By Rod Hirsch

If you build it, they will come – or so a town hopes.

Burdened by a growing list of depressed urban and suburban downtown centers struggling to survive, New Jersey has built a Chinese menu of creative, business-friendly incentives to encourage local municipalities and developers to resuscitate these neglected centers of commerce. These include tax credits, tax reductions, low-interest loans, expedited environmental and planning reviews and other programs.

Union County municipalities have heard the call and answered.

By taking advantage of the Transit Village Initiative program coordinated by NJ TRANSIT and the state Department of Transportation, Rahway was recognized in October for its redevelopment efforts by the International Economic Development Council.

Cranford founded the first Special Improvement District (SID) in New Jersey in 1985, which allows for the downtown district to levy a special tax on building and business owners for downtown development and marketing. The SID is managed by the Cranford Downtown Management Corporation, which uses its budget for development projects, to recruit new businesses and to market shopping.

Elizabeth and Plainfield both are working on rebuilding their downtown commercial zones. Plainfield is in the early stages of a redevelopment plan centered on its NJ TRANSIT Raritan Valley Line and hopes to mimic the success of other railroad towns.

Elizabeth is one of nine cities in New Jersey eligible for the most ambitious program to date, The Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Program, introduced last year.

Yet even when a municipality recognizes the need for downtown revitalization, the idea is sometimes opposed by those who prefer the status quo or fear the finality of eminent domain.

Property owners in Union Township last year prevailed in a lawsuit filed against the township that contested plans for redevelopment of a 20-block downtown area. Superior Court Judge Walter Barisonek ruled that the area designated for redevelopment was not blighted and as such did not qualify as a redevelopment zone, which would have allowed the township to enforce eminent domain had it chosen to do so.

Township officials had tried to assure owners their properties were not being targeted for razing as part of the redevelopment plan but were unsuccessful.

Township Attorney Daniel Antonelli said township officials were dismayed by the court’s decision.

“Through redevelopment there could have been a real jump start in improving the downtown,” he said. “Now that we don’t have that option our hands are tied. The township can appeal but we don’t have any intentions to appeal the court’s decision.

“It’s our position now that it’s back on the shoulders of the property owners,” Antonelli added. “They can do those things necessary to create more pedestrian traffic, create a better shopping experience for downtown. They had better, because at this point our downtown is on life support.”

The owners of Linwood Inn in Linden convinced city officials to remove the restaurant on South Wood Avenue as a property designated for redevelopment in the South Wood Avenue Redevelopment Area, shielding the three-story 1882 building from possible condemnation and razing after a five-year battle.

Linden Mayor Richard Gerbounka said the city will continue to work with individual property owners and will only resort to eminent domain as a last resort.

Springfield is the latest municipality to take stock of its downtown shopping district.

With most storefronts long overdue for a facelift, Springfield Mayor Bart Fraenkel met with downtown property owners from a four-block stretch of Morris Avenue the first week of December and confronted the issue head on.

“Redevelopment is generally viewed as a developer coming in and one way or another building from scratch,” Fraenkel said. “Often there is the use of eminent domain. We’ve taken that off the table. We’re not using the words redevelopment or eminent domain. We are referring to this as a revitalization of our downtown.

“We told the property owners it is incumbent upon them to revitalize their properties, to not let them run down. We’re making the effort to reach out to them to find out what incentives they need, short of money, because we’re in the same financial squeeze everybody else is in, yet we can’t continue to let these properties get run down.”

Property owners have asked Springfield officials to consider amending current zoning laws to permit adding second and third floors to their buildings to generate more square footage for rentals.

“That would be a financial incentive for them and we can discuss those kinds of things,” Fraenkel said. “Our view is that it is not going to cost the town money and will enable the property owners to have an incentive to go ahead and make further investments in their property.”

Fraenkel concedes the economic downturn has aggravated the situation and may stymie progress, but warned property owners the township means business.

“Make a minor investment,” he said. “Do the right thing – paint, siding, new windows, whatever is necessary so it doesn’t look like a depressed area. Do something that you can take pride in.”

