Results

http://www.nj.com/elections/index.ssf?results-ballotquestions

Question - 1-Voter Bond Approval - Ballot Issue
November 05, 2008 - 07:19PM ET
New Jersey - 6262 of 6296 Precincts Reporting - 99%
Name Votes Vote %
Yes 1,161,743 57%
No 864,715 43%

Question - 2-Judicial Appointment - Ballot Issue
November 05, 2008 - 07:22PM ET
New Jersey - 6262 of 6296 Precincts Reporting - 99%
Name Votes Vote %
No 1,107,201 55%
Yes 912,436 45%

Curious... I didn't see that there was formal position on #3 taken by the "JC Family Initiative" folks.

Was there one that I missed?...

The story SHOULD be that a lot of us couldn't vote on these issues!

======================

In a rout, Jersey City voters opt for elected school board

by Ken Thorbourne/The Jersey Journal
Tuesday November 04, 2008, 10:05 PM

With 81 percent of the vote counted, roughly 87 percent of voters in Jersey City have chosen an elected school board over a board appointed by the mayor, according to the Hudson County Clerk's Website.

"Public Question No. 3" on today's ballot is a result of the local school district's historic return to local control in April.

As a result of today's vote, the nine-member body will remain an elected board.

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy has pushed the concept of a "hybrid" school board comprised of three elected members, three elected by the mayor, and three college officials appointed by the state Commissioner of Education.

But that option wasn't on today's ballot, since it requires new state legislation, which Healy anticipates getting passed next year.

So what were the results on the three questions? And what do those results mean?

Robin.

Ours had problems with the questions too - I think they should have to re-do this!

I noted yesterday that the Kennedy school voting booth had problems and many of us were not able to vote on the school board question. Anyone know if there is a way to vote now or are we outta luck?

Really pathetic that as of 6:30AM one of the two booths was totally out of commission and the other had problems with the 3 questions (only the first one worked).

League of Women Voters sez:

Reasons to Vote Yes:
● Supporters believe the framers of the Constitution envisioned public approval
for borrowing since the debt limitation clause was in the 1844 and 1947
Constitution.
●State authorities have been used increasingly for the purpose of bonding for
projects.
●Citizens need to constrain the Legislature from borrowing without voter
approval. The November 2007 State of New Jersey Debt Report places general
obligation debt (approved by voters) at 2.8 billion dollars. By contrast, the same
report puts debt subject to appropriation (State authority bonds) at 25.2 billion
dollars.

Reasons to Vote No:
●We have a representative form of government. It is the job of the Legislature,
elected by the people, to make funding decisions. Voters should not constrain
the Legislature which must weigh the need for public capital projects against
available resources.
●Passage is likely to make it more difficult to address regional capital or
infrastructure needs that will not have support of the entire state.
●Ballot questions cannot accurately present complicated appropriation issues to
voters for an effective government process.

http://www.lwvnj.org/VotersService/20 ... 04_Ballot%20Questions.pdf

I used to live in California, and dreaded election day, with its multitude of Propositions (like this year's hateful Prop 8).

Getting ready to vote was like prepping for the SAT, and I wondered, why bother electing representatives, if I've got to make all of these legal decisions anyway?

plus, how many voters are really vetting these ballot questions, purposely written in confusing doublespeak, before pulling the lever?

So I'm voting No and No.

Interesting take on question 1 here
http://libertyandprosperity.org/modul ... ntent&pa=showpage&pid=409

Quote:

Questions 1 and 2 are statewide. Question 3 is local (Jersey City). It is my understanding that these questions have the power of referendum, i.e., whichever option gets the most votes will be implemented.

Thank you so much for explaining these questions on the ballot, which I could make neither head nor tail of by reading them on my sample ballot. Am I correct in assuming that by "questions" this means they are non-binding?

FWIW I will vote:
1) Yes - I think it's a good idea to allow voters to directly decide whether or not to fund spending via debt. Debt seems too easy an alternative for politicians than higher taxes or (gasp) less spending.
2) No - I'd rather have elected officials decide on judicial appointments than some unspecified other method.
3) Type II - While few vote in school board elections I would hope that the most informed and concerned do so. I suspect that some voters are teachers voting in their self interest but I'm not sure that having the mayor appoint the board (as potential patronage jobs) is better. If people care they should be able to vote.

Thanks for all the links. My conclusions are no, no, and type II.

How are people voting on these? Any Pro's / Con's to these?

There are numerous and varied reasons for either an elected board or an appointed board. Be sure to consider all the arguments, pro and con, for both options.

NOT ON THE BALLOT TOMORROW:
Note that the current Mayor favors another option, a hybrid board, which would consist of 3 elected members, 3 appointed members and 3 members designated by the State.

There is a bill in the NJ State Legislature right now for this option that, if it passes, would override your vote. VOTE ANYWAY, because in the case that it does not pass, whichever option wins tomorrow will prevail in Jersey City.

There was only one public forum to discuss the options on this ballot question, organized and sponsored by Parents and Community United for Education (PCUE).

For questions 1 and 2 check here too
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php ... rsey_2008_ballot_measures

As part of the process for returning the Jersey City public school system to local control, the voters of Jersey City will have the opportunity to choose between an elected school board and one appointed by the mayor.

Daniel Levin, running in the 2009 mayor's race, supports an appointed board. He recently wrote, "Why should we support a mayor-appointed board? The mayor oversees economic growth and quality of life of the city. The mayor therefore has a big stake in the performance of the school system, which is integral to success in these areas. The mayor is also responsible for adequate school system funding and the appropriate use of tax resources. These mayoral responsibilities provide a powerful incentive for careful selection of school board appointees. Finally, with a mayor-appointed board, the mayor's success is tied directly to the success of the school system. Voters can turn the mayor out if they are dissatisfied with school performance. Historically, voter participation in mayor elections is vastly greater than in school board elections."

There is a Yahoo message board called "J.C. Families for better schools". They have a long running discussion on this topic. Here are 2 articles they posted on the matter:

www.njslom.org/92ndconf/appointed_vs_elected_boards.pdf


and

http://www.post-gazette.com/localnews/20031201boardsmainp2.asp

Vote Yes, Yes, Type II

This pdf will explain in more detail, from The League of Women Voters of New Jersey.

http://www.lwvnj.org/news/njvoter/2008-04-fall.pdf

In case you didn't know.

Summary discussions are available on

http://www.jcvote.org/

Ballot Questions Summary

Public Question #1 would require the state to get voter approval for new bonds issued from state appropriations.

Citizens vote Yes or No.

Yes: voters should have some say in how the state raises money for projects.

No: the state should be able to raise money quickly, without having to wait for voters to weigh in.

Public Question #2 modifies the Constitution to allow judges of certain municipal courts to be selected and appointed by a method other than currently provided for in the Constitution.

Citizens vote Yes or No.

Yes: we shouldn't need the Governor and Senate to weigh in on every judicial appointment in a municipal court.

No: we should continue to be certain that our Governor and Senate are involved in judicial appointments in all municipal courts.

Public Question #3 will determine whether our school district board of education is appointed (Type 1) or elected (Type 2).

Citizens vote for Type II or Type I.

Type II: an elected board - which we currently have - keeps the community closely involved in the schools and helps the community keep an eye on the school budget.

Type I: voter turnout for board of education elections is so low that we'd be better off with an appointed board. This would give the mayor the ability to impact the schools and the budget would be approved by a Board of School Estimate.