Township official throws support at Democratic council candidates

Tom Wilfird, Cold Soil Road
Comments by their two opponents at last week’s debate have prompted me to write in strong support of Pam Mount, Mike Powers and Jim Kownacki in next week’s election.
Falk Engel stated that one of Lawrence’s most important challenges is to de-politicize the Planning Board, and Bob Bostock criticized the Township Council for increasing local property tax rates in the past 12 years.
As its chair since 2002, I know something about the Lawrence Township Planning Board. I have attended about 250 meetings since 1996, including the four years I served on Township Council and seven years as council-appointed resident. During those years, my colleagues and I have repeatedly affirmed and updated Lawrence’s excellent Master Plan and reviewed many challenging applications within the legal constraints of New Jersey’s Municipal Land Use Law. In close partnership with Municipal Managers Bill Guhl and Richard Krawczun, we have worked hard to utilize the best available professional talent, to respect every applicant and every interested resident, and to achieve consensus where possible on what is best for Lawrence Township. Anyone knowledgeable about land use practices in central New Jersey will tell you that Lawrence Township does planning professionally and without political interference.
The results speak for themselves. Comparing Lawrence today with 1995, there is much more preserved open space, much more senior housing, much more affordable housing, a much more vibrant Main Street, fewer eyesores and much less crime south of Whitehead Road, a much more sustainable balance between commercial and residential properties, and a much clearer vision of planning priorities. Anyone is free to challenge particular decisions, but Mr. Engel, who has attended only one Planning Board meeting, has no basis for making such a sweeping generalization. In contrast, Pam Mount, Mike Powers and Jim Kownacki have all served on the Board and contributed significantly to its deliberations during these years. They have been "in the arena," giving selflessly of their time and energy to make Lawrence Township better. Through effective long-term service to Lawrence, they have earned our support in next week’s election.
Mr. Bostock’s criticism of Lawrence’s Democrats for growth in property taxes is ludicrous from two perspectives. First, anyone who has followed the details of annual budgeting knows that Lawrence has managed well in contrast to other communities, as Managers Guhl and Krawczun have worked diligently with staff and Council to address local needs prudently while keeping fiscal responsibility paramount. Second, why is the entire state suffering from a property tax crisis? One major reason is that Mr. Bostock’s mentor Christie Whitman convinced slim majorities of New Jersey voters in 1993 and 1997 that our biggest fiscal problem was not the regressive property tax but the progressive income tax. By excessively rolling back income taxes for the wealthiest residents, Ms. Whitman laid important groundwork for today’s state budget imbalance and property tax crisis. We should have rejected Ms. Whitman’s deceptively negative campaigns then, and we should reject Mr. Bostock’s and Mr. Engel’s now.
Tom Wilfrid is Planning Board chair and a former township councilmember.