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Ridgewood Council Candidate Bernie Walsh :”The reporter was demanding my age – like that matters in an election”

Village Council Candidate Bernie Walsh

pic of Bernie on the 84th Floor Freedom Tower 

May 7,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Village Council Candidate Bernie Walsh comments on Ridgewood News reporting of the elections, “So my experience with the Ridgewood News this week. And the ensuing poorly written article. The reporter was demanding my age – like that matters in an election. Told me he had no opinion of what happens in Ridgewood because he lives in Wayne – even though he works and reports here every day. Talked to me for over a half hour and put three totally out of context quotes in the article. I was the one who kept telling everyone they were wrong that the Ridgewood News could be unbiased. In my 51 years (yes I finally told him my age) I’ve never seen such horrible journalism. Oh and by the way, he had no idea about many of the items I referred to in our conversation. Hopefully, he’ll know more before he writes any more articles.”

Folks the Ridgewood blog would welcome the opportunity to host any letters in support of candidates ,even on election day it self email onlyonesmallvoice@gmail.com Fyi the blog traffic nears 20,000 unique visits per month thank you

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Why you should vote next week for Ridgewood Council

Mike Sendon

Please vote on Tuesday, May 10, for:

ROW 1            Jeffrey VOIGT

ROW 4            Bernadette COGHLAN-WALSH

ROW 6            Ramon M. HACHE

For many decades, busy Ridgewood residents could safely ignore municipal elections, if they chose (and many always have), confident that whoever won would govern appropriately and benignly. Too many elections; why bother?

But “politics as usual” has been redefined over the past four years.

Our direction has been forcefully pushed toward overdevelopment and fundamental changes that would forever alter our landscape and quality of life. Developers are gaining an increasingly strong foothold, as they push projects through, encouraged by a specific ordinance introduced by former mayor (now municipal judge, appointed by the current mayor) David Pfund, a willing “council majority,” and board, committee, and commission members appointed to promulgate their views. We are watching the results of a carefully orchestrated long-term plan come to fruition, and we are appalled.

What happens to the voices of residents when a majority platform follows a clearly articulated mandate to vote in tandem on every issue, especially on downtown housing and other building, regardless of increasingly vocal citizen alarm? In a democracy, with citizen participation, consensus moves government forward. In contrast, predetermined, preemptive voting blocs such as the outgoing council trio’s can destroy towns like ours. They have already turned neighbor against neighbor, perhaps part of the grand plan, while fomenting an unprecedentedly toxic atmosphere.

Unless three independent voices join the two continuing council members’, next Tuesdaycould mark our last chance to redeem our village. That may sound hyperbolic, but it’s not. We are on a precipice.

The stakes in this election are higher than ever because of the potential tremendous financial gain of developers who support the trio bloc and their would-be replacements at the ultimate expense of and detriment to Ridgewood and its residents. Our opportunity to protect the value of our town and our votes is waning. If we fail to act now, we will face higher taxes, overcrowded schools, endless construction with accompanying disruption, and a condensed high-rise downtown with worsened traffic and loss of our village context.

With a dearth of buildable space, developers here and throughout the state are pressing for higher density in towns such as Ridgewood. The benefit would accrue to them, not to the taxpayer, who would provide their clients with the amenities of a lovely low-scale village (as long as it lasts). This is “progress”?

We must consider the consequences of development on every aspect of our community, not focus on retailers who understandably crave more sales and diners. Our economy is downsizing, not expanding; retail malls are waning; online retail is growing. All this makes our small-town feel all the more appealing and rare. We are lucky to have it; why destroy it now?

If you are among the countless residents who feel powerful affection for the Village and wish to retain its small-town atmosphere, please make your voice heard by voting in next week’s municipal election.

As council members Paul Aronsohn, Albert Pucciarelli, and Gwenn Hauck step down, three candidates are being groomed to take their place as the new “council majority.” The sponsored candidates are openly running as a team, with a shared group name and branding created by a professional campaign consultant.

They are supported by developers and by outgoing council members, two of whom published separate signed letters of endorsement in last Friday’s Ridgewood News. They are not supported by any grassroots groups in town.

Do we want another four years of watching three council members make almost every decision, elbowing out the other two?

Some residents feel fatalistic and burned out. They assume we’re doomed to face a Valley Hospital nearly doubled in size…an enormous parking garage and rampant high-density housing that exacerbate congestion in our streets and crowding in our schools…and more.

