Dear Friends,
In less than twenty-four hours, the polls will open and you will be making casting your vote. Today, I am writing to ask you to please elect the Republican Slate of Candidates. I think it goes without saying, our governor, Chris Christie has become one of NJ's most popular governors ever. Besides the obvious, his leadership during Hurricane Sandy and the tragic fire in Seaside Heights, he also worked tirelessly to pull NJ out of financial abyss. He deserves another term, no question. So do Councilmen Al Bartelloni and Ed Mignone.
Three years ago, our town was facing it's own abyss, the financial abyss that many communities in NJ were facing. Skyrocketing property taxes, unpaid bills, and homeowners in fear of losing their homes. Our country was in the midst of the worst recession in our nations history. This was the same year, Al and Ed were elected by the people of River Edge.
What followed that election were choices not many could make, especially in a tight knit community such as ours. Al and Ed along with the Republican majority began the difficult task of correcting years of out of control spending and bonding.
While many of their decisions were difficult and not particularly popular, Ed and Al worked tireless with every single department to find waste and cut spending. Many were asked to cut budgets that had never been asked before. Many pushed back. Al and Ed held their ground. It took real guts to do what they did. Al and Ed were able to get each and every borough department to chip in and cut it's budget. Because of that and their hard work, the borough finds itself in the best financial shape in many years.
Today we have a surplus. Our pension payments are all up to date. We have a new police contract that will save River Edge taxpayers millions over the next several years. Our borough employees no longer live in fear of losing their jobs and furloughs are a thing of the past. And, barring another natural disaster, the borough is looking at the very real possibility of it's first ZERO tax increase in borough taxes in what seems like forever.
Al and Ed listened to the people of River Edge when it came to planning. When the people from Park Avenue came to object to duplexes being built next to their homes, Ed and Al fought for their rights and stopped the re-zoning of that property. Al and Ed saw to it that the Hoffman Koos development kept moving forward. They continue to fight for lower taxes and that's the kind of real help our local business owners need to thrive.
As your Republican chairman, I am proud of what Al and Ed have accomplished, I admire them more than they know. They made hard decisions when they had to. I am asking you to join me in re-electing them tomorrow so they can complete their mission of making River Edge the town we all know it should be.
Please join me in supporting Ed and Al and our entire Republican Ticket. Yours truly,
Jim Arakelian
PS: I will also be voting for Delia Carroll and Anthony Dibella for River Edge School Board. They are both incredibly qualified candidates and I ask you to support their candidacy as well.
