Reader Submitted
To the editor:
I write in support of Mayor Kevin Kuchinski and his running mate Michael Ruger as my personal choice in the upcoming election for the Hopewell Township Committee.
Since my retirement in 2013, I have had the opportunity to become more involved in the government of the township having been asked to serve on the township planning board. I have come to know both of these men very well and believe them to be self-giving leaders of honesty and integrity.
Under the leadership of our current Township Committee, our community has struggled with some very difficult issues. We have faced the Affordable Housing dilemma head on, trying to balance the legal mandate from the NJ Supreme Court for affordable housing, while striving to limit the impact of unreasonable overdevelopment in Hopewell Township.
It has been a challenge, but I know that Mayor Kuchinski and the members of our township committee have given us a chance to meet the challenges through wise and careful negotiations.
I have also witnessed an open and transparent budgeting process that has been beneficial to all of us by holding down our municipal taxes while maintaining the services that we have come to expect in our community. Both Kevin and Michael have been a part of that process. I appreciate their stewardship.
We have been waiting for far too long for action addressing the need for a senior/community center. The pleas of our seniors seem to have fallen on deaf ears!
Finally, under the leadership of our current Township Committee, concrete actions are being taken towards both keeping the current Pennington Center open and planning for a new center. There is still much to plan and negotiate with the leadership of our neighboring municipalities, but the signs for the future are very hopeful.
I have lived, worked and served in our community for forty years. I am excited about our future and believe that Kevin Kuchinski and Michael Ruger are vitally important leaders to plan the progressive path forward as we face the challenges and the opportunities ahead.
The Rev. Canon Jack Belmont
Hopewell Township
