Blame the guy in the chicken suit....
This was recently posted in the Sentinel....
Blame the guy in the chicken suit, reader says
Your Turn Vik Advani
Guest Column
A recent editorial read: “Edison politics are never dull.” Forget dull. Quite frankly, I think it is lifeless. A boring primary with a chicken suit, a few racist remarks by a bunch of idiots, and whoa! Spadoro goes vamoose. And now for some more blather and colored brochures.
Civic leaders tell us to get involved when we feel politically immobilized. But I work 80 hours a week and my idea of getting politically involved is hollering at the Township Council meetings on Channel 22 in my finely air-conditioned North Edison residence. And I need some real-time political excitement without expending substantial effort or calories.
So, just now, I thought up a little exciting political contact sport for you, the average Edison guy/gal.
Soon you will hear a knock on your door, and not so familiar face, with political ambitions far exceeding the paltry square mileage of your town, who will ask you to vote for Choi in November. For those in the target area, you may actually see Choi in the flesh. For those in the secured vote districts, you may encounter a college student with party lines and even more colored brochures.
Invite him in — He won’t bite, unless you want him to. Remember, he needs your vote. Always remember to be polite. Let him and/or his supporters do their shtick. Act dumb, play possum and dimwitted. A foe is most unsuspecting when he thinks he is winning.
Hear ‘Wal-Mart,’ ‘progressive’, ‘fresh perspective’ and ‘new era’ 90 times in three minutes. Endure. Breathe.
And then, just like Rocky Balboa in the second round against Ivan Drago, start swingin’ with purpose. Ask the following questions: What was Choi doing when sprawl took over? What has Choi done in the past to prevent this town from turning into a creeping mess of overdeveloped McMansions?
Does Choi remember when a young family could afford to move into this safe haven without paying half a million dollars for a fixer-upper Stephenville ranch in the ‘desirable North Edison area?’ Then, ask about Choi’s plans for making South Edison ‘desirable.’
Ask about Choi’s plans to curb congestion, and to fix traffic snares and never-ending potholes. Ask about Choi’s plans for lowering the township’s property taxes, and pretend to wait for an answer.
He’s cut! He’s cut! ... And it is a bad cut, and now it’s Rocky Balboa going after Ivan Drago!
Expect your foe to be smart and formidable. Expect Choi to blame Spadoro for everything.
Expect to hear about his detailed Web site, www.junchoi.com/issues, which sets forth an elegant itinerary, and hear it regurgitated. Hear about televising Planning and Zoning Board meetings on Channel 22; upgrading the master plan; implementing less intensive zoning requirements and more long-term sustainable development principles; and appointing Planning and Zoning Board members committed to implementing the upgraded master plan and soliciting greater community input working with coalitions of education advocates statewide to secure our fair share of state aid; professionalizing municipal services; mandating competitive bidding of all city business; and of course, my favorite, attending council, planning and school board meetings on a regular basis.
Pace yourself, the painful generalities are almost over. Deliver Tyson-like, near-fatal uppercuts:
Has Choi ever attended Edison township council meetings with any regularity before? Where was he when televising the Zoning/Planning Board issue was hotly contested at the town hall meetings? Was he at the relevant community meetings when Wal-Mart was being debated? And how did Choi oppose Mayor Spadoro’s plan to charge $40 a dinner plate for the State of the Town address at the Clarion?
Ask how Choi’s itinerary is any different from Stephens? Ask how he hopes to includes Republicans and other ‘non-Dems’ in his plan.
Now you have the guy in the chicken suit reeling. Punch-drunk with newfound excitement, go in for the kill, the jugular, the heart-punch, the pile driver, the people’s elbow.
Ask where Choi wants to be four years from now, and whether he views the Edison mayor’s post as a stepping stone to higher office. Ask if Choi is willing to declare publicly that he wants to be Edison’s mayor for a really, really, really long time (two or more terms). Ask why he was inquiring about running for assembly and county freeholder slots prior to his run for mayor.
Knockout.
And as the door shuts behind Choi and/or his aide, loudly yell, ‘‘Adrian!,” and kiss your wife/husband/mate passionately. Expect to be vigorously cross-examined about “Adrian” while you wait for Choi to mysteriously appear on Channel 22.
Editor’s note: Advani is a longtime Edison resident, attorney and adjunct law professor. He said he has no immediate political ambitions for state, county, local, federal or international office. However, he said he is considering forming the political action committee, Friends of Vik Advani, which will solicit donations for a possible run for something in 2037.
posted by The Stupefied Edisonian at 7:26 AM
2 Comments:
(This was the response by an obvious supporter and member of the Choi Camp.)
Reader takes letter writer to task for remarks
This is in response to the July 13 “Your Turn” column written by Vik Advani.
While satire, it’s a poor analysis from an armchair observer of Edison politics who either is working for the mayoral opponent bent on negative attacks or a cynical observer of Edison politics who doesn’t appear to understand what it means to move our community forward.
So, who is this columnist? Vik Advani — a (lawyer) who describes his idea of political involvement as “hollering at the Township Council meetings on Channel 22 in his finely air-conditioned” home. He probably has political ambitions, but yet, according to the Edison voting records, he hasn’t voted in a single municipal election in 2003, 2001 or 1999.
