Big Loss for the Village

We were recently informed of the retirement from the Village of one the hardest working people I have ever met. It is with great sadness that I want to share that Village Clerk Marj Smith will be retiring at the end of this year.

I have known Marj peripherally over the years through various dealings with the Village and always found her to be extremely reliable and professional to residents. However, once I became a Trustee, I really began to see the incredible work ethic, helpfulness and knowledge that Marj possesses about the Village. Marj was extraordinarily helpful to me (and my colleagues) as we got up to speed during out first weeks and months on the Board. Her extreme patience for all of us was truly impressive and greatly appreciated!

I have learned to count on Marj for her institutional knowledge and her amazing organizational skill to ensure that things get done properly. Marj is at the center of the sheer volume of hardcopy and electronic mail we each receive every week . Most people do not realize that Marj is also an Attorney and is generally responsible for drafting resolutions and proclamations, as well as manually transcribing the tapes of (extremely LONG!) BOT Meetings to produce accurate & timely meeting minutes.

If all that wasn't enough, Marj has been a devoted volunteer to the South Orange Resuce Squad, volunteering countless hours of her "spare" time to further help the community.

I am sure I have left off many other of Marj's accomplishments and talents, but I just wanted to wish Marj & her husband well in their new life. She should just know that things in South Orange will never be quite the same again.

Cities by the Bay

I've had several meetings in the Bay Area for my "other" job over the past few days which resulted in staying over the weekend and having the opportunity to do some exploring.

I've been to San Francisco several times before, but it's always fun to wonder around and explore further.  Over the past few days, I spent some time in North Beach and Cow Hollow in the city itself.  I also took a day trip down the Coast to Monterey, Carmel-by-the-sea and Santa Cruz.  It's interesting how totally different these towns are.

Monterey has a pretty touristy waterfront (Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row) plus a quaint historic town. 

Carmel is clearly a hangout for the Rich and Famous.  I passed by one house for sale that was $5.25 million, but other than it's location close to the beach didn't seem that impressive from the outside.  Another neighboring house was listed for $2.4 million for 1400 square feet.  The town itself was filled with shops like Coach, Tiffany etc.

Santa Cruz was the polar opposite with it's pretty sleazy "boardwalk" area that reminded me quite a bit of Seaside Heights.

I also drove through the beautiful Stanford campus and the equally impressive Palo Alto downtown, which seems to really get it right with an upscale mix of stores and restaurants, but also more moderate hangouts and services for the students.

It was a fun trip enjoying the scenery and amazing weather (I am glad I missed all the rain in NJ), but now it's time to come back home and return to "reality". 

California Dreamin'

Modern technology....picture above was taken from my cell phone camera & automatically posted to this blog remotely. Can't do that with an MOL blog. :)

Where it all began

I thought it would be interesting to have a place to comment on life in general and life as a South Orange Trustee, in particular. I hope to use this blog to share my thoughts and I welcome and encourage you to use this forum to share your thoughts and feedback with me, as well.

Probably the most frequently asked question I get (other than "What's going on with Beifus?") is "How time consuming is it to be a Trustee?". The answer: "Very!" However, so far, it has been one of the most incredible learning experiences of my life...learning so much about municipal government (how it works...and doesn't!), learning about people and learning about myself.

Although the job comes with no pay and plenty of frustrations, it's still an amazing adventure and a tremendous honor.

I thought it would be best to remember how it all began and hope that I (and my colleagues) can look back on the following video anytime things get contentious and remind ourselves how we all started (thanks to SOBETS for saving this clip for posterity):



Come join me on this ride...