Once again, a recent editorial printed in a different newspaper reeks of political rhetoric by a very brainwashed writer. Fortunately for mankind, most residents understand public safety, the true purpose of government and the unfortunate game of politics. The editor, on the other hand, sides with the personally motivated politicians who continually blame every financial issue municipality may face on municipal workers in an effort to create diversion to try and cover their own antics.
These critics fail to acknowledge that a municipality’s sole purpose is to provide a service. Not to manufacture a product and create a profit, but to make sure that residents are protected from fire, the streets are safe for children, roads are maintained, and that garbage is picked up. That is why municipal budgets are 75 percent salaries and wages.
It is laughable for this writer to try and make Woodbridge Fire Commissioner Ken Gardner out to be some sort of hero. He is a fire commissioner with a personal agenda. What is even more ridiculous is how the editor thinks that working for a newspaper has made him some sort of public safety expert. The editor should get his facts from fire service professionals and residents who spoke at the recent commissioners meeting, and not some wannabe mayor who as a volunteer firefighter admits that he picks and chooses which calls he responds to. If all public safety officers picked and chose their calls based on initial dispatch information, our neighborhoods would look like Beirut. I wonder if in the next editorial, the editor will take the advice of a video game geek and tell members of NASA how to fly a space shuttle?
While spewing even more nonsense, the editor tries to make it sound like blaming public safety professionals is an admirable thing and makes you somewhat a Lone Ranger. Allow me to remind you of recent events in Middlesex County. The last mayor who actually laid off police officers was Mayor Joe Vas. In addition, Mayor Vas also threatened to lay off firefighters, blaming all of Perth Amboy’s financial troubles on the public safety officers. Most of us will agree that we have learned that the hard-working police and firefighters in Perth Amboy weren’t the problem at all.
Additionally, the writer wants to blame police and firefighter families for ending political careers. Maybe the editor was alluding to recent elections in Edison Township, where Mayor Jun Choi lost his re-election bid after completely decimating public safety while implementing double-digit tax increases. The voters should get the credit for this. The average citizen respects the job that police and fire professionals do and are tired of hearing mayors continually blame these men and women for budget gaps, when in fact the problem is mismanagement, incompetence, political motives and corruption.
While every tax dollar is important, the fire district tax is minimal when compared to other portions of the tax bill, such as the Board of Education. Maybe Mr. Gardner’s efforts would be better utilized if he was to seek election to the Board of Education, but something tells me he wouldn’t be so eager to blame the school budget deficit on the teachers.
Scott Law
2nd Vice President
Edison Professional
Firefighters Association
Local 1197