To those of us on this board more than a year or so, could doty's posts on fred's blogs be any more obvious? He talks about "vorties" and his feelings that CC is the best use for 140 gpr...better than this imaginary commercial user who would "ruin the land"...etc. on and on he goes--then he insists that he's not ted or russ, and that neither of them has posted on nj.com. In fact, one of them has "never" posted on nj.com.

Anyway, I bought this article from the daily record and wanted to keep it here for posterity in case I delete the email.

Here it is for your enjoyment. Once again, thanks Rob for calling me Scott's husband.

This refers to the post that Ted insists shows a violent tendency in the residents who oppose the christ church project. I have yet to hear a threat. A wish, yes--but we all have things we wish for, don't we?

And even if there were a threat toward Ted, how would that translate into a threat toward the Rev? It makes no sense...


June 14, 2004

Christ Church supporter glad he 'struck a chord'

Rockaway Twp. resident 'has no love for anything,' one foe says


Author: Rob Jennings

Daily Record

Page: 1A

Estimated printed pages: 5


Article Text:

ROCKAWAY TWP. --Ted Doty's friends and adversaries agree on one thing. He sure has a knack for getting under people's skin.

Whether it's battling Christ Church building plan opponents, filing ethics charges against school board members or slamming the township's Republican establishment, the 50-year-old onetime mayoral candidate relishes his contentious persona.

Doty is praised by some and despised by others. In an Internet posting last week, Christ Church building plan opponent Scott Stark wished Doty a "slow, painful death" from the multiple sclerosis that has afflicted him for about a decade.

Doty, among the few in the township to publicly embrace Montclair-based Christ Church's proposed 3,000-seat sanctuary and private K-5 school on Green Pond Road, isn't shy about dishing it out as well.

On the Internet, Doty has accused one church plan opponent of using Nazi-like tactics. When another resident accused the 5,000-member,! predominantly black congregation of over-hyping its commitment to diversity, Doty called him a racist.

"I'm pretty aggressive about standing up for what I believe in," Doty said.

Doty's critics say he's more than just assertive. They call him a provocateur who brings out the worst in them.

"How much manipulation can a person take before finally sort of blowing up and telling him off?"asked Karen Stark, Scott's husband. She claimed that her spouse didn't mean what he said about Doty's health.

Scott Stark posted his statement about Doty on an Internet message board that Karen Stark said she and her husband founded several months ago to provide an open forum for discussion about the Christ Church building plan, which they both oppose.

Scott Stark declined an interview, but he did respond to an e-mail Saturday. He wrote that Doty "has no love for anything,"wants only to "rock the boat" by opposing majority sentiments and uses his disability "to pr! otect him from the wrath he incites."

Stark did not apologize fo r his Internet posting, which was not the first from building plan opponents to target Doty's illness.

Doty, whose disability is well-known because he uses a wheelchair at township meetings, said his feelings weren't hurt.

"It helps me know I've struck a chord or hit too close to home. They have no recourse but to strike back and call me names," Doty said.

Charles Mueller, called a racist by Doty for disputing Christ Church's commitment to diversity, said Doty had no right to claim the high ground. Mueller described Doty as an angry, unfair man who uses his intellect in a destructive fashion.

"He seems to be anti- whatever the majority is for," Mueller said.

Matt Press, a resident who supported Doty for mayor in 1999, countered that his friend is committed to speaking out whenever he perceives an injustice.

"He's not particularly concerned with the individual sensitivities. He puts himself in the position of taking a very critical look at ! what goes on in the township," Press said.

Doty said he had a fairly low profile before moving to the township 15 years ago and couldn't put his finger on what prompted his extensive activism here.

He mentioned attending a school board meeting in the mid-1990s and disagreeing with what was being said. He mused that speaking out had perhaps become addictive.

"If I have an opinion," Doty said, "I've got to let it be known."

Doty grew up in Long Island, N.Y. In high school, his political hero was Eugene McCarthy, the anti-war candidate who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968.

Doty said he received a bachelor's degree from Boston College and an M.B.A. from Northeastern University. He worked as an accountant in California before a job transfer brought him to New Jersey and a new home in Rockaway Township.

He left that job after being diagnosed with MS and was unemployed for several years. He is married and is the father of a ! high school student.

For one involved in so many public spats, D oty has a decidedly non-combative job, working as a greeter at the Lowe's home improvement warehouse in Mount Olive.

"I was the guy who said, 'No, you can't afford this.' Now I can stand at a door and someone will pay me to say 'hi' to people. It's fun," Doty said.

Doty was involved in one of his first skirmishes in 1997. Shortly after winning a school board seat by campaigning against a $17 million school bond referendum, Doty was censured over a disagreement with a board employee.

Doty ran for mayor as a Democrat in 1999, losing to John Inglesino in a campaign marked by the challenger's admission to having once written newspaper letters critical of Inglesino under a false name.

Five years later, Inglesino still was not amused by the letter-writing tactic, which Doty whimsically defended by noting that the author of "Tom Sawyer" used a pseudonym.

"He tried throwing as much mud as he could, hoping something would stick," Inglesino recalled. "He ! really lacked any kind of credibility."

Doty's next confrontation was in 2002, when he filed ethics complaints against four school board members after failing to win back his old seat. The complaint, which alleged improper influence by the teacher's union, was dismissed a year later.

His previous battles, though, pale in comparison to the heat generated by the Christ Church fray.

Doty, a Catholic, does not attend the evangelical Christian church but considers its plan the best possible use of the 107-acre former Agilent Technologies site.

He has accused building plan opponents of deliberately misleading the public, denouncing suggestions that the wetlands might be jeopardized and false statements that the church is planning a drug rehabilitation facility.

When the school board was considering acquiring the Agilent site through eminent domain, Doty sent 7,000 letters to township residents arguing that enrollment projections did not justify a new! public school.

The board later ruled out acquiring the site but continues to weigh a school elsewhere.

While not embracing all of Doty's public comments, Christ Church spokesman Marc Weinstein lauded his willingness to stand up to "a small group of individuals" who have verbally attacked Doty and the church.

"We appreciate that Mr. Doty has had the courage and conviction to stand up to this group that has created a great deal of divisiveness in this community," Weinstein said.

Doty uses a specially equipped van to attend school board and planning board meetings. He sits in the back of the room, or off to the side, occasionally asking questions. Mostly, people leave him alone.

Karen Stark said Doty seems to think that his disability entitles him to say anything he wants.

"He uses his disability as a shield to protect him from the repercussions of the things that he says," she said.

Doty responded that his critics are subconsciously projecting their discomfort at dealing with a person's disability.
"If I was cynical, I'd say it was some sort of strategy to get people thinking that's what I do. I just don't do that," Doty said.


Rob Jennings can be reached at (973) 989-0652 or rjenning@gannett.com.
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Record Number: mor10872083122878