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Inform The Vote NJ

Cumberland County civic information, coverage, and public accountability

Dividing Creek Fire Company — Downe Township Fire District 2 Election

Quick summary: Dividing Creek Fire Company (Downe Township Fire District 2) does not appear to have a dedicated website, which makes basic election and meeting information harder to verify quickly. I was able to verify the candidates through the Downe Township clerk and get their email addresses, though I haven't received responses yet.

Candidates

Vicki Rugenus
  • Outreach emailed
  • Response received
Rebecca Wilford
  • Outreach emailed
  • Response received
John William Lewis, Jr.
  • Outreach emailed (provided email doesn't work)
  • Response received

Ballot Questions

Each ballot question is posted with the literal language and a plain-English explanation.

No ballot questions confirmed yet

No ballot questions have been confirmed for this district yet. If question language is provided by the district or official sources, it will be posted here.

Issues

This section is split into district-specific issues and county-wide issues (which will appear on all district pages).

District-specific issues (Dividing Creek / Downe FD2)
  • No dedicated district website found: Without a clear district website, it’s harder to verify meeting dates, minutes, election details, and contact information quickly.
  • Meeting schedule unclear: Until a meeting time and location is confirmed, residents may not have a clear path to attend and ask questions.
County-wide issues (applies to all districts)
  • Staffing: Most, if not all, districts need more firefighters and EMS personnel.
  • Volunteer model vs affordability: The use of volunteers versus the cost of living and affordability situations should be discussed.
  • Turnout: Low voter turnout should be re-discussed, as it calls into question the strength of election processes.
  • Visibility gap: Lack of public attendance and press coverage of meetings leaves the public and voters in the dark regarding essential emergency services.
  • Legal Notice vs Meaningful Notice: Traditionally, public meetings across the county only needed to be advertised in one or two newspapers. As the digital age takes over, there is a push to publish on websites, but is that enough? Vineland's current data center issue and low awareness in fire districts suggest more advertising could be done.
  • EMS uncertainty: The ongoing Inspira contract discussions leaves districts in limbo about how to handle EMS coverage on a long term vision.
  • Radio programming: The lack of a radio programmer hinders inter-county communication during mutual aid endeavors.

Coverage

District-specific coverage links live here (posts, interviews, meeting notes, etc.).

Coverage log
  • Post / article: TBD
  • Interview: TBD
  • Meeting coverage: TBD — seeking clarification about meeting schedule and election details via township or district contacts.