Town Council Drops the Ball Again

I’ve always thought of Moorestown as a peaceful, happy, community-oriented town. But I’ve been shocked in the last few years by report after report of overflow crowds of angry citizens at Town Council meetings.

First it was the carcinogens in our water supply. It took a community uproar followed by an enforcement action by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection to force our Town Council to address the issue.

Then it was the Council’s agreement with a developer to address our affordable housing obligations which caused more than 40 homeowners to be sued by the developer. They were blindsided by the lawsuits and are now forced to pay lawyers to defend their interests. The Council again seems to have dropped the ball.

Recently, it was the proposed improvements at Memorial Field. Town Council had worked on this for a year without consulting residents in this densely populated part of town. It took at overflow crowd of citizens to cause Council to put this project on hold while neighbors were consulted.

All of this leaves me with doubts about our Council members. I know this is a thankless job and I am grateful for those willing to do it. But Council’s decisions have real consequences.

I used to be content to vote for folks I knew from around town. But I no longer believe that’s enough. This year I’m going to vote for Nicole Gillespie, a Naval Academy graduate, veteran, and Ph.D., who is CEO of a national foundation overseeing a $65 million endowment, a $7 million operating budget and a staff of 25. I’ll also be voting for Brian Donnelly, a nationally recognized business and tax attorney, a NJ “Super Lawyer,” with 20+ years of military service.

This year, I’ll be voting for proven competence.