The baseless political and personal attacks against Mayor Jun Choi on these pages have grown tiresome. The people of Edison should know and the readers of this paper should know that with Jun Choi’s leadership, Edison is in the best hands it has been in for years.
A police department battered by public embarrassments and a bad reputation now has clear and steady direction with the unparalleled experience of Director Brian Collier and the community service, results-oriented approach of Chief Tom Bryan. And oh, by the way, this department has made some great arrests lately under the guidance of this new leadership duo. Great work to the finest.
The township’s bloated job mill of government has been downsized, but services have improved and thankfully started to come into the 21st century. There is the cast of characters — residents who benefited from or controlled the job mill — that put forth mistruths more often than little girls scream at a Jonas Brothers’ concert, but check the facts. For instance, this mayor has fewer employees in his office and lower combined staff salaries than the previous mayor. So, we’re getting more responsiveness, more services with fewer people and by spending less of our tax dollars.
Yes, my municipal taxes have increased. I’m not sure where in this state they have decreased. But Mayor Choi did put forth a budget that stabilizes the township’s finances, and it was a budget that was below the rate of inflation. Think about that. Decades of fiscal mismanagement, and at the start of a third year, a budget that put an organization back on track. It’s unprecedented, and if there were a CEO at Ford, GM or Chrysler that could do it, he’d (or she’d) be called nothing less than a miracle worker.
I’m not going to call Mayor Choi a miracle worker, but I will tell you what he is: unyielding in his pursuit to protect taxpayers; unbending in his effort to improve our public safety; and uncompromising in his commitment to create a stable and prosperous future for the township.
Mary Jo Elder
Edison