Politics or Politricks?

Perhaps I have been a bit naive in my thinking that when people run for the local school board it simply comes down to voters weighing their options and voting their conscience. I guess I thought that dirty tricks in politics were something that primarily occurred in big elections, like the Presidential election. It appears we have our own little dirty tricks that play out in Cherry Hill.

I recently learned that the Cherry Hill Committee for All Children, who is sponsoring the Klukoff, Roth, Goodwin party; has some interesting supporters that are members of our current board of education. I will talk more about that in a follow up blog posting, but I had an opportunity to read this letter from Stuart Chaifetz and I thought it may be of interest to blog readers (see below). It certainly shows the games that are played by the CHCC.
Kathi Magee


Dear Friends,

When I ran for the Board of Education last year, I was unaware of the political dirty tricks that seem to be part and parcel of elections in our town. Though I experienced what I consider to be very heinous dirty tricks at the very start of my campaign last year (we can discuss this later if you desire), it was the slate of Kirk, Arnold and Carapellucci that took the brunt of the attack, which came from supporters of the Cherry Hill Committee for All Children (CHCC).

For those not aware, the CHCC is the fundraising committee that supported and funded the campaigns of BOE members Hartmann, Robbins, Conn and Giaccio, as well as our opponents in this election. I had hoped that this year things would be different, but I was wrong.

Their first attack came at a most unexpected event; the monitoring hearing for Special Education. This was not a political event in any manner, but a forum for parents of special needs children, of which I am one of, to talk about the serious problems with special education in our schools. And when I began to speak about my son, supporters of the CHCC began to jeer and taunt me. It was, in my opinion, a disgraceful act, but it wasn't the last.

If you saw the debate (which is running every night on channel 19 at 7 pm) then you will get an idea of what I am talking about. Even though one of my opponents had the opportunity to challenge or attack me during the hour and a half debate, he waited until after I had given my closing, and was unable to respond, and then attacked. At first I thought "what a dirty trick," but when I realized that I had just said that the supporters of our opponents mock people they don't agree with, and then he not only mocked me, but the CHCC supporters joined in with clapping, I saw that he had proven the point that I was trying to make.

Two days ago, my running mate, Nancy Muldowney, received the following email from one of the major supporters of the CHCC:

Nancy,
We have received calls from property owners that Muldowney/Chaifetz signs have been placed on property where there is a Klukoff/Goodwin/Roth sign without expressed permission from the property owner. When placing a sign on private property, you must have expressed permission from the property owner.

Because a Klukoff/ Goodwin/ Roth sign exists on a property does not mean that a Muldowney/Chaifetz sign can be placed next to it without expressed permission. For example, the Muldowney/Chaifetz signs on the corners of [location deleted], as well as your sign on [location deleted], were not authorized.

I suggest you have these and any other unauthorized signs removed to avoid any inevitable citations or fines.
Thank you.
Colleen

Imagine receiving such an email, one that implies a threat of legal action, and how it would make you feel. Nancy did two things: She checked with the property owners and she forwarded me the email that Colleen had sent her. (My response to this person is at the end of this letter.)

I made a promise to myself before the election that, if we were attacked by the CHCC, that I would respond publicly and forcefully, and expose what had happened to the people of our town. This is why I spoke about this at the debate, and why I am writing to you now.

If you are tired of these dirty tricks, and the domination of us all by a few select people, then send a strong message and use your vote on April 15th to say 'enough'.

Sincerely,
Stuart Chaifetz

PS: Here's another tidbit you should know: the CHCC wanted Nancy to run on their slate this year, but she turned them down. No matter what happens on election day, I am honored to have been on the same ticket with Nancy Muldowney.

The following is what I sent back to the representative of the CHCC:

Dear Colleen,
Thank you for your note about our campaign signs.

Nancy spoke to some of the property owners you mentioned and made the following
remarkable discoveries:

1. [location deleted]. When Nancy asked [name deleted] that owns the property about putting up the signs, he said, "no-nothing political." She then said, "Are you aware that there is already a political sign(Klukoff/Roth/Goodwin) out there?" He said, "There is? Well than put yours right next to theirs."

So, we've secured permission for that area, while, apparently, you did not. Have no
fear; I will not report you to the police, so you won't be subject to any inevitable citations or fines.

2. Nancy spoke with someone from [location deleted] who was not sure if the area that you referred to was their property. They said that if it is their property,
nobody is permitted to put up political signs.

If the area in question is a development, then that development cannot chose to have one sign or the other, it has to be both or none at all. I hope this clears this up for you. I will let you know if you need to remove your sign from that area when we hear back from them.

Rest assured that if any of our supporters accidentally puts up a campaign sign on private property, where it should not be, then we will remove it immediately. Just supply us with an exact address and I will personally rectify the situation within hours. Here's my cell phone so you can contact me with no delay: [cell # deleted]

I should also tell you that since the debate we've had an enormous request for signs for private property. These are people who join with us in wanting a democratic board free from the influence of one particular committee. I would hope that if any of your supporters were to place one of your signs on these parcels of land, that you would remove them with the same speed and efficiency that I offer.

I have to wonder if the complaints you have received are actually people pranking you. You see, there are supporters of our opposition who harass people (the monitoring hearing is a good example), and with their vague expressions of wrongdoing, what they told you gives me the same feel. Unless they supply you with specifics, I would ignore them.

Sincerely,
Stuart Chaifetz