Reaching out
Want proof that the internecine battle for the State Senate between Democratic incumbent Loretta Weinberg and the choice of the Bergen County Democratic Organization, Englewood mayor Michael Wildes, is heating up? Consider the steps that Senator Weinberg has recently taken to shore up support in one segment of the Teaneck community: through both words and deeds, Senator Weinberg is seeking to portray herself as an unwavering friend of Orthodox Jews. Loyal Suburbanite readers will have noticed a conciliatory letter from the Senator in this week's issue, in which Weinberg both critiques a recent New York Times article and its portrayal of tensions with Teaneck's Orthodox population and cites her long history of involvement with Orthodox causes. This week's New Jersey Jewish Standard also reports on Weinberg's recent efforts in Trenton to advance issues likely to be of interest to the Orthodox Jewish community including mandatory accomodations for religious observances and a bill "commending New Jersey’s investment board for investing in Israel Bonds and urging the continuance of such investments."
While the timing of these initiatives certainly suggests a conscious effort to win the votes of one particular constituency, there is no reason to suppose that Weinberg is speaking or acting at all insincerely. There is, however, a strong indication that she is preparing for the fight of her political life as she prepares to take on Joe Ferriero and the Bergen County Democratic machine.
Addendum: A reader points out one other factor that may be motivating Weinberg's recent actions- a piece in the March 2007 edition of the infamous Jewish Voice and Opinion takes aim directly at Weinberg and the comments she made in the Applebome article while pointing out to readers that her rival Mayor Wildes is "a member of the Orthodox community." Lovely.
posted by Teaneck Blog @ 12:40 PM
38 Comments:
Who sponsored the Appelbome article? The word on the street was that Loretta was behind it.
She was not behind it. Other people in town contacted Appelbome.
Anonymous, let's stop with the rumors. Contact Loretta's office and the Times and ask the question. Besides, I've heard that it was Gussen and Rudolph behind this article, as usual.
Word on the street is that the Sanator was behind the NY Times article. Quite frankly that was my thought as well when I read the story as well, but I do not know this for a fact. Perhaps we should all stop speculating and speak directly to Ms. Weinberg, Mr. Rudolph and Mr. Gussen.
Don't all three of them post here anonymously anyway?
The person who contacted the Times is not any of the usual suspects. Perhaps that person will come forward and identify him/herself to stop the rumor mill.
Loretta is useless
Bye Bye
About this "blogger named 'Dan'" mentioned in Susan Rosenbuth "piece":
Where did this "open letter" appear and (since there's speculation all around about "who is behind" things) who is behind this Dan and who is he?
We do know there's a pretty scurrilous "Dan" sending in his sniping dirt long-distance.
That's all well and good, but once again, as the bloggers here and the mayor himself have pointed out the debate is largely about improving the economic and social climate in Teaneck, not religion.
Who wrote that email in last years election. That john harris guy, maybe he caled the Times. He has a history of ******up.
Lorreta is old news, she is done.
I don't know, but I would almost be willing to bet my life that there are at least a couple people who work at the Times and live in Teaneck. If they also read the Suburbanite, talk to their neighbors or otherwise follow what's going on here, THEY could have been the ones to suggest the article.
Also the Times has reporters for whom New Jersey is their beat. They are supposed to be one the phone talking to people to get a sense of what's going on. There is no reason to think that ANYBODY specifically contacted the Applebome and/or the Times and said, "You should do a story on tensions in Teaneck over the growing Orthodox population." Especially since it can be seen as part of a series with towns on Long Island and in Monmouth County covered first.
This speculation over who was "behind" the article is really unproductive, unless your goal to to whip up resentment against Weinberg on behalf of the Ferriero ticket.
The question is who are we better off with, The richard nixon of Teaneck(Weinberg) or the joe lieberman of englewood(Wildes)
I like the idea of change. Ms Weinberg has let the Teaneck community down , failing to get us our fair share of $$$$$$$. Why would we continue with something that is BROKEN.
Since when has Joe Lieberman been an opportunistic fame-seeking huckster who claims credit for anything and everything and refuses to deal with Englewood's rampant corruption problems? There's no reason to believe that Wildes is in this for anything other than his foolish goals of higher office (see http://wildesforcongress.com/). He doesn't give a damn about Teaneck other than as a stepping stone.
