A Republican to Lead Them Friday, Mar 28 2008

    A Republican has plunged in to the Mayoral campaign in Atlantic City.  John McQueen, Jr. has announced his candidacy for the Republican Mayoral nomination.  We will be interviewing all of the Mayoral candidates - assuming that they are brave enough to answer our questions.  Here is Mr. McQueen’s press release.

McQueen For Mayor
P.O. Box 7327
Atlantic City, NJ 08404
Phone (609) 816-9275
E-mail jmcqueenjr@aol.com
 
    Those of us who have chosen to remain here in Atlantic City, and those who call Atlantic City home are a great people who reside in a unique city.   We reside in a city which is as diverse as the stars in the heavens above, and in this diversity there are certain commonalities which bind us to one another.   We all have a yearning for good, clean, and open government, clean and safe streets, and decreasing taxes to name a few.   Because of these ties which bind us, I believe in this election we can come together and bring about unparalleled economic, social and political change which will benefit us all in the present as well as future generations.   However in making these changes we must rid ourselves of the archaic thinking of the past and embark upon a path with sustainable and renewable results.
 
    It is because of this faith and belief in the people of Atlantic City, I John W. McQueen Jr. announce on this 24th day of March 2008 that I will seek the Republican nomination for the office of Mayor of our great city.   I further pledge to devote all of my efforts, any talents which I may poses to bring dignity, honesty and integrity to this office and to the people of Atlantic City.
 
    It is not my intention to appose any one man nor any one party but to offer new policies and a new direction for all.   Policies which will bring us together and a direction which over time will reduce our expenses and stimulate economic growth.
 
    As your Mayor within the first one hundred days I will implement the first “Municipal Alternative Fuel Facility” this project alone will save us millions of dollars in energy costs, thus reducing and ultimately eliminating the energy cost which now burdens our tax payers.   I will immediately begin to work with our council to phase in the use of Hybrid vehicles which are more maneuverable on our narrow streets and will further decrease our expenses.
 
    This is only a glimpse of our future and the future is bright if we are willing to make a commitment to change.
 
    Across this country of ours there is  train which is moving through every city and every state and this train is called change and its heading to Atlantic City, and the conductor of that train is a Republican. 

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It Is About Time Wednesday, Mar 26 2008

   Mayor Scott Evans is commended for installing an objective way to record city employee hours.  Biometric time clocks are installed in City Hall.  The new system replaces an antiquated sign-in sheet, which was often used to cheat taxpayers when employees signed-in for more hours than they actually work.

“I couldn’t believe they were still using sign-in sheets; that’s nuts,” said Evans. ” The great thing about this is it’s new technology, it’s reliable and it’s going to save us money. The potential savings that the system offers will far out-weigh the initial costs.”

We agree.  I had asked for this in my February column, Atlantic City’s Top 10 Political Priorities:

2. Encourage personnel efficiency. Some city departments do not have time cards. Hours need to be calculated more objectively than in sign-in books.

New time clocks is a good move by Mayor Evans.  He should now work to implement the other nine priorities I pointed out.

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One More Jumps in the Mayoral Fray Wednesday, Mar 26 2008

   Today’s Press of Atlantic City reports that Willie Norwood will be/is running for Mayor as an Independent candidate.

ATLANTIC CITY - Running for public office requires a very simple change for Willie Norwood. He types out the office he seeks and prints it out. He then cuts out that title and pastes it to a flier he made in the late 1990s, which simply declares himself as a candidate and features two aged pictures of him with Democratic U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg and former U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli.

Mr. Norwood might not want to be seen with The Torch, in light of Mr. Torricelli’s run-ins with the FBI.

   Michael Clark continues:

Norwood’s campaign will likely be run the same way as his others, insisting on getting questions answered and issues addressed by his fellow candidates Mayor Scott Evans, former Mayor Lorenzo Langford, Domenic Cappella, the city’s assistant business administrator, and independent Joseph Polillo.

There is also a Republican candidate, John McQueen, Jr., for Mr. Norwood to hold accountable.  I have enjoyed listening to Mr. Norwood on talk radio and wish him well in the election.  He is just a little too Socialist for my taste.

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Diverging in to Politics and Religion Monday, Mar 24 2008

   You are cordially invited to a talk I will be giving on the relation between religion and politics in Atlantic City.  Tuesday (tomorrow), 7pm, in the basement cafeteria of Our Lady Star of the Sea School, 15 North California Avenue.  The talk is Faithful Citizenship. 

   Come and learn what Catholicism has to offer the public square.  There is more information in Our Lady Star of the Sea’s bulletin.  Light refreshments will be served.  There will be time for discussion on the relation between religion and politics.

