A smoothly orchestrated a coup - breathtaking in its audacity!
And a tragically short-sighted decision that will leave Madison the poorer, financially (as Codey helped bring in millions in grants) and spiritually. This was a shameful move on the part of Council.

This is a disgrace to a man who deserved much more than the $150k he was earning. Didn't the council try to give him extra vacation time for his good performance a year ago? My, how times have changed.

I will not forget this, Landigran, Tskamoto and Links. This is nothing but politics, and it STINKS!

It's clear this council can't be trusted, so lets fill the public seats and comments period next town meeting. Watch them like a hawk!

Time to take down the poll. Whe I went to bed last night around 10pm I think there were around 400 votes and it was about tied. Now, at 720 am there are over 1000 with no consolidation vote way ahead. I find it very hard to believe that 600 people voted between 10pm last night and 7 am this morning. Think maybe someone or a group of people found a way to supress their 'cookies' and vote multiple times?

The removal of Ray Codey was shameful. Ray was the best thing to happen in Madison; the beginning of professionalism among borough employees. The ousting decision recalls days of closed, back room politics evidenced by the fact that it came as a surprise to an honest, upstanding man who was celebrated for the good that he did for Madison. Shame on those who planned and carried out this miscarriage of the power.

Madison council should be ashamed of themselves. What has happened to the town that I was once so proud to be born and raised in. Our "town politics" have always been revengeful but this action by our council is indeed a disgrace to all Madisonians.
Ray Cody had to make some hard choices and now he has to take the fall. Does professionalism even exist among our council members. I hope that all Madisonians will remember this come election time.

Wow, what a classless bunch of people on the Madison council. I don't understand why they weren't professional about it? Why didn't they speak to him before the meeting. Did they purposely try to humiliate him? Nobody deserves that. Unbelieveable!

It is getting tiresome to read about Council decisions that are uniquely stupid. Codey saved us many multiples of his compensation, so where exactly are the savings in letting him go? Also the manner in which it was done is an affront to the decency of the citizens of Madison. When politics becomes a substitute for common sense it is time for a change. Forget this online vote, how about a real vote - as in a recall election.

I gather, Ben, from an informal discussion among attendees at last night's Board of Ed meeting that the possibility of recall is already being looked into. This seems to have touched a nerve among the citizenry the likes of which I haven't seen in Madison in many, many years. Nice to see people so riled by an act that was wrong on so many levels.

I too was appalled and embarrassed at the behavior of our town council, as was my 27 year old son, who also attended. Please let us know how we can get behind a recall effort.
Jane Reynolds

I like using the term "recall". Let's hope the active Republican council people take note of this. It didn't take Landrigan long to find a niche with dirty politics. Payback can be a .......

Wells, what do you make of the Poll results above? 59% in favor of cut and 40% against. I think the way it went down is very bad but could the sentiment of the public majority be it was necessary to consolidate the position? I'm not supporting it just making an observation.

TJ, read John Zimmerman's comment posted above at 7:24 a.m. This poll long ago ceased being legit. More to the point, when have you EVER seen so many posts of absolute outrage -- even invoking recall -- on ANY subject on Madison Patch?

Never seen so many comments but I remain intrigued to say the least. I mentioned this situation to a friend (who knows nothing of Madison - he lives in Sussex Co) and his immediate reaction was "good! we need to cut wasteful govt spending!" Now, I don't agree with the Codey ouster at all, but, judging by how apathetic the typical suburban voter can be, one might suggest the 'silent majority' supports cutting excess government spending thus support the ouster. Of course the fact that Mr Codey is an outstanding borough employee and has represented Madison with purpose and effectiveness is lost on the average citizen (not to mention his firing was handled very poorly), but quite possibly many in town approve of the reduction due to the fact he had an assistant of lesser salary ready to step in. Workforce reductions are always extremely painful and seldom handled with empathy unfortunately.

Whether it was an economical necessity, which is debatable -- and by the way, wasn't -- the manner in which it was done was unseemly and downright obscene. A person's livelihood is at stake, and when there is no compelling egregious offense to warrant it, people must not be treated as Ray Codey was treated on Monday. As I recall, the administrator does much of the nuts and bolts labor to make Council meetings happen, and so it is doubly offensive that he had to set the stage for his own execution. Was there no alternative way to do this, begging, of course, the question of whether it needed to be done at all? I just wonder how much of this has to do with Ray's surname being Codey. I, for one, will be contacting my State Senator to see what he can do, if anything, about this. I suspect he will be motivated if there is. All in all, it was a sneaky, partisan outrage, which needs undoing immediately. At long last, Republicans on Council (excepting you, Doc), have you no shame?
George Hayman

Thank you, Jack, for taking a public stand. I hope it doesn't go unnoticed that a Republican former mayor has now gone on record as being outraged by this coup brought off by fellow Republicans. Mayor Dunne had many challenges during his tenure, ranging from the exploits of Peachie to the re-emergence of Democrats on the Council in the persons of George Hayman and Astri Baillie, and yet somehow that group of individuals, as diverse as their political beliefs were, would never have dreamed of doing something like what has been done to Ray Codey. George's comment says it all: this "needs undoing immediately"...without any of Tsukamoto's usual self-aggrandizing and deceptive excuses.

Jack Dunne, mayor from 1999-2003. And, oddly, his Comment doesn't appear in the stream, although I received a "Patch Alert" that contained it. What it said was: "I do agree here, Steve. I've always been a passive reader on Patch, but this really 'grinds my gears'. The collective has really overstepped their bounds."