These things may happen, but they are not inevitable—depending in part on who wins the council election next Tuesday.

Valley Hospital:
The Planning Board recently agreed to a reduction by only 3% in Valley Hospital’s proposed expansion. But as many do not realize, Valley sued not only the Planning Board, but also the Village Council, in a separate lawsuit. (One of the two council members appointed to a mediation team by Mayor Paul Aronsohn was former Valley Auxiliary Vice President Gwenn Hauck.) The next council will make many decisions related to this. They could rescind the legal appeal, for example, and revert to Valley’s previous (2010), larger expansion plan, or resist and demand more concessions. Which would you prefer?

We must remain vigilant for Graydon:
Comments on Facebook and elsewhere suggest that keeping Graydon natural is never a “given.” The park must not be used for new building, such as apartments or a school, because of underlying natural springs, severe area flooding, and many other reasons. But LET’S JUST NOT GO THERE. Coghlan-Walsh, Hache, and Voigt would not argue “fiscal responsibility” to harm Graydon.

GarageMahal:
The group supporting the other three candidates has made support for a specific parking garage design their rallying cry. It should not be such a big deal, but they’re making it one. What’s neglected is that “our” candidates all support building a garage at Hudson and Broad. They just don’t want it to be so enormous and expensive.

On Monday, those promoting the new voting bloc held a “rally” for their chosen candidates in the room of a local restaurant in a building partly owned by a developer. This get-together was originally called a “candidates forum.” The terminology shifted when only the three developer-/council-majority-sanctioned candidates signed up to attend.

Reason: The quid pro quo for attendance was to sign a pledge to approve, “immediately,” a certain version of the parking garage and its funding, even though the garage will be the subject of a referendum in a special election on June 21. Click here for details about the “pledge.”   Among the email invitations to the renamed “rally” were those issued on Saturday by our deputy mayor over his law firm’s logo.

The three candidates endorsed by us and by Concerned Residents of Ridgewood, Citizens for a Better Ridgewood, Friends of Schedler, and (new!) the Ridgewood Chinese American Association and the Ridgewood Blog had no intention of running together, and are not a “team.” Coghlan-Walsh, Hache, and Voigt retain their independent views and share no logo, tag line, or predetermined plan or alliances. 30-second video by resident Dana Glazer

I can’t stand by and let the old voting bloc be replaced by the new voting bloc without saying anything. Ramon Hache, Bernadette Coghlan-Walsh, and Jeff Voigt are intelligent, honest, and most important, independent thinkers. They are not running mates, although it might seem that way, since the three other candidates have been lashed together by themselves and others as a “team.” I know how the “team” story ends, as do many other residents. That’s why I fully support Ramon, Bernadette, and Jeff in the May 10th election. They will respect and listen to all residents, as good stewards of the Village should.

Michael Sedon
Councilman, Village of Ridgewood

To preserve and protect Ridgewood, moving forward cautiously and thoughtfully toward a well-planned short-term and long-term future, please vote on Tuesday, May 10, for:

ROW 1            Jeffrey VOIGT

ROW 4            Bernadette COGHLAN-WALSH

ROW 6            Ramon M. HACHE

Polls will be open from 6 AM to 8 PM.

MEMORY JOGGER: Vote for the 3 candidates with tiny slogans in three languages above their names on the ballot. You can vote to protect Ridgewood’s future even if you can’t remember their names!

https://tinyurl.com/may10election

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Ridgewood Council Candidate Evan Weitz Signs Litter Paramus

Ridgewood Council Candidate Evan Weitz Signs
April 29,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Perhaps Evan Weitz hasn’t lived here long enough to realize that he’s plastering Paramus with his signs? Maybe if he ever once attended a council meeting or visited the village hall he could familiarize himself with a map of our great village.

IMG 5227

His disrespect for our village-it’s look and feel, are evident in his decision to place signs in planters and leave them there no matter what residents feel about it. I mean, this is the man who has no problem with the rest of the town going to pot.

They’re placed in the PSEG Right of ways on Grove and at the exits to 17.Wonder if the person he has out doing his bidding (because we know he’s WAY to busy with his JOB and kids- that’s why he has never voted here, right. Amazing someone has actually voted LESS times than Janice Willet!!!!)

