Solar energy advocate tries a filibuster

Renewable energy advocate Ted Glick attempted to filibuster the Bloomfield Board of Education meeting Jan. 20 by having supporters consecutively cede their three minutes for public statements to him.

The attempt was not permitted by the policy, according to board president Kasey Dudley, and the meeting was stopped. It also prompted Kasey to call for security to remove the persistent Glick from the room, but by then the board had adjourned, for 30 minutes, and the situation cooled.

Several weeks ago, Glick staged a three-day hunger strike at Broad Street and Belleville Avenue to call attention to a federal government July 4 tax credit deadline for renewable energy construction. He and his group, the Bloomfield Solar Campaign, have been pushing for solar, both for the school district and the township and have come up doubly empty after 10 years of effort.

After the meeting, Glick said to this newspaper that late last year he was under the impression the board was taking solar more seriously and was considering having a consultant begin the process leading to solar panel installation. That impression proved illusory.

“We were really happy,” he said. “But in the November and December meetings, nothing was said. It was astounding.”

After Glick finished his allotted three minutes, his wife, Jane Califf, the second speaker, announced she was giving her time to Glick. Kasey banged the gavel, but Glick refused to stop reading from a text.

“I’m going to give you a last warning,” she told him.

She said there seemed to be some misunderstanding and asked the board, by a show of hands, to display their support for solar. Every board member raised a hand. The board supported solar and sustainable committees, she said, but the school district had other projects.

“We cannot afford $20,000 even in spite of our high budget,” she said. “Solar isn’t something we’re against. I’m disappointed about what happened here tonight.”

Kasey said she was for solar energy even when she first ran for the board and knew the board’s decision was not what Glick wanted to hear.

“I can’t give you the world,” she said.

After the meeting, Glick said he was not trying to be disruptive.

“We thought we had to do more,” he said. “That’s when we had the idea to filibuster. That’s the word we used. But that wasn’t the case. They took a hard line. I got to speak for five or six minutes and they adjourned. I didn’t say what I wanted to say, but was surprised and pleased all nine board members supported solar. That is new.”

Last year, he said there was a 50/50 split among board members for solar. That all nine board members raised their hand at the recent meeting he considered a silver lining.

Still, he thought it incomprehensible the BOE would not spend $20,000 for a solar appraisal.

“Kasey goes on to talk about $20,000 with a budget of $140 million,” he said. “There probably would be a savings of $20,000 the first year. We don’t understand it. That’s what we’re focused on. It’s clear we won’t make the July 4 deadline. The tax credits are gone, but there’s still the savings and other good things. We just think she’s wrong.”

Glick said his group will attend upcoming BOE meetings.

“Maybe we can find out something useful,” he continued. We need to find out what the savings would be without the tax credit. It makes sense to move to solar.”

Glick said he appreciated Kasey’s leadership over the last two years, but his group just disagreed “with this $20,000 deal,” but acknowledged that an expenditure of $20,000 did not mean that everything was going to work out right.