Scotch Plains Council Candidate Provides Online Video of Meetings

Scotch Plains council candidate Llewellyn Jones has taken the town's problem with broadcasting council meetings into his own hands. The enterprising council hopeful has started recording the meetings and posting them on his website.

Jones's efforts come after the township has begun the search for a television station operator – and as residents have been complaining about a loud buzz that drowns out sound on Scotch Plains TV. 

Jones explained the free service in a press statement:

"Scotch Plains TV is a great asset for our town. Having a local public cable channel that provides current community information and news about local government is a good idea and can be a great thing for residents.  I think Scotch Plains ought to have a first-rate public cable channel, and I think it can be done without spending too much money.

Regrettably, Scotch Plains TV has been woefully neglected this year.  In years past, the channel was a lot better than it is now.  In particular, in a year where we seem to have had quite a few controversial and contentious Council meetings and town management changes, Scotch Plains taxpayers have been left in the dark. And while Scotch Plains TV resumed covering meetings in May, the audio quality has been so poor that it’s not possible to hear what is being said. Additionally, videos of the meetings are no longer posted to the township website as they once were.

Providing a way for residents to see and hear their town council at work is one of the things the local public cable channel should be doing, and it isn’t right now. So as a service to the community, I have started recording the meetings and posting them on my campaign website. I have no professional expertise in audio or video technology, yet I’m able to do this with consumer electronics (an iPad mini) and minimal effort, and at almost no cost.  This is an example of how our township needs to move forward with modernization efforts, and how that can be accomplished at very low cost.

Belatedly, the council is now conducting a search for new TV management. I looked at the township website to see what the township has published about the search, and found the official paperwork, which says only that the town is looking for a TV manager and asked for a $25  fee for the detailed description of the job. There shouldn’t be a fee for a vanilla PDF document that can be posted online. We should be encouraging bidders to take a look at what our town is requesting. We should also be encouraging our residents to see what their town is doing.  Requiring a fee to look at requests for proposals which can be easily posted online is not a good idea – it discourages bidders and residents.  If we need to charge a fee to limit non-serious bidders, require the fee at the time of submission."

Jones, a Republican, will face off against Democratic incumbent Councilman Louis Beckerman in the November election.

Jones believes in "financial accountability and transparency, common sense oversight by the town council of the town’s budget and better communication between the town and residents."  

“I think the town can benefit from better financial oversight by the town council," he says. "With my business background and experience with the zoning board and as an involved community resident, I think that if I am elected to the town council I can help all Scotch Plains residents benefit from a town government that works for them and which is more responsive to all of our town residents."

Jones graduated from Kenyon College, Gambier, OH with a BA in Mathematics and Economics and received his MS in Computational Finance from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. He is a co-founder of Qtrade Capital Partners, LLC located in Westfield.

Jones and his wife, Bridget, have resided in Scotch Plains since 2009. They have a five-year-old son and two-year-old daughter. He has recently served on the Scotch Plains Zoning Board of Adjustment.

Jones has established a web site, jonesforscotchplains.com, and is on Facebook at Llewellyn Jones For Scotch Plains Township Council. He can also be followed on Twitter at @LlewellynJones4.