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Councilman G. Bruce Ward’s Proposed Smoking Ban Sunday, Mar 23 2008

Councilman G. Bruce Ward will introduce a total smoking ban for Atlantic City casinos.  The City Council meeting is this Wednesday, 26 March, 5pm in City Council Chambers. 

Associated Press reports:

Councilman Bruce Ward said Friday he will introduce a measure at next Wednesday’s council meeting to ban all smoking on the casino floor. He said three others on the nine-member council have said they will support the measure and that he is close to convincing a fifth member to sign on.

Councilman Ward’s proposal supposes that government can and should make business decisions on behalf of casino gaming.  It is peculiar that Councilman Ward would rather use the bully-power of the government, rather than the power of persuasion to convince casinos to ban smoking.

On Saturday, 22 March, the Smokers’ Rights Association of America was formed.  The SRA plans to protest Councilman Ward’s planned city government intrusion in to casino gaming.

We agree with SRA that the best thing City Council can do to “move the city forward” (quoting that too often uttered vague phrase) is to get out of casino gaming’s way.

You can contact Atlantic City Councilmen to dissuade them from supporting the smoking ban.

Councilmen At-Large:

   George Tibbitt, 609.347.5241, gtibbitt@cityofatlanticcity.org
   John Schultz, 609.347.5243, jschultz@cityofatlanticcity.org
   Eugene Robinson, 609.347.6491, erobinson@cityofatlanticcity.org

Ward Councilmen:

6th - Tim Mancuso, 609.347.5238, tmancuso@cityofatlanticcity.org
5th - Dennis Mason, 609.347.5233, dmason@cityofatlanticcity.org
4th - William Marsh, 609.347.5242, wmarsh@cityofatlanticcity.org
3rd - Steven Moore, 609.347.5230, smoore@cityofatlanticcity.org
2nd - Marty Small, 609.347.5231, msmall@cityofatlanticcity.org
1st - G. Bruce Ward, 609.347.5232, bward@cityofatlanticcity.org

The At-Large spots are up for grabs next year and all seats can be re-called because of people’s anger over the smoking ban.

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Atlantic City History: 1922 Camera Automobile Wednesday, Mar 19 2008

   Atlantic City used to make the headlines for things other than its political corruption.  Check out Modern Mechanix blog for the 1922 Camera Automobile. 

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Atlantic City Budget Graph: 1996 - 2008 Wednesday, Mar 19 2008

   View the budget graph.   The enormous size of the City’s budget is the single most important issue in the Mayoral election.  It is important to understand what the budget was under Lorenzo Langford, Bob Levy, Jim Whelan, & the budget proposed by Mayor Scott Evans.

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Atlantic City Tax Rates: 2000 - 2007 Monday, Mar 17 2008

     Have you ever wondered how the tax rate has changed for Atlantic City property owners?   Here are Atlantic City’s tax rates: 2000 - 2007.

    When you hear various Mayors speak about their fiscal policy, match what they say to what the tax rate was.  There are many other factors to consider, but when property owners receive their bill from the government, they are not too interested about the complexities of governance.  They worry about their total bill, the city’s tax rate, and the total city budget. 

   Our next post will be on the amount of the budgets from 1996 - 2008.

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No Personal Accountability Today Thursday, Mar 13 2008

   Losing money while gambling might join spilling coffee on one’s self as the top dumb things that people demand compensation from a third party.  Arelia Margarita Taveras is suing numerous Atlantic City casinos for $20 million.  The casinos crime is that they allowed her to gamble and lose her money.  I thought that that is the sole reason for casinos’ existence.

   If I were the judge, Ms. Taveras would be awarded no financial compensation for her loses.  I will add her to my prayer list - right next to AC Surf Manager Cecil Fielder - for those struggling with gambling addictions. 

   It is shocking that the Courts even take her lawsuit seriously.  The idea of individual responsibility, that people’s actions have consequences, is being lost.  One blogger, on the justbs.us forum,  has the right idea.  What Happened to Personal Responsibility? asks:

Am I the only one who has a problem with the growing issue of people not being able to take responsibility for their actions.

I’m sure she would have had no problem had she won a butt load of money.

I’m also sure that if she was on a roll, and they cut her off, because she was gambling for days on end, she would sue them for that too.

Amen. 

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Open Public Records Not A Big Deal For Mayor Scott Evans Thursday, Mar 13 2008

   Mayor Scott Evans does not have Open Public Records as a high priority.  We echo the sentiments of The Press of Atlantic City’s editorial board on 10 March:

Atlantic City Mayor Scott Evans is squandering an opportunity to open up the city’s government after years of back-room dealings that bred mistrust and abuse. Unfortunately, the city has not been alone in its attitude.

I have written to Mayor Scott Evans asking him to begin posting all public records on their web-site.  He has not responded.

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