EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK
By Ruth Luse
Well over a year ago, we said: "A charter study is an idea whose time has definitely come. The current form of government, while workable, may not be the best for the township, which has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade. Overall, the committee form has served the township well over many decades. But times have changed. For example, we think it is no longer a good thing to have a mayor elected by five people, one of whom is the mayor himself/herself. Township mayors serve at the whim of those with whom they serve and are sometimes picked, not on the basis of leadership ability, but on the basis of popularity."
There were then, and probably still are, citizens of Hopewell Township who feel they’d like to elect their own mayor, despite the defeat of the mayor-council-administrator government form at the polls Nov. 8. In November 2004, when township voters said yes, 4,188 to 3,518, to the question about the formation of a charter commission, there was support in the community for the idea of studying alternate forms of government. But on Nov. 8, when it came right down to making the change recommended by the Hopewell Township Charter Study Commission, voters said no, 3,551 to 2,138.
In November 2004, 2,017 more people voted on the charter commission formation question than on the November 2005 government-form-change question. The reason could very well be that in November 2004, voters were selecting a U.S. president and U.S. congressman. This year, voters were picking a NJ governor. Indeed, if the numbers I’ve heard are correct, only 42 percent of all registered voters in the state helped pick their next governor on Nov. 8. A sad statistic indeed! At least, in Hopewell Township, the majority of registered voters did cast ballots. Of 11,541 registered township voters, 6,668 cast ballots nearly 58 percent! It looks like they cared about how they are governed.
I believe that in November 2004, many Hopewell Township citizens were fed up with the way business had been conducted on the Township-Committee level. They were disgusted with arguments and the shenanigans of a few. Judging by the comments of some who wrote us during this year’s campaign, that feeling of disgust had dissipated and people were no longer sure they needed a new form of government. Thus, the Nov. 8 decision to leave things as they are.
I believe sincerely that the charter study was needed. It made township citizens think about how they were being governed and what it might be like to have a new form. Certainly there was enough discussion of the matter in this newspaper. Certainly township residents had the information they needed to help them make decisions when they cast ballots, because a copy of the August commission report went out to about 6,000 households.
I know members of the Charter Commission Chairman Jim McGuire, Vice Chairman Pat Tieman, Bill Cane, Janet Crum, Jon Edwards were disappointed that voters did not support their proposal. I know they worked countless hours before coming to their decision about the bast way to go. I know they believe it was the correct choice for Hopewell Township. But, the voters did not, and that is the bottom line.
That said, I applaud the five members of the commission for their work on behalf of their community. They performed a needed service. They should not be castigated for coming up with an unpopular recommendation. Rather, they should be thanked for taking on what turned out to be a somewhat thankless task. Hopefully, we all learned something as a result of their efforts.

