CAMPAIGN CORNER: McGowan reacts to opponents’ comments

Sherre McGowan, of Robbinsville
    Dave Fried, Vince Calcagno and I believe it is important to establish our mutual desire that the council and mayor’s race be a positive experience for the residents of Robbinsville. Candidates should focus on what attributes, skills, and knowledge they will bring to the governance of the township. We have signed a pledge to run a clean campaign focused on issues facing the township, and encourage our opponents to do the same.
   It was our sense that Ms. Walter and whoever she would run with would immediately go negative and attack Mayor Fried and existing council, and so we have been working on this pledge for a couple of weeks, waiting to release it once we knew who was running. It did not take long for Walter, Brown, and Edwards to confirm our expectations.
   In your article last Thursday, they not only attacked the administration and council, they attacked township employees.
   I don’t know how Mr. Brown was able to make the statement regarding Ms. Walter’s treatment at council meetings since, to my knowledge, he has never been to one. Our opponent’s comments regarding the process for obtaining information from the township are completely false, and demonstrate an unwillingness to find out for themselves how cooperative the township clerk and other employees are in getting information to residents. All we can figure is that they are content to follow their pied piper into a negative-oriented campaign.
   Vince and I are running under the banner “Proven Community Experience.” We believe voters want to hear how we will continue the progress seen of the past four years; that they will continue to see the township bring in ratables and hold the line on property taxes. People are living in uncertain times. They want to know their elected officials are serious about issues. Residents want to see their leaders focus on their needs. Some of our longtime residents have lost jobs and are struggling just to remain part of Robbinsville. They want to know how we plan to protect open space, their community, and their future.
   Dave Fried is the current mayor and running for re-election. He has said, “This should be about the issues and where we’re taking the town, not personal attacks. People should be focusing on this and our plan is to continue taking the town forward and build upon what we have accomplished.”