Tinton Falls councilman responds to criticism
Guest Column
BRENDAN TOBIN
Iread Richard Calvert's latest diatribe ("Maclearie must answer to residents of Tinton Falls," March 20) with great amusement. More than a year after losing the Borough Council election, it seems that Mr. Calvert is still trying to push his agenda of conspiracies and behind-the-scenes dealings when the facts continue to say otherwise. Still, it was a colorful rant that went in numerous fact-free directions, and since the public deserves the truth and not bitter, angry theories, I must answer his silliness to present the truth.

Mr. Calvert claims there was "a purge" after the last election. That is a complete falsehood . The record shows that your two running mates remained on their boards and were in fact reappointed. That's hardly "a purge."

Since she campaigned as being a champion of open space and no development, Kim Barrett was reappointed to the Open Space Committee, only to resign a few weeks ago, 10 months after the election. Your other running mate, Charlie Lomangino, has been reappointed to the zoning board again and has the best attendance on that committee.

Mr. Calvert was not reappointed to zoning because he regularly rubber stamped approvals and Tinton Falls deserves better. Still, his two running mates were reappointed to their boards, so where's the purge?

Mr. Calvert claims there is a "private agenda" to fill the town this way and with "high density housing." Anyone who has read the revised master plan can see this is not the case.

For the record, the revision of the master plan has taken a few years, as major revisions always do, and Home Depot came up during that review period. To change one parcel of land to prevent something already zoned for that spot is "spot zoning," which is illegal and would result in costly lawsuits that we would lose.

To suggest we waste tax money on this pursuit is irresponsible at best, but Mr. Calvert has repeatedly stated publicly that we should have done so anyway.

As for the charges about the Colts Neck/Earle issue, there is no "behind the scenes" conspiracy and Mayor Peter Maclearie, like the entire Tinton Falls Borough Council and administration, has shown plenty of support for the Tinton Falls Board of Education, in writing and in public comment, on the Earle issue, with the redevelopment of Fort Monmouth and more. To say otherwise is simply shouting at the rain.

As for Mr. Calvert's comment that the mayor is running people for the Board of Education, filings show that Peter Karavites and Steven Schertz are running unopposed for reelection and just two people are running to fill a one-year unexpired term on the nine-member board. Where's the conspiracy to populate the school board with opposition? Once again, the facts show other than what Mr. Calvert has stated, but he's never let that get in the way of his "points."

When he ran for Borough Council, Mr. Calvert cried out time and again that the borough was "chasing ratables," while the numbers showed that new ratables had dropped drastically from $53 million to $19 million in just two years. We now have a Planning Board that doesn't rubber-stamp developers' plans and we've worked to make the zoning board a group that doesn't give instant approvals, as they often did during Mr. Calvert's tenure.

Conscientious people are the type of concerned residents that I asked for when I sent my e-mails and letters to the editor encouraging people to get involved. Nobody in their right mind would think it is wrong to ask for people to get involved who care for their town and want to protect our quality of life.

Brendan Tobin is a Tinton Falls councilman