Isn't Wildes the same person who printed an ad with a picture of JFK, implying that a man dead for over forty years was endorsing him for mayor????
Isn't Weinberg the same person who got onto the Teaneck Council in 1988, conned the people in District 37 to elect her Assemblywoman and then shafted the town by forgetting about it?
Any one who visits our neighboring Towns including Englewood, Paramus, Hackensack, Ridgefield Park, Tenafly, Fort Lee, Leonia, Palisade Park, and even Bogota, will not they are all flourishing. Teaneck alone is like a stunted tree--unable to grow but slowly attrophying. What has Loreeta Weinberg done in her political career to stop this from happening? The answer is she has done nothing. She is a boil on our body politic that has to be lanced lest it infect the host. Better do it now rather than wait four more years, when the decline in our business districts will turn to rot, and our taxes rise by anothet 10%. We can no longer afford to indulge her penchant for self glorification at the Township's cost.
Weinberg is committed to Teaneck and committed to staying in the Senate. Wildes is just manipulating his Orthodox supporters to help himself. Wildes doesn't care about Teaneck. Wildes cares only about himself. Buy the man a mirror and let him stare at himself all day. Save us all alot of wasted time and money.
I agree with the previous post that Lorretta Weinberg is committed to staying in the Senate but must take issue with the idea that she is committed to Teaneck. I've seen no supportive evidence thus far. I'm not orthodox and I will be voting for Michael Wildes.
Loretta Weinberg has represented Teaneck in the state legislature for more than 10 years. Can anyone name five significant achievements than can be attributed directly to Loretta Weinberg in these 10 years? Don't tell me the causes she has signed on to. Tell me five things that she has done.
Wasn't Loretta responsible for the backwards facing Stop & Shop building?
Now it's the library crumbling.
Tear the Municipal Dump down.Re-build a new complex with parking, shops and municipal services.
THE DEVELOPERS WANTED TO PUT IN A MIXED USE . LORETTA ,HER LATE HUSBAND IRWIN(REST IN PEACE) AND HER CRONIES FOUGHT HIM TOOTH AND NAIL. LOOK WHAT WE GOT INSTEAD.
ASK NEIL GOLD ,HE WILL FILL YOU IN ON THE DETAILS.....
SKYQUEEN THAT CONCEPT HAS BEEN GAINING SUPPORT. I LIKE IT
Plain and simple...
Vote Michael Wildes for Senate
I thought it kind of funny that she claimed the Orthodox walk in the street because there aren't sidewalks. Doesn't take much observation to see they walk in the street where the sidewalks are nicely maintained, too. Wonder what that's about?
As for Mr. Rudolph, I would not put it past him after hearing about his nice County work.
And re Loretta Weinberg, having been in office a while doesn't poison her as long as she's been doing what we want her to do. Change isn't always better. Such dismissive comments as "Loretta is useless. Bye bye." make me think perhaps Wildes would not be as good - especially given the rampant corruption in the local Democratic and Republican Parties. Whoever the County party leadership wants and rewards - is probably not a good choice.
... additional note.
"the debate is largely about improving the economic and social climate in Teaneck, not religion." Well, that's sort of true, but the Four Horsemen of the Council don't care about improving either one, just lowering their own taxes at everyone else's expense. I don't like the railroading of the new Master Plan, even with the slight schedule alterations to prevent the lynch mobs. I don't appreciate Rudolph being cinched into the local corruption machine withi the usual extra county job, and I don't appreciate the way development is being targeted. I don't think we're getting better, and I don't think the current council or Board of Ed have the citizens in mind when they're making decisions.
... additional note.
"the debate is largely about improving the economic and social climate in Teaneck, not religion." Well, that's sort of true, but the Four Horsemen of the Council don't care about improving either one, just lowering their own taxes at everyone else's expense. I don't like the railroading of the new Master Plan, even with the slight schedule alterations to prevent the lynch mobs. I don't appreciate Rudolph being cinched into the local corruption machine withi the usual extra county job, and I don't appreciate the way development is being targeted. I don't think we're getting better, and I don't think the current council or Board of Ed have the citizens in mind when they're making decisions.
