There were smiles all around when Committeewoman Julie Blake was sworn into office for another three-year term at the Hopewell Township Committee’s reorganization meeting last week.
U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson-Coleman administered the oath of office to Blake, who then took her seat on the dais along with Hopewell Township Committee members John Hart, Kevin Kuchinski, Kristin McLaughlin and Michael Ruger.
In quick succession, McLaughlin was chosen to be mayor for 2019 and Ruger was selected to be deputy mayor – both ceremonial posts – at the Jan. 7 reorganization meeting.
Kuchinski nominated McLaughlin for the mayor’s post, noting her commitment to keeping municipal property taxes low and to protecting the rural character of Hopewell Township.
“Together, we can move Hopewell Township forward,” Kuchinski said.
The vote to elect McLaughlin as the mayor was not unanimous, however. Blake, Kuchinski, McLaughlin and Ruger voted in favor, but Hart abstained. He said he had not been consulted about any of the items on the reorganization meeting agenda, despite asking McLaughlin whether he could make some suggestions.
“We are a five-member (Township Committee), and until this changes, I am going to abstain on all these issues when it comes to who we are electing,” said Hart, who is the lone Republican on the Democratic Party-dominated Township Committee.
Hart abstained in voting for Ruger to serve as deputy mayor, following Ruger’s nomination by Blake. In nominating Ruger, Blake said she had faith that Ruger “will do the right thing for the residents” of Hopewell Township.
In her inaugural remarks, Mayor McLaughlin laid out the challenges facing Hopewell Township – attracting tourists, building a sense of community and preserving the land even as new homes are proposed to be built to meet the township’s obligation to provide affordable housing.
Hopewell Township Committee agreed last month to create an Economic Development and Tourism Committee, Mayor McLaughlin said. Steps need to be taken to strengthen the current businesses as well as to grow new ones, and to attract people to enjoy all that the township has to offer, she said.
“We ought to make sure that folks do more than just drive through Hopewell Township on their way to some place else,” Mayor McLaughlin said.
Building a sense of community is also a priority, she said. The township sent out its first newsletter last year in more than 14 years, and three more newsletters are planned for this year. Communication between residents and the township is key to creating a sense of community, she said.
A proposed community and senior center would serve to bring the community together, she said. They could come together at the center to build healthier and more engaged lives. She said she would like to move forward toward designing the center and move it closer to reality.
Mayor McLaughlin also pledged to continue the work that has begun to make Woolsey Park into a centerpiece of community life in Hopewell Township – a common gathering place for celebrations and commemorations. The park is on Washington Crossing-Pennington Road, near the Hopewell Township municipal complex.
“With the 320th anniversary of the township coming in 2020, I would like us to find a way to celebrate that as a community,” Mayor McLaughlin said, adding that she would like to bring together anyone who is interested in the township’s history – young and old – to honor “this amazing milestone.”
On the need to build affordable housing and the desire to preserve land, Mayor McLaughlin said the number of new homes that needs to be built to satisfy the township’s obligation is much lower than it could have been, thanks to the “thoughtful deliberations” of past Hopewell Township Planning Boards and Hopewell Township Committees.
“What connects us here and keeps families in the township for generations and what makes Hopewell Township unique and special is the land,” she said. One-third of the land in the township has been preserved or otherwise protected as open space, she added.
“I pledge to hold (the developers) to the highest environmental standards as they begin to plan the new neighborhoods which will fulfill our affordable housing obligation,” she said.
While it is impossible to hide from the reality of change, she said, “we can be thoughtful about our responses to any challenge that comes to us. We can handle any problems we face by working together.”
Deputy Mayor Ruger echoed Mayor McLaughlin’s remarks, adding a few points of his own.
“I want to add a goal to the agenda that the mayor has just laid out. It is a time for all of us, whether we are on the dais, in the audience, or watching from home, to work towards a new civility in this township,” Ruger said.
Robust discussion about the issues is critical, he said, but “whenever you speak or type, you have a choice. You can add to the public discourse, have vigorous debate, listen to the other side, and disagree without being disagreeable. Or you can do the opposite. The choice is yours.”
“I know what I want to do. I hope that as I work to be the change that I want to see, I meet my goal. I encourage everyone to join me,” Ruger said.