Reading Irwin Stoolmacher and Paul Eland’s letters in the last issue of WW-P News reminded me why I decided to be a candidate for West Windsor mayor in last November’s election. I do agree with Stoolmacher’s assessment that it is indeed more than West Windsor’s attorney.
Stoolmacher takes a cheap shot at my running mate Peter Mendonez, suggesting that Peter doesn’t deserve his position on the West Windsor council. One can debate forever the effect of ballot placement on the outcome of the West Windsor election. Neither side will ever be able to prove conclusively who won due to ballot placement and who deserved to win. Peter Mendonez is an outstanding young man who worked as hard as every other candidate during the election. It is time to move on and do what is in the best interest of West Windsor. Since the election I have seen Peter working hard and contributing to the discussion at council meetings.
Paul Eland, a friend and an honorable gentleman, refers to people who disagree with Hsueh as “the mayor’s enemies.” Both Stoolmacher and Eland do a great disservice not only to the citizens of West Windsor but to the mayor himself. They want to cut off all debate by commenting on personalities rather than issues.
There are legitimate issues that can be raised about use of the Faulkner act as a justification for the mayor’s actions. As I have said in the past, the residents of West Windsor deserve a higher standard from their elected representative. They must always do “what is best for West Windsor” not simply what will pass the legal muster.
West Windsor faces considerable challenges in the coming year. The interest of West Windsor will be served best if the mayor works in cooperation with the township council before decisions are made. The Faulkner act may allow the mayor to work in isolation as has happened on a number of occasions in the past. However, the act in no way prevents cooperation between the mayor and township council. West Windsor deserves this open dialogue and debate before decisions are made and presented to the council as fait-accompli.
Hemant Marathe
West Windsor
Editor’s Note: The letters by Stoolmacher and Eland appeared originally in the Trenton Times and the News excerpted them to show how the rest of the world was viewing us. A brief excerpt was from Jim Solloway, whose letter appeared in the Trenton Times the day that WW-P was being printed. The full version is available in the April 4 archives at www.wwpinfo.com.
