Join the fight for Wards!  And Tell Your Friends!

Next Meeting: Tuesday September 9th @ 9pm

Scott Hall 123

Next Event: Saturday September 13th

Community Yard Sale at 80 Harvey St.

NJ Judge: WARD QUESTION WILL BE PUT TO VOTE!!!

Listen to Judge Currier's Opinion (MP3)

Media Coverage
Home News Tribune: New Brunswick ward group wins in court 
Home News Tribune editorial: Democracy restored in New Brunswick
Daily Targum: Ward warriors win court case
Star-Ledger: Petition on New Brunswick government is valid

EON Press Release
New Brunswick may have a ward-based system for City Council elections as early as 2009.

The decision to change to a ward-based council in New Brunswick will be left up to the voters this November, thanks to Tuesday's court decision.  The decision will effectively place two questions proposed by the grassroots organization Empower Our Neighborhoods (EON) on the November 4th ballot.

New Jersey Superior Court Judge Heidi Currier issued an opinion Tuesday accepting the group's petition, which consists of 1,116 signatures from New Brunswick residents asking to have the questions put to a public vote.

The New Brunswick City Council attempted to de-rail EON's efforts by placing a competing question on the ballot, but EON turned in their petitions two days before the Council passed its charter study ordinance in defiance of dozens of angered citizens at its July 2 meeting.

However, on July 18, City Clerk Daniel Torrissi rejected the petition based on the advice of City Attorney William Hamilton.  EON challenged Torrissi's decision in Superior Court with the help of Newark-based New Jersey Appleseed attorney Renee Steinhagen.  The case was heard on August 14th at the Middlesex County Courthouse in front of over a dozen EON members and supporters.

"The City has been poorly served by its legal staff, who have now spent thousands of taxpayer dollars and many labor hours fighting their own citizens in court" said Jerry Mercado, candidate for City Council in 2006 and 2008.

The news of victory has excited community members who had been anxiously awaiting Judge Currier's decision.  "This is a great victory for the people of New Brunswick," said Adriel Bernal, who represented the group of petitioners at the hearing.

"We are excited that we have the opportunity to be part of this huge election, as Barack Obama's promise of change will bring more progressive voters to the polls than ever before." said Charlie Kratovil, EON's campaign manager.

EON Takes NB Council and Clerk to Court

Empower Our Neighborhoods appeared in New Jersey Superior Court at the Middlesex County Courthouse earlier this afternoon as part of their case against the New Brunswick City Council and City Clerk Daniel Torrissi for rejecting their ballot initiative in July.  A group of dozens of faithful supporters came out to show their support for EON and our efforts to change the way our City Council members are elected.

EON and the petitioners were represented today by Renee Steinhagen of New Jersey Appleseed, a nonprofit who spearheaded EON's legal efforts to fight the City.  EON is hopeful that the honorable Judge Heidi Currier will find that Ms. Steinhagen's arguments were far more convincing and logical than the obscure statutes and technicalities cited by the defendants.

Judge Currier has the power to ensure our questions appear on the ballot this November.  Both of EON's questions were presented to thousands of citizens in June, most of whom signed our petition to put them to a public vote.  A decision to hold up the invalidation would deprive 1,116 registered New Brunswick voters of their right to bring such questions to vote of the public.

Ms. Steinhagen said in court that the flimsy arguments presented by the defendants only served to show "the extent to which the municipality is opposed to the questions posed by the petitioners."  It is clear at this point that the powers that be in New Brunswick do not want change and, in fact, that they will do all they can to prevent it in such a volatile election this November.

Win or lose, EON is continuing the fight for democracy in New Brunswick.  Stay tuned to empowernb.com for the latest in our ongoing (but nearly complete) legal battle.

EON Needs Your Support in Court Today

Empower Our Neighborhoods will be in court at 1:30 pm today as our legal brief against the City Council is heard. Our hearing is scheduled at the Middlesex County Courthouse on Bayard St. in the Court of Honorable Judge Currier.

EON filed a brief shortly after City Clerk Torrisi refused to accept a petition with 1,116 signatures of New Brunswick citizens.  The petition called for a charter change of the city from an at-large system of voting to a ward-based system of voting.  Torrisi grounded his refusal on the advice of City Attorney Hamilton but did not invalidate a single signature.  Our brief would overturn Torrisi's decision and force the city to accept the petition calling for charter change.  New Brunswick voters would then be able to vote on the issue in November.

We are asking supporters to attend the court hearing in support of our Ward Petition.  Please email info@empowernb.com if you have any questions or need a ride.

If you can't make it, keep it locked on empowernb.com for immediate results.

New Website!

As you may have noticed we have enhanced the look of EON's site. We will be upgrading the content next. Look for more info about the campaign in the coming days. We will soon also be offering report backs from the canvass more information about support for wards in the city of New Brunswick.

Along with these changes we are planning on offering blog space to members of the New Brunswick community as well as a forum to discuss events in our city.

Thanks to Brent, Christina, Anthony, Matt S. and Amy B. for all their help on the site.

