Take Five: Chatham Township Committee Candidate Mark Hamilton

CHATHAM, NJ - There are seats opening up on the Chatham Township Committee and Patch caught up with the candidates ahead of the general election this November.

Questionnaires were sent out out to all candidates registered with the County Clerk's Office in the 2019 general election using the email addresses they went on file with. The responses will be posted on the site by those who submitted in the order in which they were received. They will also be included in an election preview wrap.

This Take Five features Mark Hamilton. His responses to the questions are below and unedited.

1. Why are you running for office?

I am running for the Chatham Township Committee because my family and I (and, as far as I can tell, most of my friends and neighbors) love living in this community and are proud of this community because of what it is and the successful way it has been run. Yet in the wake of the 2018 congressional election - which had the side-effect of carrying a self-professed “Max the Tax” extreme liberal onto the Committee - there has been a sudden elevation of calls, from a small but extremely loud and motivated minority, for “change” from what we are to what they would like us to be. When the supposedly conservative Republican Mayor, who had run on a platform of fiscal conservatism and staying the course that had been so wisely set by our four previous Republican Mayors, suddenly showed his true colors by betraying the very principles that he went door-to-door espousing and the people (including fellow members of the Committee) who had helped elect him by caucusing with the new tax-and-spend fringe of the Committee in order to promote himself, I was compelled to act. This is why my candidacy (and that of my good friend Rez Estevez) is endorsed by the last four Mayors of Chatham Township (save for the current one).

The fact is that if I hadn’t entered the race, conservative voters of Chatham Township - and any citizen of the Township who is not only concerned with keeping taxes low, but also wants tax revenue to be managed and spent wisely and effectively - would have been left no choice whatsoever beyond casting their votes for Rez Estevez and an admitted ally of the Max-the-Tax liberals. That would be no different than a vote for Stacey Ewald. This is why the liberal Democrats didn’t even bother to put forth a second candidate in the primary even though there were two seats available on the Committee. It was only after their friend and ally the current Mayor was dispatched in the primary that the liberal Democrats drafted Celeste Fondaco into service.

I have no doubt, as widely touted all over social media, that Ms. Ewald and Ms. Fondaco are generally pleasant and hard working people. I salute them for their years of dedicated volunteerism on behalf of causes that they support. This isn’t a reason to place people on our Township Committee. Leadership is not a waiting game. There are no participation trophies. This is serious business and the voters need to look at what candidates support (and what their friends and allies - like Committee Member Tracy Ness - have supported). Over the last seventeen years, the voters of Chatham Township have considered Stacey Ewald and Celeste Fondaco as candidates for the Township Committee and rejected their liberal tax and spend agenda four times. Yet they keep coming back. Along the way, in her capacity as a community education activist Stacey Ewald conceived of and championed the plan to spend over $25 million of your money on a totally unnecessary performing arts center that was rejected by a 3 to 1 margin by voters in both Chatham Township and Chatham Borough. The citizens of Chatham Township did the right thing when Ewald and Fondaco came looking to spend our money five times before. We did the right thing in the primary when Ms. Ewald’s perceived ally the current mayor sought re-election. Let’s do the right thing again on Nov. 5.

2. What is the biggest challenge you see facing your community and how will you address it?

First of all, while there are limited issues in every community, Chatham Township is blessed to generally not be faced with certain challenges that are epidemic throughout New Jersey like crime, massively over-populated and failing public schools, and rampant drug abuse. Let’s keep it that way. I want to take this opportunity to state that I (and Rez Estevez) will always stand against lawlessness, be it true crime or ill-conceived directives from Governor Phil Murphy and other national liberals to blatantly disregard our nation’s laws or precluding local law enforcement from doing the job that they swore to do. Turning New Jersey into a so-called “sanctuary state” imperils Chatham Township and every other community. We support law enforcement and trust them to do their jobs. Making sure that they have the resources to do so - and not advancing the national liberal causes embodied by Governor Murphy and communities like Montclair and Maplewood - should be among the Township Committee’s top priorities.

That having been said, over-populated schools, general congestion from over-development, and fundamental change to the face of this community are real issues in Chatham Township in the context of what is the biggest challenge that we are facing: dealing with the so-called affordable housing mandates that are being aggressively pushed upon us by outside activists that don’t give a damn about Chatham Township. Thankfully, strong and thoughtful Republican leadership on the Committee over many years has brought us to the threshold of a “settlement” with the “powers that be” in Trenton (specifically an overly-powerful entity misleadingly known as the NJ Fair Share Housing Center) regarding our current affordable housing obligation. However, it will be up to the next Committee to oversee the implementation of that settlement and to be ready when NJFSH comes back for more - which they absolutely will.

