Vote ‘No’ to make West Windsor elections partisan (MARTIN WHITFIELD OPED) – Trentonian

I wanted to take the time, as a respected Democrat and community advocate, to personally encourage West Windsor residents to vote “No” on the Election Day ballot question to make our municipal elections “partisan.” We have had “non-partisan” elections for over 30 years and the system works.

As the first African-American man elected to West Windsor City Council in our municipality’s 227-year history, I am proud for our residents to see Me for Me. Because if we sit down and talk, we generally have many more commonalities than differences. And that has nothing to do with a ‘D’ or an ‘R’ next to our name.

Ask yourself this question: is what we constantly see in politics at the national level what we want to see as a municipality? There has to be something special and good about keeping things PURITY these days, especially in politics and elections. So why change now? How would this change benefit all of us and especially our independent voters? It won’t.

We must all agree that divisive rhetoric and behavior must stop and does nothing to advance our municipality! West Windsor is one of the most attractive municipalities not only in our state, but also in the country. I personally grew up in an urban, poor, and very PARTISAN city. I definitely know the difference and have always been grateful to live here.

More importantly, I am honored to say that I was ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE, not because of my party affiliation or because I was selected to be on the ballot by a small group of city Democrats. Which takes our Independents out of the pure political process mentioned above. So why would we want to do that if we care so much about ALL of our residents?

Now ask yourself another question: isn’t that the DEMOCRACY we really want? Isn’t that the opportunity we want for our children and the next generation? Isn’t that what my grandfather and so many other members of my family fought for in the Deep South from slavery to the Civil Rights Movement and to this day? Have an election that is fair, equitable, decisive and based significantly on each person’s contributions, their service, their character, their commitment and their merit? Personally, that’s the way I want to WIN and as a former Division 1 basketball player, the way I was trained to WIN!

But, if we do a little research on the candidates who WON elections versus the candidates who LOST elections, what we discover in the results is clearly based on the resume of their community. It has nothing to do with party affiliation. For example, in the last 10 years (3-4 election cycles – Mayor, City Council and/or School Board), the WINNERS of those elections won based on their contributions, their commitment, their family values, their dedication, their vision for business. /experience and, above all, their selfless acts and years of service to our residents. It wasn’t about political affiliation at all. Now do you see the difference and perhaps why there is a push for partisan politics in our municipality?

And for those who may question transparency and engagement, there is actually more community engagement in recent years than ever before, i.e. social media, Town Hall meetings, community and social events, etc. There is more community awareness about all of us on the Council. and the Administration, including knowing our political affiliations. This Council has participated and been visible in school, social, sporting, commercial and cultural events around this municipality and continually participates in conversations with our residents at all of these events. We listen and discuss concerns with our residents and as you can see, we are in the community and spend countless hours on EVERYTHING related to West Windsor.

But here’s the REAL thing: this township is not about the two major political parties. It never has been. The beauty of West Windsor and the reason it still ranks so highly as a municipality and school district is that a large number of elected and non-elected individuals/residents, volunteers, past administrations, teachers/educators, parents/students and organizations communities built and catapulted this municipality to be what it is.

YOU – the RESIDENTS OF THIS MUNICIPALITY are what matters most, whether you are independent, Democrat or Republican. ALL OF US HAVE COLLECTIVELY CONTRIBUTED to the success of West Windsor, but in recent years, a small group of people in this great municipality continually criticize and now want to change the electoral process. Because?

Our non-partisan system has produced a current council that exudes diversity of thought, but also ethnic and religious diversity (2 Jewish Americans, 1 Indian American, 1 Polish American, and 1 African American), political diversity (3 Democrats, 1 Independent, 1 Republican) , and gender diversity (3 women, 2 men).

If residents vote “Yes” on the ballot question to become partisan, I will have to be selected by the same small group of people who, sadly, some have publicly said that I am neither a “good Democrat” nor a “true Democrat.” So what would be my chances of getting approval from this small select group in that closed-door meeting and being selected to represent the Democrats on the ballot?

In addition to creating more division in the community, most don’t know that this push for a “Yes” vote could also be a way to try to get people like me, and my many years of service to this incredible community, out of the community. vote as a democrat. And that’s not right, it’s definitely not democratic and would potentially give someone with far fewer contributions to represent the party. Is that what we want in West Windsor?

The non-partisan election is the most fair and equitable for this municipality, based on the makeup of our incredible residents: independents, Democrats and Republicans.

I am proud to be the first African-American man elected to West Windsor Town Council, because I won on merit, experience, contributions and pure love for this township, not party approval.

So I am undeniable PROOF that NON-PARTISANSHIP has worked! Vote ‘NO’ on the ballot question and let’s keep working!

– Martin Whitfield

Martin Whitfield has been a member of the West Windsor Township Council since 2021, and prior to that was on the West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education since 2017.