Progress made over the years in Rahway exemplifies the ultimate success story for the popular New Jersey Transit Village Initiative.

The program was created by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and NJ TRANSIT to acknowledge the existence of transit-friendly, smart growth land use practices in designated municipalities that allow for mixed-use development (with a strong residential component) to occur within a quarter-mile to half-mile radius around rail or bus passenger facilities. Rahway is one of 18 designated municipalities.

The renovation of Rahway’s train station in 1998 helped trigger a series of developments within walking distance of the station, according to Mayor James Kennedy.

“It started with higher densities in and around the train sation,” Kennedy said. “In order for a transit village to be successful you need to take a serious look at denstiy around the train station.

“We’ve changed (density) dramatically and that has encouraged developers. Ultimately there will be 1,500 units of housing within a short range of the train station, and that amounts to 10 percent of the town’s population in the central business district. That one critical mass of people will create a healthier commercial market.”

There are 150 rental units now occupied, another 150 coming online shortly, and 65 of 86 condominiums occupied or under contract under Phase I of the redevelopment, according to Kennedy.

Rahway also incorporated public sector improvements in its redevelopment, including a recreation center and an innovative library that features commercial space on its upper floors, a 40,000-square-foot public/private partnership that is a source of pride.

There are four other projects pending, according to the mayor. Land has been acquired and the owners are looking to move forward, but the economic downturn has slowed progress.

“We didn’t realize the economy would start to crumble,” he said.

However, there remains significant public investment in new amenities, things that will make people want to live and work in town, according to Kennedy, including a 1,000-seat ampitheater; a “black box” theater (a growing retro trend in flexible performance space); and a gallery and performing arts studio.

“We’re using the cultural arts as an economic stimulus,” Kennedy explained. “Of course, the central focal piece is the Union County Arts Center.”

Rahway is not feeling as much economic pain as other downtown districts, Kennedy claims. “We were always undervalued so we’re not seeing large hits on our real estate values as much as in some places,” he said. “What seems to be alive in this market is the rental market.”

If you build it, they will come.

Holiday sales decreased nationwide between 5.5 and 8 percent, excluding gas and auto purchases, according to cash and credit card data tracked by MasterCard Spending Pulse.

But just as Whoville was saved, there is power in numbers and help available for Union County’s beleaguered small business owners, many who do not have the cash reserves to weather many months with smaller profits. Several associations and organizations are ready to help small business owners in a variety of ways.

Kathleen Miller, director of the Cranford Downtown Management Corporation (DMC), conducted an informal survey of local business owners and found the holiday season news was better than expected.

Nevertheless, the DMC is holding a series of roundtables for business owners to discuss a variety of business topics and learn from one another. The first meeting, held January 21, focused on using advertising dollars wisely.

“Cranford’s downtown shopping area is typical of many downtown areas,” Miller said. “It is almost exclusively made up of mom and pop retail stores and restaurants. They have very little budget for advertising, so we focused on low-cost ways to make their advertising budgets go farther.”

Putting out a guestbook to develop an email list is a way store owners can announce promotions for little or no cost, she noted. Banding together for group promotions is another way to make advertising dollars stretch farther. The DMC also plans to increase special promotions and programs to attract visitors to the area.

The Downtown Westfield Corporation also offers a variety of promotions to draw customers to downtown businesses, according to its director, Shelley Corbin. This year Corbin will focus on a variety of programs from summer jazz performance and sidewalk sales to more cross-promotional events with stores.

“The difference in going to a downtown business is the level of service,” said Corbin. “Many of our businesses have been in the downtown area for over 25 years. Once  people come downtown they see that our stores provide a level of goods and the type of services that make customers want to return.”

Joe Steiner has spent the last 30 years working with various chambers of commerce, committees and boards focusing on small business development in the Union County area. “The work to save small businesses has been actively going on for many years,” he said.“What happens in a recession is that more small business owners realize the necessity and begin to participate in things like the special improvement districts or the Small Business Administration programs.”