PS> Please excuse the duplicate entry, my finger stuttered.
Who to say Loretta isn't just as corrupt as Joe?
Other then Jackie & Monica!
Anon 10:02pm wrote, “I thought it kind of funny that she claimed the Orthodox walk in the street because there aren't sidewalks. Doesn't take much observation to see they walk in the street where the sidewalks are nicely maintained, too.”
That is a fairly stupid comment. It’s tantamount to spewing that all African Americans play loud music. Totally ignorant. You simply cannot make blanket statements like that and expect anything else you say to hold any weight.
Do some Orthodox Jews walk in the street? Sure. As do some Christians, Catholics, Muslims, Conservative & Reform Jews, Seventh Day Adventists, Hindus, Quakers, Scientologists, Atheists, etc. (I apologize to any religion that I omitted. The omissions were not intentional.)
Is it right to walk in the street if and where there are level sidewalks available? Of course it isn’t. But not all Orthodox (the “They” you referred to) do it.
When you are driving, your eyes are drawn to the street, not the sidewalk. Accordingly, you are more likely to notice people walking in the street, rather than those on the sidewalk.
Allow me to relate a story of something that happened to me about a year ago. I was walking with my children on a Saturday afternoon. As there were no sidewalks, we were walking in the curb against traffic. We approached a started car with a driver and passenger in it. Not knowing if the car was about to pull out, I did – what I surmised was the responsible thing - and led my children onto the adjacent lawn and continued along. (We were not ripping up the lawn or trampling flowers. We were simply walking on the grass as close to the street as was possible.) Just then a lady started crossing the street to get into that same car admonished us, “You know it’s not right to walk on other people’s lawns.” That confused me. If I had continued around her idling car on the other side and into the street, would she have complained, “They (i.e., the Orthodox Jews) always walk in the street?”
The moral here is that there is no pleasing some people. (By “some people” I am not inferring anything about any specific group of people, unless you consider curmudgeonly idiots a race, religion or creed. If you fall into that category, I apologize.)
OK. So what is the correct pedestrian protocol for streets that have no sidewalks? Having grown up on a street without sidewalks, I always assumed that lawns were fair game.
Anon 1:08- Acts are only corrupt when the other side does it! I'm sure Loretta (& Valerie) never got anyone a job before!
While this is completely off the topic, the subject of walking in the streets has been brought up yet again. What is the deal with so many people in Teaneck not shoveling their sidewalks? I find it quite disturbing to see house where the driveways are cleared and the sidewalk is completely neglected.
These people should be issued fines! Issuing fines would be a win-win situation for Teaneck. Either people will start clearing the sidewalks so I do not have to walk in the street when I get off the bus or the town will bring in some extra cash and call it a Lazy Tax.
Michael Wildes couldn't possibly do worse by Teaneck than Loretta Weinberg already has. Not only will I vote for him, I'm seriously considering campaigning for him.
Allegations of corruption, back room deals and pay-to-play have been rampant in Englewood. Wildes is running as part of a Bergen County Democratic machine that is built on patronage and self-serving deals. Bergen County already pays the price for this type of corruption. Electing Wildes will just bring the same to Trenton. Wildes will be far worse for Teaneck and the entire district.
Loretta Weinberg has consistently stood up to Joe Ferriero and his machine, despite his underhanded efforts. Boss Joe has already stuck his slimy tentacles into Teaneck, interfering in our non-partisan government through laundered campaign contributions from front organizations. Anyone who would even consider giving a $95,000 a year job to a blithering ignoramis like Rudolph is someone to worry about. Pushing Wildes is just another part of this same crooked agenda.
You only have to look at the fraud that took place in Weinberg's election by the county committee to try to push Zisa into office. Looks like phony signatures were just the start. Someone like Weinberg with the guts and integrity to stand up to Joe Ferriero has my vote.
What has the Senator done for Teaneck???
I don't care about Weinberg vs Ferriero. They can fight amongst themselves for eternity. Ferriero himself isn't even a candidate. But since lots of bloggers act as if he's running against Weinberg, I would like to know, who has done more to aid Teaneck?
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