Sorry guys! Jack the son!

For those who have floated the idea of recall, essentially what's needed is a petition containing signatures of 25% of the registered voters as of the last election. There were 9,831 registered voters as of last November's election, which means 2,458 signatures would be required. For all the details, you can go to: http://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/om_isapi.dll?clientID=38253434&Depth=2&depth=2&expandheadings=on&headingswithhits=on&hitsperheading=on&infobase=statutes.nfo&record={9459}&softpage=Doc_Frame_PG42.

wow, who would believe that so many people know exactly what went on, what was the reason behind the removal of ray,and why was he asked to leave and not stay for a transittion period?, surely l dont know as much as wellsy does, but there has got to be more, careful what you push for you may not like the facts

I've lived here too long to believe that even all the outraged Madisonians who've mentioned it would actually follow through with a recall effort. Should I be pleasantly amazed, I'll be there.

Hey Steve Wells. I don't know where you received your alert, it did not come from me, repeat, it did not come from me. Please do not use my name for your B.S Jack Dunne, former Mayor.

Turns out it was your son, Jack. Same name. Serves me right for paying a compliment!

I also received the e-alert along w another one following that stated that it was Jack the Son.

Just goes to show you that even when people choose to use their own name, it may not necessarily be them. But the name it came listed under was Jack Dunne not John J Dunne.

If the poll is meaningless, so to may be the names of commenters.

Please show fellow commenters respect and avoid personal attacks, or the thread will be locked. Thank you.

Jerry S. - You REALLY think my opinions are based in partisan politics? Come on, you know me better than that after all these years. I was a registered Republican (my whole life) only so I could vote in primaries, and am a registered Dem for the same reason...and only switched because I didn't want my name in any way affiliated with what the national Republican party has morphed into. But as you know only too well, I'm as independent as they come, and in this town have worked on the campaigns of both Repubs (YOU among them in 2003) and Dems (Hayman, Ralston, to name two)...all based on whether I believed in the individual candidate. And also as you know, I've never believed municipal bodies should be elected on a partisan basis. But let's keep the focus where it belongs, on the Codey matter.

As for Anonymous, someone who hides behind a generic screen name hasn't earned any credibility to cast aspersions on others. For all we know, Anonymous is one of the Council members who engineered the execution.

I made a comment early this morning because after 24 hours, I was still annoyed with the action taken. Even as chair of the Madison Republican party for eight years, I always said that political party affiliation has no place in municipal business. It is quite apparent in the ranting that is taking place here. Logical insightful comments on the original topic of Ray Codey being dismissed, that were entered were fine but digging up old politics or new politics have no place here and I, for one am tired of reading any of it.

How come the Todays shows on Council Meetings were from Jan. 9 (my Birthday but otherwise not significant for today) and another earlier date. Was someone trying to hide the proceedings.

Keep checking Rosenet TV - http://blip.tv/rosenettv

They usually have the meeting videos up within a week.

And Happy Belated Birthday

I am genuinely interested in working on a recall effort against these unscrupulous council members who put their own petty motivations over the best interets of our town. They were elected supposedly to represent the collective voice of the people. In this capacity, they failed miserably. I would ideally like to join forces with a few others in this recall effort. Please reply if interested and let's start organizing

Bill, I'd join you in a heartbeat if enough others do (which I'm sadly dubious of). It would take a huge effort to collect the 2,458 registered voter signatures needed. Nothing would please me more than if my skepticism was proven wrong, and numerous Madison citizens became activists in pursuit of a worthy goal. Regrettably I've grown accustomed to apathy reigning in this town. Regardless, YOU have my admiration for caring as much as you do to seriously advocate a recall effort. Codey's dismissal was indeed the most hateful, unjustified action I've seen in my 14 years here.

Sure, Bill. Regardless, it'd be a pleasure to meet someone with positive energy. I suggest you post a time on Patch (not before noon), and make it an open invitation. It would be interesting to see if anyone else shows up.

For those interested in joining a true grassroots movement to recall certain members of the council (I can think of a few names in particular), please attend a meet-up at Drip Coffee tomorrow, March 4, at 2:00. Let's send a clear message that we require a representative local government that values transparency and integrity. Hope to see you there.

3:11 pm on Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Comment: “Thank you, Jack, for taking a public stand. I hope it doesn't go unnoticed that a Republican former mayor has now gone on record as being outraged by this coup brought off by fellow Republicans.”

4:51 pm on Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Jack Dunne Publicly Refutes

11:30 am on Sunday, March 4, 2012

Comment: “John Sette, chair of the Morris County Repub Committee, has now publicly told several people of both parties that he condemns the lynching that took place in Madison on Monday.”

2:55 pm on Sunday, March 4, 2012

John Sette Publicly Refutes

2:00 pm on Sunday, March 4, 2012

The headcount at the Grassroots “Drip” meeting to Recall a segment of the Council is confirmed to be 2 less than the number of guys sipping Gin at Prospect Street Tavern watching the Wagner- Robert Morris Basketball Game.

8:00 am on Monday, March 5, 2012

An anonymous tip is confirmed that the Codey Coup was actually staged by Colonel Mustard with his Candlestick in the Chase Room of the Library that will not receive full funding....check that, that has been refuted also.

Nice seeing you all. I have created an email: madvoices@gmail.com. Drop a message when you can, as I didn't get contact from most folks. Be in touch.