Caldwell voted to go Full Commie, here’s what to expect

Yesterday Comrade Lace and his sanctimonious sycophants succeeded in scrapping 9 years of successful local government by convincing a majority of our citizens to embrace higher taxes, less freedom, and a return to iron fisted Democratic Party rule. Republicans Dassing, Hauser, and Fiore are out; three more Democratic Socialists Kelley, Rodgers, and Schmidt are in.

So what can we expect come January 1st? Well, in the immortal words of the late Ed Koch, “The people have spoken and now they must be punished.”

Borough Administrator Paul Carelli is out, to be replaced by a Maureen Ruane clone. That is they’ll appoint someone who’s willing to overlook the niceties of Council resolutions when disbursing taxpayer funds to Party apparatchiks. CFO/Borough Clerk Lisa O’Neill is out too. In her place they’ll dig up a half-dead retired CPA who’ll pretend to provide “oversight” from his vacation home while “misplacing” $120,000, or more. And of course Borough Attorney Greg Mascera’s services will be terminated and a reliable Democrat installed in his place.

In fact no one’s job at Borough Hall or the Community Center is safe. Dick Codey needs to plant his pension-padding party loyalists in positions of power so anyone in his way is gonna get kicked to the curb. Think of it this way, Mayor Dassing’s philosophy of government run like a business will transform overnight into new Mayor Kelley’s vision of government run like the DMV, only worse.

And then the Real Fun can begin. Because Comrade Zampolit Lace needs us to Get Woke. So no more curbside leaf collection. And I’ll wager that he’ll make us compost our Christmas trees in our yards too. Because the econuts have oodles of time on their hands to shove yard waste into those silly paper bags and they figure the rest of us do too. And if you’ve got bum knees like me and can’t handle all that bending and fetching, tough. They’re on a Mission and we’re just collateral damage.

Speaking of bags, your new Politburo will ban them. Plastic, paper, it doesn’t matter. You will cart around those germ-infested cloth bags while you shop and you’ll like it. Everybody has to pitch in to Save The Planet. And if you forgot to bring one, or just stopped off at Jacks for a few things on your way home from the bus, you’ll have to purchase another “reusable” bag. Think of it as the first of the many new taxes they’ll impose while curtailing our freedom.

After they ban plastic grocery bags they’ll ban plastic straws, plastic cutlery, plastic takeout containers, and styrofoam too. Your convenience is no match for their activism. Remember, it’s time to Get Woke, peasant!

Next on the Progressive Socialist hit parade? Making Caldwell a Sanctuary City, and setting up “needle exchange” for our opioid addicts. Plus a mandatory $15 minimum wage for all businesses in town and quotas for minority hiring. All of which will, of course, ensure that Bloomfield Avenue soon resembles the wastelands of formerly prosperous towns like East Orange and Irvington as merchants move away to preserve what little profits Democrat Governor Phil Murphy allows them to keep.

Ah but then they can declare the Avenue “blighted” and impose a Redevelopment Plan featuring the urban socialists’ dream of “mixed use” architecture. Imagine high-density high-rises in the East German style lining Bloomfield Avenue, concrete monstrosities with street level retail spaces featuring the usual urban hipster blend of overpriced coffee shops, marijuana dispensaries, used clothing boutiques, and vegan juice bars. Above that they’ll put unibox apartments designed by brutalists according to UN approved “green building” specs. Does that mean every flat gets exactly one composting toilet? Of course it does. It means the whole ugly thing will be wrapped in solar panels too.

And what’s a $15 minimum wage if they can’t enact it for public employees as well? You might have heard them promise to keep our taxes in check but deep down in your hearts you know they were lying. (The first clue being their enthusiastic support for the Full Day Babysitting Boondoggle tax hike.) They’re gonna raise taxes on everything that’s not standing still. And then they’re gonna pass out the goodies to their favored constituencies — public employees, welfare queens, and illegal aliens. You think our taxes are high now? Just wait until their need to virtue-signal “compassion” intersects with your wallet.

Then they’ll administer the coup de grâce. A local income tax. It’s the only way to get around the 2% property tax cap. Governor Murphy set up the framework for Jersey City but left the door open for any town to impose one for “good cause.” And what’s a better cause than Progressive Socialism? BOHICA!

Do I have to go on? Because I’m getting depressed. This is what you geniuses voted for Caldwell. So don’t come crying to me when you get it, good and hard.

Vote like your country depends on it

Today is election day. This is it. We must repudiate the Democrats’ insanity. Because if the words “Speaker Pelosi” don’t scare you, nothing will.

Take it from Sarah Hoyt:

Nobody knows anything, but dear LORD.  Even if you hate your local GOP knucklehead, even if he is a RINO loser…. do you want Nancy “Grey Goose” Pelosi in charge of the House again?  Do you want those idiots on the left to think — as they have since they successfully demonized the squishy GWB — that they need to keep turning up the insanity and drama and lies? They’re already too crazy. Worse, do you want them to enact their contract on America, from higher taxes to throttling our energy production? Are you NOSTALGIC for the Obama years?

