I'm confused as to how it is even remotely a story that Brian Kelly is not running for Commissioner. There are scores of highly dedicated contributors who have tirelessly served this Borough for ages and have done so as actual carpenters engaging in positive activities. God bless Brian or anyone who actively engages in the essential process of civic engagement and debate. But coming out of nowhere and being outspokenly negative and against something as a one trick pony so far, hardly qualifies them as a realistic or qualified candidate in a town like this with that has a multitude of highly credible potential candidates.

Wow....the mean-spirited comments never seem to end. I may not agree with everyone's perspective on particular issues....but I respect their insight and involvement. There seems to be a trend in our town to demean folks who have a point of view that is different from your own...as evidenced by the Bancroft bond issue...heck, I was even called a "pinko commie" for expressing my views! I applaud anyone who "comes out of nowhere" to promote ideas that could benefit ALL residents of our town. I hope that the bully tactics of some won't discourage people from being involved. Let's use our energy to make improvements...not discredit fellow residents.

Not at all. I applaud and and all who participate in the essential democratic process of civic engagement and I said so above if you re-read my comments above. This is not a criticism of him but rather of anyone who thinks that his not running for Commissioner is noteworthy.

Good points by both and clarification by Bill. I also agree that reasonable people can disagree and still remain friends - as we did regarding Bancroft. Like Bill, I don't understand the signifigance or rationale for including Brian Kelly in the article. Why didn't the Patch mention everyone that was involved with Bancroft on both sides ? News flash - Jack O'Malley is not running either !

Exactly my point James and thanks for your thoughts. To me it was almost bizarre with the hundreds of people who have been heavily involved in all issues or even just the Bancroft issue alone over the past decade that it has been so hot, that one relatively obscure person gets singled out as being significant for not running. It makes no sense and putting it in a news headline does not legitimize it either. Having said that, I do hope that those hundreds who have been so involved along with the newer faces and yet to be seen faces do step up to keep this town on the wonderful track that it has been on. There are times when it seems that volunteerism and civic involvement have been declining and that has been the lifeblood of this town's relative success. Without the commitment and passion that we have here, we would be just any another town.....

The Press will always paint a story their way. We need someone to run for Commissioner who was not in favor and very active in the anti purchase Bancroft movement . We should encourage a person who is not in favor of going to spend 16 + million in debt plus more millions more in over head to buy a ball field and parking lot that could be shared with Bancroft not being purchase with TAX payers dollars. Ask Rochford what he wants, higher debt or lower taxes If he would vote for Bancroft do not vote Him as a commissioner who want higher taxes .The High Taxes in NJ in Income Taxes and high Real Estate taxes plus the Higher Estate Taxes will hurt NJ long term Wealthy Families and business owners will leave the State. The Public Employees who retire with million dollar pensions are all leaving and going to more Tax friendly and warmer climates. The pensions dollars which are very high in NJ this Union State are leaving and going to other SUN States .Vote out High tax and Debt Commissioners .Jeff Kasko wants lower taxes and more responsible spending so Vote him back in.

J Sheridan, I do not believe that your comments about this being unprecedented here is at all accurate.There have been inctedible efforts and struggles by all kinds of amazing people in this town in recent decades. I also do not believe that his particular efforts here were extraordinary as far as past or present Haddonfielders are concerned. Sure, PATCH and some other outlets may have made it seem so, but the reality of the ewesome efforts of the true carpenters in this town is far more impressive. Again, nothing against Brian personally and good for anybody who engages in the process whether I agree with their position or not. But let's not get carried away here. Building something is far more impressive than tearing something down in my opinion. Any number of other factors contributed to the vote result, not the least of which was the fear mongrring by John Stokes about Radnor field (which will NEVER happen and I would lay down in front of the bulldozers myself). He's not running for office either. So my message intent is positive. I can think of dozens of people off the top of my head who I would be thrilled to see step into positions of leadership or elected office here who have actually created or advanced something for us all and for the benefit of future generations. In my opinion, Hopefully Brian will stay involved and channel his passion and become one of those people at some point. But for PATCH to seemingly try to create that out of thin air is unfounded.