There are many strong, well-developed programs in the area, Steiner added. The UCEDC (formerly the Union County Economic Development Corporation) has developed programs that are being copied by the state’s Department of Communities Main Street New Jersey program. One of the most significant new offerings from the UCEDC is a line of credit available for small business owners.

“We are expanding our arsenal of tools for our small business clients,” said Paige Sato, director of business development for the organization. The organization will hold a series  of procurement events designed to teach small business owners how to get government contracts.

For several years the UCEDC has offered small business “micro loans” of up to $35,000. However, the organization found these loans were sometimes larger than some small business owners needed, Sato said.

“For some of our small business clients, a line of credit that they could draw on only when they needed it was really the better option, but we didn’t have it available until recently,” she said.

Because the UCEDC is not a depository organization and did not have the “back office capabilities” to handle the paperwork for this type of loan, it looked for a bank with which to partner.

“We talked with a number of banks that were not interested for a variety of reasons, then we were approached by Investors Savings Bank of Summit,” Sato said. “They wanted to become more involved in commercial lending, and were happy to work with us to set up the paperwork for the line of credit loans.”

The loans became available in November 2008. The UCEDC already has closed on two and a number of others are in the works.

“The credit line is a safety net for many small businesses, particularly at this time,” Sato said. “It can be used to make payroll or purchase inventory while waiting for accounts payable to come in.”

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   • After the sale, the vendor is superior to the customer. Customer’s perception: “Client feels vulnerable.”

Anticipating this vulnerability, customers hesitate in changing vendors. They stick with the incumbent, even if there are some problems. For the devil they know is better…

About 20 years ago a demanding client – a gourmet food packer selling to major retailers – taught me this principle.

My sales agency provided custom packaging. Whereas the standard lead time was eight-12 weeks, I represented a factory that offered a lead time of six-eight weeks. Improved lead time was critical to this demanding client.

He repeatedly told me major retailers were dragging their heels in releasing orders but that I would receive an order the moment he had it from his clients. I repeatedly told the client I needed six to eight weeks for the custom packaging, and confirmed this in writing.

When the retailers released the orders to my client, there was only a four-week lead time. Again, I confirmed in writing that I needed six to eight weeks, thinking my client would advise his customers.

About four weeks later, I received a call from the owner – where was his packaging?

I reminded him that we needed a six-eight week lead time.

He said, “You knew I needed the goods in four weeks.”

I replied, “But it was in my quote and confirmation.”

He answered, “You should have brought it to my attention, not ‘buried’ this fact in a quote.”

Aha! I needed to look at the world through his glasses and be his advocate, watch his back. This changed my approach to business.

Consider the story of the Tardy Artist.

Another client needed a sample for a trade show. I developed the artwork. The artist I selected was running late . In fact, the artwork arrived the Friday evening before the trade show was to begin on Monday.

Normally, I needed at least a week to get the sample prepared. Now I had three days. I could have told the client, “The artwork was late; there was nothing I could do.”

But I had made a promise and had to exhaust all possibilities. I contacted the owner of a “short run” sample house in Chicago. He agreed to bring in his decorating crew on Saturday and I would pay the overtime.

I sent the art package by overnight mail to Chicago for first Saturday delivery. At about 10 a.m. on Saturday, the sample house called me, asking, “Where is the package?”

I called FedEx and learned they had erred, that my package was in a “Monday morning” container with 8,000 other packages. It wouldn’t be sorted until Monday.

I could have told my client, “The artwork was late, FedEx messed up; there was nothing I could do.”

But I had made a promise and had to exhaust all possibilities.

I went up the food chain in FedEx, constantly hearing, “There’s nothing I can do.” I kept responding, “I understand there is nothing you can do. Let’s find someone who can.”

Finally, someone in authority opened the container and found my package. FedEx paid to put it on a plane to Chicago.

I called the short run house and asked the owner to decorate through the night. On Sunday, they drove the flat samples 100 miles to a Michigan factory, where the factory manager fabricated the sample, then drove it back to Chicago.

On Monday morning, it was in the client’s trade show booth.

I watched his back – and continued to get all his business.

Do you have a reputation for watching your client’s back?

