West Windsor Mayor, Hemant Marathe Co-Founded Organization that Endorses Trump for President. Opinion piece, not for the faint of heart, but it's long overdue.

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Most people don't know that West Windsor Mayor, Hemant Marathe is a Trump-Republican. For years, residents have been asking the mayor at public meetings, to denounce any one of Trump's criminal or simply unsavory behaviors, from bragging about grabbing women by the pussy - his words (and being found liable for sexual assault in court to the tune of millions owed to his victim) or the numerous crimes of fraud, committed to pad his own pockets. And then there’s Jan 6. Pick one... this is a very short list. There are so many crimes and decades of disqualifying behaviors, like the disgusting racism behind his passion for a Muslim ban, that should have prompted any normal human or traditional Republican to denounce him. Marathe won’t do it. I asked him personally to denounce Trump on Facebook and he wrote a whole lot of something… but he did not denounce a single criminal or otherwise grotesque act committed by Trump. Why not?

Perhaps for one reason, on Dec 29 of 2018, in his capacity as West Windsor Mayor, he quietly co-founded the SARC, aka the South Asian Republican Coalition, specifically to support Trump. Read about that here. The same organization, now doing business as the AARC, the Asian American Republican Coalition, endorsed Trump again this April. Read more about that here. It’s the same organization with the same founder and Chairman, Hemant Bhatt. Our mayor is one of the founding fathers of that coalition for Trump. This explains why he will not denounce him.

It strikes me as odd that otherwise intelligent folks would endorse this racist old crime boss for his immigration policies when, if he had his way, no brown person would ever be allowed to cross our borders ever again. Who will be next? The founders also cite national security when Trump lays down like a floor mat for Dictators. They play him for a fool and it’s an embarrassment on the international stage - what’s to feel secure about? Do the members of the SARC, now AARC, think that if they publicly support him there will be a reward of some kind? At what cost? Freedom shouldn’t come so cheap. Is it not why so many emigrate here? Are you climbing the ladder only to pull it up behind you? I urge everyone to recall their own family’s immigration history. It is America’s history and one greedy, hateful man should have the power to end the great American experiment?

Last year, I ran for Town Council. I lost by a dozen or so votes. I am not bitter. I am grateful. The universe gave me what I needed. I am not committed to running again, though folks are pressing me to. My outspoken position on the ballot question has nothing to do with my getting elected. It has everything to do with knowing who we are voting for. I met folks who were disenfranchised because they chose the left column, thinking that it was the Democrat-endorsed slate. They voted the opposite of their values. The opposing slate, the incumbents, won the left column in a coin toss. How does it serve the people to hand over a Democratic advantage to the non-Democratic slate that did not earn that spot? In the last presidential election, the ratio of Dem/Rep was 80/20, yet in WW, we are ok with flattening the odds to 50/50. Yes, we actually have that incredibly unfair practice and the voters have no idea!

The Vote YES faction believes that a primary is fair because the voters choose the candidates, not a coin toss along with a couple hundred petitions as opposed to thousands of voters. The Vote NO faction uses the lack of ballot information to play hide-your-MAGAs. Stick a candidate like Marathe in between seemingly innocuous candidates and what happens? Residents I spoke to thought he was a Democrat, until, according to numerous of them, he stood on their doorsteps and lied to them, mostly about how he was never going to build warehouses and they shouldn’t worry. In a prior election, Marathe was explicit in his desire to control the Council. That should NEVER happen. That is supposed to be an independent body that does not vote brainlessly to do the will of a supreme leader. It also has equal power to the Mayor and should never assume less. They can override him, but they'd have to choose to serve the people first and not the mayor's agenda. 