I would just like to end all speculation right now by stating that I will not be seeking public office this year. Running my nutjob marxist church, providing the inspiration for Barack Obama's book the "Audacity of Hope", and crowning people like Louis Farakhan as a "Person of the Year" is job enough. Thank you.

Another cogent, relavent comment by the so called Rev. Wright.

Bill, One reason the patch put my name in there is because most people running are associated with the bond and considering the referendum was only a month ago it's a bit of local news. The whole bond vote, Haddonfield United included, received major press coverage. It's a story. Although so many of the talented residents that powered HU are responsible for the referendum win I'm the founder so I got the attention.
Contrary to Ms Nogud's comments, Hu tirelessly researched the facts submitted by residents all over town for months and many of us worked into the night as we all had day jobs. The debate was passionate on both sides, and rightly so. If she sees that as venomous it's her right. I've lived here most of my life, saw an issue I believed in, gave it everything I had and was fortunate to be joined by a multitude of residents who felt the same way. I'm not sure how one trick pony applies here.
John Stokes's feelings on Radnor were mine over a year before I ever met him. Anyone thinking that's the sole reason my old neighborhood voted so heavily against the bond is mistaken.
Maybe you're right and I should run. It would be interesting considering the support already out there. There's still time. To serve Haddonfield in any way would be an honor for any resident. Also, people like John Moscatelli, founder of Citizens for Haddonfield's Future should run for school board.

Contrary to what comment?

Vote No for Rochford if he is like Tish and Tarditti Tax & spend Commissoners

Brian, "Maybe who is right and you should run"? I certainly never suggested that you should run and I am not saying that because of your views on Bancroft. Also, I do not see this election at all as being about the Bancroft bond referendum and do not understand your comments that the referendum defines the folks who are running. Sure, the two incumbents have opinions on that particular issue as does the former commissioner who is running as well as someone who will be announcing soon. But that is just one of many issues and all of them have been involved in all issues for many years. Lastly, any candidate who tries to convince voters that Haddonfield is screwed up and needs them to save us in some way, is trading on negativity and pandering to malcontents. Sure, we can always do better as a town, but this is a very wonderful place and we are doing most things VERY well.

So, any time that someone is critical of a politician or an issue they are trading on "negativity" and "pandering"? Should we all just lavish blind praise our elected leaders and never criticize?

Thank God some have the courage to criticize and to seek improvement, no matter how uncomfortable that may be for them personally or for others.

I'd hate to think where this country would be if every politician -- local or otherwise -- was given carte blanche to execute their personal policies preferences without critique. That's certainly not what free speech is about.

I know personally from talking with Brian that he received many poisonous emails and calls in the wake of the Bancroft vote. Certainly his positions were not taken lightly and were not without consequences for him personally.

Bill,The vote defined two different visions for Haddonfield and applies to this election. One is a vision of spending without consequence that lead us to our current debt and tax rate while ignoring the basic needs of roads, schools and other infrastructure.
Bancroft was an overpriced project with no end in sight. A grand vision of further burden that didn't address our current needs. It's relevant as many still support that vision.
We were told it was our last chance yet 2 days after the defeat Commissioner Borden is negotiating again with Bancroft. By the way, as the town wants no more closed door meetings who is on the negotiating committee with Commissioner Borden? Taxpayers are tired of this routine.
The other vision involves this. Put your house in order. Fix your infrastructure before it cost you even more. Address the tax burden and discuss ways to decrease it instead of increasing. Show transparency. Address responsible spending. Take into account the concerns of the whole community as opposed to one segment.
These are the 2 visions the bond defined and that definition still stands.
To suggest any candidate is trying to convince voters Haddonfield is "screwed up" and needs them save us in some way and is pandering to malcontents?
First of all, who is this "us" you're talking about? And the people they pander to are "malcontents"?
There are no "us" or "malcontents". Haddonfield is one community and every resident is just as important as the other.

