Good Government Forum

06/02/2024

I have been away from this page for an extended period of time. I am working on returning on a regular basis and expanding the website associated with the Forum.

This page is needed during this time when our democracy and rights are under siege and the potential for losing even more influence and participation in our governing process is threatened.

I expect to be making many comments regarding the current state of politics and campaigns. I hope to be able to push back on some of the misinformation we are battered with everyday. I also hope to provide some insight into how to influence the governing process.

We'll see.

01/17/2024

TRUMP RECEIVES SUPPORT FROM 8% OF IOWA REGISTERED REPUBLICANS

Why isn’t this the headline following the Iowa caucuses yesterday. Instead, we see headlines about Trump the winner and having a 30% win and more and more praise.

Imagine for a minute, that Joe Biden had a rival in this year’s primary election in New Hampshire who had some support. Imagine that rival or group of rivals receiving 49% of the vote in the upcoming New Hampshire primary. Also imagine that the Democratic voter turnout was below 15% for the state and Biden got half of that vote or around 8%.

I can see the headlines: “Biden Bombs in New Hampshire”, “Biden Support Eroding”. “Can Biden Recover.” You get it.

Receiving only half of the support of your party with terrible turnout is not great. In interviews, many of those not voting for Trump in Iowa have said they can’t support him in the future. There are Republicans like Chaney and Christie who say they are doing everything they can to see that Trump never sets foot in the White House again.

Everyone needs to get a grip and start ignoring the wall-to-wall Trump coverage on TV. Trump is not larger than life, he is not the savior of our nation, he has very little support. Trump is what he says he is; a would-be dictator who will seek revenge on anyone he believes has crossed him in the past and use his power to destroy democracy.

01/15/2024

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE NEAR RECORD LOW

Yesterday I pointed out that those who are claiming we have “record” inflation are simply not accurate. Today I am looking at the unemployment figures. See the attached graph showing the unemployment rate over the last 75 years.

It is tempting to describe the current unemployment rate as “historic” or “record.” It is a fact that our current unemployment rate is very low, over 22 months in a row below 4% unemployment is very impressive. President Biden should be pleased with this fact and his detractors need to acknowledge this fact.

While impressive and a great indication our economy is recovering from the Covid-19 disaster, the record for the lowest unemployment was set in the boom years following World War II.

The record for the highest unemployment was, over 14% was set recently, during Covid.

The advice one needs to take from these facts is to be careful when describing anything as historic or record breaking until you have checked all the facts, even nearly 80 years ago.

01/14/2024

FACTS ON INFLATION

We are constantly being barraged with claims that inflation is at “record levels” and the Biden policies and actions are not addressing the problem. The facts regarding inflation are as follows. For a period after President Biden took office, inflation rose sharply, reaching a high of just over 9% in June of 2022. This rise was caused by the severe lack of products and a recovering delivery infrastructure. As President Biden’s policies and actions began to take hold, along with the recovery from the worst of Covid, inflation began to drop. In fact, since the high of 9.1%, inflation has dropped precipitously.

The inflation rate in December was 3.4% and the average for 2023 was 4.1%. There is no prediction that this trend and economic growth is going to decrease soon.

It is time for those who are providing the gloom and doom to be honest and address the fact that our current economic status and future are improving every day.

2023 INFLATION RATE WITH TREND LINE

06/27/2023

8.000,000,000

The number above is the number of plastic bags that did not end on New Jersey beaches, roads, streams, forests and waste stream.

The number comes from the first annual report of the Plastic Advisory Council (PAC). The PAC was created in the same legislation that banned most bags in NJ. The number was estimated after surveys of businesses that are no longer allowed to distribute plastic bags. The report even indicates that this number is a very low estimate.

The 83-page report describes the transition away from plastic bags and includes a large number of suggestions for future actions.

Look for additional information on these pages, but if you are interested in the report, here is the link: https://dep.nj.gov/wp-content/uploads/pac-first-year-report-2023.pdf

Government in action. A. Swanson June 27, 2023

06/23/2023

This page is intended to provide information about how our system of governing works, how it can be improved and what issues are important now and in the future. It will soon be linked to a website with the same name and objective.

In this day of decreasing local news sources, it is hoped that this page and associated publications will help to contribute to citizen knowledge of issues and ability to make informed decisions about those issues. Most will describe the opinions expressed as coming from a "progressive" perspective. Most important is that this site will not create its own facts.

The format, objectives and content will undoubtedly change as this page and the website evolve. I hope you will find the information informative,, interesting and helpful in knowing what is happening in our area and beyond.

I hope it contributes to making a difference.

