The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
If the school election isn’t subject to a vote in November, then you lost your right to vote. Settled science . . . you don’t get to vote on the school budget in November genius under almost all conditions.
photo by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, another bad and misleading article on moving Ridgewood elections to November ,once again a news outlet omits the single most important issue: moving election to November means Ridgewood residents have given up their tight to vote on the school budget. The School budget accounts for 2/3 of the property tax bill in the Village .
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the League of Women Voters is attempting to weigh into the current legal fight over the legality of the ,“One Village One Vote” petition to consolidate election and forever raise your taxes with with less taxpayer oversight .In a massive blow to taxpayers ,the November “yes” vote effectively eliminated the Ridgewood School budget vote . The school budget make up 2/3 of the Village property tax bill and stands at a whopping $115 million dollars .
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Continue reading VOTE NO ON CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOL, COUNCIL ELECTIONS
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Please keep your story straight about One Village One Vote Since we cannot post this on some censored Village Facebook pages, please spread the word.
According to the Group Keep Our Vote :
Continue reading Keep Our Vote : Activist Judge Puts School Budget Vote on the November Ballot
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the vote suppression group One Village One Vote has now headed to the courts to fight the Village of Ridgewood’s rejection of their voter disenfranchisement and voter suppression petition .
Dear Ridgewood Community
Thank you again for your ongoing support for One Village One Vote and our efforts to consolidate Ridgewood’s local elections to November. As a quick update, the Village Clerk has rejected our petition. After the Clerk’s office declined to provide guidance on the proper approach to writing the petition, we tried to use friendly language within the petition and collected it electronically as permitted under our understanding of Gov. Murphy’s Executive Order 132. The Clerk has now notified us of two deficiencies with the petitions:
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the group One Village, One Vote is the brainchild of residents Bob Fuhrman, Matthew Lindenberg, Stacey Loscalzo , Deborah Steinbaum and Siobhan Crann Winograd.
All were active in the high density development in the central business district .
Continue reading One Village, One Vote is going to open flood gates for high density housing
“I want to vote on the budget. It has a huge impact on my life. The grand plans for the library and high school are proof that we need fiscal oversight. It is my money.
I lived in Ridgewood before and after having children in the schools. I have downsized but I regret staying. The village has become nothing but a wish list for developers and short term residents.
Young buyers cannot afford and do not want big houses. Homes over $1 million are not moving. After renovations by homeowners many of these homes are still selling for less that what they were bought for 15-20 years ago. Realtors (who make a good living off us) should be honest about this. They will list a home and then push for never ending price cuts. They get paid either way.
Many high end homeowners have had reevaluations to lower their taxes. When the village has it’s next town-wide tax reevaluation we will all pay for the decline in high-end home values. The village expense pie will be divided and the under $1 million taxes will go up. It’s not “just the cost of a Starbucks every day”.”
Matt Lindenberg says ,”I don’t know anyone on the BOE, and I’m not familiar with an RPDP. I’m just a private concerned citizen who respectfully believes that we’re better served when we hold our local elections in November when there is a demonstrated history of significantly higher turnout. My opinions are my own, and not pushed by the BOE or REA.
I know there are those who disagree, and I respect that. I’m willing to have a reasonable discussion of the issues if folks are willing to identify themselves (as I continue to do here) and chat like neighbors.”
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The 2019-2020 Ridgewood Public Schools budget will be voted on by registered voters in the Annual School Election on Tuesday, April 16.
The following links go directly to pages on the Bergen County website.
How to:
Register to vote
The registration deadline is 21 days before an election. The deadline for registering to vote in the Annual School Election (April 16) is Tuesday, March 26.
Vote by mail
A registered voter may apply for a Mail-in Ballot by mail up to seven days prior to the election, or apply in person until 3 p.m. on the day before the election. Mail-in Ballots must be postmarked no later than Election Day and received no later than 48 hours after polls close, or returned in person before the close of polls on Election Day. The deadline to apply by mail for a Vote-by-Mail Ballot for the Annual School Election (April 16) is Tuesday, April 9. The deadline to apply in person at the County Clerk’s Office for a Vote-by-Mail Ballot for the Annual School Election is Monday, April 15 at 3 p.m.
FAQs on voting
Answers to general questions on registering to vote and voting
Please note: The office of the Bergen County Superintendent of Elections is the primary source for full information on voting and elections. Please consult the Bergen County website for more information at https://www.co.bergen.nj.us/about-superintendent-of-elections.
photo courtesy of Saurabh Dani
Cris Kaufman’s only flaw is that he is not experienced at being a BOE member and he is not super polished in a venue like the “debate.” This is not a character flaw. Loncto is experienced because he has 7 years on the Board. I am sure Cris will know more in seven years. And Loncto had to READ answers after SEVEN YEARS of experience. Cris is natural, he is not scripted, he is enthusiastic, smart, involved, and he is a listener. I saw him at one of the coffees and he was aces in this less formal environment. Loncto, by the way, was appointed the first time and ran unopposed the second time so he never had to go through this debate scene EVER. Voting for Kaufman, no doubt about it. Loncto has to GO.
Thank goodness the Council appears to be planning legal action to block any attempt by the bozos at the BOE to move the school board election back to November.
It’s great in theory, voting on the budget, but in practice it does nothing.
Learn from history, the few times the budget did not pass the law says it goes to the village council for a vote.
Each time the village council passed the vote, under pressure from parents AND because the state mandates a budget must be passed by a certain date……. a date that is impossible to meet if 5 people who have lots of other responsibilities are now going to begin the budget process over all over again.
In other words — your vote is meaningless, that is why several years ago the vote was taken away from the citizens so that at least we could salvage the $$$$ spent on the meaningless vote.
The pressure from the teachers and the parents will be even stronger on the village council in this age or facebook rants and threats.
I caution newcomers….. nothing is as simple as it sounds, the state, the feds and all of the unions have all of the local boards and councils in NJ tied up so that they can achieve very little meaningful change……. if they wanted to.
Keep that in mind the next time you vote for a big government, free wheeling spending politician.
Hold on to your wallet. —- there’s a lot more coming with Murphy