Resident: did you vote in Dec. 12 referendum?
To the editor:
It didn’t come as a shock to me that the Dec. 12 school referendum passed in Lawrence Township. However, what came as a major shock to me was the 2-to-1 margin it passed by.
The final results spoke for themselves. It was 1,071 to 528 overwhelming support for this referendum. As a resident of Lawrence Township for over 10 years, I talk to my neighbors and people who live in the town. Everyone who I talk to has been extremely concerned with our sky-high property taxes. There are many residents who have seen a 20-percent-plus increase in property taxes over the past five years.
Our governor preaches fiscal responsibility, yet in Lawrence Township we fail to do so. When the original proposal was put in place for expansion and remodeling of the existing schools, where were the provisions for planning for the repairs that were put in this recent referendum? Perhaps, if we voted ‘no’ to this proposal, we could have sent a message to the powers-that-be that fiscal responsibility needs to be practiced at all levels and departments in this state.
However, I don’t place all the blame on the lack of fiscal responsibility with our state or township. Less than 10 percent of the registered voters showed up at the polls to cast their input on this. I somehow feel that more than 10 percent are concerned about sky-high property taxes. Next time I hear my neighbors upset about property taxes, I’ll be sure ask them if they went out to the polls on Dec. 12, because we all had the opportunity to do something about it.
William Cooper
Mink Court
GOP club president encourages Dems
to support disclosure of funds
To the editor:
I am deeply discouraged by the recent efforts of the Lawrence Township council to confuse and politicize the issue of "open and honest government."
In a recent letter to the editor, Lawrence Democratic Chairman James Kownacki writes of an invitation he received from the council to join a committee to discuss a clean elections program. However I am a bit confused. It seems we must have received different invitations. In fact, it was not until Dec. 15 (one day after Mr. Kownacki’s letter to the editor appeared) that I received a letter from the municipal clerk not to join a committee to discuss clean elections, but to join a committee to determine the viability of using Lawrence resident’s property taxes to "foot the bill" for every local politico’s election and re-election campaigns.
I find it inconceivable in today’s world with families and seniors struggling to make ends meet in the face of the ever increasing property tax burden that any public official from Lawrence would suggest additional ways to take more money from taxpayer pockets.
It’s interesting I didn’t receive my invitation until after Mr. Kownacki’s letter appeared. If the Democratic majority on the council were truly interested in bipartisan efforts, they would have invited members of both parties at the same time. Instead, they gave the inside track to their own political allies, who then tried to use that information to gain a partisan advantage. That’s hardly the way to set a tone of bipartisan cooperation.
Nevertheless, the reality is that the core issue here is not public financing it is transparency in government. People want to reduce the influence of big money in the political process. They want to stop the back room deals and restore voter faith in our political system and in our elected officials. So do Lawrence Republicans.
That’s why we recently proposed that all local political parties agree to a policy of full and immediate disclosure for each and every campaign contribution. Starting with the 2007 council elections, we will post all campaign contributions to Lawrence Republican council candidates on the Web within 48 hours, so that every voter and reporter can see where our candidate funding is coming from. We will do this even if the Democrats continue to hide their own funding sources away from public view.
We encourage all other political parties and candidates in township elections to follow our lead and give voters the information they deserve. No waiting for a referendum, no legal hang-ups, no handing the bill to residents. It’s an easy, no-cost, effective way to help end the influence of big money in local elections.
I cannot in good conscience serve on or endorse any committee formed to promote new ways to waste more of our hard earned taxpayer dollars. Instead, I hope the Democrats will follow our lead and agree to full and immediate campaign funding disclosure right away.
Dave Snedeker
Bunker Hill Avenue
President, Lawrence Township Republican Club

