Thank you to the people of Pemberton Borough!
I am both honored and humbled by the results of Tuesday's election. I campaigned on change, and you have made a strong statement to that effect.
I'd like to congratulate Cliff Rutherford on his victory. I look forward to serving with Cliff and the 4 returning council members. I'd also like to thank Norma Ward and Robin Mosher for their years of service on council.
Although I ran as a Democrat, I feel that party affiliation shouldn't really matter at a local level. I think our mayor and council should be non-partisan, with a focus solely on improving our town.
I've been open about my goals, as stated in my campaign flyer (attached) and the Burlington County Times:
I will need support from my fellow council members and the mayor in attaining most of these goals, but I intend to be a strong advocate for all. I can make progress on my own with goal 6, and especially goal 7.
I have mostly refrained from posting in the editorial blog on this site while running for office. Now that you have elected me, I plan to use this website to communicate with you. Please feel free to send email to steve@pemboro.com with any questions or concerns you have. Let me know if you would like to keep your correspondence private or are ok with me posting it to the Pemboro Forum. I cannot promise I will agree with everything, and will need support from other council members to implement change, but I will read and consider everything you submit.
Besides communicating with me, please consider attending Borough council meetings. During the public portion of each meeting, you can make a statement and ask questions, so this is a huge opportunity to have your concerns brought to your elected officials in public and on record. If you feel that one person has no ability to drive change, I'm a counter-example. In attending and speaking at every regular council meeting for years, I've been able to convince the mayor and council to make some changes. They won't always agree, and even when they do it may take them a while to come around, but sometimes this does indeed work. On the other hand, I have heard more than once from the mayor or council that they don't hear the public asking about something, so they do not feel it is desired. (An example is opening the municipal offices on Fridays.) Please use your power to speak out.
Finally, please vote! There are 2 members of the Pemberton Borough council up for election every year, so you have an annual opportunity to enact change, or continue making progress. Every vote counts.
Thank you!
Steve