Allen Swanson

06/22/2023

NEW PROVIDENCE LIBRARY BOARD ADDRESSES BOOK CONCERNS

Recently the New Providence NJ Library Board was presented with two challenges to the location and distribution of the book “Gender Q***r: A Memoir.” The book, high on the list of the book banners, is a teenage sexual identity graphic novel. It contains what some contend are inappropriate images.

The Library Board had created a committee to read the book, listen to the one challenger who would speak with them and develop recommendations.

The committee report was delivered by Lisa McKnight, Borough Council Liaison to the Library Board on Tuesday June 20 meeting.. The report included the following conclusions:

• Individuals should determine what is appropriate material to read.
• Parents should be aware of what their children are reading, if they are concerned.
• Parents should discuss these issues with their children.
• The book is not unusual in the library or in literature related to teenage sexual exploration.
• The books’ location is not easily accessible to young children.
• Parents have the right to control the access of their children to reading material. They do not have the right to limit the public access of children other than their own to reading material.

The Library Board voted, unanimously, to accept the recommendation of the committee that the book not be removed or moved from its current location.

In addition, the Board agreed to consider a resolution in the future condemning the banning of books.

Allen Swanson, the only citizen present at the meeting, expressed support for the work of the committee and the action of the Library Board. In response, Board President, Mark Ondris, expressed that the Board is committed to preventing the removal of books.

09/16/2022

Major Zoning Changes coming

On September 13, 2022, the Borough Council introduced a draft of changes to be made to Chapter 310 of the Zoning & Land Use Ordinances.

The changes are considered the “2022 Codification and Amendment.” The document as introduced is over 200 pages. As explained the intent of this action will be to put into place the required ordinances to allow for implementation of the 2016 “Downtown Plan.” In addition, several other zoning ordinance issues are going to be clarified with the revision of Chapter 310.

The “Downtown” or “Central Commercial District” is defined as what any resident of New Providence would expect. That would be the commercial structures located in the area near the intersection of Springfield Ave, and South Street. CCD in red on the graphic.

The changes to Chapter 310 were described at the July 19, 2022, Borough Council meeting with a verbal and visual presentation. As of yesterday, I was told the PowerPoint presentation regarding the changes would be presented at the Planning Board meeting on September 20th. That public meeting is at 7:30PM in the Borough Council Chamber.

It is difficult to highlight what specific changes are being proposed because the document is over 200 pages, and the changes are not identified or highlighted.
The link to the draft document is: https://www.newprov.org/download/Planning%20Board/agendas/2022/september_20_2022/Zoning-Ordinance-310-09132022.pdf

One important change that may have a significant impact on the “Downtown area is the permitted height of commercial buildings will increase to 45 feet. That will allow for construction of three-story buildings. Currently there is a proposal for a three-story building at 44 South Street across from Barth’s Market.

It is not possible to go into the details of the 200-page document in this setting. I would suggest anyone interested plan on attending the meeting of the Planning Board on Tuesday.

Once the planning board has approved the ordinance it will move on to the Borough Council for a hearing and vote on September 27th.

Here is the link to the “Downtown Master Plan:” https://www.newprov.org/download/Planning%20Board/downtown_master_plan/Downtown-Master-Plan-January-2016.pdf

08/31/2022

New Jersey Sierra Club
Yesterday at 3:42 PM ·
On the anniversary of Hurricane Ida, please join us for a roundtable with our NJ Congressional Delegation, including Congressman Andy Kim, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill and Congressman Tom Malinowski to discuss the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Anjuli Ramos- Busot, New Jersey Director of the Sierra Club will be moderating the roundtable discussion.
The landmark Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will take critical steps to eliminate climate pollution, prevent the most catastrophic impacts of climate change and will make historic investments that lower costs for families. The roundtable discussion will include the benefits that IRA will bring to New Jersey and how it will help the state prepare and adapt to another storm like Ida.
Click Link in bio to register: https://bit.ly/3e8xYCi
Who: Congressman Kim, Congresswoman Sherrill, Congressman Malinowski
What: IRA Roundtable Discussion & the benefits it will bring to NJ
Where: Zoom Meeting
When: Thursday, September 1st, 5:30pm-7:00pm

07/23/2022

New Providence NJ has a long history of one party rule. There has not been a Democrat or independent elected to any office in the borough since the mid 1960s.

This year, 2022, there is a rather unique situation. That is, a full slate of candidates for the three local positions on the ballot in November. The office of Mayor and two Council seats have contested races.

Below is a letter to the editor that was published by the TAP into New Providence on July 19, 2022.

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/new-providence/categories/letters-to-the-editor/articles/new-providence-rarity-a-contested-election-11

We are currently experiencing a very rare occurrence in New Providence. That is an election in November where there is a full slate of competitors. Not only are there four contenders for the two...