Leadership in Westwood

Dear Editor: While we as a state will vote for governor, Westwood has an important election of its own; elect two council representatives. A recent letter in the local papers supporting the Republican incumbents for reelection stated party affiliation should not be a consideration, rather leadership should guide our vote. Leadership has many definitions, depending on your view. Steve Jobs notes that "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." If we accept that notion then I see no innovation in my property tax bill. Elections are too often either beauty pageants or partisan reflexes. How many voters actually know their candidates? The incumbents claim to have reduced town debt. During the incumbents terms, debt has actually risen almost $2 million. You only need to OPRA the town’s debt statements to check it. The incumbents cite they’re proud to have passed budgets that kept tax increases within the N.J. mandated cap. They’re proud they followed the law? What would they have done if they couldn’t have raised town debt, or if they didn’t have a surplus to subsidize their spending? And this at a time where Westwood was more fortunate than other towns, having increased tax revenue from the hospital property. Is that the leadership incumbent endorsement letter writers are asking Westwood voters to support? What happens when the surplus is depleted? Will they get a bump in revenue out of the town’s reassessment of our properties? It’s easy to say someone is a leader and offer no actual proof. Was the incumbent’s approval of 3.5 percent annual raises to police personnel in a recession; leadership? Is focusing a year of discussion on a promotion policy; leadership? Being caught off guard about a methane gas risk in the Westvale Park bathrooms, is that leadership? The incumbents past results do not exhibit leadership. Maybe it’s time for change. I propose leadership begins with understanding the issues and having the skills to bring dialogue and ideas to the table. Similar to what is being offered by two new candidates for Westwood’s council, Ruth Nass and Angela Perkins. Voters will find their names at the bottom of column two. I didn’t offer a party line because, like some have said, local politics shouldn’t be about party affiliation. It should be about leadership. Gary ConklingWestwood