Crime, development are key issues for city

As Election Day approaches, the three Plainfield mayoral candidates are arguing over who can better serve the city on issues including economic development, crime and property taxes.

Sharon Robinson-Briggs, the Democratic incumbent, is running for her second term. She faces Republican James Pivnichny and Deborah Dowe, an independent candidate.

Reciting her accomplishments over the past four years, Robinson-Briggs points to Plainfield's new senior center, veterans hall, which is set to open in November, and a drop in the city's crime rate.

"Safety and security for the city of Plainfield has always been a priority for me," Robinson-Briggs said. "We've put police officers on the street, and we've worked with the State Police and Union County Prosecutor's Office to reduce crime in the city of Plainfield."

Police records show overall crime in Plainfield dropped 5 percent from 2007 to last year, but nonviolent crimes such as burglaries rose by more than 12 percent. The number of homicides dropped from 15 in 2008 to two so far this year.

Robinson-Briggs also pointed to efforts to install cameras around the city that will serve as a crime deterrent. Installation is set to begin the end of this year. She boasted of redevelopment projects on North Avenue and Gavett Place, where mixed-use structures are being built, and the administration's beautification efforts that include road repair and filling potholes throughout the city.

Pivnichny and Dowe say the mayor's efforts haven't been enough.

"The mayor has done a poor job the past four years, and her transparency level has been abysmal," Pivnichny said. "Citizens are concerned, because they have no idea what's going on in the city government."

Pivnichny said if elected, he wants to bring transparency by holding office hours and encouraging his administration to work with the residents in providing the public documents they request.

Another priority for the retired scientist is bringing more jobs to Plainfield by recruiting light industrial and service technology companies to the area. He said he hopes voters will opt for him because they want to change the status quo in Plainfield.

For Dowe, the most important issue for Plainfield residents is health care. Dowe has worked as a strategist for the Muhlenberg Research Group, a nonprofit investigating the reasons why Plainfield's full-service, acute care hospital -- Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center -- closed last year. The hospital's parent company, Solaris, pulled out after citing continuing financial losses that totaled $16.5 million in 2007 and were expected to exceed $18 million the following year.

The hospital maintains a satellite office, but Plainfield's nearest full-service hospital, JFK Medical Center in Edison, is at least five miles away.

Dowe believes the closure of Muhlenberg has intensified many of Plainfield's ongoing problems -- crime, unemployment, and lack of health care for residents -- and reopening the hospital would help alleviate some of the city's fundamental issues.

"We need to create jobs, and it's not helping to have all kinds of vacant buildings and foreclosures," Dowe said. "Muhlenberg is a crisis whether people realize it or not."

Election Day is Nov. 3.

Tracee M. Herbaugh is a reporter for the New Jersey Local News Service. She may be reached at therbaugh@njlns.com or (908) 243-6214.