La_Verdad wrote:
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JCGuys wrote:

I would be 100% supportive of that as long as it covers the true cost. Cost of land, construction, operations and maintenance, overnight parking benefit, etc... And of course the electricity.

I don't trust the city to run this out directly but they could enter into a franchise agreement with a for-profit company.

Why hold the electric vehicle industry to a standard so much higher than that of the oil industry (and by extension, the internal combustion car)?? No one would be able to afford gasoline if oil companies were forced to bear the full cost of the pollution they spew, the associated health issues and premature deaths, the wars that are fought on behalf of access to oil, the various price subsidies it enjoys throughout much of the world...

T-Bird wrote:
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JPhurst wrote:
Dr. Lyles simply did not turn the district around herself, or just with the help of the mommy mafia.

I didn't suggest that it was Dr. Lyles alone. Let's be honest though - the union has brought us retrograde candidates such as Angel Valentin and Lorenzo Richardson, the latter of whom should have been locked up for the terroristic stunts he pulled at board meetings prior to his election.

And you love to say "hedge funders" over and over and paint B4K as the boogeyman - but what is it that they did in Jersey City that hurt students or made education worse? Answer that as a parent of two children in the JC public schools and not a labor union attorney...

DanL wrote:
quid pro quo-

o73o2 wrote:
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ecoindie wrote:
The truth is he has no actual job. He's a trust fund baby that masks himself as a reformer.

I wouldn't call an adjunct professor having no job. But, I would never want to have an adjunct professor sit on city council, or God forbid, become the mayor even though the adjunct professor has both the skill of policy and glib.

Academics, particularly people who think they are real professors, such as lowly underpaid adjuncts (such as the well-admired Mr Salomon) with means to support themselves independently through the hard work of their spouse or accumulated wealth through inheritance are very dangerous and are hardly acting in anyone else's interest but their own. Not because they are insipid, but because they live and breath the ivory tower they are too timid, lazy or untalanted to join through proper training. They reach their goals through adjuncting in fourth and fifth rate colleges, also known as diploma mills. Do we want a guy like that to represent us and to deal with real issues?

T-Bird wrote:
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jimbehrle wrote:
Nah. I'm voting for Ali. I was gonna vote for you, too. But I find this post a little heavy-handed. I'll vote for de geise, Saleh and Lyons.

You probably lack the history to understand that the things Matt points out understate the danger posed by JCEA?s control of the board. There was a brief window at the beginning of the decade when activists like Matt helped get people like Ellen Simon and Sangeeta Ranade elected to the board. They were parents who were faced with a failing public school system, long ago taken over by the state and viewed by the local political establishment as a jobs bank for supporters and a piggy bank from which to offer fat contracts to their coroporate donors. They loved their community and didn?t want to have to leave Jersey City order for their kids to get a decent education - as many had before them.

Real progress was made in a short period of time - a new superintendent was brought in to implement needed improvements, test scores and graduation rates begin to rise, accompanied by optimism that the school district had turned the corner. However, progress came at a steep price. The old guard fought reform every step of the way - board meetings would escalate to near riots on a fairly regular basis.

Unfortunately, that promising chapter ended a couple years ago when a reinvigorated JCEA, flush with cash from the NJEA and heavy local political support, tipped the scales back to the prior status quo. No one with any interest in Jersey City should want to see our schools continue to retreat. Matt Schapiro has worked tirelessly for many years to help get dedicated, intelligent, progressive candidates elected to the board and has more knowledge of what goes on at the board than any two other candidates. I am proud to call Matt a friend and will eagerly vote for him, David and Yousef on Tuesday.

HenryOnTheHudson wrote:
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jimbehrle wrote:
Candice's work with speed humps and intersection signs was thoughtful. Maybe James is speaking from experience with using them for Target practice. It's the second thing he mentioned about what JC can "do better" so I guess he's pro-aggresive driver? What a weird stance.

Candice has been effective at getting things done - but I'd rather see the city hire a forward-thinking traffic planner than have someone on council pushing for ad hoc fixes. Like so many other things, the streetscape is dealt with in isolation - oh, there was an accident here? Put up a stop sign or speed bump. (Don't get me wrong - I'd love to see a whole lot more stop signs... along with enforcement.)

