The article below appeared in this week's Tri-City News.
Enjoy.
Peace, Councilman Jim Keady
Onward to Victory, always!
In Asbury, can anyone stop these guys?
ASBURY PARK The big event in our beloved little city is only about
six months away and the maneuvering is about to begin!
We refer to that political extravaganza called the City Council
election. Happens once every four years. It's a bizzaro-fest indeed.
All five seats are up at once in May. Up to 20 candidates have been
known to run. It's a non-partisan election candidates run without
political party affiliation. The top five vote getters win a four
year term.
It's a zoo.
The current situation: Four of the five incumbent members on the
Council who are aligned politically say they're ready to run together
for reelection. That's Kevin Sanders, John Loffredo, Jim Bruno and Ed
Johnson.
The big question is simple: Can anyone stop these guys?
We say no way.
But if anyone can, they'd have to promise a big u-turn in where
Asbury Park is heading. Voters would have to reject where the
incumbents have taken our city. That means major changes would come
in a city that's already seen major changes.
That's why it's such a big election.
The incumbent ticket is seeking an unprecedented third term holding a
Council majority. Their reelection in 2005 for a second term was also
a milestone the last time a Council majority got reelected was in
1981, when a guy named Ray Kramer was Mayor.
Then the political turmoil began. Asbury voters tossed out every
incumbent majority at every election for twenty years, until the
current group took over.
The current Council majority's ability to stay in office coincides
with a noteworthy period in Asbury Park. For the first time in
decades, more people want to move to Asbury than who want to leave.
We've seen a rise in property values, new residents, new businesses
and actual investment in constructing and rehabilitating buildings in
the city.
And although the waterfront residential redevelopment has come to a
halt just as residential development has halted nationwide the
entertainment and retail component on the boardwalk has made great
strides. People were very satisfied with what they saw there this
summer. Meanwhile, the downtown business district has been pretty
much rebuilt and an increasing number of businesses in the creative
service sector are moving here.
Don't get us wrong. This newspaper has its problems with the Council.
They're at times asleep at the switch when it comes to some big
issues like instituting paid parking on the waterfront and not
saving the Metropolitan Hotel. It's quite frustrating.
But triCity cuts them some slack because we recognize the sheer
volume of issues facing the city it would overwhelm any other
municipal government around here. So city officials have to
prioritize. It's like governmental triage. The bottom line: Asbury
has been moving in the right direction overall since the incumbents
took over almost eight years ago. It's been a long time since anyone
has been able to say that about Asbury Park.
And that's why we say no one can stop these guys
at least at the
present time (after all, the economic situation could create some
craziness the next few months).
Then again, who the hell appointed us God?
And we know where to get the opposing view a quick phone call to
the lone opposition Councilman, Jim Keady.
We mock Keady as the accidental Councilman. In 2005, the incumbent
ticket chose not to run a fifth candidate. Keady and everyone else
finished far behind them. Had the incumbents selected a fifth running
mate, Keady would have been toast.
Keady is undecided on running for reelection because of time
constraints. He just had his first child in the summer. He also runs
a busy non-profit dedicated to workers' rights and social justice
issues both here and abroad that's what we love about the guy.
Keady does some great work in his day job. As a Councilman, well,
that's another story
Our guess? We say Keady runs. We just sense it. Even if he doesn't,
Keady would be the political organizer behind whatever group
challenges the incumbents. So our own little Hugo Chavez is key to
any victory over the incumbent majority.
"I certainly think they can be beaten," Keady says.
"It would take grass-roots mobilization and educating constituencies
and empowering them," he continues. "In terms of the political
organizing that has to take place, I don't think Asbury has seen
anything like it in 30 years, if ever."
Keady's cites the abysmally low City Council turnout and large field
of candidates in the last election. It meant that the incumbents only
got elected with the support of about ten percent of the registered
voters!
It's true. Of the 7,684 voters registered, only 2020 voted in that
City Council election. That's 25 percent.
Add in a field of about 12 candidates who fractured the vote and the
top vote getter Kevin Sanders received only 961 votes. Johnson,
Loffredo and Bruno followed behind, with Bruno bringing up the rear
with 789 votes. Keady won the fifth seat with 581 votes.
"If you get 10 percent of the registered voters, I don't see that as
a mandate," Keady said. "It can't be hard to get another 10 percent
of those potential voters who've never engaged in the political
process here to vote for (opposition candidates)."
And 800 more voters are registered to vote than in 2005. That's a big
addition when the elections can be so close. They are also up for
grabs.
"At the end of the day," Keady said, "those running for office in
Asbury Park should have the same goal: We should have an active
electorate who are educated on the issues. We should have a ninety-
five percent turnout."
Yeah, good luck on that Jim! And good luck winning. You don't have a
prayer!
Man, we love teasing Keady. But we always give him his platform. Hey,
it's to his benefit. It establishes him as the main political
opposition in the city. Got to support your local revolutionary!
So we asked Keady what's so wrong with the Council majority. Jim, of
course, could go on for hours. We limited him to about two minutes.
Here's Fidel:
"What's wrong with what they've done? It's what they haven't done.
They have not laid out a clear vision of where they want to lead
Asbury Park, nor have they laid out a very clear plan of action to
get us there."
"An overarching problem is that they are unwilling to listen to or
take seriously dissenting voices. They personalize things too much.
It shouldn't be that way. It should be about what best moves the city
forward, regardless of who brings the idea to the table."
Asked for some specifics, Keady reels off the following: "Their
failed waterfront redevelopment plan which calls for building a city
of condos within a city. That just hasn't happened. Now they're
setting a budget and spending as if those condos were on line and
providing tax revenues. And then there's the failure to provide
sufficient safe and affordable housing."
Got it! Go get `em Jim!
As Che Guevara used to say: "Hasta la Victoria, siempre!" (Onward to
Victory, always!)
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