Why I’m Voting ‘No’ on the Charter Commission in Holmdel

Leading up to the election, I’ll reveal my position on each question you’ll see on the ballot. Today, I’m starting with the Charter Commission.

The question on the ballot reads as follows:

“Shall a charter commission be elected to study the charter of the Township of Holmdel and to consider a new charter or improvements in the present charter and to make recommendations thereon?”

Basically, they’re asking if you want a commission comprised of 5 people (who you’ll also see on your ballot) to review and recommend changes to our form of government.

Here’s why I think we should vote ‘no’ on the charter commission …

1. If you don’t like the way the government is running – that’s what elections are for! Friends, you have an opportunity to vote for me in November and then you can replace 2 more people on the Township Committee next year – that’s a 60% turnover in little more than 12 months. PEOPLE make the government, not the other way around. If we commit to electing good people, we’ll never have to worry about changing the structure of the government they preside over.
2. Don’t we have more important things to focus on? Our township leaders’ focus should be on YOU, your family, your neighborhood - there is no room for distractions. They need to commit MORE to protect your kids at school, they need to do MORE to ease the burden of property taxes, they need to do MORE for our Senior Citizens … the list goes on and on. Why is this suddenly of interest? Why is this so important to do now? There’s SO much more work to be done – let’s keep our eye on the ball and do MORE for Holmdel.
3. This is about politics, not governance or leadership. Should the ballot question pass, your charter commission will consist of 3 members (out of 5) – Zach Gilstein, Janet Berk, and Kin Gee – who had direct ties to the Weber/Santhana campaign. Zach Gilstein’s wife donated heavily to their campaign. Janet Berk donated to their campaign AND was a “special guest” at a post-election fundraiser for Committeeman Santhana. And, Kin Gee was heavily involved in their campaign for township committee – in inner circles he’s even believed to have been their campaign manager. It should be noted that we have 12,000 voters in town and only 5 people submitted to be on the commission – and 60% of those 5 are linked to the Deputy Mayor and a sitting Committeeman. It COULD be a coincidence … but it certainly doesn’t seem that way.

As I’ve said before – as a graduate of Holmdel High School – I know intimately what Holmdel was, and I know what it can be again if we work together and focus on doing more and doing better for our kids, for you, for our town.

We all chose to live here. It's time for us to remember why – because the "why" unites us, it strengthens us, it reminds us that we have much more in common than not.

This is our HOME.

It shouldn’t be about politics – it should just be about Holmdel.

When we adhere to our core values and remain laser-focused on what's best for our town, we'll be making decisions that secure a better future for us all – regardless of the form of our government.

We don’t need a new government, we just need the right people to run it.

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