Letters

I would hope for everyone reading this that they will never have reason to find out firsthand how professional and responsive all of our emergency services are in Englishtown. You can, in fact, understand this through my personal experience that just happened on Sept. 21.

My mother was recuperating from her five-day stay at CentraState Medical Center in her bedroom, I was in the kitchen washing the dinner dishes, and my daughter was in the living room working on her homework at the computer. My daughter called to me and when I ran into the living room there was smoke spewing from the overhead light switch.

In one motion, my one hand turned off the light switch while the other dialed 911.

The dispatcher told me to get everyone immediately out of the house and that help was on its way. Before I had even hung up the phone, two Englishtown police officers, Richard Settele and Pete Cook, were in my house.

Rich shut off the breakers and remained in direct communication with the fire department. Pete shut off the street in preparation for the firetrucks. Understand that less than five minutes had passed since my daughter called me to the living room.

In what I estimate to be three to four minutes from my phone call, four firetrucks with an all-volunteer force were in my house.

Heat sensor guns were used to determine if the fire had spread through the interior of the walls.

After determining that it had not, they removed the plate to find that the switch box had short-circuited, which had caused the wires to start burning. The damaged area was removed and the wires secured. I was told to have an electrician come out immediately.

As everyone was pulling away, I saw that the English-town-Manalapan First Aid Squad truck had been at the scene. I spoke with the last officer and fireman as they were leaving and said, “I really love you guys!” They responded that they wish more people felt that way.

How sad that the very people who are risking their safety to keep all of us secure do not feel our community appreciation. I shudder to think of a different scenario that day. I am also reaffirmed in supporting all of the local emergency services because, in my book, they are real heroes.

Jayne Carr

Englishtown

Writer takes issue with shiny picture of Village

After reading Antonio Luciano’s comments (about The Village at Manalapan in a letter to the editor) I felt it important to express my opinion.

As newlyweds my wife and I bought our first home here in Manalapan 22 years ago. We thought it was a nice town to start out in and raise a family.

The tree-lined streets and beautiful homes along with farms and forests looked perfect.

Now someone has the idea of building a Main Street. Anyone who would like to see what this will look like only has to go down to Freehold or Red Bank to realize what we will be left with after the developer is long gone.

I certainly can’t remember any of my neighbors wishing they lived above some store or next to a mall.

Traffic is already a problem with Freehold Raceway Mall just down the street; just wait until this is built.

A Main Street with shops and apartments is an outdated idea and there is no shortage of towns trying clean up theirs. It is an expense we could eliminate now.

The pictures of The Village at Manalapan may look nice now, but what about in a few years? I’m sure the day laborers will like hanging out on these corners. If this is your idea of home, simply go to Freehold, Red Bank, South River, South Amboy or Perth Amboy and check it out. I’m sure they would be happy to have you.

While Manalapan has changed a lot in 22 years it is still known as a prestigious rural community and I hope it stays that way.

Ken Testa

Manalapan

Re-elected councilman pledges best effort for Marlboro residents

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the residents of Marlboro who ventured out to vote this past Election Day. In the past, I really took for granted the amazing right we have to vote for our public servants. It took a year in Iraq to fully appreciate this wonderful freedom we have.

I held one of the first free elections in Kirkuk, Iraq, which was responsible for electing the city council and mayor. This was the first free election some people had ever seen in their lives. Many people died, and some of the candidates were assassinated, but the city persevered and had a 90 percent voter turnout.

In Marlboro, we had a 45 percent voter turnout, which is above the average 35 percent turnout for other elections.

I’m thankful that 45 percent of registered voters came out to exercise their right to vote. I hope one day that number will climb even higher to reach 90 percent to 100 percent.

All the candidates on both the Republican and Democratic sides are good people who wanted to make a positive impact in Marlboro. I would have been proud to serve with any of them on the Township Council.

