You scream. I scream. We all scream for ice cream!
Especially in an election year.
Morristown mayoral candidate Esperanza Porras-Field is crying foul after the Morristown Housing Authority asked her to remove an ice cream truck from the parking lot of the Ann Street seniors housing on Memorial Day.
Her opponent, Mayor Tim Dougherty, has the authority’s blessing to host a barbecue outside the Early Street seniors building on Sunday, two days before the June 8, 2021, Democratic primary.
“So he’s allowed to have his picnic, but I’m not allowed to have ice cream?” said Porras-Field, who said she was offering free ice cream to seniors for an informal meet-and-greet on Memorial Day.
Dougherty’s barbecue–which includes a shuttle for Ann Street seniors–had been scheduled for last Sunday, but was moved because of bad weather, according to Keith Kinard, executive director of the MHA.
The mayor’s office, which in pre-COVID years hosted mid-summer indoor picnics for seniors, did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Kinard said the crux of the matter is rules: Porras-Field did not request permission to be on housing authority property. The mayor’s office filed a form asking to host a May 30 barbecue; cold, wet weather prompted the mayor to seek a do-over on June 6, Kinard said.
“The MHA requires any organization or individual seeking to hold an event on our property to submit a request form for approval. Failure to do so will result in ejection from our properties,” said Kinard, citing concern for the safety of residents.
Some seniors, still fearful of COVID-19, have raised concerns about unauthorized people gaining entry to their buildings to distribute flyers about the ice cream social, Kinard said.
Porras-Field said building access was provided by friendly residents.
PIZZA PROHIBITION
The mayor’s application for an outdoor “Memorial Day BBQ” bears a May 18 submission date, which is crossed off and re-dated May 25. It was approved by MHA Deputy Director Allison Durham, the person who politely dispersed the ice cream gathering on Monday.
A federal entity, the MHA oversees 470 units of seniors- and public housing.
In 2019, then-Council candidate Lorena Inestroza, a resident at Early Street, was denied permission to throw a free pizza party in a community room two days before the general election.
That unsigned MHA denial stated the pizza party by a declared candidate “may be deemed as electioneering on Federal Public Property, which based on Morristown Housing Authority policy is prohibited.”
Kinard described that proposed party as “a direct violation” of a 2019 written policy barring “electioneering or campaigning” in any community room or facility operated by the housing authority.
The one-page policy also prohibits signs, placards, advertisements or posters in any common areas. However, political discussions are protected by the First Amendment, the document acknowledges.
Kinard, via email, said these cases are different because:
“(1) Mayor Dougherty’s team actually provided a written request for review and approval from the MHA; (2) their event was originally slated as a Memorial Day BBQ to occur the day before a holiday; (3) the event was requested to occur outdoors as opposed to a community room or recreational facility; (4) given the inclement weather that was predicted, it was reasonable to request a date change.”
Monday’s ice cream event violated MHA policy and posed potential insurance- and liability issues, Kinard said. Politics were not a factor, he said.
“No judgment was made as to the purpose of this weekend’s activity beyond the failure to provide a proper request,” Kinard said.
This story has been updated to include Esperanza Porras-Fields comment about entry into the seniors’ building.
You should have posted pictures of the red signs at the entrance and on the doors stating that due to Covid there would be no visitors allowed.