Dear Editor:
Competition is a wonderful thing. I have enjoyed and am encouraged by the recent debates related to the upcoming election in Weehawken. As a resident of Weehawken for the last 15 years, I have seen more traffic, pollution and development than I would like. Please let me know of another community in the surrounding 25 miles that hasn’t. I have also seen less crime, higher property values, improved schools, cleaner streets and a much improved Lincoln Harbor during the same period. My family and I regularly ride bicycles and roller blade in Lincoln Harbor. We especially enjoy watching the fishermen and seeing what they have caught in their buckets. There was no place to ride or walk before it was developed. We relax or play at Hamilton Park. We shop at the businesses on Park Avenue. We enjoy our proximity to New York City. We have met people from all over the world who now call Weehawken home.
Enjoying this prosperity, I decided to ask the town to be a part of some committee or board to become involved and give something back to the community I enjoy living in. I now am on the zoning committee and enjoy being part of the process. From my own experience, I can say that no one has given me a rubber stamp, requested or even hinted on how to vote on a single issue. I haven’t found a “back room” yet for all the scurrilous deals that some candidates claim go on. I did find a group of people who care about the town and donated their time regularly to be a part of the local government. They give up a night with their kids or a baseball game to give something back to the town they love.
So I am a bit insulted when accused by the WIN candidates of being a rubber stamp for the Mayor, but understand it’s all a part of the competition. Competition makes everyone of us better. It will make Weehawken an even better place to live in the years to come.
Weehawken has done nothing but improve as a result of strong and caring leadership from the current administration. I have attended town meetings, voted in previous elections and become a voice in our town’s democratic process.
I cannot support those who have no experience or solutions, do not attend town meetings (some candidates have never even voted) and do nothing but criticize an administration in a town where they have done absolutely nothing in the past to give something back.
Time for a change? I don’t think so. Yes, competition is great. It makes us appreciate what we have here in Weehawken. Sound leadership by caring people.
Jim D’Andrea