The League of Women Voters of Lawrence Township and Represent.Us Central New Jersey have joined forces in an effort to to convince Lawrence Township Council to pass an anti-corruption resolution.
On June 8, the organizations announced that they are planning to appear at the council meeting on Tuesday, June 21 to lobby for the passage of the resolution, and are urging members of the community to also attend the meeting and support their cause.
Members of the LWV told the Gazette that township officials have met with them and expressed an unexpected level of resistance to approving the measure.
“In Central New Jersey, we’re putting aside partisan differences and working together to protect our communities from corruption and build momentum for national reform,” said David Goodman, Represent.Us Central New Jersey chapter leader.
According to Goodman, his organization and the LWV spoke with Mayor David Maffei and Councilman Mike Power about the anti-corruption resolution earlier this year and met with the full council on April 19. The council directed its attorney, David Roskos, to work with a draft resolution proposed by the LWV and create a version addressing council members’ concerns to bring back to the governing body.
“We are coming on two months, so it seems reasonable to have a vote on a final resolution now,” said Goodman. “Represent.Us and the LWV of Lawrence Township believe its time for action.”
“There is quite a story to be told about the number of times our LWV group has gone before the Lawrence Council since last winter and how the matter has been handled,” said LWV board member Nicole Plett. “Now we are applying what pressure we can to encourage the council to bring the resolution to a vote.”
Nearly a dozen such resolutions have been passed across the country by local chapters of Represent.Us, the nation’s largest bipartisan grassroots anti-corruption campaign. Three New Jersey towns have gone on record calling on representatives in Trenton and Washington D.C. to enact anti-corruption legislation. Princeton was the first in 2014, and Ewing Township followed in February 2015. In April 2016, South Brunswick Township became the third New Jersey town.
In addition to calling on town leaders to act, Represent.Us Central New Jersey presented its case to the Mercer County Board of Freeholders on May 26th, 2016. The group asked the Freeholders to approve a county-wide resolution and consider placing an Anti-Corruption Question on the November ballot.
“Our political system is corrupt, and Congress won’t fix it,” said Represent.Us national executive director Josh Silver. “We’re taking our fight local. Conservatives and progressives are uniting to demand that our states pass Anti-Corruption Acts, and that our leaders start representing us.”
