Dear Editor:
The efficacy of any government is measured by how well its elected members treat not just the major issues of the day, but the little things that come across their desk. Those small items that figure greatly in people’s lives. Hundreds fall into an elected official’s purview in any given period.
I believe that solving the small, local issues, improving the quality of people’s lives, is as determinative of the value of a city official’s tenure than anything else they do.
Take, for example, the 2nd Ward, east side, the fastest growing ward in a fast growing city.
I live near the intersection of Sinatra, Hudson and 11th, and must cross it each day to get anywhere else in Hoboken. With poorly-timed traffic lights, limited fields of view for pedestrians and heavy loads of traffic moving along six separate directions of travel, it is arguably the worst piece of urban planning in the city. Parents bringing their kids to school, commuters on their way to work, scurry across, confused, just skirting traffic coming from unseen directions.
This was one of those above-mentioned “little things” mentioned above. One of a whole host of items no doubt. But at City Hall, the City Council, the Board of Education, the zoning board and any other properly constituted authority whose constituency was effected, our representatives either did not know about or could never bother to attend to the matter.
How do I know this?
Despite the calls, emails and complaints of citizens, nothing was ever done about it.
Nothing, that is, until my neighbor, Bonnie Murray, a wife and mother of two, with a full time job to boot, handled the matter for the Ward.
Bonnie lobbied before the right people, attended the appropriate meetings, and did the necessary follow-up to make sure that intersection would be safe for pedestrians. And so it was with great pleasure to witness traffic enforcement officials—two of them— smoothing out traffic flow and strenuously putting drivers to rights.
There are so many more issues like that facing the 2nd Ward, with more growth, more pressure put on civic resources. These issues will require diligence, thoughtfulness and care.
Bonnie’s attention will always be on the 2nd Ward, keeping it safe and livable. She doesn’t believe you need to go to City Hall to engage with your city councilor, or be a member of a particular political party, to get her full and undivided attention. She is of the neighborhood, present and thoughtful, in a way career politicians are unable to emulate. Bonnie is a concerned parent and citizen, just like the rest of us. She is compassionate and generous with her time and energy.
That is why, on November 3, I will be voting 1C.
Charles A. Gelinas