Brian, this is negative rhetoric without any real substance. The fact is that an embarrassingly high number of residents don't understand their own tax bills well enough to realize what they are paying and why. You either don't know either or are BSing people that you can solve problems that are not solvable by you. The fact is that the typical homeowner only pays about $150 per month to the Borough. This covers a large number of local services. I defy you to go sit with Kasko and the budget and show him where all of this wasteful spending is and how you would save "us" so much money that you speak of. Then after you save "us" there, head over to the BOE and show them where all of the savings are when they are already not spending any more than other districts per pupil, yet achieving the most exceptional results in the region. "Our" problems are caused by a Robin Hood state funding formula for schools as well as the high property values relative to the county resulting in us paying more than our fair share of the bloated county burden.

Yes, I said malcontents. There are people who will never be happy or perhaps have not dug in enough or spent enough time working the issues to see that with more information also comes a better understanding of why things are the way they are with Certain decisions. That's how I have seen it with most issues out there over time that people tend to get fired up about. Haddonfield is a fabulous town and we as a community do an exceptional job in most areas. This is obviously why we choose to live here and why we enjoy our enviable position in the region. Is this place perfect? Of course not. But it is the best place that I know of around here. If you want to help make it better, go ahead and dig in alongside the multitude of selfless community serving residents that we have here. But the glass is not half empty here and folks are doing a pretty good job in my opinion. Ask any commissioner and they will tell you that I disagree with them at times as well, but you also need to give credit where credit is due and stop pretending like you have all of the answers.

Bancroft is a separate issue and either you share the vision or you don't, and you obviously don't. But it is about controlling a key piece of strategically situated land that could have been put to immediate use on large part as recreation and community parkland uses. However the scare tactics you continue to use that it was going to be open ended and run away spending is nonsense. Additional spending would always be at the discretion of the entire community and cannot happen with our collective say so.

But that ship has sailed and it appears that you cannot win gracefully about it. And if it comes back around in some more palatable form at some point as you fear based upon your comments, it would then again be up to the public to consider any new information or possibilities. It's unlikely at this point that this will come back, but I sure hope that any current or future leaders would always be considering options to optimize our collective wellbeing and alternatives on any major public issues.

For those who understand, no explanation is necessary; for those who don't understand, no explanation is possible.

To Bill's point. Long on jingoism, short on actual details.

Come on Susan, that is an increase at or less than inflation so what is your beef? Really. Run for the BOE and show them where the savings are. Sorry to call you out on this but are you really complaining about an increase of less than 2%, especially when it was even less than that last year as I recall? Seriously. These are your fellow residents doing their very best with their free time to serve us and you appear to be relentlessly giving them crap without any realistic justification.

My previous comments about the public having control relate to the requirement that capital spending bonds must be approved by referendum.

You are joking about how 1.7% is materially different that 1.98%, I hope. If not, you might want to stick to the MD thing. As for suggesting that union givebacks and benefit contributions should increase, most folks would agree with that and have said the same thing. That is not a new suggestion but you might recall the point to which these negotiations were pushed last time around. Getting those concessions is no small task and while we should always be shrewd to get the right contract, I am not sure that this town is ready for a teacher strike. I do not recall that our compensation packages are any better than the average. In fact we have lost many good administrators to better paying gigs in other districts. Lastly, while I am neutral and see both sides of the turf issue, even an extremist anti person would have to agree at least partially that the massive private donor subsidy makes the financial aspects of the project reasonably attractive.

I wasn't joking about the school tax levy increase. Apparently you don't know people who are having difficulty paying their current tax bills in this town due to being on fixed incomes. If you are on the edge, a small increase is not small. But I understand that Haddonfield is not a town with much diversity, either economically, racially or in religious background. So people are used to talking with people from the same background and circumstance. One of the things I did learn from my over 35 years as a practicing MD is that there are people who are not as fortunate as I have been. It sounds like you never learned that.
If the private donors want to pay for the yearly maintenance and field replacement every 8 to 10 years, that would be fine with me. But I haven't seen them offer to pay these fees as well. They have left this to the B of E, the same B of E that is short 220 computers for the state mandated tests. I just don't think that the taxpayers should be on the hook for this want, not need, in these economic times.
On the other hand, if there are private donors with money to use on artificial fields, I would hope that they would find other things in our community to contribute to - the Food Bank of South Jersey, Habitat for Humanity - there are needs in our community much more important than artificial turf fields. This is a question of values and what you think is important.