Let’s face it: these are some scary times we’re facing. Historically, during times of economic stress, businesses have tended to go with their gut-instincts and cut spending on non-fixed costs – you have to pay rent, keep the phones on and pay the electric bill. Non-fixed costs have almost always included marketing.

As a result, people stop buying your product and you stop marketing simultaneously.

It’s not a good formula for success, one might argue. But it’s hard to argue with a business owner who sees his profits dwindling that extras and frivolities are necessary expenses.

The problem, however, is in lumping in marketing dollars with “extras” and “frivolities.” Until we have the word-of-mouth power of Google or Verizon, we are all happy to get all the help we can.

What better help is there than the chamber? Where else do you get 170 events throughout the year, the chance to pitch your product or service as often or to as many people, and the aid of a personal introduction?

The trick is in taking advantage. We are all amazingly busy. I often marvel at the speed with which my week passes. Every time I turn around it’s Friday and that’s because every day we have one meeting or another, and go to them all.

It’s a big commitment. The reward, however, is getting to know someone, perhaps making a friend and doing some business.

People do business with people they know, like and trust. The alternative is opening the phone book, which is something I haven’t had to do since I took this job.

You might think you have enough friends and that might be true, but are you really willing to say you don’t want any additional business? Because that’s what you’re turning down when you turn down the chamber. We are a huge organization, but we’re also very tightly knit and we’re constantly talking to each other.

For example, a new member recently asked me to make an introduction to several banks, and I did. No other chamber or business organization gets involved at that level.

It goes beyond those of us in the office, however. If you meet a member at a meeting and theyknow someone who can help you, they’ll probably make an introduction.

Sales are great, of course, but math is math and every new sale costs money – whether because of a commission or those pesky marketing dollars we were talking about earlier.

What doesn’t cost anything is money saved and the chamber can help you there, too. The Affinity Programs are special discounts on products and services that all businesses use and need. You have to buy office supplies and you have to buy them somewhere. Why not look at the chamber’s program with W. B. Mason and see if they can save you money?

More often than not they can and it doesn’t cost a thing. On average, W.B. saves members 15 percent. The industry standard is that most businesses spend approximately $500 per employee per year on office supplies. If you have 20 employees you’re probably spending about $10,000 on office supplies each year. Could you really do without an extra $1,500 in your pocket?

I can think of a lot of things I could do with $1,500. And this is just one program; let’s not forget about the other 16!

All you have to do is ask. That’s what we’re here for. The chamber exists for one purpose: to promote and advance your business interests. That means helping you make money and helping you save money. We’ve been doing it since 1911 and, frankly, no one does it better.

Scary times or not, life goes on. As member Eric Segal said to me this morning, “It’s time to buckle down and get through this. And we will get through this.”

You can get through this by scrambling and cold-calling or you can get through this with the help of the Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce – by attending events, getting introductions, making introductions, saving money and meeting people.

There is no better time to join the chamber. We have more people, more connections and more business than any other organization in this region.

Money on the Table

As with so many others, I have been receiving my end-of-year financial statements and looking at them with dismay over years of savings that have diminished in such a short period of time. It is a depressing perusal. Fortunately, I have quite a few years until retirement, and with luck their value will recover before then.

With one group of investments, however, I am feeling a great deal of distress. For years my wife and I have saved for our sons’ college education. We were smart; we put these savings in tax-exempt 529 plans so they would attain their maximum value.

In looking through these statements, I realize that more than a year’s worth of tuition savings has simply disappeared. And there are only two years left until I have to start paying tuition.

Unfortunately, my situation is not unique. I know there are many other families facing the same problem or, perhaps worse, have little savings set aside to help their kids get through college to begin with.

What is very surprising to me is that more families do little about it, even though there is a great deal of money out there in the form of scholarships that can help ease the burden of paying tuition.

For years the Gateway Chamber has run a small scholarship program. It is geared toward graduating high school students in Union County who have an interest in pursuing technical or vocational training. It is not directed at the straight-A student going to an Ivy League college, but rather to the student who may not be able to afford the cost of going to a four year school or who may not have the grades to get in.

