Opinion: Hopewell Borough Council needs fresh perspectives

 

For the first time in nearly a decade there is a contested Democratic primary for seats on the Hopewell Borough Council. To help inform my decision, I attended a council meeting on May 5. I left the meeting absolutely convinced of my support for Krista Weaver for Borough Council. This council meeting was marked by a mayor who denigrated borough residents present at the meeting for the “untimeliness” of their questioning of a pending cannabis retail ordinance in front of the council. It was also marked by sitting council members who enabled this behavior through their silence.

This atmosphere has to change and Krista alone can be that change. Unlike her opponents, an incumbent and a challenger who is running on the incumbent’s ticket for an open seat, she is not beholden to the status quo. She is direct in speaking truth to power, stands on her own to advocate for what she believes is important and is precisely the representative we need.

Krista is a Mercer County native who was an active member of her neighborhood association and proponent for traffic safety in Jersey City before moving back to the area with her husband Chris in 2018 where they are raising their two young daughters.

Our local government is in urgent need of more women on the council, young people with fresh perspectives who seek to create an environment that encourages inclusive and respectful exchanges of views and opinions, particularly from women.

Krista is a committed citizen of Hopewell Borough who in her years here has tirelessly advocated for traffic safety improvements, including the creation of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Advisory Committee that she now chairs.

I strongly encourage all who vote in the Democratic primary on June 7 to choose Krista Weaver for Hopewell Borough Council.

 

Susan Shepherd

Hopewell