EDITORIAL

Township needs GOP challenge.

   There will be a race for mayor this year.
   Unfortunately, it is likely to take place only in May and June and not later in the year.
   Former Mayor Debra Johnson has filed to run as an independent Democrat against incumbent Democrat Frank Gambatese in the June 6 primary. Both candidates already are touting their records as public officials in town and a lively primary battle appears inevitable.
   The Republicans, however, failed to find a candidate for mayor and now must hope someone comes forward to mount a write-in campaign to fill the ballot. (The Republicans do have a council candidate — Lynda Woods Cleary — for the lone council seat on the ballot.) A write-in candidate for the Republican nomination for mayor would need 44 votes on June 6 to qualify for the November ballot otherwise the winner of the Democratic primary almost certainly will be the township’s mayor come January.
   We hope the GOP is successful. This is not meant to be a knock against the Democrats, who hold all five council seats, including that of mayor, or to be an endorsement of the GOP. It is too early for that (we will endorse candidates for mayor and council in October).
   Our interest here is in ensuring a healthy debate on local issues, which cannot be done unless the Republican Party finds a way to revive itself.
   The party once was dominant in South Brunswick. It held all five seats on what was then the Township Committee in 1994 and was the majority party for most of the 1980s and from 1993 to 1996. Over the last decade and a half, however, the party has managed a disappearing act. It has lost 16 of the last 20 seats on the governing body since 1994 and it has shown a disturbing tendency to recycle losing candidates.
   And, as the losses have mounted, the campaign money has dried up, making it that much more difficult to deal with demographic changes that have altered voting patterns across the state — especially when their opponents seem to have an unlimited amount of cash on which to draw.
   Cash, of course, buys exposure and the ability not only to get out a message, but to control the overall impression that voters have of the township.
   The Democrats have spent the better part of the last decade telling voters the Republican Party is responsible for the construction that generates increased traffic and crowds the schools. While the claim is a bit suspect — the GOP has been out of power since 1997 — it resonates because the Democrats’ vast war chest allows them to broadcast their message rather broadly via cable, radio, newspapers and mass mailings. And the more that message is broadcast, the more likely it will become the accepted wisdom — especially if the other party does not have the resources to fight back.
   Make no mistake. The demise of the local GOP is not something anyone should be happy about. There is a need for a counterweight to the power of the majority that keeps the majority honest and ensures that opposing viewpoints are voiced, if not always considered.
   So, calling all Republicans. Your party — and the township — needs your help.