We wonder if who’s placing these signs is the same troll who is ripping DOWN all the Walsh, Hache and Voigt signs….?
Cameras everywhere these days, folks!!

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Ridgewood Needs a House Cleaning

Ridgewood_-Village_Hall_theridgewoodblog
April 24,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, to some this will seem like old news that Paul was going to make a statement at the mic at the close of the League of Womens Voter Candidate Night and was shut down by the moderator . However many may be unaware Mayor Aronsohn was going to make a totally inappropriate statement regarding how wonderful Roberta Sonenfeld was as the Village Manager and then he was going to ask all six candidates if they would support keeping her on.
The league knew he was planning to say something and we were confident that the moderator would allow questions only and might have intervened anyway but the moderator was adhering to the format and when Mayor Aronsohn came to the mic, she closed public comment to move on to closing statements.
After the May 10th election the Village needs a massive house cleaning ,to clear the Village of all personnel who are paid by the taxpayers of Ridgewood who harbor under some confused notion that they work for some one else . If you work for the Village of Ridgewood   you work for the Residents of Ridgewood period, you do not work for Valley Hospital, you do not work for the Hudson County Democratic Political machine , you do not work for the mayor, developers  or any other special interest group . It is time for many to focus on their resume and move on .
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Ridgewood Mayor’s house the only house on the street with Brooks, Willett, and Weitz signs out

ridgewood mayor paul aronsohn house

April 22,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Driving down Linwood this morning and I was able to pick out the mayor’s house because it was the only house on the street with Brooks, Willett, and Weitz signs out.

Funny how he was able to make the determination to support the three candidates that will continue the destruction of the town.

The lack of judgment is astounding but par for the course.

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Jeff Voigt : it is time for Ridgewood to move on from the policies and ways of doing business that have existed under the Current Mayor

Jeff Voigt Ridgewood

April 22,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood Nj, Council Candidate Jeff Voigt reflects on the League of Women Voters Candidates . Jeff told the Ridgewood blog ,”Night It was great to see so many residents turn up for the debate.  It really shows how concerned and involved we all are in our Village on where we are headed.  Secondly, the questions posed by the LWV provided to us and; as well those asked and not revealed were spot on – they hit all the key issues.  It was a great opportunity for us to state our positions and how we think about these issues.”
Jeff went on ,”I would personally say hats off to both Bernie Walsh and Ramon Hache – they both did a really nice job.They would represent the interests of our Village well.  If all three of us were elected, we would think about issues independently and critically and; come up with solutions that were best for the Village.  As well we would complement Susan Knudsen and Mike Sedon on the council.”

Summing up evening Jeff said ,” I found it almost fitting that at the end of the night Mayor Paul Aronsohn was not allowed to ask a question – almost as if this current Council majority was being silenced.  I know this was not intentional by the moderator, but it sent a rather strong message to the audience and those listening – that it is time for our Village to move on.   This also means our moving on from the policies and ways of doing business that have existed and; unfortunately would be replicated if Evan Weitz, Janice Willet, and Richard Brooks replaced them (and who are all actively supported by Paul Aronsohn).”

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Out of Ridgewood on May 10th use a “Mail In Ballot” for the Village Council Election

VOTE_theridgewoodblog

If you know you will not be here on May 10th to vote or have family members (i.e., college students) who are not home, go to this link to request a Mail-In Ballot.

https://www.state.nj.us/…/vote-mail-ballot-bergen-english.pdf

 

2012 Ridgewood Election Results
Albert J. Pucciarelli – 2078

Keith Killion – 1711

Rissell R Forenza – 817

Paul Aronsohn – 2479

Mary Jane Shinozuka – 1484

Gwenn H Hauck – 1727

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Reader says Time to take Back the Village of Ridgewood from Special Interests

Abraham Godwin Ridgewood

There has been no better opportunity than now to unite all Village neighborhoods. Citizens for a Better Ridgewood has its roots on the West Side and favors slower growth in high density housing. The Concerned Residents of Ridgewood is based in the Travel/BF/Somerville neighborhood and favors a smaller-scale modernization effort by the Hospital. Friends of Schedler are in the neighborhoods east of Route 17 and favor preserving the woodlands on that property. Most recently, a group of tax payers from all over town that favors a 4 level garage over a 5 level garage has successfully petitioned to bring that issue to a vote.

