To the editor:
Many of us, from journalists to my own friends and neighbors, are already consumed with thoughts of the 2020 Presidential Election. But we can’t let 2020 Fever distract us from the election just 100 days away: On Nov. 5, all 80 New Jersey Assembly seats are on the ballot—along with countless freeholder, mayor, and council seats.
We’ve heard that “all politics is local” but often, too many people forget what that means. If history is any guide, just about 30% of Bergen County voters will vote this November. That statistic should worry anyone who cares about their local community.
As a parent I am very concerned with national politics, but I am equally concerned with local issues—keeping pollutants like lead out of our water, maintaining our local parks, giving our public servants the support and funding they need, and keeping our local economy vibrant so that when my children grow up, they won’t be forced to move out of state due to a high cost of living.
All of these issues will be affected much more directly by whom we elect as our local leaders than anyone we send to Washington.
In my hometown of Emerson, we have two terrific candidates for Borough Council: Consumer Protection investigator and retired police sergeant Brian Downing and retired public school teacher Patricia Dinallo. Both have a lifetime of service to the public. Emerson would benefit greatly from their expertise.
We are also lucky to have Emerson Borough Council President Gerald Falotico and Westwood Mayor John Birkner Jr. running for State Assembly. I am thrilled to support them this year because of their extensive records of getting meaningful results in their local communities— whether it’s Councilman Falotico’s achievement of keeping Emerson’s municipal taxes flat for three years in a row, or Mayor Birkner’s campaigns to re-open Pascack Valley Hospital and turn a landfill into the beautiful Westvale Park.
Those are the kinds of everyday issues I’m talking about when I say our local elections matter. This is the kind of experience we should want representing us in Trenton, rather than professional politicians whose loyalty is too often to party bosses or special interests.
That’s why I hope my friends and neighbors—not just in Emerson but all throughout the Pascack Valley—will join me in making this simple commitment: “I WILL vote Nov. 5.”
Kate Stutzel
Emerson
The writer is an elected member of the Emerson Democratic Municipal Committee