As a voter in Edison, I ask Vik Advani to commit to a basic level of public service before he personally critiques Jun Choi’s motivations for public service. Then, perhaps, he would appreciate the responsibility and sacrifice required from a leader.
He asks what has Choi been doing when sprawl took over? Jun Choi was a student in the Edison public school system when most of the sprawl occurred in the 1970s-80s. In the 1990s, he was away at MIT and Columbia University earning degrees and credentials so he would be a well-prepared and productive citizen.
He also traveled the country as a management consultant working long hours with large organizations without fanfare or celebrity. When he returned to Edison, he got involved in Edison civic life and politics.
Despite what this armchair columnist may think, Jun Choi has attended dozens of council meetings and board meetings, joined the board of the YMCA of Metuchen-Edison-Woodbridge and serves as chair of the Fair Rental Housing Board, an admirable level of community involvement despite his busy schedule as executive director of a statewide education task force for the state of New Jersey.
The fact of the matter is that when most people meet Jun Choi personally, they are impressed by him and his sincerity to public service.
We all accept the fact that candidates and elected officials must face the scrutiny of public opinion, whether fair or not. But this column did nothing to add anything of value to the public dialogue and seems more interested in adding doubt to the Democratic nominee for mayor to get some entertainment value.
Edison public dialogue has to improve. It has to be focused on constructive ideas about real issues, not the negative, divisive rhetoric, whether for entertainment purpose or not, which doesn’t help our situation. You can see where negative campaigning got Spadoro.
Loretta Lord
Edison
And here is the reply to the Choi Camp response....
Nonactivist questions candidate’s motives
Your Turn
Vik Advani
Guest Column
Dear mayor-candidate Choi:
I want to personally thank you and Loretta Lord for making me an overnight celebrity. Neighbors, relatives and friends are calling to rejoice in my newfound popularity. Even so, I could use more attention. So bring it on, please!
Ms. Lord’s July 20 letter to the editor was largely accurate. I have never voted in a municipal election, and I agree, it has been a really long time (quite possibly never) since I have even attended a municipal meeting of any kind.
But I have to respectfully wonder, how did Ms. Lord get a hold of my voting records? She must be commended on her research abilities.
If my satire piece was poorly analyzed and offensive, I apologize to Ms. Lord and you. I am entirely remorseful, being an out-of-control armchair columnist. I just got too excited.
You see, mayor-candidate Choi, my July 13 letter was my very first submission to a newspaper. I was under the mistaken impression that I could voice my disapproval of your candidacy without being personally attacked. And having my family read that I am a divisive, cynical nonvoter with covert political intentions was not what I had bargained for.
So, what was I hoping for? A response to the one question that everyone on your own ticket probably has, but doesn’t dare ask: IF ELECTED MAYOR, HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO STICK AROUND, MR. CHOI? Why were you thinking of running for the state Assembly, freeholder, and Board of Education before ending up in our neck of the woods? Are you readying up to assume a retiring congressman’s seat? Or are you thinking governor, senator, maybe?
Let me lay my cards on the table. I suspect that you want the Edison mayor’s post only to cut your politically neophyte teeth until something better comes along. And I strongly suspect that you will leave midstream to move on to greener pastures if offered such a post. If this happens, a mid-term change will be politically and fiscally taxing for Edison.
Maybe your quick ascent and descent will leave your council members’ political ambitions for the mayoral post intact. However, their lukewarm reaction to your victory certainly bears more questions than answers. But your tenuous relationship with the council is entirely another topic that I am working on, I promise!
Mayor-candidate Choi, before you get one of your “supporters” to proclaim that your political ambitions should not be sneered at, I couldn’t care a whit if you ran for and won the presidential election. But I will give a humongous damn if my taxes go up, my roads remain unpaved, my streets don’t get cleared after a snowstorm, my Edison Tower remains an abysmal mess, and especially if my mayoral seat and council becomes a game of musical chairs.
Most importantly, I want the people of my town to elect the mayor and council of Edison, and not Doc Paterniti’s crew.
I recognize that my civic contribution to Edison is not significant. Maybe I am diligently garnering the same credentials that Ms. Lord glorified for you. Or maybe I am just busy eating Ho-Hos in my finely air-conditioned North Edison residence. Either way, I pay my taxes and I do not need your “supporters” to remind me when my First Amendment rights need to be exercised.
So prove me wrong, mayor-candidate Choi. Have the political gumption to write a letter to the Sentinel confirming that you will remain mayor of Edison for your entire term of service if elected. Deny and/or explain why you inquired into running and gathering money for the state Assembly, freeholder and Board of Education slots before running for mayor.
In this letter (that I double-dare you to write) could you also explain why you were rubbing elbows with the good ol’ boys inside the Clarion during Mayor Spadoro’s $40-a-plate State of the Township address instead of crying bloody murder outside with everyone else? Yes, I know, I was not there, but try to focus on the issues this time. Do you intend to make such addresses a paid event in the future? If not, why were you inside in the first place? And make sure you, not Don Hansen or Loretta Lord or John Doe, writes the letter.
If you do the above, I promise to go away quietly. And I promise never to poke fun at the guy in the chicken suit again, Ms. Lord.
Vik Advani is a longtime Edison resident, attorney and adjunct law professor.
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