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A 'tremendous' response
At this point, only a true “maverick” would leave their lawn unadorned.
West Essex voters have been scooping up signs supporting Arizona Sen. John McCain and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to display in their yards, according to State Sen. Kevin O’Toole.
So much so, the Republican Party’s regional office has gone through two runs of the placards. That’s 2,500 to 5,000 little blue-and-white signs.
“I've been in politics on a presidential level since 1984, and this is the highest level of interest I've ever seen,” the Cedar Grove resident and party chair said. “People are wild about the McCain/Palin ticket. I’ve even seen independents off the street ask, ‘how can I volunteer?’”
Local Democrats are saying the same thing about Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden. Odds are you’ve heard it, too: some version of how this is the biggest, most exciting election as far back as anyone can remember and that everyone on the political spectrum has been galvanized into action.
“People have been calling me, looking for the [Verona] Democratic chairman,” former mayor Robert Detore said. “They’ve been e-mailing me. It hasn’t been in the thousands, but in the hundreds.”
He directs them to the Democrats’ West Orange office, where workers are operating phone banks and contacting registered independents in support of Obama/Biden.
The contacts are noteworthy in and of themselves.
Local party leaders are not immediately engaged. While Detore said he’s been working closely with the campaign, officials like him deal mostly with the regional offices.
“It’s been very positive,” he said. “A survey of the contacts has been positive in the last few weeks, largely because of the economic crisis.”
What is getting Verona and Cedar Grove people fired up?
“I think taxes and the economy are [issues] one and two,” O'Toole said. “And pork-barrel spending. I think one candidate has been head-and-shoulders have been above the rest.”
“The economic issue is what people are primarily concerned about,” Detore agreed. “They view who is best to work through this crisis and lead.”
O’Toole and Detore have their own reasons for supporting their candidates. O’Toole said he trusts McCain’s leadership to handle the economy and foreign affairs. Detore said Obama is best able to enact “change” and McCain would be “a third term for [President George W.] Bush.”
So where are these mobilized masses? For the most part, residents, and their party leaders, are choosing to express it more subtly.
One reason why is that these are non-partisan towns. The council-manager form of government dampers strong political party affiliations.
Jay Sniatkowski is a good example of this. Verona’s deputy mayor said he respects the Verona Township Council's apolitical nature. The self-described “lifelong Republican” isn’t about to bring his personal preferences into the council chambers.
Since becoming the party’s Verona chairman this spring, he’s been doing what local politically involved folks tend to do: help behind the scenes.
He’s been finding candidates for down-ballot races, holding meetings and talking privately with neighbors and constituents. He said that he hasn’t heard much talk about local and regional races since the focus has been nationally.
“I think in this election, it’s the first time that the Internet has been the main source of news, even more so than newspapers,” he said. “…With a click of a mouse, you can see daily polls.
“If you want to see Barack Obama speak, it’s right there. If you want to see Sarah Palin’s speech, it’s right there,” he said of YouTube.
Verona Democratic Vice Chair Marion Gillespie said there’s been a “tremendous amount of interest” and that Medicare and Medicaid are the big issues for retired Verona and Cedar Grove residents.
“The young people are wondering whether [Medicare and Medicaid] will be there when they retire,” she said. “Their jobs are going down the tubes, young people who are still working.”
She said residents are interested Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s health plan for young people and who will be covered for health insurance.
Gillespie said she hasn’t had the opportunity to actively campaign because she is in a walker and has voted absentee. She also noted the tremendous amount of interest in the economy and the war in Iraq.
“People are concerned about the billions we're wasting over there when we could be taking care of our people here,” she said.
For both sides, the interest needs to sustain itself for a few more days. Then, voters can choose between McCain/Palin, Obama/Biden and several third-party candidates.
Last Friday, the Essex County Republicans hosted a McCain rally at the Cedar Grove Veterans of Foreign Wars Post. O’Toole said 220 people attended.
“People have been stopping me in the Pilgrim Diner,” he said.
“New Jersey continues to trend Democratic and I think that people will vote Democratic and vote the Democratic line,” Detore said. "The benefit is that many who may have not gotten involved before, most will go Democratic.”
Verona and Cedar Grove supported Bush in 2004.
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