Some folks will remember this election and this damning post:

One has to wonder what he wants to achieve that he needs "complete control of Council." Sorry, but that's not how government is supposed to work. Mr. "Trust me I know what I'm doing" is too similar to "I alone can fix it." It is notable that the council has been infamous for almost always voting yes in accord whatever Mayor Marathe wanted. It's consistent with the text. Let's question as a society if we want a "strong man" in charge or balanced governing bodies that fully and broadly represent everyone. The strong man option feels too outdated and autocratic for my comfort.  a mostly appointed planning board is also too autocratic and out of balance to adequately represent the people. Remember Bridge Point 8? There was SO MUCH public opposition with countless valid reasons for them to vote no... but they, along with Andrea Mandel, did his will, save for 2 independent thinkers. Kudos and gratitude to Allen Schectel and Simon Pancove for representing the people. 

Besides the fact that we’ve all seen that Marathe has proven his allegiance to big developers, with the warehouse battles and rampant overdevelopment now threatening our way of life in West Windsor, we also have Councilor Andrea Mandel guilty of the same. She too has not denounced Trump or been clear on her support for him or lack of it. It’s not enough to show up for all the kumbaya moments and ribbon cuttings… These days, you have to wear ALL of your political values on your sleeve and in this dire political climate, that means traditional Republicans staying true to the roots of the  party and denouncing the cult leader that has co-opted it. It’s really helpful, to them, for Republicans to say that national politics shouldn’t matter in local elections. Well, I would NEVER vote to elect a local official that supports or ever supported Trump. It demonstrates a lack of humanity and really poor judgment, as well as a host of other disqualifiers. It’s fine to be Republican. It is NOT fine to be a part of the Trump cult. One must define themselves now more than ever if they wish to be entrusted with the work of the people. I am only calling them out so they can break their silence and speak to their values in this matter and be clear on who our leaders really are. I want to hear from all of them if they are in a role to make or change our laws. Who will those changes serve? So far, their more recent changes serve the big developers, not the people. 

I never had political aspirations… I only ran because of our incredibly dire need for better representation, people over big business, planet over profit. I honestly wished I didn’t have to run. I originally thought that because I live in such a blue area, that my values were represented here. I found out I was very wrong. The political minority has ways of staying in power and cloaking their methods. They make “partisanship” a bad word. Why deny that we all align with a party, including independents? Should candidates keep such secrets from voters? Voters have a right to know who they are voting for! “Partisanship” has absolutely NOTHING to do with how we govern. It’s just a more fair and transparent ballot process - as compared to the current West Windsor coin toss! Again, it's a real thing!

Don’t believe everything you read on Facebook. The NO faction has been blowing up social media 24/7 with scary lies and that get others so scared that they too start sharing and they actually believe the lies they are repeating = MAGA tactic 101. Ask questions instead of panicking over inflammatory rhetoric. Ask questions like, why is there such a strong, even desperate, effort to keep party information off of the ballot? What is at stake for those in said panic? Loss of power perhaps?

I have many traditional Republican friends who stayed registered to vote Trump out in the primary and to save the Republican party from its current cult-hood. They are voting for Harris to save democracy and prevent this from being the last election ever, said the man who wants to end the Constitution and be “a dictator day one.” He promised folks they’d “only have to vote one more time,” and never again. YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS STUFF UP! Who wants that? Our mayor and Republican Councilors, or so their silence would suggest.

Know who you are voting for. Information is power. The lack of it is how the political minority stays in power, by keeping voters in the dark, by casting shade on the ones fighting to represent the people. In our case, we're the ones trying to stop overdevelopment and the industrialization of West Windsor. You're welcome. 

I would happily vote for a traditional Republican in our local election if they were crystal clear in denouncing criminal, racist trump and expressed a devout intention to welcome our first woman president, who happens to be South Asian, YAY! and Jamaican YAY! Double kudos America for getting this far!  Side note: We have to get Kamala over the finish line or it will be the end of the line for the America we all know and love.  Another Trump regime is too scary to describe and should evoke nightmares. 

Locally, I agree that local priorities should determine who wins our local elections, but if poor judgment and inhumane values are concealed in the interest of winning, they must be exposed. People have to know who they are voting for or they will never have true representation. 

On November 5th, Vote YES on the ballot question. The future of our hometown is at stake.