Vineland Mayor Perry Barse
VINELAND - The only debate in the mayor’s contest is underway in this south Jersey city of 58,000, which pits Mayor Perry Barse against police lieutenant Robert Romano and former school board president Nick Girone.
Two-term incumbent Barse just finished his opening statement in an event sponsored by the Greater Vineland Area Chamber of Commerce at the local Ramada.
"We have put 23 new police officers on the streets, seen job creation and economic development," said the mayor. "We have helped create 4,200 new full-time jobs, and presided over the redevelopment of downtown Vineland."
Romano opened up with an attack on the mayor in his first statement, arguing that the Barse administration has been bogged down in legal troubles, including a challenge to the city’s Master Plan, which resulted in a judge scrapping the plan due to lack of public transparency.
"We haven’t won a major lawsuit since this administration has come in in 2000, that’s where we’re losing money," said Romano.
Girone used his opening statement to discuss his professional background as a business administrator and his public service experience as former school board president and former county planning board member.
Marcellus Jackson, who resigned his seat as a Passaic City Councilman after admitting that he took $26,000 in bribes from an undercover FBI agent, ... >
The financial debacle on Wall Street may change many things. Our international power, standard of living and individual security might all ... >
Joe Biden promises to impose Catholic dogma upon the country, and calls it "patriotic". >
The NJ 101.5 radio debate scheduled later this month was one Frank Lautenberg quickly agreed to - in fact his campaign was the first to confirm its ... >
The sub prime mortgage melt down and its ensuing financial “crisis” has tested the mettle of all of us who believe in and support the free ... >
For the past few weeks, I've watched with fascination as politician after politician have appeared on a beach or a boardwalk and declared their ... >
To view a larger version of this cartoon, click here. >
Senator John McCain insisted that he and Senator Barak Obama should go on the road for a host of town hall meetings to discuss the issues in a ... >
According to a Fairleigh Dickinson poll, Senator Frank Lautenberg leads Lobbyist Dick Zimmer by 16 points, 50-34 percent. Fourteen percent say ... >
While New Jersey suffered from a crippling structural deficit, politicians created a slush fund to dole out tax dollars for their own personal gain.
... >
As I drove home from a VP debate party on Thursday night, I surfed radio talk shows and heard countless callers say that Governor Palin ‘won’ the ... >