October 29, 2003Third-party candidates to battle against the odds
By NEAL BUCCINO Staff Writer, (609) 272-7211
ATLANTIC CITY - Willie Norwood wants voters to rise up against what he says have been too many years of criminal manipulation of elections.
Scott Shuster wants City Hall to consider the revolutionary step of creating a higher minimum wage for all public and private workers in the city.
Marlene Dembin wants to act as City Council's voice for public-housing residents.
All three face what might be impossible odds in the Nov. 4 election. They're running as third-party candidates against popular Democrats, in a city that overwhelmingly leans toward the Democratic Party.
Dembin represents the Green Party. Shuster is running as a "Labor Green," representing what he called the best views of the Labor and Green parties.
And Norwood is running under the banner of "Jobs-Equality-Business," a nonprofit organization he founded in 1975.
Norwood is a perpetual candidate. In the past three years he ran for mayor and county sheriff, and was nominated as the Green Party's candidate for state Senate.
Now he is running in the 3rd Ward. His opponent will be either City Council President Craig Callaway or Stephenine Dixon - whoever wins the ongoing legal confusion over alleged ballot fraud in the June 3 primary.
Norwood's main issue is the alleged absentee fraud that has tainted Atlantic City elections during the past few years - a situation that continues, with a judge's announcement that Callaway's June 3 victory was so tainted by fraud that the election was not valid.
Norwood says enough is enough. City and county authorities should do something to make sure democracy isn't being hijacked - and, if elected, he would lead the charge.
"There has been no proactive enhancement of the voter registration. No progress has been made at all. It has been going on three years," he said.
The appearance of fraud keeps many people from bothering to vote, he continued. "They say, 'Willie, I'm just fed up. You're OK, but I just don't want to deal with that again.'"
Norwood also wants to hold community gatherings for the 3rd Ward's youth. They would hold environmental cleanups, sports activities, and trips to the southern New Jersey lakes and forests that many urban youngsters never see.
He also would make sure that every Atlantic City candidate who doesn't win will get a chance to serve the city in some capacity, "consciously, positively and ethically."
Dembin is running in the 2nd Ward against Marty Small. Small is a popular candidate and the school board vice president. But that hasn't stopped Dembin - a student at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey who has lived in Atlantic City since 1994 - from deciding to run.
Dembin wants to be a voice for public-housing residents - a group that has been getting louder and louder in their desire to be heard by City Council and the administration.
She also wants to get buses running in the resort throughout the night. Buses currently stop at some point in the night, and it is inconvenient for residents, Dembin said.
"I also want to preserve the arts in school, to make sure they have enough money to keep music, art, dance and the other programs," she said.
She supports the Green Party because of its commitment to the environment and human issues.
Shuster, too, supports the Green Party. But he puts more of an emphasis on workers' rights, he said.
In 1999 he ran unsuccessfully for president of Local 54 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union. When the results of that election were thrown out and a new election held in 2001, Shuster ran unsuccessfully for a post as the union's financial secretary-treasurer.
Today, Shuster's main issues are related to improving conditions for workers and getting rid of patronage. He is up against Gibb Jones, a mild-mannered incumbent who has survived many challengers by pointing to his record of accomplishments for the 1st Ward.
Shuster said the starting wage for many workers in the city has been frozen since 1994. Shuster would create a "living wage ordinance" that would set a better starting wage, with allowances for employers depending on whether they provide health benefits. Such an ordinance might sound impossible, Shuster says, but it is not - and he will push for it.
As for patronage, "It undermines our belief in the system," he said. He said big campaign donors should not automatically get big contracts, especially without having to bid for them. As a council member, he would vote against contracts that seem based on patronage.
He declined to name a specific recent contract, but his hypothetical example was very similar to the lucrative, no-bid insurance contract the city gave Frank J. Siracusa & Son in September.
Here are quick descriptions of Dembin's and Shuster's Democratic opponents. No Republicans are running in either race.Marty Small, the Democratic 2nd Ward candidate, is the school board vice president, founder of a basketball league for at-risk adults, and involves himself in other community activities.
He plans to work with local businesses to create more jobs for 2nd Ward residents. He would also develop a "Second Chance" program, aimed at helping people build constructive lives after prison. And he would work to get affordable homes built - and have 2nd Ward residents hired to do the work.
Gibb Jones, the 1st Ward incumbent, has been a councilman since 1996. He takes pride in the "multitude of development" that replaced many empty spaces and boarded homes since he began serving on council. His other accomplishments include pushing for the ward's two new beach stations with restrooms, replacing the portable toilets that were there.
He also takes pride in the fact that the city is working to improve the look and condition of a few empty lots, to make them more attractive to visitors and potential developers. His next plans include helping a couple of local churches build a computer tutorial center for seniors and youth, and a recreation hall that would host community activities.
To e-mail Neal Buccino at The Press:
NBuccino@pressofac.com
