Corzine Visits Maplewood to Honor Mila Jasey

Saturday night's event, "Celebrating Integration: Building Inclusive Communities," may have been designed to honor Assemblywoman Mila Jasey, but Governor Jon Corzine nearly stole the spotlight.

The Governor—who is in the midst of a hotly contested reelection campaign—lingered at the event, held at the Women's Club of Maplewood, posing for dozens of photos and shaking hands. Despite a busy evening schedule of three stops—one of which would take him to Ocean County—Corzine spent over an hour in Maplewood, even though this is friendly territory where voter registration is heavily Democratic. Corzine chatted with his constituents at length and took a seat to watch a 10-minute video documenting the South Orange Maplewood Community Coalition on Race's programs and history.

The Coalition, which organized the tribute, grew out of an effort in the early 1990s to counter stagnant property values  and negative perceptions as the towns became more integrated. Early in its existence, the Coalition crafted a marketing campaign to promote South Orange and Maplewood to potential residents and continues to run real estate tours, even sponsoring a second mortgage loan program. Currently, a major focus of the Coalition has been bridging the achievement gap in the SOMA School District between white students and African-American students.

About 150 attendees  paid $100 to help raise funds for the Coalition. The event featured an open bar, buffet dinner, an address by the Governor, a silent auction and a proclamation from the State Assembly honoring Mila Jasey.

Although Jasey has only served in the State Assembly for two years (replacing Mims Hackett who resigned after federal corruption charges were brought against him), she has long been a civic leader in South Orange and Maplewood. In particular, Jasey has championed educational causes and served for eight years on the SOMA School District Board of Education.

Attendees at this event included many South Orange and Maplewood elected officials. Maplewood Township Committee members Kathy Leventhal, Jerry Ryan and Fred Profeta were in attendance as was Maplewood Mayor Vic De Luca. South Orange Village Administrator John Gross attended, as did Village President Douglas Newman.

During the video presentation, Coalition Executive Director Nancy Gagnier noted that an issue going forward for the Coalition was to bring its message to new audiences. After an intense tete-a-tete where Gagnier ran Corzine through the Coalition's mission and programs, and the viewing of the video, Corzine made pointed comments about the work of the Coalition.

"This is not a labor," said Corzine, who received a standing ovation. 'This is an action of love, a belief in what our society should be like." Corzine said that South Orange and Maplewood are models of what all communities should aim toward. "I really think that you enrich people's lives by having people of all backgrounds living together." Corzine offered a hopeful message, "The reality of Barack Obama as president is testimony that good will is there among the majority of our society." Commending the Coalition, Corzine joked, "You know,  this community organizing stuff is OK!"

Corzine also noted that he is no stranger to Maplewood where his daughter once was co-owner of Pen & Jen's tea bar at the Maplewood train station. "I spent more time here than you thought," said the Governor. "I drank a lot of tea."

Corzine ultimately brought the conversation back to Jasey, commending her years of service to her community. "Mila, I wish you the best."

Still, it was Assemblyman John McKeon (who is also Mayor of West Orange) who made a few eyes moist. After expresssing his "depth of respect" for Jasey's "intellect, moral compass and hard work," McKeon said, with obvious emotion in his voice, "Mila, you are one of the finest human beings that I have ever met."