Bike lanes (in traffic, alongside traffic, protected), speed bumps, stop signs, restricted turns, turn lanes, pedestrian crossings, bump outs, traffic circles, car-free zones, express bus lanes - all of these things should be done thoughtfully, as part of an overall plan. Does anyone get the sense that this is how the city operates?

MikeyTBC wrote:
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jimbehrle wrote:
I went to Ms. Symes webpage to see why people here at JCList have been bedwetting about her. It turns out she sounds kind of awesome:

Ward E City Councilperson

REBECCA SYMES

The moments outside of her professional career and public service are what define Rebecca Symes. The fifth child in a family whose mother was forced to delay her own dreams of higher education for family obligations instilled in Rebecca a yearning for knowledge and an understanding of personal sacrifice.

Watching her mother successfully run for school board and later the city council in her hometown of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Rebecca saw that positive things happen when regular people ? motivated by the idea that government should improve people?s lives ? actively participate in our democracy.

Rebecca?s stepfather also contributed to her commitment to public and government service. His career-long work in the public sector as a city planner inspired her to think about the ways government shapes communities. His commitment to his community was reflected in his kind, engaged manner when stopped by a concerned resident at the supermarket on a Saturday afternoon. He was always willing to talk through an issue, right there on the spot. Rebecca will bring that same generosity of spirit and concern for her constituents to her work as a full-time city councilwoman.

While in college, studying English and Politics, Rebecca made her way to Washington DC, to intern for United States Senator Ted Kennedy. After college, she enrolled in law school fully intending to get a policy job on Capitol Hill after graduation. During law school, Rebecca represented domestic violence survivors as a student attorney, a defining experience for her.

Rebecca shifted her focus from policy to direct advocacy, working with vulnerable communities that are often shut out of high-minded policy discussions and denied equal access to the justice system. After law school graduation, Rebecca got a job at a nonprofit providing free legal representation to low-income Hell?s Kitchen residents and fighting to save affordable housing.
After five years in the nonprofit legal world, Rebecca joined the office of United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand as the Director of Constituent Affairs, thereby combining her love of direct advocacy with her interest in government and policy. While working in the senate she managed a statewide constituent services team tasked with helping municipalities, small businesses, families, and nonprofits access federal benefits and services.

Prior to leaving her position to be a full-time councilwoman, Rebecca worked as General Counsel for a private real estate company. As the first lawyer on staff, she built and led the legal department and gained valuable insight on how private sector companies can work hand-in-hand with local governments and communities.

This seems like a conflict of interest. I'm sorry, general counsel for a RE development company that has a vested interest and growing footprint, quits her job and decides she wants to better the community? Yeah, okay.

Smells just like an investment banker going to work for the federal govt to influence monetary policy.

And that bio reads like a college application essay. I actually wrote that I had "a yearning for knowledge" in mine too. Ha.

MND wrote:
Its the damn abatements that are ruining things. Bringing affordable housing, improving parks, building schools. Jersey City is a damn destination now. I preferred it when I could buy beer and lucy's from behind bulletproof glass , restaurant row was a grilled cheese sandwich from Woolworths on Newark Avenue.

JCvoter wrote:
Quick question here - your advocacy of Symes wouldn't have anything to do with the large sums of money she and Dixon have bestowed upon the Jersey City Democratic Organization or their association with the Landmark Conservancy, would it?

Paying for people's support appears to be their MO.

Yvonne wrote:
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JPhurst wrote:
Yvonne can't point to anything Rebecca has done wrong, so she uses the weasel words "has an association with."

She also "has an association with" groups that advocate for tenants rights.

Could you name this association?

K-Lo2 wrote:
From her website....

"Prior to leaving her position to be a full-time councilwoman, Rebecca worked as General Counsel for a private real estate company. As the first lawyer on staff, she built and led the legal department and gained valuable insight on how private sector companies can work hand-in-hand with local governments and communities."

As there something ambiguous about this? I don't think so.