In an effort to be a more informed member of my community, I’ve recently made it a point to either watch or attend our Old Bridge Township Council meetings.
As part of this process, I made assumptions and had expectations about my elected officials. For example, I thought that our elected officials would have an understanding of the workings of the township (especially financial processes), take the responsibility to be knowledgeable about the complexity of daily operations, and treat each other and the citizens with respect and civility, even if there are disagreements in policy and philosophy.
I realized from the Monday, Feb. 8, council meeting that my expectations are too high. I was dismayed and left speechless by the actions displayed by certain council members during this meeting.
It is obvious that the predetermined and deliberate tactic of the Republicans on the council is to say no to any and all initiatives brought by the other side. I believe what makes our political system great is the ability to disagree and debate, but to do so in a manner that is productive and respectful to others.
Case in point was a resolution presented in the meeting to create a day of service to encourage volunteerism on community committees. Council members praised volunteers and their service to our community. However, actions truly speak louder than words, and the hypocrisy of some council members was disgracefully demonstrated when a volunteercommittee member provided an update on the committee’s work and was berated by the same council members who moments before were praising service. In addition, when it came to unite as a group and publicly commit to a day of service, all the Republicans on the council voted no.
During the course of the debate on the day of service, one council member stated we do not need “outsiders,” and we can fix our problems ourselves. Obviously that is not the case in this situation since there are more than 20 openings for community volunteers.
This provincial attitude does not represent our community. We are a diverse community that deserves representatives who have open minds to new ideas from all people. If there was hope to attract volunteers from anyone in the room or watching on TV, the actions of the council would have certainly discouraged involvement.
How do we expect to tackle the real issues of our town when the discourse is full of rhetoric, complaints and name-calling instead of focusing on constructive solutions?
The citizens of Old Bridge deserve better from all our council members. I hope in the coming months the focus turns to solving problems and away from petty politics, and that productive action takes the place of empty words.
Kelly Ellis-Foster
Old Bridge