Politics - Feh

Winning with 70 percent of the vote may look like a mandate, but as Mayor-elect Adrian Mapp found out on Nov. 12, the real contest in Plainfield is being able to count to four. By now many have seen the televised council meeting where a majority voted down two key resolutions for his incoming administration.

Mapp wanted to increase the salary line for chief financial officer and also sought creation of the position of chief of staff. Denied the first, he saw its rejection as a reaction to his failure to support a budget transfer for police promotions recently made by Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs.

 "Because I didn't vote for that transfer, because it's a bad piece of legislation, my colleagues.decide they are going to do to Plainfield what has been done for many years," he said.

But his remark only angered colleagues who then voted down the second resolution.

Before the vote on chief of staff, Councilman Cory Storch urged the council to give the incoming mayor the team he needs, but said he saw "history repeating itself."

It's true that other mayors have triumphed in their election, only to face an implacable council.

One could assume that each council member had his or her own rationale for the way they voted, but there was another bit of video on YouTube that was widely disseminated on Election Day, in which Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Green asserts his power. So could there be a situation of political factionalism with Mapp on one side and Green on the other?

The next test of whether sides are being drawn will be how the council fills the vacancy when Mapp steps down from his Third Ward seat. The Democratic City Committee will present three names to the council, which will choose one. Local pundits are already saying the 4-3 split seen at the Nov. 12 council meeting could turn into a 5-2 alignment that will effectively stymie the incoming mayor.

This pattern is a familiar one to those who have observed previous administrations, but it is one that has caused stagnation, especially in development. It's the kind of thing that makes voters stay home out of disgust and developers wander off out of dismay. Texters may say SMH, old timers can only say "Feh."

--Bernice

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