Washington Township Mayor Says Time To Get Back To Work

LONG VALLEY, NJ - Washington Township Mayor Matt Murello voiced his concerns about non-essential businesses being shuttered in his community due Gov. Phil Murphy's executive orders to stem the spread of the coronavirus, or COVID-19, and received so much feedback he pulled the post down.

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"First we were told that we needed to stay home to 'flatten the curve' and not overwhelm our hospitals. Ok. We’ve done that," Murello wrote on Facebook. "According to the Governor’s numbers, more people are being discharged than admitted and the three-day average number of hospitalizations state-wide has trended down for almost three weeks."

Murello is not the only local mayor to express such concerns. Chester Township Mayor Marcia Asdal and Chester Borough Mayor Janet Hoven have repeatedly called on the Murphy administration to open some businesses up for curbside delivery or appointment retail. Hoven even sent a text message to Murphy directly last week.

Murphy has insisted on maintaining the stay-at-home order until New Jersey has dramatically reduced its hospitalizations and increased its testing and contact tracing.

For his part, Murello noted that non-essential and small businesses haven’t been allowed to open for eight weeks and many of those people have not been able to collect unemployment due to an overwhelmed system.

"Last week, Governor Murphy told anyone unhappy with the job that guy in charge of New Jersey’s unemployment is doing to 'Go to another state.' Family’s savings are drying up," Murello said. "People don’t want government assistance, they want to go back to work. Governor Murphy, it’s time to get people back to work. We can do it safely and it needs to start now."

But Murello may be in the minority. According to a Rutgers-Eagleton poll, two-thirds of New Jersey residents feel the state is moving at the right pace to reopen. Sixty-six percent of New Jerseyans feel the state is moving to lift restrictions and reopen businesses at just the right pace, another 19 percent feel it is happening too quickly, while 16 percent say too slowly.

On Tuesday, Murphy spoke to the "Nostradamuses out there" who say New Jersey should be able to open significant parts of the economy, and predict that the state will be able to deal with the consequences.

Murphy pointed to a chart that shows New Jersey, despite its progress, still has too many cases.

"I want you to commit that chart to memory," Murphy said. "Those numbers don't lie. We are still the most impacted state in America."

“Perceptions on the pace at which New Jersey is moving to reopen and when normalcy will return are divided by familiar partisan lines,” said Ashley Koning, assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling (ECPIP) at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. “While a majority of Democrats, independents and Republicans alike agree with the speed of the state’s approach to reopen, Democrats do so to a far greater degree than their counterparts. Independents and Republicans are also more hopeful than Democrats when it comes to how long they think it will take before restrictions are loosened and life returns to normal.”

His social media post garnered a large positive reception, with many commenting agreement with the Murello.

"Well done Matt. Your post reflects the sentiments of a majority of We The People," Chris Westrick said. "Most have complied with Murphy’s unconstitutional mandates for the good of all. Now it’s time to reclaim our freedom and restart our economy. That can be done responsibly while protecting those at greater risk."

Sharon Droz Glad said that Murello was speaking for the people in the crisis.

"I don’t know what the hold up is now. At this point, it is abuse of power. Why are the large companies open but our small businesses and business owners left out to dry? They have been abandoned and isolated from the rest," she said. "The state of NJ has turned their back on these people, and they are being punished for no fault of their own. If we can wear masks at Walmart or ShopRite, then what is the justification for keeping other small businesses closed?"

Roxanne Wallace said people who are still worried can stay home.

"Let us work, attend places of worship, have medical procedures available. Allow the self-employed to start up their businesses," she posted. "Even if a person passes from something other than covid, covid is still listed."

But there were others who disagreed with Murello's position. Peg Naughright said she was disappointed with his post.

"No doubt people are hurting financially and emotionally, however, his comments are emotional in nature and not practical," she said.

Maggie Callahan asked for Murello to provide his plan for reopening and how he can keep people safe.

"Do you have a team of contact tracers ready to work? Have you created enforceable safety guidelines for businesses and patrons to follow? Is PPE readily available for purchase?" Callahan said. "Be a part of the solution, be a leader, and help the Governor solve the problems that are still holding our state back. Calling for us to reopen without a plan is reckless. If this crisis continues to drag on because officials are pushing to reopen without a plan before it is safe, I will hold those officials responsible in the voting booth."

Sarah Scott said that even with her business open, they are hurting for business.

"My husband and I own Motor City Garage down in Hackettstown and even though we have remained open for all your car needs we have suffered greatly. We are only at about 10 percent of what we normally do weekly," she posted. "It’s getting harder to pay our employees who we have kept on. We have been denied twice the small business loan program where multimillion companies have been given that money. I went without a Mother’s Day gift so we could pay our employees this week."

The impassioned comments from both sides of the issue prompted Murello to write a follow-up post.

"In a day, I have received impassioned comments from both sides of this issue. People have accused me of inciting anger, being divisive and taking partisan marching orders from some Twitter account that I've never heard of. I've also heard from people that were relieved and felt supported by my comments calling them brave and courageous," he wrote. "None of that was my intent. You should know that I have provided everything that I said yesterday in my post to the Governor's staff. I am and have been on weekly calls with the Governor's staff discussing these issues since the beginning. What I was not anticipating in the post was the anger in many of the comments."

Murello noted that everyone is frustrated, upset and a little scared but said that the anger it sparked caused him to delete his post.

"I'm not going to be a vehicle to spread anger. I've deleted the post. I am not at all afraid of criticism, but I am troubled by so much anger in many of your comments," he said. "The town has been contact tracing all presumptive cases from the beginning. In addition, we have brought on additional help to our health department. We will continue to work within the Governor's orders to keep the town functioning, and we will get through this."

His second post was full of supportive comments from residents.

"Everyone is frustrated, so I think that is what sparked the comments. Thank you for your efforts and for keeping us informed every day," Nancy Klucharits Salvatore said. " I am sure you and the WT health department are doing your best during this very stressful time. May God bless us all."

Larry Cutrone also absolved Murello for the ire his post caused.

"Matt it's not you. It's the fear that has taken hold of many individuals. If it were up to some we shouldn't leave the house till there was a vaccine," he said. "As if that would end it! Time to get back to some resemblance of living our lives again."

Lori Stewart Moran encouraged him to keep doing what he is doing.

"I am thankful for all you are doing for our town and our families," she wrote. "Thank you for being so transparent, encouraging, and supportive of all of us! Keep up the great work and know you we have your back."

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