LTE: In Support Of Gillespie And Donnelly

To the Moorestown Patch Editor:

In addition to the high-profile 3rd district Congressional race, we hope Moorestown voters are also focused on the important contest for town Council which can bring much-needed positive change to our local government. In recent months, we have had the opportunity to meet and talk at length with the two impressive and energetic Democratic candidates running for Council: Nicole Gillespie and Brian Donnelly.

Each of them has their own unique background, experience, and skill set (you can learn more about them at www.moorestownforward.net). Together they’re committed to ensuring that our local government exemplifies the highest standards for integrity, transparency, proactive management, fiscal responsibility, and responsiveness to the concerns of citizens. In their professional lives, they both know what it means to be responsible stewards of other people’s hard-earned financial resources.

Under the current Council majority, a lack of openness about issues like land development and affordable housing has led to needless divisions among and between town residents. Both Nicole and Brian have pledged to improve communications between Council members and the Moorestown residents they are elected to represent and serve. They’re also eager to take advantage of the willingness of citizens who have volunteered to share their time and expertise by serving on various township boards and advisory committees, but who have been shut out of that opportunity simply because of their party affiliation.

Moorestown is a wonderful community to live in, but we still have some serious problems (poor water quality, aging and poorly maintained infrastructure, need for a variety of new and different retail stores downtown, etc.) which need to be addressed by long-range planning and proactive decision making, not the reactive approach that characterizes the current Council majority.

We are excited to support Brian Donnelly and Nicole Gillespie. We’re fortunate to have such strongly qualified candidates running for Council. When voters go to the polls on November 6th, we hope they’ll join us in voting for a change in leadership here in Moorestown!

Janet & John Khanlian