To the editor:
My name is Kristin McLaughlin and I am a Democratic candidate for Township Committee. I have spoken to hundreds of township residents over the summer and fall to learn about their concerns, hopes, and ideas for the future of the township. As these conversations turn to my reasons for running, I can quickly and wholeheartedly answer that I am running to do my part to ensure a brighter future for the township. We all want a fiscally strong community with a responsive government and lower taxes. We deserve thoughtful, steady leaders who are willing and able to stand with their constituents and accomplish what they claim to be behind.
I was raised in a family in which public service had real meaning. My mother, Audrey Langworthy, also was a full time mother who focused her energy on the PTO and local volunteer organizations while her children were young. She then ran for city council, as a Republican, where she served for three years before her election to the state senate. She served in the senate for 16 years, focusing on tax issues and education. I remember going door to door with her and watching with growing admiration as she spoke to voter after voter, listening, learning and letting them know that they were heard — even the angry ones. She taught me that leaders don’t take the easy route. They don’t assume they have all the answers and they accomplish what they say they will.
If I needed any further inspiration, my great-grandfather, George Hartshorn Hodges, was a progressive Democrat who was elected governor of Kansas in 1912. During his tenure, a women’s suffrage amendment was added to the state constitution and women’s roles in state government were enlarged. That could not have been an easy stance at the time. However, he acted on what he knew was right and worked with people to accomplish the goal. At the end of the day, leaders are judged by what they get done.
Which brings me back to the reasons I am running this particular year. My opponents claim to stand against the PennEast pipeline, but have done little to actually fight it. My opponents claim to be fiscally responsible, but during their three years in office, they raised taxes by 5.8 percent in 2015 and 7.4 percent in 2014, before Democrats restored fiscal discipline in 2016 and delivered a flat tax rate. They claim to be working toward a senior center, but have accomplished nothing in the years it has been a topic before them. I want our township to have a government that works. Period. At the end of a term of service, there should be a list of accomplishments attached to the name.
I wake up in the morning with the list of things that need doing running through my head. As a member of Township Committee, I will do the same. I will safeguard your tax dollars, and will make sure that your township government works — efficiently, effectively, and responsively. Please vote for McLaughin and Ruger on Nov. 8.
Kristin L. McLaughlin
Democratic candidate for Hopewell Township Committee
