I am writing in response to the recent letters from Andrew and Paola Blelloch, and Brenda Mihan in the September 9th and 23rd editions regarding partisan politics in West Windsor. It is clear to me, and has been for some time, that partisan politics are alive and thriving in our “nonpartisan” town.
It is not the fact that the candidates are clearly registered to specific parties that I find to be the issue. As Mr. Blelloch has pointed out in his letter, party affiliation should simply not affect our thinking on local matters. But unfortunately it does. We have a virtual aisle in our town government that should not exist. Allowing candidates to group themselves under a common slogan is just way of disguising partisan politics in a nonpartisan government.
If this were not the case, then the “slates” that each party has put together would be a mix of residents registered to different political parties. I find it highly coincidental that the three Democrats are together as are the three Republicans.
This is exactly why I entered this race in the first place. I am not comfortable with either slate winning as a team. Clearly it is not in the best interest of the township for our Council Members to be influenced by which political party they belong to, or any incumbent public official. We need the best three out of the seven candidates. That’s the way it is supposed to work, and that is what the residents voted for when this form of government was adopted.
So while the two parties that claim to not exist in this election do what they can to make me, the independent, invisible, the residents of West Windsor should be looking into each candidate as a person, and not each slate. And with that information, choose the best three to represent this town.
And although I have publicly announced that I am a candidate, I have been excluded from public debate, been the target of the Mayor’s questionable actions, been silenced by the council twice, and have an invitation to meet with residents together refused by all 6 candidates.
Not one of the candidates who claim to have the best interest of the people in mind said a single thing or showed an ounce of support for me when I was dropped from a public debate.
Clearly partisan politics are alive in West Windsor, and some are afraid the independent might just break up their threesome.
Greg Harris
Unaffiliated, Write-in candidate for West Windsor Council