After 4 years of a “Council majority” that has claimed to know what’s best for the rest of us and has insulted anyone that has disagreed with them, it looks like we might actually be able to take the town back from special interest groups and Council members with personal agendas.

Candidates Bernie Walsh, Jeff Voight and Ramon Hache have the very unique opportunity to unite these neighborhoods in our quest to preserve our property values and the charm of our Village. Please vote for them on May 10.

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Reader says Councilwoman Hauck, Mayor Aronsohn, Deputy Mayor Pucciarelli, and the Village Manager are behind this unfortunate development in Ridgewood

signs in Ridgewood

Political signs in the village-owned planters and in the sidewalk cutouts (for the shade trees) in the Central Business District were unheard of in Ridgewood until someone (as yet unidentified) paid to have the “Vote Yes” signs printed, assembled, and distributed around the Village last Fall in time to influence the Parking Garage vote. And now we are told that there is some kind of regulation in place for political signs that permitted these kinds of signs to be put up in this manner?

What is the text of that regulation as it appears today? How did it appear last fall when the “Vote Yes” signs were erected? What earlier iterations of that regulation existed by which these kinds of shenanigans were completely prevented in the past? Or are we just now seeing the results of a creative interpretation on an old, unchanged regulation by an enterprising new election lawyer or cynical political operator? If that regulation was changed in such a way as to permit or encourage this kind of nonsense, what was the “before” and “after” of this change, and exactly how and when did it occur?

The guiding hands of Councilwoman Hauck, Mayor Aronsohn, Deputy Mayor Pucciarelli, and the Village Manager so clearly appear to be behind this unfortunate development that nobody should ever accept an explanation that does not implicate them. If we want to revert back to a non-partisan form of local government, which we are supposed to be guranteed under the Faulkner Act, nobody that supported the Three Amigos in their misbehavior in recent years, or who is currently receiving political support from them, should ever be elected to Village Council, even by mistake.

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The Ridgewood News Will only be Printing and Candidate Endorsement Letters the Next 2 Issues

Reading_theridgewood_news_theridgewoodblog
April 16,2016
the staff of the Rmidgewood bog
Ridgewood Nj, the Ridgewood blog has learned that The Ridgewood News will NOT print any endorsement letters to the editor on the Friday before the election (May 6th). Apparently, the editor wants to be able to put a correction in on May 6th, if any information in endorsement letters are challenged.
So there are only 2 weeks left for endorsement letters (April 22 & April 29). I have no idea if they will be fair in their # of letters per candidate, but based on my experience with this new editor, I doubt there will be anything fair about it. I suggest getting letters in this weekend for next weeks paper.

As for the Ridgewood blog , we will be excepting letters of endorsement all the way till the May 10. Please proofread and spell check.
They will be posted unedited . Email PJ Blogger at onlyonesmallvoice@gmail.com  .
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Ridgewood Mayor Aronsohn endorses….?

Ridgewood Village Council Election
photos courtesy of Melanie McWilliams
April 14,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Perhaps some residents Leaving the village hall Couldn’t help but notice the mayors car had some pretty distinctive campaign information strategically placed in the rear window.

IMG 4937 e1460633578543

Please take these events serious only a few votes in 2012 launched the Village into this disastrous mess.

2012 Ridgewood Election Results
Albert J. Pucciarelli – 2078

Keith Killion – 1711

Rissell R Forenza – 817

Paul Aronsohn – 2479

Mary Jane Shinozuka – 1484

Gwenn H Hauck – 1727

Final voting registration for the May 10th Municipal Election is April 19th.  To register to vote, individuals may register in the Village Clerk’s office from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM or in the Ridgewood Library Lobby on April 19th from 4:30 PM to 9:00 PM.

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Ridgewood Village Manager Sonenfeld: Do as we say, not as we do

Village_Manager_Roberta_Sonenfeld_theridgewoodblog
file photo by Boyd Loving
April 12,2016
Boyd A Loving
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Blog has just learned that employees of the Village’s Streets and Parks Departments have been ordered to remove any campaign signs, specifically those belonging to Ramon Hache, found erected on Village owned properties.

This bizarre directive comes just months after many Village owned properties were literally plastered with “Vote Yes For Parking” signs and Village Attorney Matthew S. Rogers indicated that there was NO LOCAL ORDINANCE that prohibited the erection of election related signage on Village owned properties.

