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Re: Why would anyone ever want to serve on the city council???
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Home away from home
 
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I think the general reasons that people go into politics can be summed up in two words - power and celebrity. In any career you have to start somewhere, even if it's the best you end up doing, hence city council.
Someone once said, "politics is Hollywood for ugly people". I'd add that politics is Wall Street for the unintelligent. None of this is to say that people don't go into politics with, or have, the highest motives. My take on even these people's motivation is that they believe that what they see as their high motives require that they have the power to enforce them in one way or another. The sad thing is that the coercive, oversized and intrusive nature of government contributes to and validates this way of thinking. Quote:
Posted on: 2006/11/16 4:03
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Re: Why would anyone ever want to serve on the city council???
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Just can't stay away
 
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It's called democracy.
Posted on: 2006/11/15 15:19
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Re: Why would anyone ever want to serve on the city council???
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Home away from home
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Quote:
A lot of people with fun jobs work long hours and get a ton of calls. To me, the big problem with politics is the loss of personal privacy. I once went on a date with a county commissioner in North Carolina who I think was known as a liberal maverick. Maybe he was a little less inhibited than his colleagues. But he never would go to a movie in public because he was afraid of what voters would think about his choice of movies. If some members of Congress are a bit too quick to let the government snoop in our personal affairs, maybe that's partly because they barely remember what privacy is.
Posted on: 2006/11/15 15:05
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Re: Why would anyone ever want to serve on the city council???
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Home away from home
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Council people get aides? How does that work?
Posted on: 2006/11/15 5:26
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Re: Why would anyone ever want to serve on the city council???
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Home away from home
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2006/4/18 0:04 Last Login : 2021/10/2 19:00 From Jersey Cxxx
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Great, put me on the spot  .My reply to your last question will be........ ummm,, I'll save that question for the Current Councilman, since he currently works with them and he can answer that question with first hand knowledge. And yes, Steve works hard, so does his aide, so did Junior and so did I, you guys are relentless.
Posted on: 2006/11/15 4:14
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Re: Why would anyone ever want to serve on the city council???
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Home away from home
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I read the double dipping, and that's what made me ask their salary, but still 23K doesn't seem worth it and it is definitely not a 1 or 2 night thing.... it's definitely phone calls all the time.
The way people jump down your throat before they even find out the facts! Just as a fellow neighbor trying to be more involved I get grief... jeez. I can't imagine a council person. Actually maybe the one I should really feel sorry for is their spouse, if they have one. So a council person definitely has access to a lot of ears that most people in the community don't? They are more likely to be heard or granted certain requests because it is assumed they are speaking for their constituents? Basically, they have power, am i right. And when they use that power for good it feels good. And when they use it for evil, well they probably feel ood because again they are somehow gaining from it. I sort of get it. This must be a case of, "no one else is willing to pick up the slack or take the bull by the horns and run with it, so I will since I really want this change anyway." Thanks with the responses. It does help me get a better idea of things. I was not just being flip or rhetorical. Althea 
Posted on: 2006/11/15 4:13
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Re: Why would anyone ever want to serve on the city council???
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Home away from home
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2004/9/12 7:13 Last Login : 2012/5/16 16:22 From beneath the jumping sheep
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No arguments there, Robin!
Councilman Fulop is the exception, of course. Most of us are aware that he attends lots of neighborhood meetings and events, not to mention the countless emails he gets from constituents, myself included! But the other councilpersons?
Posted on: 2006/11/15 3:58
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Re: Why would anyone ever want to serve on the city council???
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Home away from home
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There is no such thing as a 1 or 2 nite gig for a Ward E councilperson. Both the current and the former Councilmen know that with all the never ending issues that face Ward E, sometimes the job becomes 7 days a week. There is many + and -?s, but the good out way the bad. And let me tell you when you get to score one for the little guy...it feels great. Makes all that effort worth it.
i.e.: Grand street traffic light, stop sign on Cole and Pavonia, the D.O.T paying for paving of Jersey, Monmouth, Cole which freed up $$$$ for other downtown roadways, being able to get a 95 year women on a plane to see her dying sister (she couldn?t get a copy of her birth certificate to get a state ID in order to fly, and getting the State to make exceptions and give her the royal treatment at the motor vehicles office) were my personal favorites.
Posted on: 2006/11/15 3:51
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Re: Why would anyone ever want to serve on the city council???
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Home away from home
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Althea, please see the recent thread regarding double-dipping in NJ. Being a councilperson is not a full-time job, in fact many of them have full-time jobs while serving on the council. And yes, they get paid. Quite nicely, I might add.
If I'm not mistaken, Councilman Fulop donated his (EDIT: $23K salary as Ward E freshman Councilman to a local charity for abused women (someone correct me if I'm mistaken). See: Fulop donating council salary to school that helps women Others aren't quite so generous. I must say this salary isn't too shabby for a one- or two-nights-a-week gig.
Posted on: 2006/11/15 3:33
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Why would anyone ever want to serve on the city council???
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Home away from home
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No, seriously. I just attended my first neighborhood association meeting and it was one of the most painful experiences of my life. Why would anyone want to subject themselves to tons of angry people constantly complaining? Maybe 95% of your constituents are nice and understanding, even want to help. But that last 5%...
I mean really, do council people get paid? How much? Are they inherently masochistic? I really don't see how they could ever get paid enough. Althea
Posted on: 2006/11/15 3:01
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