April 28,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Dana Glazer posted in the Facebook group “It Takes a Ridgewood Village” of his ejection from the Women for Progress Facebook group:
Dear It Takes A Ridgewood Village Members,
I want to share that I have been removed by Erin Chung from her Women for Progress FB group for posting the below message.
I bring this to your attention not out of spite but to make you aware that not everyone who professes to progressive/democratic ideals is necessarily truly aligned with them and that they should be seen for who and what they are.
As you know, Ridgewood is having a Village Council election in a matter of days. Given that we have a non-partisan local government, the candidates should be evaluated on their own merits and not in relation to their national affiliations. I’m a strong supporter of Mayor Susan Knudsen because she has been nothing but honest, reliable and hard working in her stewardship of Ridgewood. Having interacted with her for several years now, I know her heart is in the right place and that she is a good and well-meaning person. So, for a candidate like Alexandra Harwin to oppose her with an intentionally disingenuous smear campaign to rile up Democrats against her and use our ‘Blue Wave’ as a weapon is flat out wrong.
Women For Progress has been working hard to support Ms. Harwin, ignoring Ridgewood’s non-partisan framework. That is misguided. But to do so with the knowledge of her tactics is to condone this wrongful behavior – and that needs to be addressed.
I hope that you will share this note with other Democrats in our area so that people can know the truth about the situation. Thanks for doing your part.
Sincerely,
Dana
_______________________________________________________
Fellow Progressives,
As a Ridgewood resident, I am deeply concerned about Women for Progress’ involvement in the upcoming Ridgewood Village Council election and how it could negatively impact our common goals for November.
Today I received a flyer in the mail from ‘Harwin for Council’ that grievously associates Mayor Knudsen with Nazism.
This is wrong.
This is not who we are as progressives, Democrats or frankly, Americans.
This is what we are fighting against: Trumpian smear tactics that viciously and falsely attack the character of the opposition.
In the same way that it is important to call out and denounce such tactics when it comes from the Conservative side, so too is it essential for us to speak out against a candidate who professes to have progressive values but chooses to use these same attacks.
To have Women For Progress associate with this candidate in any way will only damage the group’s reputation when it comes to November because to support such a candidate is to support an individual willing to go low to win – and that we cannot abide.
Thank you for your time and for doing the right thing by speaking against this wrongful behavior.