I for one would like a chance to dig myself out of the financial hole those years left me in.

Vote for your local Republican knucklehead. Even if you’d like someone better.  You go to war with the underwear you got on.  Vote against the democrat lunatics. It’s important.

Vote RED. The alternative is more Alexandria Occasional-Cortex.

Civility? Don’t count on it if Kelley, Rodgers, and Schmidt take over Borough Hall

The Caldwell Democrats are riding their sanctimonious high horses this election season, preaching “civility” while snobbishly refusing to engage in dialog with anyone who disagrees with them. So what can we expect if they succeed in ousting Mayor Ann Dassing and Council President Rich Hauser?

Well for starters we can envision a Loyalty Test for citizens petitioning their government for a redress of grievances.

Citizen stands up to speak at a council meeting: “John Doe, 123 Main Street, I’d like to discuss…”

Mayor Kelley: “Just a sec there peasant, let me check your Facebook and Twitter first.”

The Democrats consult their phones, and whisper to each other.

Mayor Kelley: “We’re not going to listen to you Mr. Doe, your political positions do not seem receptive to our progressive munificence. Next!”

Only Democrats in good standing get an audience with the Politburo.

Then there’s this little gem in John Kelley’s fluff interview with TAPinto West Essex.

Another cost reduction will occur with a reorganization of the community center, which I intend on doing the first day in office.

Uh oh. “Reorganization of the community center.” You know what that means. Fire Gordon Lawshe! And everyone else whose dedicated service to our town stands in the way of Comrade Kelley giving those jobs to Loyal Party Members. The Democrats need to repay their political patron and Dick Codey has a long list of party hacks who need jobs to pad their pensions. Too bad if good people get kicked to the curb.

That’s “civility” all right. Civility, the Nancy Pelosi way. And if there’s any, uh, collateral damage, hey, it’s not like they’re going to make us build our own camps. Yet.

Remember the last time Democrats were in charge in Caldwell?

I do.

So here’s a little history lesson for the newbies.

When Democrats ran the town, those monstrous townhouses on Lane Avenue by 7-11 suddenly appeared, although no one wanted to admit how they got approved. I guess it helped that the builder was best friends with the then-current Mayor, Democrat Paul Jemas. Vote Democrat if you want more townhouses like that. Goodbye butterfly garden, hello high-density housing!

It’s interesting that the current Democratic candidates for mayor and council are making such a big deal about the parking situation at the Community Center. Do you know who was mayor when that parking structure was designed and built? Democrat Susan Gartland. Maybe they should complain to her instead of wandering around town whining about it.

By the way, did you know that Paul Jemas and Susan Gartland are both key advisers to the Kelley, Rodgers, and Schmidt campaign? ‘Tis true. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

But wait, there’s more.

The last time the Democrats had a majority in Borough Hall their hand-picked Borough Administrator specialized in writing checks without council authorization. And the accountant they hired to supposedly get the town’s finances in order “lost” $120,000 of our money. The professional team that’s in place now thanks to Mayor Dassing has created controls to prevent those sort of shenanigans. Vote Democrat and those controls go away.

Remember last year when the Democrats made a big deal about the Sewer Commission stipends? What they didn’t tell you is that when they ran the Sewer Authority it was more than $1,000,000 dollars in the red, because they didn’t bother to collect years of arrears owed to Caldwell by neighboring towns. Who got those arrears cleaned up and ensured that going forward sewer bills are remitted to us on time? Ann Dassing and Rich Hauser.

Did you happen to read one of John Kelley’s fluff interviews where he casually mentioned he wants to “reorganize” the staff at the Community Center “day one?” The thing is, there’s an ordinance which says he can’t do that. Not unilaterally, anyway. And he ought to know better, since he was on the council when it was enacted. But alas, this is the same old song the Caldwell Democrats have been singing since they got voted out of power. They hide behind this fake civility persona when in reality they’re on a quest for raw power, the power to sack our town’s professional civil servants and hire their political cronies instead. Mayor Dassing has our town running like a business; John Kelley will have it operating like the DMV.

In that same puff piece John Kelley said he wants to keep municipal taxes “low.” Here’s the sad truth. When Democrats last held a council majority our municipal taxes regularly increased by 2, 3, even 5 percent a year. And during the infamous first reval they larded up the budget with so much cruft the actual increase was close to ten percent, which they then pretended was caused by the reval and not by their duplicity. In the 8 years that Ann Dassing has been our mayor the municipal tax hit has gone up by one percent, in total. One percent over 8 years is vastly different from ten percent in one year.

It’s said that those who do not study the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them. Don’t doom Caldwell. Reject the empty promises of the Kelley, Rodgers, and Schmidt campaign. Re-elect Mayor Ann Dassing and Council President Rich Hauser. Elect Jason Fiore. Caldwell’s future depends on it.