When voters act based on party affiliation, as seems to be the case in our North Brunswick community, consideration of individual merit suffers. One result of the effort to provide "balance" in the recent Township Council elections was the defeat of incumbent Paul Pappas. Pappas was the most (only?) nonpartisan member of the council and frequently stood alone from his former running mate and council member David Spaulding. He did this actively but without personal acidity.
Pappas is not a career politician but a citizen in the community who ran for office because he was upset with zoning and construction changes near his home. For this he was publicly ridiculed as a rube by the Democratic machine who was then in power. Pappas did not act with vindictiveness toward Demo-crats after winning the election, but judged issues before him on their own merit. Thanks for getting involved Paul, and thanks for showing in a bitterly politically divided community there can be open-mindedness among elected officials. Please stay active and be a catalyst for voters to examine individuals before political parties.
George Waxter
North Brunswick