This is going to require real fortitude and leadership by people who are competent to address complex multi-million dollar situations and who won’t be intimidated by threats of legal action or, with all due respect, merely be guided around by the Township attorney. Rez Estevez and I are both accomplished lawyers. I have spent my career representing clients in litigation all over the United States involving billions of dollars and highly complex issues, and going toe to toe with adversaries far more impressive than Trenton housing activists.

In this regard, the choice for Chatham Township on November 5th could not possibly be more clear. Indeed, in her recently released “Candidate Statement” Stacey Ewald actually speaks to the Township’s need to find “funds to pay for” a massive number of affordable housing units that she seems willing to concede are currently “mandated” by the state (and that the people of Chatham Township have some obligation to pay for it). By the most basic math, this could have us looking at hundreds of additional students coming through Southern Boulevard School. And have you tried driving in any direction through the intersection of Southern and Fairmount around 5:30 PM recently? Add the additional households that Stacey Ewald is talking about - likely with 2 cars each - to that mix. I don’t intend to take this lying down. And I certainly don’t intend to start looking for funds from Chatham Township (that is, You) to pay for it.

3. What makes you the right person to vote for as opposed to the other candidate(s)?

Chatham Township finds itself at an important crossroads. As set forth throughout my answers to this questionnaire (above and below), I love this community and am thankful to those leaders who have brought us to where we are, but recognize that we are facing an onslaught of cries for fundamental change that we don’t need or want. What we need are serious, level-headed, business-minded members of the Committee who are committed to doing their part to maintain this wonderful (and much envied) community where, for the most part, citizens (and their wallets) are left alone and resources, financial and otherwise, are used prudently. We don’t need more full-time community activists that have been desperately (but unsuccessfully) striving to get onto the Committee for almost 20 years and who make no secret, except in their contrived campaign literature, about their desire to raise taxes, increase the scope of government interference in your home and your life, and spend your money on pet projects.

Rez Estevez and I are serious people who just want to raise our families and live our lives - not tell you how to live yours. We are stepping up to volunteer our time and expertise as diligent and thoughtful attorneys in order to stand up to bullies that are bent on changing this community, whether they be forces from Trenton or in-town activists. We are committed to supporting lawfulness, managing our public resources, doing what is right for Chatham Township without regard to what other towns in New Jersey may be doing, and protecting your individual liberties. I hope that we will have your support on Nov. 5.

4. What will you do to facilitate communication with the community?

I view fostering communication with the residents of the Township as one of the key roles of a volunteer member of the Township Committee. A better informed community protects everyone from the type of behind the scenes “dealing” that results in the seemingly sudden appearance of changes in the Township that most people do not actually support. As Committee members have done in the past, I plan to be available for regularly scheduled office hours so people know exactly where and when to find me. But that is not what fosters true transparency. In 2020 what we need is to better utilize social media and modern communications in general. Several years ago, the Committee introduced an e-newsletter that was well received but eventually petered out. We need to revisit and reintroduce that project. Since the last run, additional administrative staff have been added to the Township payroll, and proper utilization of this staff to help improve communications will be key. Most importantly, more of our citizens need to truly monitor what is happening, and what is being proposed, at our public meetings. The simple fact is that most people have no inclination to, or don’t even know how to, find meetings on public access cable TV. I plan to immediately explore alternative avenues which are now available (and are virtually cost free) to broaden community viewership of public meetings, including FaceBook Live and YouTube. We certainly need more than the same five or ten members of the public participating in every meeting. Governance is not about greasing the squeaky wheels pushing personal agendas. It’s about doing what is right for, and in the best interest of, a well informed community.

5. What inspires you?

Since I was a child I have always been inspired by the virtually unfathomable greatness of America. I thank God every day for the great blessing of being a citizen of the most free, most successful, strongest, yet most generous and benevolent, nation that has ever existed. I have always been awed by what individual Americans have been able to independently achieve through hard work and perseverance. Amazingly, despite all of the incredible things America has already given to the world since its founding, the opportunities available to my children and all other Americans remain limitless. This inspiration and pride is only magnified by having the opportunity to live and work everyday among some of the best and brightest, most accomplished and most giving, Americans of all here in Chatham Township. As I drive the streets of our community every day and look at the homes and wave to my dog-walking neighbors, I am amazed by what conscientious people can do for themselves and their families, and am inspired to do my part to ensure that this great community remains the same into my retirement years and for generations to come. Chatham Township has got it right just as it is. Let’s keep it that way.

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