I am just as guilty of this as is every one else.
A single issue polarized this election for outsiders. A huge power plant, which will dominate the skyline from Academy Avenue southwest to Chestnut Hill.
However there are other factors not being taken into consideration. The 115 margin is disheartening to many of those outside Newark who will be soon breathing toxic air. But it is a miracle that it was even that close when one considers the dynamics of a small town mayoral race.
The first factor left out of every discussion so far up till now, is that the incumbent was considered by most Newarkeans to be the best mayor they have ever had. Both business interests and residents have commented in private, that Vance Funk “got it” . He understood how things worked together, development and quality of life, and rode the magic line right down the middle. In truth, the Newark of today is almost unrecognizable from the Newark of the early 2000’s… Now when one says Main Street of Newark, one has to ask… which one?
A lot of the magic that is Newark is due to Vance Funk. So when someone of such stature endorses his pick as someone who will carry the same theme forward, it carries a lot of weight. Many votes for Polly are votes of thanks to Vance. “He’s a good guy, so if he picked her, she must be alright too” was a sentiment heard across the streets of Newark the past two months…
Against this, two great candidates, Amy Roe and Rebecca Powers, would probably not have done as well had they not had the thermal of the power plant issue burning underneath them…. From Amy’s personal biography one has to wonder if she would have ever run, had this not become an issue requiring someone of her stature to step up… I’ll let Ezra speak for Rebecca.
In point, if one lives in Newark, this race was not only about a power plant. It was about people you know; it was about how you feel about the town; it was about who should lead the town in the future on all issues, not just the town’s approval of a power plant…..
And the people spoke. And it was close. Whether the power plant goes in, or another controversy rises up to stop it, (a severe economic crash for example)… the people will have to live with their choice for a long time.
I think it should be noted, that Amy Roe handled herself in the spotlight rather well, and in the future, all this effort will undoubtedly lead to a greater good.
And, just in case no one heard Allan Loudell’s observation on WDEL, all the top three vote getters were women…. How nice is that?
kavips 
4 comments
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November 27, 2013 at 2:16 pm
Nancy Willing
Kavips, you should spend some time with Amy Roe in person. She’s hardly a one issue candidate. She served on the Newark Housing Authority where she advocated for affordable housing policy improvements. She’s spent long hours testifying for clarity and improvements on a myriad of issues for years before TDC came to town. That is why she recognized it when she saw it when no one else was paying attention.
I wouldn’t dream of altering Funk’s rosy picture in your mind but it bears saying that it doesn’t match closely with reality. The total crap you spewed over on Allan’s blog was entertaining if not bizarre – I assumed it was one of your moments of awkward truth-stretching.
November 27, 2013 at 3:03 pm
kavips
As for Amy, I look forward for the opportunity. I apologize if my assessment even slightly came across as demeaning.
As for Vance Funk. … The adulation (not mine but Newark’s) for him wouldn’t have seemed as out of touch as you imply, if you had knocked on doors for Amy in districts where Polly won by over 60%…
The WDEL picture (what a great blog btw) is accurate. I’ll agree that the event is both interesting and bizarre. (It is very easy to collaborate if anyone would like to venture and try.).. 🙂
November 28, 2013 at 3:55 am
Nancy Willing
Your comment – reproduced below – is a complete fabrication and this kind of shit that keeps coming out of your mouth makes me not believe anything you write.
http://www.wdel.com/blog/post.php?postid=3748
“With Vance, a group of Newark natives, all Tea-Party types, took up the idea that physically threatening Vance was the way to get him to change his mind. They staked out his house, so he had to get into abusive verbal confrontations every time he pulled up in his driveway. Though Vance’s neighbors were on his side, they weren’t fond of it, and even though he originally plowed through, the potential of violence such as a home invasion, an attack on the street – if they’d thought of this new knock out game, they would have loved that – zall grew instead of diminished…
The people against the Wawa in Newark are sick people…
That is the real reason Vance decided not to run again, then, when it didn’t stop after that announcement, he quit suddenly.
I wish he’d gone public. He didn’t. Thought it made him look weak or like he was a whiner. He took the road normal people take when they get embarrassed, they brush it under the rug… because it is just too ugly to show the truth to the public.
If this happens to anyone else, that is not what you do. You tell the world, and since the world is much bigger than the threat, the problem goes away.”
November 28, 2013 at 10:03 am
kavips
Actually, today is such a great day, I don’t want to mess it up with negatives. I’ll get back to you latter… Happy Thanksgiving, btw… 🙂