Residents gathered at Charles H. Bullock School Wednesday to engage with three candidates vying for the Fourth Ward council seat in the upcoming Montclair Municipal Elections. The three candidates spoke in order of their position on the ballot.
Fourth Ward Councilor David Cummings, who ran unopposed in 2020, hosted the community meeting. He was joined by candidates Zina Floyd, Patricia Hurt, and Aminah Toler. During the event, each candidate introduced themselves, outlined their priorities for the ward, and addressed questions from those in attendance.
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as Fourth Ward councilor for the last four years. Despite what you may see, it is an honor. It’s not as difficult as it looks but it is something worthwhile. I want to applaud the three ladies for stepping up and making the decision that they want to serve,” Cummings said.
Dr. Renee Baskerville, a longtime Fourth Ward resident and former councilor, now running for Mayor, attended the meeting.
Three Candidates in the Fourth Ward
Floyd, a native of Queens and Monsey, New York, moved to Montclair in 1987.
“I’d like to consider myself a community leader. Oftentimes many of you might not even know what I do because I don’t do it for anything other than to give back to the community, for the ones that need it,” Floyd said.
Floyd explained her motivation to enter the race.
“So when I decided to run for the Fourth Ward it was because I genuinely felt that the Fourth Ward is the pinnacle of Montclair. Back in the early 1900s, the 1930s, people flocked to Montclair, primarily because of its diversity and inclusion. I genuinely believe that the Fourth Ward is the strongest representation of that.”
“There’s a slight little bit of divisiveness that I feel taking place,” Floyd said of the current climate. “So my agenda as your councilwoman is to level the Fourth Ward up even more. We’ll take everyone. We want to. We are a community. We believe in it.”
Lifelong resident Hurt spoke of her key goals.
“I take the words of Shirley Chisholm, ‘Unbought and Unbossed’,” Hurt said. “I’m running because I’m committed to this neighborhood. I’m running because we must keep our seniors here,” she added.
Hurt stated her top priority is to address the situation at Lackawanna Plaza. “We need a store and I know as you know, I am tired of waiting. So we must collaborate together and make sure that becomes a reality.”
Hurt also expressed concern over the Nishuane pool not being open last summer. “We need it open,” she said staunchly. “What the issue is, it needs to be addressed now. Our children and residents shouldn’t have to go to Upper Montclair for a swim.”
Hurt also asked “Where are the police?” She acknowledged budgetary restrictions but said there are strategies Montclair Police can implement to curb crime.
Hurt touched on the issue of taxes and how seniors can no longer afford to stay in Montclair. She stressed the importance of finding solutions for these problems.
Toler said her three primary goals are advocating for responsible development; improving traffic and pedestrian safety while promoting environmental sustainability; and supporting community members in need.
She engaged the audience directly, asking them for a show of hands if they had attended town council meetings. The response was unanimous. Everyone’s hands went up. She then questioned if they had publicly voiced their issues. A majority responded affirmatively by raising their hands again. When asked if their concerns had been addressed, only one resident raised a hand.
“While I understand the challenges ahead of me, I believe understanding the needs of the people and looking out for residents and their concerns is a number one key factor,” Toler said.
Residents Raise Questions
Residents, seniors and younger adults, raised several questions involving the Lackawanna redevelopment project, affordable housing, the business district, library funding and gentrification.
Alyssa, a young adult from Montclair, asked how Montclair could support the younger generations who, after having left Montclair, now find it difficult to return due to it being unaffordable. She emphasized the importance of finding solutions for those who wish to come back to the community that once supported them.
Floyd acknowledged the issue, sharing that it aligns with her concerns. She suggested an initial focus on evaluating Montclair’s overall financial health. “I would love to have affordable housing that is targeted towards young people that are graduating or going to technical school,” Floyd said.
Hurt admitted she didn’t have an answer but believed the council would have to decide what is “affordable.” She empathized with Alyssa, saying, “For young adults such as yourself, recent grads probably strapped with student loans or trying to start a family, there’s not much left.”
Toler believed a way forward could be through finding grants. “Let’s find some grants to keep people here. She also suggested implementing workshops and seminars.
“There’s plenty of opportunities from the county and from the state where our township can apply for funding to bring people back,” Toler added.
Gina Chung Fortt, a volunteer board member of the Montclair Public Library Foundation, inquired about the candidates’ plans to collaborate with the library to help Fourth Ward residents fully utilize its resources. Additionally, she wanted to know how they would approach decisions regarding requests for funding from the library beyond the statutory minimum.
Hurt was of the opinion that fostering a partnership between the school system and the library, along with integrating technology into the library, would encourage more visits.
Floyd expressed skepticism towards incorporating technology. “Books are important because they carry our history along the way. Technology can really mess things up,” she stated.
When addressing the funding aspect, Floyd believed creating enrichment programs such as children’s book writing would be beneficial.
Toler expressed fondness for the library, emphasizing its significance. “I love the library,” she said. “If I was the councilor and the library needed more funding, we would have to find it for you guys. It’s that important,” she added. Toler suggested exploring partnerships with Montclair State or Bloomfield College to develop programs.
Resident Reactions
Residents spoke to the Local about their thoughts on the meeting.
“I think the person with the most knowledge of the workings of Montclair and who I’ve seen in action is Aminah Toler,” said Bonnie Abrahams Fogel, a senior resident. “She’s an ideal person. I even hoped she would run for Mayor.”
A resident, who preferred to remain anonymous, expressed a need to hear more from the candidates regarding their position on the Lackawanna Plaza redevelopment.
“This was really good. I think I have a better understanding of who my representatives are now. But I need to know about Lackawanna Plaza, the direction and what they would like to see,” the resident said, adding. “This is an eyesore.”
“There haven’t been any local meetings in our ward in a while so this was great. I think they answered the questions well,” another resident said.
“This was a positive evening. I thought they were all really good, but I do not know who I would want to vote for yet,” Kerry Doyle said.
One of the current council’s frequent critics, Sarah Avery said, “ If you’re going to vote in this election, you have to get to know the candidates. We need smart people who understand what the issues are. We cannot afford more games.”
On May 14, Montclair will elect seven members to its town council: a mayor, two at-large councilors, and a councilor from each of its four wards. Read profiles of all 15 candidates here.
I wasn’t present at the event but, based on this reporting (well done Ms. Fernandes!), I’m partial to Patricia Hurt. Her responses were simple and thoughtful. She doesn’t seem to have a penchant for pandering or promising pies in the skies. I liked kindness, understanding, and honesty with which she spoke to the young person who can’t afford to come back to live in town.
I’m surprised that there is no mention of the apparent conflict that Ms. Floyd disclosed related to her client relationship with the developer of Lackawanna Plaza. I came away from the forum unclear on the extent of the relationship. We all deserve more transparency on the issue. Conflicts (actual and potential) are something that residents are very sensitive to. Not sure why something like this would’ve been omitted…
Imo, it would behoove Zina Floyd to be as transparent as possible given the current climate. I’m partial to Patricia Hurt (no-nonsense person and experienced with law) but it appears that she is not particularly active for now and I hear some folks have trouble getting in touch with her.
One of the first orders of business for the new Council is setting the salary ranges for the Non-Union Management Group. The NUMG are the Township Manager, the Direct Reports and their Direct Reports. It is a boatload of the municipal payroll. The current ordinance lapses this year. Should be a fascinating discussion.