Let's Finish This

Let’s Finish This

Throughout our history, many of this country’s greatest accomplishments began with a simple declaration or statement, which ultimately prompted a call to action.

When John F. Kennedy declared: “We choose to go to the Moon not because it is easy, but because it is hard”, he didn’t just speak those words flippantly. He used that speech to call upon the brightest minds in our country to make the impossible, possible.

When Thomas Jefferson penned the phrase “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another”, he wasn’t simply suggesting how cool it would be for the colonies to “declare” their independence from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence was the document that launched a seven-year battle which eventually led to the creation of the greatest nation the world has ever known.

In fact, so significant and impactful was that document, that Martin Luther King Jr. used the line: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” in his I have a Dream Speech of August 1963 as a rallying cry to set in motion the Civil Rights Movement that helped transform a race, a country and the world.

What simple fact do most speeches and declarations like these have in common? What is the connection that binds them? The answer is more obvious than you might think. The thread that links these “proclamations of hope” is clear. They were calls to action that would have otherwise been a footnote in history, had there not been successful follow-through.

The Declaration of Independence today would simply be viewed as an act of treason, had Lord Cornwallis not surrendered in Yorktown, Virginia in 1781, marking the unofficial end of the Revolutionary War. Furthermore, had the Soviet’s won the race to the moon, no one would have remembered the speech JFK gave at Rice University that sunny September afternoon in 1962. Finally, had Dr. King not had the courage to dream, we might still be waiting to see the nation’s first black President, female billionaire, golf legend or tennis prodigy.

Why is this relevant? Why is it so critically important to point out the difference between the starting line and the finish line of a movement or a revolution? It simple. Mahwah is currently at the crossroads of our own “revolution”. Late last year, our town began an effort to recall the current Mayor. More than ten months and slightly less than 5,200 signatures later, Mahwah is at the forefront of a new era. A successful recall campaign has resulted in our own Declaration of Independence against Mahwah’s 2018 version of King George – Mayor William Laforet. It is now time to finish the job. All that needs to be done to complete what was started ten long months ago, is to vote. Period.

A pronouncement is meaningless without follow-through and a promise is nothing more than an empty statement, unless that promise is fulfilled. A successful recall campaign that ends without removing William Laforet from office would ultimately be remembered as a failure and a black eye for both the town and for the Mayor. At this point, failing to successfully complete the recall of Mayor Laforet is the equivalent of running the length of a football field for the winning score in the waning seconds of a game – and then taking a knee on the 5-yard line as time runs out. This recall needs to cross the goal line!

The job needs to be finished, and our "Yorktown" is the voting booth on November 6th. It’s seems no small coincidence that the length of the War for Independence and William Laforet’s term in office cover roughly the same time-frame. It should also be noted that both Bill Laforet and King George were equally oblivious as to how wildly unpopular they were with the people they were alleged to have served.

A group of dedicated Mahwah citizens spent more than a year, focused solely on making this a reality and ultimately getting the recall question on the ballot. Knocking on more than 12,000 doors to discuss the long-term, negative impact this Mayor has had – and continues to have - on our town was no small undertaking. Additionally, collecting more than 5,000 signatures speaks to both their commitment and passion for what they believe is right. Melanie Sue of Mahwah was the leader and the face of a hard-fought recall campaign. She bucked the odds and accomplished what very few thought possible. Names like Melanie, Annette, Ralph and Vincent may never be compared to the likes of a Washington, Franklin or Jefferson, but they are no less responsible for helping free Mahwah from the tyrannous control of a flawed Mayor and his failed leadership.

November 6th, 2018 should long be remembered as the date Mahwah finally decided to “dissolve the political bands” that connected us with a mayor who long ago, lost both the willingness and the ability to serve the people of this town.

Remember. On November 6th, vote YES on the recall and vote John Roth for Mayor