The First Rule of Fight Club...

It has been more than two weeks since the fisticuffs erupted between Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow of Flemington and Raritan Township Committeewoman Chris Harcar on the Sunday evening before the June 5th primary. The Hunterdon County Republican Party was running phone banks at the Kuhl Corporation when the incident happened.

The issue is being investigated by the County Prosecutor’s office, and probed by top newspaper reporters throughout the state. Although all other primary races in the state have been settled by the will of the people, there is still no clear winner in this match as of yet.

“ The whole thing is surreal…if this goes on much longer, the Court should declare a no-contest, and demand a new brawl. The people deserve better than that and should have a clear winner,” said Mayor Peter “Petey” McPeters of Jersey Shore, NJ. McPeters is a fictious character and does not really understand any New Jersey governmental issues anyway. “I don’t care if I don’t exist, I think this whole fight thing is just nuts. Karrow and Harcar should shake hands like men and get it over with," continued McPeters.

There is precedent for courts calling for special elections to settle these issues. In Flemington, Democratic Councilman Mark Legato won a special election over his Republican opponent in February. And in May in Morris Township, Jeff Grayzel won his special election over his Republican opponent, also.

Those special elections were between members of opposing parties. “If another brawl is ordered by the court to settle the Karrow-Harcar matter, this would be the first time such an incident occurred in New Jersey,” continued the non-existent Mayor McPeters.

Meanwhile, back in real-life NJ, Karrow must definately understand the first rule of "Fight Club". The 911 tape of Karrow’s call to the police, had her stating that she wished "this whole incident dropped”. Harcar's real-life lawyer said he found such a statement "troubling".

More later as this surreal story continues.

Some Mayors have trouble with E.D.

“Hi, I am Mayor Peter “Petey” McPeters of Jersey Shore, N.J. And I have trouble with E.D. First off, I have no idea what E.D. is.”

Some mayors are not the brightest bulbs on the tree.

Mr. Mayor: E.D. is eminent domain, and it’s in the New Jersey Constitution as well as the US Constitution. The Mayor is the chief executive officer in a town, and has the power to appoint members of the various zoning boards, planning boards and boards of adjustment. And the Mayor must have a working rudimentary understanding of eminent domain in in order to appoint the right people to those boards.

Without that knowledge, the town can get themselves in to a mess o’trouble. This is especially so with yesterday's New Jersey Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain.

The Court made it tougher for towns to take land through eminent domain for private development. In the Star-Ledger today Public Advocate Ron Chen said, "It is going to go a long way to preventing eminent domain abuse." The story even made papers outside of NJ.

Some in the Senate disagreed, though, such as Senate Majority Leader Bernard F. Kenny Jr. (D., Hudson), who argued, “that eminent domain has long been used, especially by urban areas, to promote redevelopment” and that the rulling will “create a litigation nightmare in the state that will paralyze redevelopment."

As my Jewish grandmother would say, “Both are a little right. Let’s meet in the middle.” But she would say it in Yiddish, trying to break up a fight between two children.

In my town of Flemington there are several projects that could develop in one of two ways. One of them is the Flemington Cut Glass property, currently owned by Hunterdon County Freeholder George Muller. It could be torn down to make way for more condos, with more people, more families, more children, more traffic, and higher property taxes. That would make Freeholder Muller a nice payday, but impact the neighborhood negatively.

Or it could be turned in to a railroad station with a light rail that connects eventually to the New Jersey Transit Line to Newark and New York. That plan would include commercial development, parking, and a way directly in and out of Flemington --- that would increase the value of our residential properties.

Should eminent domain be used for such a project?

As my grandmother would say, “Both are a little right. Let’s meet in the middle.”

New Jersey and Stem Cell Research: Perfect Together.

New Jersey and Stem Cell Research are Perfect Together. But no thanks to Assemblyman Mike Doherty.

According to the Star-Ledger today, "New Jersey's drive to become a center for stem cell research advanced on two fronts yesterday: The state authorized $9.1 million to launch construction of a stem cell research lab and lawmakers agreed to ask voters to approve $450 million to bankroll research grants.”

However, Republican Assemblyman Mike Doherty voted to oppose the plan.

This is a man who questions the existence of global warming. He says that it “does not matter” if we believe in the science of evolution or creationism. It is disturbing that we have a representative in Trenton who does not believe in science.

In the past, folks such as Doherty would have been considered harmless crackpots who sometimes wrote letters to local newspapers or stood on street corners shouting at passersby that the world was ending next Thursday. But today, the Republicans nominate him to run for Assembly, and the folks in Warren and Hunterdon Counties actually elect him to represent our interests in Trenton. Yes, I am proud to say this is one of the people representing me in the state legislature.

NJ can be and should be a leader in the effort to make the benefits of stem cell research a reality. The economic benefits for New Jersey are many, too many to list here. The possible medical benefits of stem cell research are also too many to list here, but can be found on the website of Dr. Fred Ferrari, a local Republican and a stem cell research activist. Yes, folks, there are some thinking Republicans out there.

However, Mike Doherty is not one of them.