Category Archives: West Orange

Where Does Joe Krakoviak Stand on an ICE-Free West Orange?

Posted on by under activism, Electoral Ethics and Politics, migrant defense, West Orange

Anyone who follows this blog knows that I split my time between Princeton and West Orange, New Jersey, and that I’ve made the case for ICE-Free legislation in both towns. If you don’t follow this blog, you know it now.

As it happens, both Princeton and West Orange have passed some form of ICE-Free legislation. Princeton passed an ICE-Free resolution in late September; West Orange mayor Susan McCartney issued an ICE-Free Executive Order in mid August. Both developments are good news, but Princeton has shown more wisdom in this respect than West Orange: while a resolution is law whose repeal requires the passage of a contrary resolution, an Executive Order can be repealed at will by the next mayor.

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Democracy in America

Posted on by under Electoral Ethics and Politics, West Orange

A friend calls to tell me that he “helped” his elderly mother vote in the West Orange election—meaning, they filled the ballot out “together,” whatever that means. Knowing none of the candidates and nothing about the election, he called me at 9:30 pm last night asking for advice, but alas, I failed to answer (some would call it “bad faith”; I call it “commuting”). Left to their own devices, “they” ended up voting randomly for “a bearded man” (Krakoviak) and “a woman” (Bennett). 😂

Where is Tocqueville when you need him?

Micaela Bennett on Justin Goldsman

Posted on by under activism, Electoral Ethics and Politics, West Orange

In a post I wrote here on September 24, I posed a question for all seven mayoral candidates and five of the six candidates for Town Council in West Orange, New Jersey. Would they regard it as disqualifying for a candidate for office to say, “We are humans, not Jews”? (Council candidate Justin Goldsman had actually said, “We are human not Muslim,” but I re-phrased the question for present purposes.) I requested a yes/no answer, on the record, before Election Day. Two candidates for Town Council gave answers, then withdrew them.

A third, Micaela Bennett, answered last night (the 28th). I posted her response on the evening of the 29th, but now (the 30th), in a private email to me, Bennett objects to the title of the post, which she finds “misleading,” and follows with other accusations of “bad faith,” blah blah blah.

OK. Fine by me. I’ve deleted her response. I didn’t think it answered my question anyway. Next?

Jackie Hendy on Justin Goldsman

Posted on by under activism, cancel culture, Electoral Ethics and Politics, West Orange

I previously had posted a response from Jackie Hendy responding to my earlier question about Justin Goldsman. I had asked the candidates whether they would regard it disqualifying for a candidate for office to say “We are humans, not Jews.” I explicitly asked for a response on the record. She’s now asked me to remove her comment. I’ve done so, but I regard her request as an act of cowardice, and accede to it only because the request itself negates the earlier statement.

Ms Hendy regards herself (as conveyed through a third party) as “coerced” into a “type of politics that she (and we) have no desire to engage in.” No one has “coerced” her. The “type of politics” involved requires a certain degree of integrity. I don’t dispute that she has no desire to engage in it. She’s made that abundantly clear.

Matt Dvorin on Justin Goldsman

Posted on by under activism, cancel culture, Electoral Ethics and Politics, West Orange

I previously had posted a response from Matt Dvorin responding to my earlier question about Justin Goldsman. I asked the candidates whether they would regard it disqualifying for a candidate for office to say “We are humans, not Jews.” I explicitly asked for a response on the record. He’s now asked me to remove his comment. I’ve done so, but I regard his request as an act of cowardice, and accede to it only because the request itself negates the earlier statement.

Why We’re Surrounded by Assholes

Posted on by under activism, Electoral Ethics and Politics, princeton, Princeton University, West Orange

What Dale Caldwell Has in Common with Justin Goldsman and Mikie Sherrill
West Orange Patch has a headline this morning, “Around West Orange: Political Scandal.” The headline suggests that a scandal has taken place in West Orange. Has it? No, the scandal Patch has in mind is the recent resignation from office of New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell. Caldwell lives and works in New Brunswick. He answered to Governor Mikie Sherrill, who lives in Princeton and works in Trenton. It’s not clear exactly where the malfeasances alleged against him took place, but it’s clear that none took place in West Orange.

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West Orange: Habitat for Inhumanity

Posted on by under Electoral Ethics and Politics, West Orange

Every candidate for office in West Orange should be asked a simple question. Would they regard it as disqualifying for office for a candidate to say, “We are humans, not Jews”? Yes or no? On the record. Before Election Day.

And guess who’s going to ask them? ❤️

RESPONSES TO THIS QUESTION WILL BE CONSIDERED ON THE RECORD AND UP FOR POSTING ON THIS BLOG. ONCE RECEIVED, THEY WILL BE POSTED. NOT SURE HOW MUCH MORE EXPLICIT I CAN BE. IF YOU CAN’T HANDLE THAT, DON’T ANSWER THE QUESTION, BUT THEN FACE THE FACT THAT YOU CAN’T ANSWER A QUESTION THIS STRAIGHTFORWARD.

Matt Dvorin, candidate for Town Council, responded on September 27, deleted September 29 at respondent’s request.
Jackie Hendy, candidate for Town Council, responded on September 28, deleted September 29 at respondent’s request.
Micaela Bennett, candidate for Town Council, responded on the evening of September 28, posted September 29, and deleted September 30 at respondent’s request.

Justin Goldsman Has Got to Go

Posted on by under activism, Fatwas, Neutrality and Complicity, West Orange

How is that after Justin Goldsman was fired by Gary Schaer in 2025 precisely over the comments to which I’ve recently drawn attention, West Orange is now in the position of wondering whether he should be elected to Town Council? What exactly is there to wonder about?

I don’t think of Gary Schaer as someone who has sky-high principles on this issue. How can it be that Gary Schaer saw fit to fire Goldsman, but the electorate has re-opened the issue and furrowed its collective brow over the same painfully-litigated issues? I guess Justin Goldsman wasn’t good enough to stay on Schaer’s staff, but is good enough for consideration for West Orange Council. In some ways, that fits. At some level, the Council deserves him. The problem is, we don’t.

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“Too Much Like a Declaration of War”

Posted on by under Electoral Ethics and Politics, MTSP Discussion: George Sher's Desert, West Orange

We supposedly inhabit “cancel culture.” If that’s so, why is it so hard to cancel someone who so obviously deserves it? How powerful a variable can “cancel culture” be if it’s consistent with someone spending decades tweeting out the most anti-woke, bigoted bilge he can dream up, being tolerated by his colleagues in local government for years, being appointed to positions in local government during the same time, and with his carrying on with his political career as if nothing happened? How is cancel culture consistent with nothing happening? What happened to the cancel part?

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Time to Cancel Justin Goldsman

Posted on by under activism, cancel culture, Electoral Ethics and Politics, Fatwas, West Orange

And Some Advice for the West Orange Election
My friend Matt Dragon has an excellent, timely piece on his blog about Justin Goldsman, a candidate for Town Council in West Orange and Favorite Son in local West Orange politics. Wherever Justin goes, adulation follows: he walks into every Council meeting to broad smiles and big hugs and “great to see you’s,” everybody’s little hometown hero. The scandal here is an open secret in West Orange, something that almost everyone, and surely everyone within the Council, knows. Justin has a decades-long history of plain, open, unapologetic social media bigotry, from the n-word to casual Islamophobia, to “I am going to kill this girl or castrate myself, whichever gets her off my dick sooner.” But work through it yourself via the bolded link above, if you have the patience. It’s an eye-opener, even if it’s all par for the course in West Orange.

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