"But coming out of nowhere and being outspokenly negative and against something as a one trick pony so far, hardly qualifies them as a realistic or qualified candidate in a town like this with that has a multitude of highly credible potential candidates."

Don't you just love how Bill T has been trying to act like this wasn't a criticism of Brian Kelly? Brian Kelly obviously represented the will of the people and should be applauded for his valiant grass roots effort on behalf of sane governance and fiscal responsibility. Truly democracy in action. Well done Mr Kelly!

Lower health cost for public employees convert all pension to 401 K plans Freeze merit raises step up raises is one way to reduce future costs .The Real Estate taxes have gone up for year over 5-7% not just 2% so the the average taxes have double in the last 10-12 years for the last two decades we have seek very large taxes increases .So where does the person who is paying the Haddonfield average tax of $12000 expect their taxes to be in 10-20 years $24-36000 in a annual tax bill .The public employees costs have to change drastically so to keep the tax increase of the past to go up the future at a smaller rate of the past 20 years .The values are not going to continue to go up to support these higher taxes so net worth will be effected to, not just the higher cost to support these taxes and high public employees costs.The reductions have to happen on the Local County State and school level The State has to stop using union wages scale for every public works project in the State It cost 3-10 times for most costs to redo road and bridges and other capital improvements The average cost to redo a mile of Road in a Sun State is $200,000, and the cost in NJ is 10 times that cost or 2 million a mile Over time you can see what NJ is 2nd highest tax State In the USA and Haddonfield is in the Top 1% of that number. Of Course there is benefits for these costs of living in Haddonfield ,Camden County and NJ which you have to weigh when you live here.Bill T how would lower costs .

Leadership has to be on every Level ,BOE ,Unions leaders ,Public employees have to be part of the solution not just part of the out of control spending of the last 20 + years.Bill T can you come with more ways to slow the out of control spending that we can not afford in the future .Higher Real Estate value approach is how many teachers, BOE and supporters used as a device to increase costs of salaries, health and pension costs .That excuse or argument stopped in 2007 and many towns Real Estate price have rolled back to 2003 prices.

I don't think I said anything to indicate that holding the line on tax increases is something I'm not in favor of. That would be silly not to want to save money. Wage,benefit and union issues are a big part of that obviously. Susan's attempts to cast me as an elitist does not advance her argument particularly while Continually reminding everyone that she practices medicine, which is entirely irrelevant. Advanced degrees are a dime a dozen in these parts. Having said that, I do not need to rely on any of mine to realize how absurd it is to continue to argue that the 1.98 percent proposed budget increase is not materially in line with inflation and consequently similar to a zero increase. The difference being argued here is roughly $1.50 per month. If being able to do that math and realizing that this is inconsequential makes me an insensitive snob, then so be it. :-)

I do not claim to have all of the answers. My central point in all of these posts is as follows. If folks don't like the job the BOE or Commission is doing, then dig in and volunteer to help them to do a better job. Generally, I do think that they would appreciate well intentioned and respectful help. Dissent is one thing and an important part of our democracy. But what bothers me though is the continual lambasting and relentless complaining that I so often see. These are our neighbors on these groups and we are a small town. A certain amount of heat comes with these positions but let's at least be reasonable in our discussion. We are in a great, but also pretty screwed up state of NJ. Many of the issues we are grappling with, particularly when it comes to taxation are brought on by forces well beyond our town borders. Abusing our elected local volunteers for issues mostly beyond their control is misguided in my opinion. So when I jump in to these conversations, that's what is largely behind my comments. Lets please just be fair.

I view our elected officials as public SERVANTS. Who do they serve? They serve us. We are their employers. Perhaps I am not used to having a servant, unlike others in this town. I think you fire a servant if they do not perform to your satisfaction. We have the power to do this and I hope the citizens will realize this.

