Steve Lonegan Coming to Atlantic City Saturday, May 30 2009

Steve Lonegan will be in Atlantic City today (Saturday, May 30). Mr. Lonegan is visiting all 21 counties on a Victory Lap of New Jersey. The Atlantic County stop is at the Irish Pub in Atlantic City, on St. James Place, at the foot of the Boardwalk, from 7pm – 9pm. The event is free and you are invited to attend. You are also free to make a contribution to “Lonegan for Governor,” if you are so inclined.

Steve Lonegan will be joined by Derek Brown, who is running for Atlantic County Freeholder At-Large, Joe Nickels and Sue Sandman, who are running for Republican State Committeemen, Myself, an Atlantic City Mayoral candidate, and my team of City Council At-Large candidates Lan Dang, Sharon Zappia, and Bob Willman.

Steve Lonegan will point out how New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been the fastest growing government agency in the country over the last decade.   The DEP has mandated Atlantic City’s sand dune height, ruining the view of the Ocean from the Boardwalk.

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Democrat Primary – City Council Candidate Notes Saturday, May 30 2009

The Democrat City Council At-Large candidates will appear as follows on the primary ballot:

 

George Tibbitt
(Photo credit – http://www.fannielouhamer.info/sitebuilder/images/new_jersey_IV-476×564.jpg)

Frank Gilliam
“Mo” Delgado
Nashir U. Sheikh

Durwood Pinkett
(Mr. Pinkett is in the middle in the back, Photo Credit – http://www.acweekly.com/images/issues/2007-10-11/large/img_7470_redwelling_2.jpg) 

Fareed Abdullah
Joseph Hicks

Eugene Robinson
(Photo Credit – http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0gyWcxg5U216u/610x.jpg)

Earnest Coursey
(Mr. Coursey is third from left walking in front row, phto credit – http://www.fannielouhamer.info/sitebuilder/images/new_jersey_IV-476×564.jpg)

 

Keisha Bey, (Marty Small,) & Dafiq Rasheed
(Photo credit – http://www.dafiqrasheed.com/Dafiq_Rasheed_For_City_Council/News_files/photo.jpg)
Rizwan Malik

 

Carol Ruffu
(Ms. Ruffu is on the far right, photo credit – http://www.fannielouhamer.info/sitebuilder/images/new_jersey_IV-476×564.jpg)

(Feel free to leave your own comments and thoughts on the election.)

Here are some notes from the campaign trail.   The Lorenzo Langford supporters I encounter are satisfied with his two Council running mates, “Mo” Delgado and Frank Gilliam.   Those supporters are more pleased with “Mo” Delgado, due to his name recognition and speaking ability, yet are satisfied with both.  

Although George Tibbitt is on Lorenzo Langford’s ticket, there are people working for Mr. Langford, who are encouraging Earnest Coursey to be the third vote for City Council.   This phenomenon coupled with George Tibbitt’s popularity adds doubt to what would otherwise be a no-brainer, no-contest re-election for the lone incumbent (Mr. Tibbitt) in a crowded field.

Neither Rizwan Malik, nor Nashir U. Sheikh have appeared at any community forums (to my knowledge).   Mr. Sheikh has a formidable 8-1/2 x 11 flier campaign around town. 

Dafiq Rasheed has impressed many older voters.   Because of the crowded field and the presence of many new faces, there is a desire to pick at least one younger candidate to carry the torch.   For those looking for at least one younger candidate, Mr. Rasheed is the lead choice.   He also introduces new technology to Atlantic City campaigns, second only to the Republican mayoral candidate.   Here is Mr. Rasheed’s Twitter link.

Keisha Bey gives a heart-touching speech at community forums on the gunshots that she and her son have heard from their home.

“Mo” Delgado is undoubtedly the best public speaker in the crowd.

Carol Ruffu has myriad experience and has been well-received at the community forums.   She enjoys sharing the fact she is descended from a previous Atlantic City Mayor.

Earnest Coursey has painted himself as the candidate with the most elected experience.

I was thoroughly impressed by Durwood Pinkett and disappointed to see him depart the race.   I suspect he will play a large role in the Atlantic City political landscape for years to come.   According to the Press of Atlantic City, Mr. Pinkett and Eugene Robinson are the two candidates, who have dropped out, but will still appear on the ballot.   I wonder what happens if one of the two is elected?

Frank Gilliam claims to have been honored for his criminal justice work in South Africa.

Joseph Hicks has made personal responsibility the cornerstone of his campaign.

Fareed Abdullah was removed from Lorenzo Langford’s ticket and is now collaborating with David Tayoun.   Mr. Abdullah’s main issues are increasing youth programs and addressing police brutality.

(The candidates without photographs did not yield photographs through Google image search.)

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Confusing City Council Race Saturday, May 30 2009

Today’s Press of Atlantic City features the latest curve ball in what has become the most confusing City Council election ballot in recent memory.   Emily Previti writes:

Rizwan Malik is a real estate investor who owns properties in Atlantic City, Ventnor and Egg Harbor City. But it’s unclear where he lives.

The 45-year-old registered to vote in 1997 at an Arctic Avenue address. Despite several neighbors and tenants’ assertions that he is a landlord and does not live there, he has insisted he still lives in a unit at 2419 Arctic Ave. and rents out the rest as well as all units in 2421 Arctic. He bought the structures in 2001 and 2003, respectively, according to property records.

His wife used an address on the beach block of Oxford Avenue in Ventnor when she registered to vote in 2004, the same year Malik bought the three-story, single-family house, according to voter registration and property records. Phone listings show him living there, too, at the same number for a sporting goods business he started in 1998, according to property records.

A Press of Atlantic City reporter encountered the conflicting information in trying to contact Malik for a candidate profile.

Malik declined to comment on who lives with him at the Arctic Avenue property he calls home.

I sat next to Mr. Malik and Scott Evans’s lady-friend during Mr. Evans’ selection as one of three Mayoral nominees to fill Bob Levy’s vacancy during the AC Democrat Committee meeting at the UAW Hall in Chelsea Heights.

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Pinky Kravitz Featured in New York Magazine Wednesday, May 13 2009

Mr. Kravitz is featured in New York Magazine.

(Photo Credit Pinky Kravitz / New York Magazine)

We moved here when I was 6. I went to Atlantic City High School. It was a great time. The boardwalk was the place to be. The Steel Pier offered vaudeville shows with big names; we had the circus down at the end of the pier, and we had a dance hall with big bands like Benny Goodman. There was a bowling alley on the boardwalk; my first job, when I was 11, was as a pin boy picking up the pins. On Easter Sunday, people would be there in their finest clothes. You would have 300,000 people walking the boardwalk. Al Jolson came here, all the Ziegfeld performers. We were the tryout town for a lot of Broadway. There was gambling, but it was illegal; nightclubs had back rooms with a peephole. In the fifties, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis got together at the 500 Club. The Beatles came in 1964 and played the Steel Pier. They had to put them in a fish truck in order to get them through the crowd. I went to every Miss America pageant, but they didn’t modernize. The first casino, Resorts, opened in 1978. Trump came in and helped to revitalize with three hotels: the Hilton, Trump Plaza, and the Taj Mahal. Then he lost interest. In the early nineties, Atlantic City became the boxing capital of the country. Don King brought a lot of fights. We were good friends. All the celebs would come, and there would be parties after. Then the Borgata opened in 2003. And boom—the tourists came. I’m not against it. The city has a bright, new, young appeal again.

It is great to read positive stories about Atlantic City.   Pinky represents the charm that comes from things that are uniquely Atlantic City.

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