The scholarship is not a big one – usually the amount awarded is $1,000 – but it often can make a big difference in whether or not school is an option.

What is surprising is that some years it is very difficult to find enough applications for us to give away the money. Often, the bulk of the applicants will come from one area high school with only a couple from other schools. Several of our local chambers that also award scholarships have faced a similar paucity of applicants.

Not understanding why anyone would not devote a couple hours of time to get a $1,000 payoff, I asked a number of high school guidance counselors why so few kids bother to apply for scholarships. Their responses show a real frustration at how far down financial aid really is on most people’s lists.

Quite frankly, most counselors believe that the main reason families don’t apply for scholarships is because they don’t think they’ll get them. Either the parents make too much money or the kids’ grades are not good enough for them to have any real chance at getting anything. These families don’t understand that there are loads of scholarships that are not need- or performance-based.

The second big reason is that many scholarships aren’t for a whole lot of money. This is certainly true, but $1,000 is better than nothing, and there is no reason to apply for only one scholarship. Since most applications require pretty much the same information, once collected, subsequent applications become relatively easy.

Some of the more aggressive applicants collect so many scholarships they actually end up covering their school costs and having money left over.

The third most common complaint is that kids don’t bother to tell their parents what is available because they have enough work already and don’t want to spend their time filling out applications.

Fall tuition bills come in June and that is when parents start to freak out wondering how they’re going to pay for this. Of course, scholarship applications are due in March, so by June it’s too late.

If you don’t want to find yourself in this position, I suggest you contact your child’s guidance counselor now. You might also want to check out a couple of websites. Try www.fastweb.com, www.scholarships.com, www.collegeboard.com (scholarship search) or www.meritaid.com. I’ll be right there with you!

James Coyle

President

In the weeks preceding the presidential election, the media noted that poll numbers were mitigated by the unknown factor of how much race would influence Americans in the privacy of the voting booth.

That wild card – each voter’s right to cast his or her ballot in private – is one of the most treasured keystones of democracy.

So it is ironic that national labor leaders are now fighting to steal that right from American workers through the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).

The EFCA is intended to streamline the process of certifying a union, facilitate initial collective bargaining once a union is in place, and strengthen enforcement of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and penalties for its violation. The bill passed the House in the last Congress before stalling in the Senate, but it is being revived.

The key component of the EFCA that is most contentious is that it would allow employees to form a union by simply collecting enough names on membership cards, the so-called card-check system, rather than being required to hold a vote by secret ballot.

Currently, when employees in a workplace want to form a union, the NLRA requires they collect signed membership cards or a petition representing at least 30 percent of the employees to be covered by the union. While a company can immediately recognize the union at that time, in nearly all cases management opts to exercise its right to require an election by secret ballot under the eye of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The Employee Free Choice Act would eliminate the right for an election by secret ballot – or put another way, the right of employees to cast their votes without a fellow employee watching.

Proponents of both labor and business are chiming in on the issue.

Unions spent an estimated $450 million supporting Barack Obama and the Democratic Party last fall, according to the Los Angeles Times. Obama has nominated Hilda Solis for Labor Secretary, who is seen as very pro-labor and has expressed support for the bill.

The AFL-CIO claims that 60 million American workers would join a union tomorrow if given the chance and that union members earn 30 percent more than non-union members, are 50 percent more likely to have medical insurance and more than four times as likely to have a pension plan. So making it easier for employees to unionize is good for them.

In the other corner is the business community, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which points out that the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals noted that “Workers sometimes sign union authorization cards not because they intend to vote for the union in the election but to avoid offending the person who asks them to sign, often a fellow worker, or simply to get the person off their back.” The chamber also cites a Zogby International poll in which “union members overwhelmingly (84% to 11%) indicated that employees should have the right to specifically vote whether or not to join a union.”

Non-partisan numbers speak for themselves. In fiscal 2007, the NLRB found that 1,771 employees were “fired in violation of their organizational rights,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

Clearly, sometimes businesses do not bargain in good faith and/or punish employees for trying to unionize, and that is unacceptable.

