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."