Bloomfield voters have had several ways to determine the 3 candidates most deserving of their votes for their Board of Education representatives on Wednesday. Besides a personal conversation, they could have compared the 7 candidates responses at last week's Forum on the town's cable station. They may have read the editorial endorsement in either
Bloomfield Life or The Bloomfield Independent Press. Or they may have checked out a website. But by far the most expensive vehicle is the only one that can potentially reach all voters is the direct mailing. Saturday's mail gave Bloomfield voters a glimpse into the power of machine politics in our town. Every registered voter received three different color mailing cards and brochures(on center and right in photo above.) for the three official Democratic Committee endorsed candidates for the Board of Education. Each one was a slick well designed mailing piece addressed to each prospective voter. Some homes got 12 or more -- at an estimated cost of tens of thousands of dollars. Why go to such great expense for a nonpaying position on the "nonpartisan" school board? Answers can be found in the recent history of how "pay to play" campaign contributions have influenced BOE elections.
The BOE election is Wednesday, April 27, and polls are open from 1 PM – 9 PM.
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