Guest Column: Vote Democratic Party for Fiscal Responsibility

Holmdel voters need to vote for Brian McFarland and Anish Kumar for Holmdel Township Committee and restore due process and deliberative, intelligent, open government to Holmdel.

Brian has been actively engaged in township issues since becoming a resident, and Anish is a lifelong resident who cares deeply about preserving our quality of life, an essential necessity with plummeting property values in a difficult real estate market.

Much like the leadership and dedication provided by Committeeman Larry Fink and former Committee member Janet Berk, their focus will be on doing what is best for Holmdel, not doing what is politically expedient. 

The Patch recently reported the Lucent property is providing a ratable of only $525,000 per year and the town faces a $2,300,000 budget shortfall this year. What Republican Committee members tout as sound fiscal policies is deferring bills, one-time accounting gimmicks, and spending township surpluses. Those options are gone.

Past Township Committees also faced declining state aid and increasing pension costs. The facts show at the end of 2005 the Fink administration left the town with a surplus.

During that tenure, F & F Nursery was preserved as farm land and open space, sanitary facilities for Veterans Park were approved and built, facilities and shelters for Cross Farm Park were approved, including additional soccer fields, and we partnered with the Board of Education to turf the high school football field and rehab Satz School fields for Pop Warner football. We passed an ordinance limiting the influence of township professionals contributing to campaigns (“pay to play”).

What have the recent Republican majorities on the Township Committee done? Besides fiscal gimmicks, they have played politics with the Lucent site for lack of clear vision.

Over recent years they have refused to participate in an open candidates’ forum claiming the League of Women Voters is biased. Perhaps most egregious is their truncation of the open, deliberative process of decision making. An excessive amount of business is conducted in executive session making public township committee meetings amazingly short. Dissenting opinions from both committee members and the public are often rudely halted.

Anish and Brian will return the township to the sound fiscal policy, open, inclusive governing, and intelligent land use policies of the Fink administration

What Holmdel Republicans rely on is voters be uninformed, reflexive instead of reflective, and vote party line since they hold an edge in numbers.

What we hope is that you will THINK before you vote. It is time to govern the way governing was intended, and the way Holmdel deserves. A vote for McFarland and Kumar is a vote for sound government.

Tony Orsini

Holmdel Municipal Vice Chairman

Holmdel Township Committeeman 2003-2005

For more information, visit the McFarland/Kumar website.