Raymond Ave. Resident Charges CCR with “Increasing Politicization”

Political force or cheerleader for the community, the Community Coalition on Race (CCR) has drawn its share of attention this year. South Orange resident Rusty Reeves asked the Board of Trustees to consider withholding Village funds from the group in future years, due to what he calls the CCR's "increasing politicization."

The CCR is funded by both South Orange and Maplewood. In June, the group's . At that time, Trustees Michael Goldberg and Nancy Gould expressed concern about continuing to fund a non-profit that's politically active.

Reeves described his own experience with the CCR, attending a first meeting several years ago. At that time, he saw the group as a "cheerleader" for the South Orange – Maplewood community.

Recently, however, Reeves has grown concerned about CCR silence on issues ranging from groups of teens in downtown South Orange to the potential NAACP lawsuit against the school district. He noted that the CCR "weighed in" on spring's "incredibly politically controversial" deleveling proposal. (The CCR's stated position is here.) 

As a publicly-funded organization, "They shouldn't have," said Reeves, who observes that CCR activities and public statements, including an editorial in the July 22, 2010 News-Record, have strayed from the mission statement posted on the group's site.

In June, Village President Doug Newman observed that the budgetary impact of withdrawing funding from a small non-profit would be enormous, and that the CCR has defended its advocacy work by contending that it doesn't meet the IRS definition for lobbying.