Education over the past few months, and I am thrilled to see the public interest and parent engagement BHCW has been working to increase is booming, interesting developments have been occurring over at the Town Council. During last night’s Town Council Meeting, two brewing issues came to a Head. Some...
Laura’s Notes on the 04/30/2024 Town Council Meeting
Recognition Town Council recognized the accomplishments and accolades for the Governor Livingston Marching Band and the Varsity and JV Ice Hockey teams. West Side Drainage Project There was a public presentation of the project with is multi-phased and has a price tag of $1.5-2 million dollars upon completion of the project. (check website for when presentation becomes available). Debt Analysis You can see the...
04/16/2024 Town Council Notes: Township Administrator to Take on Role of CFO
The Town Council voted to appoint the Township Administrator to the role of CFO during the 04/16/2024. Mayor Devanney indicated that the appointment was short term. During the meeting, Councilman Paul Donnelly indicates that his consent was not sought in adding the appointment of the Township Administrator to the CFO position on the agenda. He also indicated that his requests...
What Berkeley Heights Residents Should Know About “the Line”
What is “the Line”? The Line refers to an inherent Ballot design structure unique to NJ that lists candidates according to an endorsed slate versus according to the office they seek. A typical primary ballot design in other states lists candidates according to the office they are seeking, for example, Nevada and Delaware: This is what a NJ Primary Ballot...
Berkeley Heights Mayor and EVERY SINGLE MEMBER of the Town Council Writes to Legislators to Stop OPRA and Housing Bills
Dear Members of the Legislature, By way of introduction, I am the Mayor of Berkeley Heights Township. Over the last 30 years, I have “grown up in politics” in Democratic politics in Union County. So, I am no stranger to how the process of government and politics works in this State. I am also a proud Democrat who was overwhelmingly...
NJ Is Rallying to Stop State Sen. Sarlo’s & Assemblyman Danielsen’s Age of Darkness
NJ Is Rallying to Stop State Sen. Sarlo and Assemblyman Danielsen from Destroying the Open Public Records Act Since discovering that Sen. Sarlo has teamed up with Assemblyman Danielsen to usher in a new age of Darkness through a second attempt to gut OPRA, organizations in NJ are rallying a defense. We first want to credit Krystal Knapp and the Jersey Vindicator for breaking...
Resident Comments on Tree Ordinance & New Rules on Correspondence to the Town Council
The following email was sent to BHCW for publication by Steven Kark, Berkeley Heights Resident I want my neighbor to keep his trees the way they are. He wants to cut some of them down. So we had a little discussion and this is what happened. I told him that 3 friends of mine think that the trees are good for...
Notes on the 02/20/2024 Berkeley Heights Town Council Meeting- Trespassing Ordinance and Another Tense Discussion
The Town Council voted through a resolution on 02/20/2024 that broadens parameters that make it easier for local police to question or “act” with regard to suspected trespassing. From a civil liberties perspective, on paper, it appears to make sense as long as it is applied in practice with fidelity to the ordinance. Based on my understanding of the ordinance, more...
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