THAT DEPLORABLE LETTER

By now all have read Jerry Green's letter (guest column) in Monday's Courier or on his blog. It speaks for itself and needs no commentary if it were not the typical attack on an individual who has angered the party boss.

Jerry Green can not be proud of this latest letter and I am sure he would now wish it had not been printed.

Mr. Green at least twice accuses Addul-Haqq of "playing the race card" in his letter of complaint against the Green sponsored bill. I for one have never been aware of such an action by Mr. Adull-Haqq which on reflection would be most unusual. Nor has he played the religious card. Nowhere did Haqq blame any whites for his "criminal past", nor did he allude to the Green's Bill as being racially conceived.

Assemblyman Green has always professed to be a strong advocate of the second chance and reentry program for those who had been incarcerated. Green writes that he is drafting legislation that "will provide a second chance to a person that has served time for a minor offense. This law will provide the opportunity for a record to be expunged, thereby giving that person a new start in life and no longer being considered three-fifths of a person." I hope he will use all his power to expedite it through the legislature.

After his fall from grace, Mr. Addul-Haqq has spent a life time being a model family man, a productive member of society with an active involvement in municipal affairs. He has been a bulwark advocate for good education and recreational activities for our youth of both sexes. He alone shamed the DOT to repair and repaint the railroad bridges in town. Yet the Assemblyman regards and refers to him as a dangerous ex-convict.

It is to the Assemblyman's credit that he rose from perhaps similar or even worse home economic conditions to become a political leader. It is to his credit that he had to resist any deviation from the rules as a youngster, although I am sure that like all of us at some time he must have skirted an infraction with the law.

It is just too bad that in the Assemblyman's list of largess to Plainfield there was never a forceful attempt to preserve the vital medical facility for this urban center. The deal was done before anyone in Plainfield was even aware that it was on the table.

Frank Dane once wrote " Get all the fools on your side and you can be elected to anything." It takes a person of exceptional ability to accomplish that for 30 years. However the loss of our hospital will be JG's legacy. He let us down when he, as the third most powerful Assembly member of the party in power, could have intervened. The people could have been warned of the impending catastrophe in time to mount a strong effective united opposition.

But that is in the past, we must look forward for what is best for Plainfield. If Assemblyman Green does not wish to be remembered as Plainfield"s Mubarak, it is time for him to gracefully end a successful, profitable, respected political carrier and turn the reins of power over to a new generation.

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