(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Oct. 27, 2010)
PERTH AMBOY — The City Council has scheduled a public hearing for 7 p.m. t oday at City Hall, High Street, on a proposed Ordinance to establish the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November as the date for the City of Perth Amboy’s non-partisan Municipal Elections, presently conducted in May, beginning in 2012.
The proposal would extend the terms-of-office for the current Mayor and Council members by six months.
The Council voted unanimously at its last meeting to introduce the Ordinance, which was moved by Councilman William Petrick, seconded by Councilman Kenneth Gonzalez and adopted 5-0 on first reading.
Councilman Fernando Gonzalez, who voted against the measure when it was considered on March 24, indicated that his “yes” vote was only “for first reading.”
During discussion at the Council Caucus before the regular meeting, Fernando Gonzalez urged his Council collagues to appoint a “citizens’
committee”
to analyze the full ramifications of the proposed change and report back to the Council before any further action is taken.
“I see no need to rush this,” he said. “There’s been no pressure from the public for this. I think community-input is important, and we’re talking-about two years from now. We have plenty of time.”
As part of the citizens’ committee’s charge, “it should look-into changing Perth Amboy’s form of government from Faulkner Act Plan B,” Fernando Gonzalez said.
“I say we should give them two months to have them come-back with a recommendation rather than have the City Council make this 10-year commitment unilaterally,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone here doesn’t want community-participation,”
Councilman Joel Pabon Sr. said.
“I was part of the process that established Faulkner Part B,” Fernando Gonzalez noted. “There was a lot of activity, Rutgers came-down, and we had an ongoing dialogue before taking-action.”
“You could still do that (discuss changing the form of government) while moving on the Ordinance,” Interim Business Administrator Gregory Fahrenbach said. “Keep-in-mind that this is an Ordinance, not a Resolution, so there must be a public hearing for citizen-input.”
City Clerk Elaine Jasko also confirmed that Perth Amboy’s candidates would be listed separately on the General Election ballot, and “would not be put-into the same place as the partisan candidates.”
“I respect and appreciate Councilman Gonzalez’s comments, but I’d like to see us take-action,” Kenneth Gonzalez said.
“I have full-faith in having you sit here an extra six months,” Petrick told Fernando Gonzalez. “I’d like to see this taken-care-of so we’re not sitting here with a $50,000 albatross around our necks.”
Billy Delgado, who unsuccessfully ran for Mayor in 2004, spoke-up in-favor of keeping the May election because “saving money is not an important-enough reason to tamper-with this.
“If you’re not getting-enough turnout, maybe yo’re not inspiring people to vote,” he said.
In March, the Council voted 3-2 to reject an identical Ordinance, following a public hearing. At that time, Fernando Gonzalez was joined by then-Council President Peter Jimenez and Councilman Kenneth Balut, who is now Council President.
Mayor Wilda Diaz, one of the measure’s strongest proponents, argued vehemently with Fernando Gonzalez over the measure at that time.
Diaz promoted the change as a means of saving election funding, estimated at $50,000, but Gonzalez pointed out that unlike Spotswood, then Middlesex County’s only other municipality with non-partisan elections in May, Perth Amboy would not achieve any savings until 2012, when Diaz, Balut and Fernando Gonzalez are up for re-election.
Spotswood’s governing body voted to change its non-partisan elections to November, leaving Perth Amboy with no other municipality with which to share some election expenses.
“I’m happy to save $50,000, but it’s not going to affect this year’s Budget,” Fernando Gonzalez said. “Why are we rushing-into it when we don’t save anything until 2012?
“We should take this time to dialogue,” he continued. “We’re not analyzing all of the ramifications of this new (state) law.”
Fernando Gonzalez pointed out that another part of the law, if the Ordinance is adopted locally, would block city residents from changing Perth Amboy’s form of government for 10 years.
He said that provision was adopted in January at the state level to preclude New Brunswick residents from launching another referendum to change that city’s form of government to allow election of Council members by wards, rather than at-large.
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