I hear what this person is saying. I was new to this village too a few years ago. I too made it to VC meetings, followed a lot of discussions on FB groups, was very interested in the well being of of my newfound “heaven” until I realized that this place tends to attract a lot of nuts who feel very strong that they need to turn this town into the neighborhood they came from. In the process I also learned that this place in the breeding ground of many political snakes who will do anything, ANYTHING to advance their party’s or personal agenda. I have learned that there are tons of dimwits who can very easily be taken advantage by of the political scum. Schools are led by politically motivated people, boards are populated with people who find it a hobby to play with residents money etc etc. So I have come to the point where I am slowly trying to get away from being so passionate about things. I follow this blog because most of the time it seems to attract people who know what they’re talking about.The future of Ridgewood is bleak in my opinion. If it would be possible financially I would leave this place in a heartbeat before ship starts sinking.
As a longtime resident I would like to extend my condolences or apologies to newer residents for the garbage campaign conducted by Harwin and Willett, inspired and driven by political operatives who are well known to us but shall remain nameless here. The bile and lies far surpass anything seen here before. The reason everyone is up in arms is that this is a nice town with an inclusive philosophy and they are tarnishing it. Their appalling behavior does not represent us. Please take a deep breath, vote on May 8, and we can return to normal.
This has been said before, but it seems we need to say it again. The Ridgewood Blog is the voice of the people. It is here, on this Blog, where people can speak their opinions without fear of retribution from the BOE, the police, their neighbors, or their enemies, or even their spouses. Honesty and truth prevail on the Blog.
Yes indeed we hear some racist comments on this Blog. Well, that is good to know. Not everyone in town is open minded. Yes, indeed we hear some bullying comments on this Blog. Well, that is good to know. Not everyone in this town is calm. We also hear a great deal of positive stories, supportive comments, articles about good things, etc. People might not notice these as readily as the negative commentaries, but they are here, every day, all the time.
On Facebook, everyone has a name and face attached to their posts. Therefore they might easily post what they think they want their neighbors-friends-enemies to hear, which could be completely false. Probably false more often than not.
On the Blog, honesty prevails.
We also know, for a FACT, that people like Jeff Voigt and Robert Carroll (aka Mr. Sonenfeld) and David Hauck (aka Mr. Gwenn) post anonymous slurs about elected officials who they do not like. What does this kind of activity tell us? It tells us that they are scum, which is good to know. Janice Willett, what a complete joke – she blames the Blog all the time, hell she even opened her remarks last night slamming the Blog……all of which tells us that she reads it daily and posts her own defensive comments regularly. Willett even posted a photo from The Blog on her lame campaign page. Albert the Pooch, remember how he used to have steam coming out of his ears about the Blog? That is because (a) he read it every day and (b) the truth about his unpopularity was posted by citizens. Paul Aronsohn once called the police about a posting on the Blog that he felt posed a “threat” to his pansy ass (it did not pose any such threat, but we learned that Aronsohn, like everyone else, is a Ridgewood Blogger). It goes on and on, ladies and gentlemen. The Blog is read by everyone and contributed to by everyone and favors no one and discriminates against no one.
Furthermore, we know that all allegations that certain people control the Blog are totally bogus. For example, that moron Alexandra Harwin states that Susan Knudsen is a contributor to The Blog. NOT. Mayor Knudsen is drawn and quartered on The Blog regularly. Why would she contribute? Boyd Loving, whose photographs often appear here from his Facebook page, is likewise torn apart by Blog posters on a regular basis. Even people that we know Jame Foytlin likes are eviscerated on here, like his old chum Siobhan Crane. Hell, people even tear James himself apart on a regular basis – do you think James would put up postings that slam him if he controlled the Blog. So, no one controls The Blog. It is a living, breathing organism that does its own thing, and above all it is dead honest.
I trust postings on The Blog far more than any I see on facebook. This is where you come to see what your friends and neighbors and enemies and elected officials really think.
Ridgewood Moms and Dads Facebook cuts people off the membership if they even look crosseyed at Harwin or Willett or Sonenfeld or Voigt. Ridgewood Jolt cuts people off who dare say anything about a local issue. Facebook pages that do not allow open membership are not honest – they are slanted echo chambers that provide nothing of substance. There are two FB pages that seem to allow everyone on – Moms and Dads with Free Speech and It Takes a Ridgewood Village. They seem to allow posts from both sides of “the house,” so to speak. Kudos to them. But, still, total honesty does not prevail there because people are cautious about saying what they really feel.
LONG LIVE THE BLOG
And let us not forget that we have essentially lost the local papers. The Suburban News and the Villadom Times are gone; The Record and The Ridgewood News might as well be.