- "We can shine a bright light on it [corruption]. But ethics and honesty in government will only happen when we [the people] demand it." - US Attorney Christopher J. Christie
Many residents that sign our referendum petition for ward-based elections in New Brunswick ask us: “How are we going to win this election in November?” This is an important question that we considered at length before launching the campaign. Here’s the winning answer in three steps:
1. Build an iron-clad case for ward-based elections in New Brunswick
2. Build a diverse, majority coalition of neighborhoods
3. Build a winning campaign organization
1. BUILD AN IRON-CLAD CASE FOR WARD-BASED ELECTIONS IN NEW BRUNSWICK
Ward-based elections will benefit the great majority of New Brunswick residents. Research shows that throughout North America, ward-based elections provide:
The first task of the campaign is to make sure that all New Brunswick residents know exactly how a ward-based system will benefit each of us. Ward-based elections will make it possible to elect city council representatives that understand and care about the needs of our neighborhoods. Do you want better schools? Property tax relief? Rent control? A solution to the parking nightmare? There are concrete solutions to the problems we face in our city. But they won’t be implemented until we elect decision-makers that are accountable to us! Over the coming months, we will meet with residents throughout New Brunswick and discuss how ward-based elections can help all our neighborhoods.
The dreadful record of the New Brunswick city council over the past decades will also help us make the case for ward-based elections. The current council representatives -elected at-large by a corrupt patronage machine- have long neglected the needs of our neighborhoods. Their record of inaction speaks for itself: failing schools, sky-rocketing rents and property taxes, big business development run amok and “rampant corruption” in city government according to New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Christie!
The first step towards winning the ward referendum vote in November is to make sure that all New Brunswick residents are well informed. Click here to find out more about the case for ward-based elections.
2. BUILD A DIVERSE, MAJORITY COALITION OF NEIGHBORHOODS
An overwhelming majority of New Brunswick residents we talk to want ward-based elections. We all face the same unresponsive city government that fails to address the needs of our respective neighborhoods. But we all face different challenges, each in our own way. In order to win the referendum vote for ward-based elections, we must bring together the many different constituencies that live in diverse neighborhoods throughout the city and that are all looking for change.
We don’t have to agree on everything. We can each stay true to our own vision of the city’s future. We just need to agree that we will all benefit from a ward-based system that provides more democratic, more balanced, more efficient governance and a voice for every neighborhood. Tenants that want rent control need to vote Yes for Wards and so do homeowners that want property tax relief. Parents need to vote Yes for Wards if they want to turn around New Brunswick’s failing schools just as college students must vote Yes for Wards if they want their concerns considered in a city where they make up over 20% of the population.
We are not naïve. We expect that the city machine will raise great sums of money and flood the city with slanderous, divisive propaganda against wards, just as they did the last time New Brunswick residents tried to win a ward referendum (and almost won) in 1986. What makes this time different? The population of New Brunswick has changed radically in the past two decades. The constituencies that have kept the city machine in power have shrunk dramatically. Mayor John Lynch used to win elections with over 8,000 votes back in the 1980’s when the city machine was strong. But Mayor Cahill barely scraped 3,000 votes together in the 2006 elections. Newly arrived residents -working and middle class families from diverse backgrounds- are forming new communities that are not tied to the old patronage system.
Last but not least, the sleeping giant that is the student community has awakened. By the thousands, Rutgers students are now registering to vote in New Brunswick. They have become acutely aware that the city government cares nothing about them except to use them as a personal ATM-machine worth millions of dollars in parking tickets every year. Since the 1990’s more and more students have voted in each election despite the well-documented attempts by the city machine to deny them the right to vote at the polling stations. In 2008, more students than ever will vote in New Brunswick. And they will overwhelmingly unite with their fellow residents in neighborhoods across the city and vote Yes for Wards!
3. BUILD A WINNING CAMPAIGN ORGANIZATION:
The best of plans means nothing unless it is implemented successfully. We can make the case for wards to everyone in New Brunswick, but no change will occur unless thousands of residents actually come out and vote Yes for Wards next November. To win this election, we need a winning campaign organization.
EON is committed to putting the effort needed to bring together a winning coalition and to mobilize all the resources necessary to win the Ward-based referendum. Over the coming six months, EON organizers will personally reach out to every home in New Brunswick. We will register thousands of new voters. And we will build an efficient and responsive campaign structure that welcomes ideas, initiatives and all types of contributions from fellow city residents. We will not waste anyone’s time or money.
We are well aware that the New Brunswick city machine has a powerful campaign organization that has kept them in power for over thirty years. They know how to pressure local small businesses into donating money. They know how to coerce city employees into delivering votes. And they are experts at spending vast sums of money to spread misinformation to city residents, as they have done in all previous referendum drives in New Brunswick.
We will counter malicious misinformation with clear and accurate information. We will match the city machine’s coerced labor with the free labor of motivated volunteers throughout New Brunswick. We will reach out to residents in all neighborhoods and make it easy for everyone to participate in the ward campaign at any level of commitment. We will register voters, remind them about Election Day and drive them to the polls!
We will do what it takes to give New Brunswick residents a shot at victory.
VOTE YES FOR WARDS IN NEW BRUNSWICK!
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE WARD CAMPAIGN!
Contact us at info@empowernb.com.