But the Times also reported that of the more than 22,000 unfair-labor-practice charges filed with the NLRB in 2007, 6,000 were against labor unions, most for illegal restraint and coercion.

Sometimes unions are not so fair, either.

Here are some more numbers. Labor unions represent 12.1 percent of the nation’s 129 million workers, down from 20 percent in 1983 and 36 percent at their apex in 1945.

It is not a stretch to at least suspect the real passion behind labor’s support for the EFCA is not an altruistic belief in the rights of employees to unionize but rather in the need for an increase in membership – and dues.

Yet perhaps all the analysis of numbers and debate of motives is irrelevant because the Employee Free Choice Act will take away something that sits at the core of American liberties – the right to cast one’s vote in private, free from the possibility of coercion or unwanted influence.

Which brings us back to irony. How is taking away someone’s right to vote in private free choice?

The Employee Free Choice Act is a bad bill. Not because it is bad for American businesses, but rather because it is bad for Americans who believe in their right to vote their conscience in private.

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Our economy is hurting. In the last two months alone U.S. employers have slashed 1.1 million jobs, sending the national jobless rate above 7 percent for the first time in more than 15 years.

Here in New Jersey, income and property taxes are at an all-time high. Our state is neck-deep in record debt. And the current economic crisis has many New Jerseyeans worried about losing their jobs, their homes, their investments and their retirement future.

The news for New Jersey’s business community isn’t any better. According to the non-partisan Tax Foundation, New Jersey’s small businesses suffer from the nation’s second worst business climate, including excessive government bureaucracy, burdensome over-regulation and high taxes.

Many businesses are struggling to keep afloat because credit lines are frozen or have dried up.

As a new member of Congress representing New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, I believe our economic recovery should be Congress’ foremost domestic priority in 2009. To achieve recovery, I intend to work with like-minded members of Congress to fight for a federal economic recovery package that provides critical tax relief to working families and incentives to businesses to create and maintain jobs.

I believe vibrant, healthy capital markets are critical to economic growth. Upon my election to Congress, I immediately sought and have recently received an appointment to the influential House Financial Services Committee, which oversees all components of the nation’s housing and financial services sectors, including banking, insurance, real estate and securities. This committee assignment will allow me to work in a bipartisan fashion to strengthen U.S. capital markets for New Jersey’s working families and small- and medium-sized businesses and investors.

Already, the Financial Services Committee has held important hearings as part of congressional efforts to respond to the current economic crisis. I am working hard to ensure that homeowners – not Wall Street’s bad actors – receive vital emergency housing and mortgage relief funds and that taxpayers are protected from wasteful and unnecessary spending.

I understand that small businesses play an important role in a healthy economy because they create jobs in every community across our country. Too many small businesses are feeling the impact of the economic recession. Congress must include provisions in the economic stimulus plan to help small business owners expand their businesses and create new jobs.

We pay too much in taxes. Congress must include tax relief for all taxpayers in its economic recovery plan – including businesses. Businesses must be allowed to write off last year’s losses, as well as losses occurred this year. We should reward those hiring workers or forgoing layoffs by providing one-time business tax credits. And smaller businesses should be able to write off a wide variety of expenditures, encouraging them to invest to create jobs. These are just a few of the provisions I believe should be part of any final stimulus plan.

Like many of my colleagues, I support including in the stimulus package new investments in our national infrastructure. Rebuilding and refurbishing our nation’s bridges and highways will help create important construction industry jobs. However, Congress must reject pork barrel projects and ensure that the economic stimulus package is free of wasteful earmarks.

The Congress and the Obama Administration must work together in crafting an economic stimulus that responds to the current crisis. Working in a bipartisan fashion we can produce a fiscally responsible package that delivers immediate help to every level of our economy – protecting taxpayers and delivering the right kind of relief to small business.

If Congress and the President get it right, we can help strengthen our economy, help New Jersey’s working families and provide relief to job-creating small businesses.

