Piscataway Re-Warding Commission Bows to Pressure, Releases Gerrymandered Ward Map

Democratic Council Candidates Ralph Johnson & Staci Berger Decry Undemocratic Process, Vow to Push Ahead in New Wards

Piscataway, NJ – “In response to legal and public pressure, as well as dogged investigative reporting, the Piscataway Re-Warding Commission finally released its newly drawn ward map with lot and block information. Nearly four weeks ago, the Commission voted in a public meeting on a secret map that moved more than a quarter of the Township‘s residents to a new ward. Until yesterday, no public copy of the map was available, and now we know why.  It is a shameless attempt to gerrymander our community and prevent voters from choosing their representatives fairly,” the candidates stated.

“The Commission members said they needed to balance just 900 people between Wards 3 and 4, but transplanted 18,000 residents across the Township to new wards and cracked a dozen election districts. Commissioners initially said that they wanted to redraw the map with the minimal amount of disruption to voters in our community. Within days of us announcing our candidacies, the Commission instead maximized disruption at the suggestion of an unidentified Commissioner who submitted the map that was ultimately approved.”

Berger said, “My opponent and the Democratic machine are so afraid of me that they moved 18,000 people all over town in order to justify this scheme. They carved up the historic Ward 3 Heights neighborhood where I live, and drew the new ward boundary literally around my house. They left my house (the blue dot on the map) in Ward 3 but put the vast majority of my neighbors into Ward 2. In 2019, I won a landslide victory to represent my neighbors as a Democratic Committee member.  The new map is a shameless effort to undermine my neighbors’ support for me in Ward 3. It is a blatant and obvious attack on our campaign and on the democratic right of voters to choose their representatives.”

“My opponent will have to work a lot harder than that to beat me, though. I am looking forward to knocking on doors, and meeting the new residents of Ward 3,” said Berger.  “I’ll be sure they know how scared my opponent and his backers are of losing to me. Unlike him, I am not a rubber stamp for Mayor Warehouse and his agenda. I will continue to fight for clean air, open government and accountability from our elected officials. Of course, I will make sure that all of my neighbors who have been gerrymandered into Ward 2 know they should vote for my friend and running mate Ralph Johnson.”

Johnson, who is currently serving his third-term on the Board of Education concurred. “My friend and running mate Staci Berger announced her campaign two weeks before the January 11 Commission meeting. I purposely announced my campaign on January 10, in anticipation of Mayor Wahler’s political interference and relentless retribution for my involvement in democracy. From locking me out of football, wrestling, and baseball volunteer coaching opportunities for the last 10 years to his illegal attempt in 2020 to have his puppets remove me from my duly-elected position, he has tried to prevent me from serving the community. Even though the BOE is supposed to be non-partisan, Wahler has politicized it and tried to run that as well.” (Note: Although Mr. Johnson is currently a member of the Board of Education, thanks to a finding by the NJ Commissioner of Education that his ouster was illegal, he is speaking in his capacity as a private citizen and not on behalf of the Board, nor is he authorized to do so).

“I attended the first virtual meeting on January 11, during which the Ward Commission responded to my question by confirming that only Wards 3 and 4 were out of compliance. The Commission agreed that these wards could be brought into compliance by moving approximately 900 people from one to the other. Just three days later on January 14, and in less than 25 minutes, this same Commission approved a map that significantly moved boundaries for all four wards and transplanted 18,000 people into different wards, all to benefit the political machine here,” Johnson continued.

“The fact that the Commission refused to release the map, ignoring my OPRA request for so long that I had to hire a lawyer to obtain what the law says is rightfully available for any resident, further illustrates that something nefarious is underway. Just imagine if your team were playing in the Amazing Race and had access to the map, and all the helpful hints and clues to navigate your success, almost a month or two before all other contestants. Would you have an unfair advantage? Of course you would.  But I am used to being a target of Mayor Wahler and his machinations to give his candidates an unfair advantage. I’ve won in court against them, and I’ve won at the ballot box against them. This will only make me fight harder for my Ward and for our entire community,” he said.

Both candidates said they plan to contact voters in their new neighborhoods immediately, but did not rule out continuing to press for additional insight into and accountability for the decisions that led to the map being adopted.

“This process is deeply undemocratic and completely opaque. All of the maps under consideration should have been public from the start, and voters should have been able to give meaningful feedback to an independent Commission.  Instead, we saw an almost all white Commission make decisions for a community that is almost 75% Black and Brown. Residents had no opportunity to weigh the proposals or participate in the process that essentially determines elections. We may be in Central Jersey in 2022, but it feels a lot like the South in 1960,” said Johnson.

“The cloud of secrecy surrounding the Commission’s approval of the new ward maps and its failure to timely provide copies of those maps to the public represent not only a blatant violation of the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), but also a total disregard for the community, including candidates, engaged citizens, and other individuals seeking to participate in local government. That disregard for voters, candidates, and the community at large became even further apparent upon viewing the maps that were finally released,” said voting rights attorney Brett Pugach, Esq., of counsel with Bromberg Law LLC.

“We are deeply grateful to our legal team at Bromberg Law LLC, and to our fellow good trouble makers and friends like Herb Tarbous and Charlie Kratovil, editor of New Brunswick Today, for their tireless efforts to secure the public release of the map.  We are evaluating additional options to protect voting rights in our community.  Unlike our opponents, we are unbought, unbossed and unafraid,” said Berger.

Both candidates have launched Facebook pages to mobilize supporters and encourage voter participation.  For more information, please visit Ralph Johnson for Piscataway Council and Staci Berger for Piscataway Council.