Township Committee Hopeful Can Break 'One-Party Rule'

Editor's note: This is a letter to the editor submitted for publication. The views expressed by the author do not represent Patch.

To the Editor:

On Nov. 5 the outstanding candidate for Township Committee in Morris Township is Democrat Cathy Wilson. Cathy is a newcomer to politics, and will bring a fresh perspective, new ideas and a strong interest in collaboration to the Committee.

Why vote for Cathy? Cathy has had a long career in public education and administration and recently received a master’s degree from Columbia University in Negotiation and Conflict resolution, invaluable skills for the Township Committee. Cathy is also bright, energetic, pragmatic and a real people person. 

What’s wrong with the status quo? The Republicans on the Committee are probably well intentioned, but have become lulled into complacency, perhaps because for so many years they’ve been a tight-knit group of friends.  In recent years, we have had one or two Democrats on the Committee, but for the most part, we’ve endured one-party rule.  Need I mention also that Cathy is a woman and that there has not been a woman on our Township Committee in a number of years?

The Republicans on the Committee often behave reactively rather than proactively.  A good case in point is the Honeywell fiasco. From the outset the Township Committee, with the exception of the lone Democrat, appeared to do the bidding of Honeywell, rather than consider the serious objections of local residents. The only winner in all this was Honeywell itself who is now leaving town with its land zoned as it wished. Cathy attended these meetings, spoke up and recognized how local residents were shortchanged in the deliberations.

Cathy, who suffered a prolonged power outage during Superstorm Sandy, believes that the communication process between the Township Committee and JCP&L was flawed.  During the crisis, Cathy realized the frustration of residents and vowed to take action. She is a founding of CREMT, Citizens for Reliable Electricity in Morris Township.

With her devotion to our beautiful Township and its issues, and most importantly, to its residents, Cathy Wilson deserves your vote on Nov. 5.

Sincerely,

Noel Robinson, Chair
Morris Township Democratic Committee