Press Event to Announce Lawsuit against City Clerk and Council

Check out the coverage:
HNT - Supporters of New Brunswick ward system vow to continue fight
Star Ledger - Group presses bid for wards in New Brunswick

This is from our press release:
On Wednesday, July 23rd at 3:30pm, Empower Our Neighborhoods (EON) will hold a press conference on the steps of New Brunswick City Hall in defiance of the City Council's latest and most brazen attempt to derail the democratic process.

Empower Our Neighborhoods, undeterred by this latest attempt, will be announcing a new heightened level of campaign activity and invite interested press representatives to accompany the EON "street team" of canvassers following the press conference.

"We want to send a clear message to the hundreds of New Brunswick residents who signed the petition, as well as the thousands of other supporters, sympathizers and like-minded voters in the city: We will not give up fighting for what you have demanded – a chance at democracy in November and a Ward system," said Giselle Role, an EON organizer and Ward 5 resident.

Despite being presented with the signatures of more than 1,000 registered voters—more than three times the number required by law (352)—in support of a November ballot initiative to change the city
voting system from an at-large system to a ward-based system, the City Council has used every method possible to keep the question off the ballot. They have, however, failed to find fault with a single one of the 1,116 signatures on the petitions the group circulated throughout June and filed with City Clerk Daniel Torrissi's office June 30.

Previously, in an attempt to de-rail the initiative, the Council passed an illegal ordinance against the pleas of over 100 attendees at their July 2 meeting, an act which was met with widespread indignation and disgust by New Brunswick residents and the local media.

The latest effort to subvert the democratic process has been spearheaded by William Hamilton, New Brunswick's City Attorney, who has advised the City Clerk to reject the citizens' petition. However,
an identical petition put a similar referendum on the ballot in Edison, NJ twice in recent years. On Tuesday, a scathing Home News Tribune Editorial characterized Hamilton's bogus legal arguments as nothing more than "shenanigans."

"Forcing this fight into the courtroom is ridiculous. The Council will essentially be wasting taxpayer money to fund a flimsy court battle against an organization representing over 1,000 New Brunswick
taxpayers." said Charlie Kay, an organizer and Ward 6 resident. Yael Bromberg, legal coordinator for Empower Our Neighborhoods, refers to the latest attempt at legal maneuver by the city machine as 'the kitchen sink approach.' "The clerk couldn't invalidate the 1,116 signatures, and they know the petition is solid, so they're going to try to poke holes in the language," she explained.

"We expected the machine to fight dirty, but it's still very frustrating that educated, conscientious, and hard-working citizens cannot submit a valid citizens' petition without being undermined by their own elected representatives," said organizer and Ward 5 resident Adriel Bernal.

"We will not be intimidated or deterred. New Brunswick will get Wards one way or another; the citizens have demanded it," said Jordan Bucey, an organizer and Ward 5 resident. "EON will continue to do exactly what we promised to: We will ensure the peoples' will is upheld in the
battle for democracy here in New Brunswick, be it in the courts, or at the ballot box."

City Clerk Denies the Validity of the Petition!

The New Brunswick City Clerk has denied the validity of our petition. This is based on the opinion of the William Hamilton the City Attorney. We are reviewing their position and preparing for the next chapter in this battle to get better representation for residents on the New Brunswick City Council.

Thank you to all our fellow residents who are continuing to support this grass roots initiative to create a more democratically organized New Brunswick.

New Brunswick Community Calls for Wards

On June 30th, 2008, Empower Our Neighborhoods (EON), a grassroots organization of New Brunswick community members and Rutgers University students, delivered 1,116 signatures to the New Brunswick City Clerk. Those signatures express the community's desire to change their current form of municipal government from an at-large system to a ward-based system. "We see a ward-based system of local elections as a necessary step toward democratizing the city," says EON organizer and Ward 2 resident Kevin Cenac.

However, in a desperate political maneuver, the New Brunswick City Council passed a counteracting ordinance on July 2nd to try to push the citizens' initiative off the ballot. This move comes despite the fact that EON organizers have gathered three times the 357 required signatures and presented them to the City Clerk in advance of the meeting.

A legal battle is expected to ensue which will determine whether the community or the City Council had first initiated a legal proceeding on the matter. "We believe that New Brunswick residents would win any legal battle with the City Council regarding this issue," said EON organizer and Ward 5 resident Avianna Perez, "and we also believe the people will overcome whatever obstacles the Council throws in the way of democracy."

Community members hope to avoid a lengthy court battle from the start. Hoping to reason with the City Council, EON organized a number of New Brunswick community members to attend the July 2nd City Council meeting. "We will be showing up at the City Council meeting to let them know that it's the right of the people to decide what form of government we want," said Ward 5 resident Sean Monahan, "America was founded on this right."

While hoping to head-off a legal battle, EON organizers are still preparing for one. "They are attempting to take this decision out of the hands of residents and put it in the hands of lawyers, but it doesn't change our job one bit. We will meet them in court, but we will beat them door-to-door. They can't stop democracy," said petitioner and Ward 6 resident Anthony Shull. "Court battle or no, we will keep working until all the wards in the city have a representative they can hold accountable."

For more information: info@empowernb.com

Phone: 732-470-9125