Senator Rice Lashes Out At Senator Gill

[Mr.5Reasons]

Senator Rice Lashes Out At Gill: Challenges Her to Walk Through ‘Drug Areas”

January 29, 2006- There was a time when State Senator Ron Rice Sr. stood for something. A long time ago, he was an independent legislator who bucked the machine, focused his policies on improving the quality of life in Newark, and he didn’t worry about the consequences.

That was then, but this is now. Today, Rice Sr. is a walking conflict of interest—just another soldier in Sharpe James’ vast army of shills.

To give a prime example of this, I have obtained a copy of a letter sent from Rice’s office to State Senator Nia Gill dated January 6th. The letter begins with a tirade against Gill for using her “weapon of Senatorial Courtesy” to block appointments. You see, Gill blocked the appointment of Richard Monteilh to the Passaic Valley Sewage Authority.

Rice Sr. then goes on (and on and on) for nearly five more pages explaining his opposition to the needle exchange program. He derisively labels the program “free needles” and then reiterates his commitment to “treatment.”

As he restates his commitment to “treatment,” he goes on to list all of his failed initiatives. He states that “not one penny” from the Tobacco fund went to health care. He says he sought $50 million in lead abatement, but he only got $7-$14 million (why doesn’t he know how much?); he also says he sought $50 million in state Section 8 vouchers and only came away with $10 million.

But the worst part of Rice’s letter was the closing page. I don’t want you to lose the essence, so I won’t edit his statement: “In closing, I want to take this opportunity to invite you to spend a couple of evenings with me in Newark to knock on the doors of residents and senior/disabled citizens who resides in our drug areas where the “Crips and Bloods Gangs operate, gang-bang and hold our people and businesses hostage….”

This is a travesty. Senator Rice has represented the West Ward of Newark in some fashion for nearly 25 years, and he knows that his own neighborhoods are dominated by Crips and Bloods. He knows we are hostage to the criminal subculture, and yet he’s out there arguing with Senator Gill over appointments? Am I missing something?

Senator Rice needs to get his priorities in order. How is he going to end the social isolation and hostage situation in his district? Perhaps if he worried about that, rather than about friggin’ appointments to Sewage Authorities, he wouldn’t have to put out embarrassing letters “challenging” other legislators to walk through “our drug areas.”

Mr.5Reasons