From my purple state perch in Chapel Hill, NC, I often read the local political updates from my old stomping grounds - NJ D - 7 - where your existing Congressman, Tom Malinowski, has proven his worth with the hard work he's done for every one of his constituents.
At the same time, the other candidate, Kean, Jr., manifests a fragile sense of self-worth, evidenced by a third Congressional run and a campaign of apparent lies. Kean, Jr. desperately seeks validation and approval from an accomplished father who has yet to give it.
Finding himself between Trump and his well-meaning father should be an easy decision. Sadly, it's not. He's stuck in Trumpworld. Simply put, voting for Kean, Jr. is highly risky for the well-being of your District. Summit's Ward 1 “bipartisan” election poses a different set of issues. Here’s the problem. It's ostensibly “bipartisan,” yet both candidates are running under the banner of political parties.
All politics is now national, so don't believe that elections are about potholes.
Here’s the bigger problem: On January 6, 2021, the Republican Party died after a five-year illness. The cause was a virulent (aka lethal) disease known as Trumpism. What followed was a majority of Republicans continuing their unimaginable obsequiousness toward a man with no sense of loyalty or honor: a veritable draft-dodging, bigoted, kleptocrat.
I guess the two straightforward questions that were not answered and not asked by the (overly polite) Summit Dems to the well-funded Ward 1 REPUBLICAN candidate, Ms. Hamlet, are the following:
1. Do you support your fellow Republican, Liz Cheney? 2. Do you support the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022) decision where the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade (1973), which guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion?
I'm hoping that most of Summit’s women will demonstrate their disgust with the Republican party by voting for a Democrat, as Ms. Hamlet’s answer to #1 is most likely no, and to #2 is most likely yes. And, of course, this matters. It matters for your daughters, wives, sisters, and mothers. Liz Cheney has shown real courage and sacrifice, and the Supreme Court is more regressively politicized than at any time since Reconstruction.
Now, admittedly, I don't know Mr. O’Sullivan, and I'm sure he's your basic Summit family man, but I do know the honorable, straight-shooting Jordan Glatt, who was one of Summit’s most accomplished mayors. His support should be more than adequate for the vast majority of independents in Summit who are watching and listening.
What you Summit folks don’t want is to wake up in 2023 and find that you have a Trump sycophant in Washington and your very own Marjorie Taylor Greene in Summit.
George Lucaci
Former President, Summit Board of Education