The great people of Marlboro have spoken and elected Steve Rosenthal, Rosa Tragni and me to four-year seats on council. We will be joining two outstanding council members, Joe Pernice and Patti Morelli, to round out this elected body.

Two years ago, Mayor Kleinberg, along with Joe Pernice and Patti Morelli, started Marlboro back on the right path. When I was elected last year, one of my goals was to restore the public trust of our local government. We are lucky to have outstanding individuals on this council who are open, honest and ethical. We will continue to restore the public trust as well as take on other key imperatives that will put Marlboro further along the right path.

We have started down the right path and will continue to do so in order to make Marlboro a better place to raise our families. Please feel free to contact any one of us at our Web site www.marlboro-nj.gov or by calling the clerk’s office at (732) 536-0200.

Once again, on behalf of Robert Kleinberg, Steve Rosen-thal, Rosa Tragni, Joe Pernice, Patti Morelli and me, we thank you for coming out to vote and for putting your trust in us. We will not let you down.

Jeff Cantor

Councilman

Marlboro

Voters should hear best that candidates have to offer

Having been personally involved in four political races, I’ve noted a distinct trend in the tone these campaigns have taken. Unfortunately, it’s not a trend we should be proud of.

As a recent Democratic candidate for Monmouth County freeholder, our staff knew from the outset that my running mate and I were not interested in running a dirty campaign. Barbara McMorrow and I wanted to tell the voters how we intended to change the direction our county was going. We knew it wouldn’t be enough to simply say, “We’re not them.” We offered specific alternatives to how county government should be run, and instead of offering their own strategies, our opponents chose to slander me.

Is that how we should choose our leaders? By who throws the most lies out there and slings the most mud? This letter isn’t meant to simply clear the record, although voters should know the truth behind the lies directed at me. It’s also meant as a wake-up call to politicians and voters alike.

These types of dirty campaigns reflect on all of us. They diminish the message voters have a right to hear so that they can make an informed decision in the voting booth. Yet those of us who will be scraping the mud off our faces for the next few days will not be serving the public, it’s the ones who couldn’t discuss issues and therefore had to disparage their opponents who are in office.

A Republican operative admitted to me that “...it seems the more you pay these researchers, the more they’re able to dig up.” It should take more than a big check to spin lies that tarnish good people’s reputations.

What’s disturbing isn’t only that pictures were taken of me from a distance, without my knowledge, at the county fair. They were used to decorate commercials and campaign literature spouting lie after lie that was so easy to disprove.

Their claim that I raised municipal taxes by an exorbitant amount while serving in Manalapan could be easily disproved with a simple phone call; their accusation that my campaign treasurer’s office was raided by the FBI is an outright lie, and a good and decent man’s reputation is now tarnished; their statement regarding taking money from an indicted developer while he was building in Manalapan is also a blatant lie; that I was fined by ELEC (Election Law Enforcement Commission) for incorrect campaign finance reports is completely untrue also. The lies and distortions go on and on.

I was hoping that they just took a tiny little fact and spun it to support their theories, because I refused to believe they were capable of just making it all up to get me out of the way. But that’s exactly what they did. I don’t know how to answer the question that I get asked repeatedly: “How can they get away with that?” They not only can, they did. They should be ashamed of themselves, but they’re not.

I sincerely hope that the newly elected freeholders were listening to our platform because it comes directly from the voters we spoke to. Barbara and I traveled the entire county, all 53 towns, and spoke to thousands of residents from both political parties. We were at train stations, bus stops, town hall meetings as well as at their front doors. Many said that as long as we weren’t incumbents, they’d give us a chance.

But that was before our opponents’ lies hit the airwaves and they felt desperate enough to resort to whatever it took to get us out of the way. And please don’t say “that’s politics as usual,” because that’s what’s wrong with these campaigns; the voters have come to expect nothing more.

If lies are what get freeholders elected in Monmouth County, then I’m happy to sit this one out. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be watching and working hard to ensure that politics in Monmouth County finally becomes public service.

Rebecca Aaronson

Manalapan