A new Democratic president is in the White House. The Democrats have expanded their majorities in both the House and the Senate. This means that Barack Obama will have little trouble producing a cascade of new liberal policies from Washington.

Right?

Well, maybe – but then again, maybe not.

Historically the record is not clear. In fact the last three presidents to have similar party control of Congress did not fare all that well. Jimmy Carter (1977), Bill Clinton (1993) and George W. Bush (2005) all experienced serious legislative setbacks to their proposed agenda – on energy, health care and social security, respectively.

We have to go back 44 years to Lyndon Johnson to find a president able to steamroll his agenda through a compliant Congress of his own party.

Will Barack Obama be another Lyndon Johnson – or another Jimmy Carter? That is the question.

Positive signs do exist. Despite only four years experience in Washington, Obama still exceeds Carter, Clinton and Bush 43, who had no Washington experience when they entered office. And his experience both in Illinois and D.C. is as a legislator – something else Clinton and Bush 43 lacked.

Understanding how things work at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue is a frequently overlooked asset.

Another advantage for Obama: Congressional Democrats and their leaders are hungry for legislative success. Carter and Clinton faced veteran Democratic Congresses long-accustomed to being in the majority and going toe-to-toe with Republican executives. That is, they were skilled in opposing – but not in following – the president.

On top of this, Democrats facing the voters in 2010 know from recent history that the surest path to reelection will come if Barack Obama, and his party, are perceived as successful in governing the country. When Carter and Clinton were seen as ineffective, the voters took it out on all Democrats. Just as congressional Republicans suffered in 2006 and 2008 when President Bush’s public support declined.

But the picture is not all roses for two very big reasons. First, the condition of the country’s economy today dwarfs the situation encountered by any new president since Franklin Roosevelt.

Record budget and trade deficits, a declining industrial base, an aging population and hence growing bills for benefits such as Social Security and Medicare – all present obstacles to a quick or painless recovery.

Second, the level of expectations is high – unreasonably so. “Change” was a tactically smart campaign theme – both desirable and vague. Because it was vague, every group of Obama supporters could assume it meant the type of change they most wanted. But with limited resources – made more so by large bail-out and stimulus expenditures – scaling down and deferring many of these implicit promises will be inevitable.

One other challenge may not be as readily apparent. In 2006 and 2008 Democrats won Senate and House seats in previously Republican areas. To do so, winning Democrats had to convince voters they were not John Kerry-style liberals – but instead reflected the moderate and even slightly conservative values of their constituents. For Nancy Pelosi and congressional Democrats to retain their majority, policies enacted by an Obama administration will need to satisfy the values of Montana and Virginia – not just those of San Francisco and New York.

New Jersey may well present a cautionary note for national Democrats. The last two Democratic governors to seek reelection have run into problems because they either over-reached (Jim Florio) or over-promised (Jon Corzine). Barack Obama will need to find a way to walk this tightrope – governing “from the center” while still living up to the hope for real “change” that fueled his meteoric ascent to the White House.

Presidents who achieve that balance can rise to greatness. Those who fail may serve only one term.

Merle Treusch is a professor of political science at Kean University, an adjunct professor of political science at Monmouth University and a commentator on state and national politics for News12 New Jersey.

Infineum USA L.P. recently partnered with the Linden public schools to help children better understand science at the annual North Jersey Section of the American Chemical Society ChemExpo held at the Liberty Science Center. Infineum employees demonstrated Chemiluminescence, a chemical change that produces visible light, helping children to create the reaction.

Spencer Savings Bank recently collected more than 300 toys for its 2008 Holiday Toy Drive. Bank employees distributed the toys to St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Paterson, Hackensack University Medical Center and the NJ Community Development Corporation, which assists low-income Paterson families and the Garfield YMCA.

TD Bank recently opened its newest Union County branch in New Providence. Andrew Gaffney will serve as manager of the new store. To celebrate the opening, TD Bank held a ribbon cutting ceremony and named local resident Michael Piana a Hometown Hero for his commitment to protecting the local community. Piana designated the Saint Barnabas Burn Center as the organization to receive a cash donation from the bank.