"David and Goliath" In the Bancroft Referendum

At the December 13th meeting of the Haddonfield Board of Education meeting several residents complained about the phone calls from an anonymous polling organization asking their opinion on a range of issues concering the School Board's purchase of Bancroft.

The School has been consistant in its denial concerning any involvement in the polls but residents attending the meeting urged the School Board to help identify the sponsors of the calls, lest some members erroneously conclude the School Board was behind the calls. I'm not holding my breath waiting for the School board to get back to them.

Amid all the mayhem during last weeks meeting, one important question needs to be asked. Does the prospect of a pro bond group spending big money to survey residents about a school board referendum help or hurt the refrendum process in our town? Personally, I'm not exactly doing catrwheels over this issue.

Let's summerize what Haddonfield United does and does not know about the polling. Haddonfield United still doesn't know who is behind the polling, and not one school board member was willing or able to identify the sponsor.

Haddonfield United is not involved in this polling in ant way, shape or form, non withstanding a suggestion to the contrary by at least one school board member in a sidebar conversation. Several residents pointed to Mclaughlin and Associates as the pollster. They are a big time polling firm located in New York with numerous PACS, politicians and fortune 500 companies as clients, ranging from CBS, Verizon and former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yes, the Terminater hinself, along with many political campaigns accross the country.

The polling is no doubt costly. Some of the pro bond supporters have characterized them as robo calls and nothing is further from the truth. The calls were 20 minute affairs made by live pollsters and are not cheap by any standard. Someone is spending big sums of money here and this is just the beginning.

School bond referendums are local affairs judged by the merits of the bond. There is little or no precedent in Haddonfield's history for big money, out of state pollsters and paid spin artists for a high school referendum. Haddonfield is a town of 4,500 homes, where the residents of always been trusted in making the right decisions in terms of spending their own tax dollars.

Now professional pollsters and spin artists from out of state are descending on Haddonfield like fleas on a hound dog.  Sadly, in Haddonfield we're entering the era of "Goliath" campainging, something we think is terrible for the small town feferendum process. What's next, a Super PAC?

Haddonfield United is cleary David is this fight. We are a genuinely local grassroots organization comprised of residents from all walks of finacial and political life. Our supporters believe Haddonfield should continue to excellent educational opportunities at reasonable costs. Our elected must take into account the residents who love Haddonfield and want to live and raise their children here.

If the Bancroft referendum passes many of the residents will unable to afford to live in Haddonfield as a result of continuing rising taxes. As with David and Goliath, Haddonfield United is confident will slay any spin driven by big time, out of state pollsters and that Haddonfield will defeat the bond soundly on January 22, 2013.