So Ms. Sonenfeld, if there is NO LOCAL ORDINANCE THAT PROHIBITS THEM FROM BEING ON VILLAGE OWNED PROPERTIES, why are Mr. Hache’s campaign signs being torn town by Village employees?

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NJ Law states that a conflict of interest need not be financial in nature but merely a perception of partiality to the issue in question

Readers say , “no money need change hands for a conflict of interest to exist. It even looks worse when you see it all in writing. NJ Law states that a conflict of interest need not be financial in nature but merely a perception of partiality to the issue in question. This is clearly more than a perception, it is a reality. Gwenn morally should have recused herself but since she hasn’t , the Council should have asked her. It is their right and also protects the reputation of the governing body.

Ms. Fraser was more than an employee of Valley, but also an officer. And yes, she was already an officer at the time of the donation.

Can anybody donate to a cause they approve of? Sure. But Ms. Hauck was running for a representative elective office that was going to make important decisions about the hospital. Even merely to protect her from any taint of a conflict (political donations are in the public record), most people would not donate to the campaign. The fact that that happened was one of many indications of how confident they were about being immune.

Regarding Bernie Walsh, I don’t get it. Any candidate can express an opinion. That means she never pretended to be neutral. or lied to get votes, unlike some. And no money changed hands.

Ms. Fraser is of course entitled to her opinion but would have done better to protect her favored candidate by not donating to her campaign. Council members of a different stripe might have urged such a person to recuse. The killer is that recusal is entirely a matter of conscience.

As for Mr. Albano, why do you think a call was made (in my opinion, not an email message) to Mike Sedon’s employer claiming a “conflict of interest” (which did not exist) to try to force him choose between his job and his council candidacy, leaving the field open to candidate Albano?

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Ridgewood : OUR WAKE UP CALL

3 amigos in action Ridgewood NJ

OUR WAKE UP CALL

April 6,2016

DS

If the events that transpired last night do not shake your faith in the sham of a process that has transpired, nothing will. We are being held hostage by an institution that is engaging in a scorched earth policy against Ridgewood. They do not want to be a good neighbor and it is clear they would rather destroy our neighborhood than offer any real compromise.

I’m extremely disappointed that the majority of PB members did show a spine. I understand their concerns but we have to be firm in our resolve that this is not right for Ridgewood and we will continue to fight. What is the point of a Planning Board that can’t plan???

I’m sure many of you realize this, but if you haven’t made the connection yet to the Valley expansion, Garagezilla, and the increase in allowed housing density in town, let this be clear: any judge and court will. Therefore, even if you haven’t signed the garage petition yet, please consider doing so. We need to show the courts and other interested parties that we aren’t going to cause self inflicted wounds first in order to help prevent a hospital that will triple in size in a residential neighborhood.

Secondly, the upcoming VC election is more important than ever. We need to get strong defenders of our town in place because clearly the troika in charge of this town has had their own agenda. Please consider supporting Bernie Walsh and Jeff Voight in May.

Thank you.

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Gwenn Hauck endorses Richard Brooks for Ridgewood Village Council : “Kiss of Death”

gwenn hauck

Will this be the “kiss of death” for Richard Brooks?

April 9,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood Nj, Is Richard Brooks Campaign for Village Council over before it started?  Richard Brooks the husband of Ridgewood Planning Board attorney Gail Price who seemed to have been more interested in representing Valley Hospital than the Village of Ridgewood and who’s stewardship led to Valley getting everything they wanted with no compromise in a mediation settlement .

Now to make matters worse for the Brooks campaign,  the conflict of interest councilwomen of the year Gwenn Hauck who is so intertwined with Valley Hospital she can not seem to remember whether she got a check or gave a check , whether she paid her property taxes or as some allege is responsible for the mass murder of  wood turtles ,an endangered species;  has endorsed him.  Apparently Gwenn has looked up from her ipad for a brief second and seen the light.

While some will say it was nice of her to take a break from ranting against Ridgewood residents , while others suggest that Gwenn suffers from a mild case of  “foot in the mouth” disease and the Brooks endorsement is just more of the same .

Our modest suggestion is that perhaps Gail should sharpen up those resume skills , but on the other hand Valley might be hiring.

How anyone could support a candidate who is being endorsed by Gwen is beyond our comprehension :

https://www.gwennhauck.com/views/richard-brooks-for-ridgewood-village-council/