The Democratic candidates for Medford Township council have circulated campaign literature in which they claim that their campaign “gives voice to those residents who feel left out and promotes a council more receptive to new ideas.” I would like to know just who those residents are and what new ideas these candidates have ever offered to the current council members — including Mayor Chuck Watson and Deputy Mayor Brad Denn who are running for re-election — that have been rejected or which council refused to discuss or consider.
The Democratic candidates also say that they will “improve discourse and public participation.” If you run into them, ask them how many times they have attended a council meeting or contacted council members formally or informally. Ask them if they have ever been denied a chance to speak at a council meeting or any sort of “discourse” with Medford council members or officials. Ask them if they or anyone else in the “public” has ever been denied a chance to participate in Medford community affairs.
They say they will “welcome ideas from all residents” — a cleverly worded shot at our current council whose job it is to sort out all ideas, no matter who offers them, select those that are best for Medford and reject those that are not. Chuck Watson and Brad Denn are among the council members who have had to make these choices for several years, and the choices they have made have kept Medford on the upswing. They have experience and an established record that can’t be undone by inaccurate and misleading statements in their inexperienced opponents’ political literature.
I am asking all Medford voters to go to the polls on Nov. 7 and return Chuck and Brad to office, and elect their running mate, Erik Rebstock, to his first term on Council.