Our teachers make 1% LESS THAN the State AVERAGE. Our teens are in the 94th & 98th percentile in Math and Literacy... with one of the highest college readiness rates of 50% at graduation. Oh.. and the kids are being put through the system at an annual cost 10% below the state AVERAGE. A computer for every child isn’t getting our district NCLB (state mandated testing) funding. This money is for underperforming schools(hence the name No Child Left Behind), not the top 6%. Our elected BOE is doing a damn good job with what they have.The great plan above is to reduce the teachers checks by each paying more in benefits and also reducing pensions. Really? That’ll keep them here. Sounds like a plan from adults w/ kids OUT of the system and no need for the schools and top teachers/admin. I don't hear Senior monies($60M) or the Shade tree’s($200M) being an excessive cost in the budget. They NEED this. So they go after turf fields. It's not an environmental issue or a cost issue to these individuals. Any "athletic field", caring for 5 new grass fields or just 1 Turf Field used 5 X MORE than grass is something some WON’T EVER USE and will never agree to being in place. Once initial funding of the field was addressed... it moved to the environment... now to future funding. Look hard at the Boro and BOE budgets and always rising operating costs. Anyone for NO MORE TAX INCREASES really means LET'S CUT JOBS & MORE from the BOE- WE DON'T CARE FOR OR USE THE SCHOOLS ANYMORE.

A couple of points of information : Jeff Kaskco voted in favor on both the artificial turf and Bancroft issues. We cannot just switch teachers and public employees to a 401k system - as attractive as that may be. They are in the state pension and benefit system. Who in their right mind would leave that ? It has been my pleasure to know Ed Borden and Neil Rochford for many years. Neither one is aspiring to grander office, using the position for personal reward or seeking to have buildings named for them. They put in a lot of work on the behalf of the town and make decisions based on what they perceive to be the best interest. I would suggest that evaluating commissioners based on one or two issues rather than the whole body of work is shortsighted. As an example, I voted against Bancroft but overall beleive the town and schools are very well run, particularly given the financial constraints imposed by the state.

You can not afford the teacher pension and health cost thru out the state. All Public employees need to adjust their thinking about pension and health benefits since the costs can not be paid by higher Real Estate Taxes going forward. The Union wage requirement has to removed from all public sector contracts so to make the public sector more competitive with the private sector. We can remove over 50% of many public service jobs and out source the work to private sector and save billion of dollars per year NJ has to compete for future jobs and the high Real Estate taxes, Estate Taxes and union wage requirement will drive employers to other States. The Beach & Shore home owners that receive millions of NJ Tax payers dollars should help pay by some of costs to reduce the NJ tax payers contribution to install more dunes and sand for beach replenishment. Tax and spend policies need to change thru out the State .If NJ does not change the SUN states will take more future new jobs to the new States like Florida, North and South Carolina, Texas and others.

Commissioner Borden and Neil Rochford were major supporters of the Bancroft/turf referendum, believed in the merits of it and worked very hard for a cause they believed in. I respect them for their dedication. I agree with James that people should be evaluated for their whole body of work.
Commissioner Kasko also voted with the above gentlemen. What I personally liked with Kasko is that he asked about the problems and possible costs overruns at many of the meetings I attended. I thought that common sense, as there are many serious issues with the high school area. There's a lot of old kings highway and many other early 1900's building projects buried under those fields. Read the 3/2012 Geotech survey report on Haddonfield United, especially on Anniversary field.

Eric, You're off base in your interpretation of the No Tax Increase philosophy. It's more like no tax increases on projects without solid details on future spending and not a penny of it going to education.
We have excellent schools and will gladly pay for educational programs that raise the bar of excellence for the children of our town.
A sports campus does not make an excellent school. Teachers and people dedicated to education do. The desire to see our students receive the best education possible seems the most caring thing one can do but I would never say you don't care just as much, just because we have different opinions.

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Lower taxes, better weather, friendly State incentives for Employers will make NJ easy to move to other states,NJ has to wake up !

Hey Eric, Anyone for no more tax increases means lets cut jobs and more from the BOE We don't care for or use the schools anymore? That what it means? If they put your brain inside a bird the bird would fly backwards

Sue, that is a false narrative. We all voted for the Open Space tax and it is dedicated for this exact use ie improvements of ball fields specifically artificial turf. using the Open space money doesn't affect your taxes one bit. It's the best use of the money right now.