An important decision will be made tomorrow on the direction of Mullica's government for the next year. As some Gadfly readers have pointed out here, Republican candidate Ed Hagaman is a nice guy. He absolutely is a gentleman and someone who, based on his own merits, would appear to be on of the better quality candidates that has ever come from the Mullica Republican organization.
Those who know Bernie Graebener, however, will also tell you that Bernie is a nice guy. Bernie, too, has served as a sports coach here in town. He worked tirelessly in the efforts to thwart a trash transfer station from coming to Elwood. Surprisingly, Ed Hagaman was not a part of this effort. Didn't he care about his community?
Both are family men dedicated to the values that impact working people. Both stated to the Press of Atlantic City that they are interested in maintaining Mullica's rural character. That said, there are other factors that should be considered in the voting booth.
Graebener, along with fellow committeepersons Susan Polk and Anthony Gabris, have pledged no increase to municipal taxes in 2012 if they maintain their majority. While it may only be a one-year reprieve, this would go a long way toward delivering some value to the over-taxed citizens of Mullica. Can they do it? Recent history, over the last 10 years, shows that Democrats have been for LESS government in Mullica and have voted for the smallest tax increases.
Consider this: if Graebener is elected in 2011 and fails to deliver on the promise made by the three Democrats, the two remaining Democrats can be voted OUT of office in 2012 and Republicans can have effective full control of the township committee. If Mr. Hagaman is elected in 2011 and you are not satisfied with the performance of Republicans, there will be no way in 2012 to return the majority to Democrats. In that way, voters get a free look in 2012 to see if Dems can really keep their promise. There will be no such leverage with Republicans in office.
Also, nobody really knows what Mr. Hagaman stands for. As a union representative, he is a fixture at Democratic fundraisers for county and district candidates. Either Mr. Hagaman supports the platform of Democrats and is not truly a Republican, or he is hedging his bets with county and regional Democrats to effectively purchase influence for his union. In either case, Mullica voters deserve some level of clarity as to what these actions mean.
Lastly, in a battle of nice guys, you get judged by the company that you keep. Hagaman's supporters called Mullica's government a fiscal fiasco for taxes having increased year after year. THEY THEMSELVES then went on to raise taxes, even more than had been increased under Democrats. With that kind of logic, what can you possibly expect in 2012?
Make no mistake---Mr. Hagaman is a good man. I fear, however, that he is considered a "guaranteed" vote to go along with Mayor Brown, and that simply does not serve the best interests of Mullica Township as evidenced by this year's bait-and-switch tax increase.
And I have no fear of signing my name...
Michael St. Amour
Monday, November 07, 2011
IN A BATTLE OF "NICE GUYS", I'LL TAKE LESS GOVERNMENT
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6 comments:
Who is Ed Hagman?
Never once did I recieve any mail from him, no calls from him, nor did I see him at the dump.
Just because he is a Republican doesn't mean jack to me. I don't even know what the man stands for, so how in the world could I vote for him?
Well, I can tell you this, I know 4 people in one family who voted for the other guy simply because we have no idea who Ed Hagman is.
Hagman is just another puppit for brown,,, Just like riffle is!!!
If you're Republican in Mullica, you're a shoe-in, unless you screw up big time. The Nuckie Thompson legacy still remains strong throughout much of Atlantic County, especially amongst the old families where being a Republican is considered some type of a badge of honor, even when it goes against their own best interests.
We can now put the fallacy to rest that Republicans do not like tax increases. They willingly pay them year after year as long as their own party is behind them.
Here's what the local Republicans tell their candidates: "All you have to do is to attend the meetings when you get in, nothing more. You don't even have to campaign. We'll take care of everything."
RE: Republicans like tax increases
The message is clear that for the majority who voted, as well as those who did not vote, cost cutting is not a big issue in Mullica. Please, no more crocodile tears about taxes going up, school or otherwise. We won't believe you anymore.
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