RECENT PRESS Letter to the Hunterdon Review Political Competition in Tewksbury is Healthy I think your first page story in the March 14th paper, Congested Tewksbury Election “heightened the dialogue in town” -Two Republicans Win but Democrat and Independent Get Good Support really highlighted the goals of many in the Township. Clearly each political party or group is interested in having their candidate win the office they seek but there is also a higher civic purpose in an election. That is to openly discuss the issues that affect the citizens in Town. Frankly that discussion doesn’t happen when the election is a foregone conclusion but when there is competition in the general election each candidate must explain and defend their views. As Bill Voyce said in the article "The first time I ran, the primary was the election. It doesn't seem to be that way anymore." One of the best opportunities for such discussions was the Second Annual PTA Candidates Night that was held at the end of October. While the discussion was very lively and there was very good news coverage of the event it was the only time all four candidates appeared together on the same platform. I think that in a town as intimate as Tewksbury there should have been at least three candidate forums throughout the campaign so that as many people as possible could see the candidates in action. I would urge the many non-partisan civic groups in Town to start now and begin to think about ways to have all the candidates participate in public events to further elevate the discourse in our Township. One of the benefits of living in a small town is being able to a direct connection with the candidates and not to hear what they think through recorded sound bites. Dominick DePinto web design by limeyboy hosting and domains by IamMyBrand.com