West Windsor NJ
8-10-2024 10:04pm

Letter to the Editor, by Bob wong, Referendum and Community Awareness

I recently helped gather signatures to put a referendum on the 2024 November ballot. My motivation to do the legwork was neither to show support nor opposition in changing the current West Windsor Nonpartisanship to Partisanship question. My intent was to gain some insight as to whether or not other residents in WW are/were like me … unsure about current politics but curious about whether our Township residents care where WW is going.

In regard to the referendum, the nomenclature around Partisanship vs. Nonpartisanship was a great way to measure interest by registered voters around politics or disengagement from politics. A few people said outright no thanks, not interested in politics and closed their doors. However, the vast majority of folks who signed the petition asked what the referendum intends to change and whether the referendum is asking voters to choose sides. It took a little bit more conversation to dispel the notion that by signing the petition they are choosing sides right then and there. Signatures on the petition meant that the question is successfully placed on the ballot for all voters to decide for themselves.

There had been conversations around wanting to choose candidates for elected WW Township positions on their own merits regardless of Party affiliation. Others pointed out that knowing more about the candidates allowed insights into Party affiliation and possible Party pressure and direction. For me at least, it is hard to know if an elected official will abide by campaign promises. Democracy works when there is more transparency and candidates stand up for their right to leadership by showing others from whom their support is coming from, regardless if the candidate is Independent, Republican or Democrat. Whichever way the voters decide, and by what methodology, or research we do or don’t do when deciding who to vote for, it is our choice and we should be given this choice.

Staying in touch with what’s going on in our Township is one of the reasons why we are registered voters. If we were truly apathetic we wouldn’t vote. Recent polls show that even though there are many registered voters, few come out to vote. Just by comparison, the broad statistics show communities such as Princeton had a 35% turnout in off year elections while WW had only 26%. WW residents do care about our school system, property values, community look and feel, safety, etc. WW residents rely on our Township leaders to improve our community and to do what’s best for the community at large. Since we all feel this way, it is important for us to stay in touch and see where our leaders are taking us.

I was impressed by the conversations I’ve had along the way. I feel that there are many who want to know more but find it hard to get more insight to what’s going on in our Township and community. Finding easily digestible info and facts is a major obstacle. This coincides with the  many remarks that more transparency is needed. Community awareness can improve dramatically when there is an effective community website that encourages feedback. Printed materials on major issues and decisions explaining the pros, cons, obstacles, and economic impact would go a long way to informing residents what’s current and where we are going. From the little legwork I’ve done I have heard that our community does care and want to hear more. With increased Party transparency and more timely information on current issues and intended Township direction, we could see improvements in off year election turnouts and increased community engagement and feedback.

Bob Wong

Resident of WW for 35 years

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8-11-2024 9:35am

I don't understand all of what Bob is saying in this letter, but he raises issues that are important to all of us here in West Windsor.

If voter turnout is really only 26%, we have a weak democracy, and I support efforts to strengthen it, such as Bob's suggestion to make political literature available to the public and to conduct public forums to encourage discussion.

We have here in the West Windsor Voice a wonderful forum for raising political awareness, and I can't commend Stacy enough for starting it up from scratch and maintaining it at its current level. She saw the need and did something about it, and I can only imagine the time and effort it takes. Our hardcopy publication, The West Windsor & Plainsboro News sometimes helps discussion of local politics, especially around election times, but its main shortcoming is that it doesn't have a Letters to the Editor section. It would be helpful if this publication incorporated some of the methods used by its previous owner and by Princeton's Town Topics. Finally, the West Windsor Facebook page can also be an effective forum - if it's used.

I'm not sure what Bob is saying about "party transparency." I believe his meaning of "transparency" is that which occurs when political candidates explain their views, intentions, and promises fully and honestly to the public and that they do not reneg on those promises. I don't know why he uses the word "party" as an adjective to this term. Is he saying that with a political party system, we will have more transparency? If so, it would be nice of him to explain why he believes that. I don't see an overwhelming argument for it and do see good arguments against it.

The best way to ensure transparency in government is with a non-apathetic, politically-active citizenry who publicly engage with candidates via all available tools, such as those mentioned above. With the democratic foundation we have, albeit weak, and whether party based or not, the citizenry will bring us the government we deserve.

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8-13-2024 10:15am

Thanks Tom for your comments. Since our nation has evolved into a Party system it is in the voter DNA to expect at least a two Party system. Transparency as I am using it means election candidates should declare Party affiliation. My argument would be that candidates who fail to do so will show colors of red/blue/neutral depending on the crowd the candidate is facing. I grant that some people are not necessarily pure red/blue/neutral However, since the candidate is a registered voter, there is transparency when the candidate is not afraid to declare what Party they belong to (it is public knowledge). I feel we need to bring more honesty into candidate's public messages. Candidates need to stand up and defend what they say and believe in. I feel there has been too much "middle of the road" talk. WW needs strong leadership as well as honesty so that voters know what they are voting for ... transparency is what I mean.

Words such as Partisan and Nonpartisan by definition refer to bias ... such as declaration by the candidate they are Independent, Republican or Democrat. From what I understand in politics, partisan and nonpartisan is used to denote an overlap in agreements to a bill or issue by the various parties. The bias is that there is a blending of Party's. I wouldn't want to split hairs but it is really easy to stretch this or imply otherwise. Politics is emotional and I feel it is very easy to persuade or influence people. We need to stay on track with the issues our candidates are raising without the emotional baggage and let voters clearly understand what's going on. Transparency is needed.

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8-24-2024 7:58am

Bob, with the current WW nonpartisan system, political candidates can freely "declare their party affiliation" to the public. So what's the problem?

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