Don’t blame the guy in the chicken suit.Mayor George A. Spadoro engineered his own stunning defeat by newcomer Jun Choi in last week’s Democratic primary.
The now-lame duck mayor is paying the price for years of inaccessibility and arrogance.
He could have attended Township Council meetings, even though he didn’t have to under the township’s form of government.
Instead, he chose to hole up in his office bunker during council meetings. Anyone with a problem was invited to discuss it with the mayor.
But the discussions with the unhappy people took place behind closed doors, while the real business of government was taking place down in the council chambers.
When it came time to deliver his State of the Township address last January, residents clamored for him to make the speech at a public council meeting, in the municipal building.
Instead, Spadoro made the speech at a $40-a-plate Chamber of Commerce dinner. Those who had not paid the price of admission did not hear the speech in person.
For too long Spadoro chose to ignore the political winds.
Any member of the public who complained inside or outside of a council meeting about the way Edison conducted business was labeled a political enemy.
Spadoro played chicken for too long, until the last frenzied month of the campaign.
His ‘“chief of staff” began firing fusillades of press advisories daily, with photo ops galore. The mayor, suddenly, was everywhere. He stopped just short of taking credit for sunshine.
But it was too late.
The barrage of press advisories from Spadoro’s office ended on primary day. There hasn’t been another one since.
While Spadoro fades into the sunset, Jun Choi, independent William Stephens and Republican Carl Perlin will slug it out for the mayor’s seat in the November election.
Jun Choi is a bright, articulate person. He ran a brilliant campaign. His campaign literature targeted all voting blocks in Edison, not just the Asian population.
But he will have his hands full. All of his running mates lost, all of Spadoro’s won. How he will mesh with the winning council candidates remains to be seen.
And late last week, Choi showed another not-so-admirable side of himself when he attempted to talk Stephens into dropping out of the race before it even started.
Stephens, a Democrat, is a former councilman. Until last week, both Choi and Stephens were united in their quest to bring down Spadoro.
But Choi, according to Stephens and his campaign manager, pretty much let them know he could outspend them big time.
Stephens, to his credit, said he has no intention of dropping out of the race. Let’s hope he keeps his promise.
Edison politics are never dull. Stay tuned.