PAC to be re-formed to fight for the wards
Neighborhoods 1st will be advocate for change of government
BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer
Anthony Russomanno is resurrecting an old friend to fight a different enemy. The former Democratic council candidate has reignited Neighborhoods 1st, a political action committee (PAC) he helped found in 2004 to garner public support to defeat Edison's acquisition of Oak Tree Pond and the institution of the Open Space Tax.

Though unsuccessful in its initial goals, this time Neighborhoods 1st will work in the positive, rather than the negative, as they gear up to rally voters to support the ward proposal on the November ballot.

Russomanno said the recent recrudescence of the PAC is in large part a matter of convenience.

"In order to raise money, you have to have a PAC," Russomanno said, "if you want to fight a referendum."

Neighborhoods 1st, albeit dormant, has been a legal PAC in the past, and Russomanno is bringing it back for one last fight.

"To try to keep ourselves legal, I'm going to use Neighborhoods 1st because it kind of fits with the wards," he said. "We should worry about one another as the same town, but it's very important that every area of town is considered."

Russomanno has long been a proponent of the ward system of government and played a central role the last time the voters of Edison were asked to consider a change.

At the time, proponents of the ward system held meetings to teach the public what the ward system means, some of the advantages and the drawbacks, so that the public could make an informed decision.

The ward movement faced organized pressure from a group headed by now-Mayor Jun Choi. Despite that, the movement lost by only a handful of votes.

Russomanno hopes that this time will be different.

The ward system would break the township down into an agreed-upon group of wards or districts. Each district would elect one candidate to the council from that district. Depending on the number of wards there are, there would be as many as five council members elected from five separate wards. To counter the ward members would be a group of council members elected by the entirety of the township, as they are now. There usually is one more ward member than at-large members.

Voters will also be asked in November to approve the inclusion of two more council members, bringing the total to nine. If both referendums are passed, there would be five ward council members and four at-large members. However, the two referendums do not have to be passed together, leaving the township with a ward system and seven members or an at-large system with nine members.

To Russomanno, Edison has grown too big not to be represented by wards. He feels it would allow for more direct representation of individual areas and would hold those people more accountable.

"Ward councilmen will definitely suffer the wrath of their ineptness," Russomanno said. "What we've seen in the past is that neighborhoods are generally not paid attention to."

Having a ward system, he said, would give smaller groups of people guaranteed representation and the ability to provide true oversight.

The ward system is not without its detractors, though.

Many who have opposed the plan cite a fear of quid pro quo projects for different wards, raising the cost of government in the township.

Choi, speaking at a meeting in 2004 before becoming mayor, said that every ward is going to want its own pet projects and that taxes will go up.

Russomanno rejects that premise, citing ward success in other towns, most notably Woodbridge, which has roughly the same area as Edison and just a slightly larger population. He worries that the arguments of its detractors are intended to scare people into thinking their taxes will go up even higher.

Russomanno hopes to use the PAC to help level the playing field in a ward fight that he anticipates will include a resurgence in organized opposition.

Russomanno's next step is to gain the support of community leaders and members of different committees throughout the township. He said gaining allies on the Board of Education was particularly important. Last time around, he said, there were worries about redistricting that he felt should be dispelled this time around.

Russomanno said that if Neighborhoods 1st is successful, he will back out of politics.

"This really spells accountability," Russomanno said. "This to me would finalize it. If we get the wards thing through, I'll walk away from politics."