Dear Reader, Welcome! Belleville Watch is dedicated to bringing news, commentary and related content in the service of civic engagement, good government and responsible, respectful development in our beloved Belleville, New Jersey! Belleville Watch operates in the spirit of “crusading”… Continue Reading →
by Frank F. Fleischman III (FF3,) Lead Editor With everything that has happened in Belleville in the past few years, you’d think the media would be falling over each other to report on them. But that has rarely happened. There… Continue Reading →
State Monitor Thomas Egan was assigned to Belleville School District in 2014 to oversee school board financial decisions following the disastrous $4 million deficit the school district incurred. In the beginning, Mr. Egan received public approval in Belleville for controlling spending and preventing bad school board decisions. In recent years, however, Mr. Egan has been physically absent from school board meetings, has seemingly approved controversial school board decisions and spending, and recently overruled a board vote on the School 1 property. Belleville taxpayers have good reason to wonder why.
by Frank Fleischman III (FF3,) Lead Editor Recently, I sent a letter to Kevin Canessa, Editor of The Observer, calling him out on an editorial he’d written about Belleville’s May 10th election. He published it in the June 1, 2022… Continue Reading →
By Frank Fleischman III (FF3,) Lead Editor (Headline with apologies to the late writer Edward Abbey.) Belleville has had a long history of nasty politics and often scheming and self-serving politicians. Our town is worth fighting for, one step at… Continue Reading →
Longtime Belleville resident and former Roosevelt Avenue commercial property owner Jeff Mattingly helped lead the fight against plans to redevelop the Valley section wholesale in the early 2000s, supported if not spearheaded by then-councilman (and now mayor) Michael Melham. Here,… Continue Reading →
BetterBelleville — consisting of Mayor Michael Melham and at-large councilpersons Naomy DePena and Thomas Graziano promised transparency in government and a break from Belleville’s political past. We believe they have failed in this endeavor and do not deserve re-election.
Belleville has seen bad politicians come and go but we believe that never has a Belleville mayor like Michael Melham so blatantly and arrogantly grabbed for power, control, and benefit. Throughout the past four years of Melham’s reign, his running mates on the Town Council have been largely silent. For these reasons, it is our opinion that Melham and BetterBelleville do not deserve re-election.
By FF3, Lead Editor Note: This is the second part in a multi-part series about the Planning Board and its activities since the election of Mayor Michael Melham’s BetterBelleville slate of candidates in 2018. You can read Part One here…. Continue Reading →
Since 2019, Mayor Michael Melham has claimed the right to appoint almost all members of the planning board, despite contrary evidence. The planning board’s vice-chairman challenged the mayor’s claims at a recent planning board meeting. by FF3, Lead Editor Note:… Continue Reading →
by FF3, Lead Editor To Whom It May Concern, I am going to assume you are either the owner of one or both of the properties around the Soho Hospital (the owners of both properties have the same address in… Continue Reading →
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