We would like to express our sincere thanks to all the residents of Red Bank who supported us in our campaign for Red Bank Borough Council. Although the election did not turn out the way we had hoped, it was an edifying and exhilarating experience for us.

We’d like to thank the mayor and current council members who share our vision for keeping Red Bank vibrant and prospering.

Our campaign manager, Larry Kerrigan, and treasurer Joann LoSapio, provided excellent expertise in the legal, public relations and financial aspects of the election.

Boris Kofman, a great friend, provided superb technical and logistic assistance. We also thank the members of the Red Bank Democratic Club and others who walked the neighborhoods with us and introduced us to their neighbors.

Thanks to all the residents who responded to our visits to their homes by telling us their feelings about Red Bank, both positive and negative. We learned a great deal from these visits that we will remember in our future efforts to boost our town.

Special thanks go to our spouses, Rose and Medy, who were inspiring companions throughout our effort and who added to the enjoyment of our campaign.

Although this election is over, we will continue to serve Red Bank in our capacities as board members and to be actively engaged in borough affairs, doing our best to keep Red Bank the charming town that it is.

Guy Maratta and

Lou DiMento

Red Bank

Resident calls for a government based on conservative principles

Benjamin Franklin stated that the “definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” Unfortunately New Jersey government does not understand that phrase.

New Jersey has repeatedly tried liberal government (Florio, McGreevey, Codey) and moderate governance (Kean and Whitman); yet, where has that gotten us?

A recent survey reveals that almost no one is satisfied with New Jersey government, at any level; of New Jersey residents, only 20 percent were satisfied with local government; only 7 percent with county government; and a paltry 6 percent of residents were satisfied with state government.

The survey results are easy to understand in that the repeated liberal and moderate policies have resulted in ever increasing taxes, corruption, cost of living and debt; loss of businesses and jobs; difficulties with school and child welfare systems; more children living in poverty; lowered school performance; bloated and inefficient government; increasing economic divides; less freedoms; and the list goes on.

But, our leaders continue to try that which has shown it does not work. Regardless of your feelings on the outcome of the gubernatorial election you likely agree that we need a change. The question is, what change?

New Jersey needs to move away from the same failed agenda of the past to an agenda that has proven results in some New Jersey towns and in other places across the country, the list of which are too many to list herein: government based upon conservative principles!

A government of lower taxes; of fiscal restraint; that is more efficient, not a bloated bureaucracy of waste; of accountability, not relativity; that promotes self-sufficiency, not government dependence; based upon merit, not patronage; of freedoms, not forced intrusions; based upon strong moral and religious principles, not self-aggrandizement.

A return to the government laid out in the preamble and first paragraph of the New Jersey Constitution.

It is time for the people of New Jersey to stand up and demand a change from the same failed policies of the past. It is time to stand up and force a conservative change. All must demand this of their elected officials at all levels of government.

The time is now, and I urge all of you to do everything you can (and urge all others as well) to force this change.

Hank Butehorn

Long Branch

Project would affect quality of life

We have all experienced traffic congestion and virtual gridlock in Red Bank. There is an application before the Zoning Board that will impact greatly on this problem and our quality of life. The property is located at the corner of Bridge Avenue and Front Street, the site of the Antique Center.

The application is for a mixed-use development with condo on the upper floors and shops and a brew pub on the first floor.

Parking is provided in an interior courtyard but it is insufficient for the needs of the development. Multiple variances are requested, far in excess of the numbers in the master plan. There are 110 apartments proposed where the ordinance would allow 28.

The plan also calls for a 14,700-square-foot restaurant brew/pub and 14,486 square feet of retail space, and all this on just 1.8 acres of land.

It is difficult to imagine the congestion this plan would create.

The final hearing on this application is Thursday, Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m. at Red Bank Borough Hall. We all need to show our concern for this overdevelopment and the impact on our life in the Two River area.

It is our last chance to be heard.

Gladys Bowden

Red Bank