Mullica May Limit Stumping at Dump
From the Atlantic City Press Published: Monday, November 03, 2008
By ERIC SCOTT CAMPBELL Staff Writer, 609-272-7227
MULLICA TOWNSHIP - Ask the two guys running for Township Committee on Tuesday, and Mayor William Kennedy and Joseph Maultz will give you the distinct impression that campaigning at "the dump" has not figured prominently in their plans. Not everyone is so blase. The Weekstown Road transfer station is where most of this sparse Pinelands community's 6,000 or so residents drop off their garbage on the weekends and Monday morning. It's practically the only place in town with a consistent and predictable stream of people, the closest thing to a town center there is.
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"If you want to see people, that would be the spot to be," Committeewoman Janet Forman said. Her committee colleague, Bernard Graebener, said it's not unusual to speak to more than 400 people in a day. Nor is it unusual, several politicians said, to show up in the early morning to stake out a spot and find that a rival camped out all night to reserve it.
Political campaigning isn't the only type of solicitation there. Other groups look to drum up money and support by chatting with drivers, all of whom come in one gate and leave through the other.
No laws have ever governed such activity on the township-owned property, but that might change soon. The municipal government's safety committee, including employees from public works and the police force, has recommended the administration curtail solicitation out of concern for traffic safety. A summer incident in which a man's foot was accidentally run over bolstered the recommendation.
Cars can back up onto the hilly, winding two-lane road on a particularly busy morning, Forman said, and that could present the danger of a collision. The road is maintained by the county, as is several feet of grassy shoulder, and Township Solicitor Norman Zlotnick was asked to consult county officials about legal precedent. He was told the use of township property is the township's business, Zlotnick said, though the township similarly would not have jurisdiction over roadside campaigning.
Committeeman Michael St. Amour is among those who wonder how effectively solicitation could be defined in a township ban and whether free-speech rights would be jeopardized, prompting lawsuits.
"I do not believe that would stand up to a (legal) challenge," St. Amour said. At the most recent committee meeting, he said, "Constitution trumps safety, I'm sorry."
Forman and fellow Republican Kathy Chasey pushed for restrictions as Democrats Graebener and St. Amour emphasized the free-speech risk, both sides saying the township could face legal liability. Frequent swing vote Kennedy, a Democrat, said though he is "not particularly opposed to campaigning out there," he wondered why the safety committee, of which he is a member, should exist if its recommendation isn't heeded.
Though there seems to be tenuous majority support for restrictions, no legislation has developed. The township is first investigating the possibility of having campaigners register for time slots and get covered by the county's Joint Insurance Fund.
Township politicians differ on whether an unofficial time-share agreement ever existed at the dump, but it's clear none exists now. Both major parties sometimes campaign on site at the same time. And in this small town, they usually know by sight how receptive an audience is likely to be, even before the driver's window rolls down - if it does.
To e-mail Eric Scott Campbell: ECampbell@pressofac.com
