Election Day

Today Middlesex County holds it's local elections, to decide the mayors of the townships in the county and decide on four very serious questions.

It's an event taken quite seriously in North Brunswick - driving down some of the major roads, you can see dozens of signs and posters endorsing candidates and pushing for a 'Yes' or 'No' vote on the important local issues.

Living where we do, however, the local candidates - including standing Mayor Francis 'Mac' Womack - decided not to bother campaigning. Perhaps the vast majority of our neighbours are undocumented aliens and not on the electoral roll - or maybe they just figured our votes weren't worth winning. Whatever the reason, you can't help but feel a little left out!

As it happened, I always take an interest in elections. I'm disappointed so many people I know don't bother voting. At the turn of the 20th Century, women were starving themselves and throwing themselves under racehorses to win the right to vote. Now their descendants sit filing their nails and chewing gum, not taking an interest in what political decisions are happening around them.

In the township of North Brunswick, the major issue was whether or not Francis Womack would be reelected as mayor or not.

Despite the apparent snub of not campaigning on my street, 'Mac' Womack is clearly a fine candidate for reelection. In the past three years, this mild mannered Democrat has established a position of leadership and order in a troubled township.

He's reduced crime, made the political process more transparent by televising public township meetings and is dedicated to making North Brunswick a pleasant place to live by stopping urban sprawl and preserving parkland and open spaces.

His election promises included getting a hold on local developers, so the township didn't get overwhelmed by business development as has happened in nearby New Brunswick and Highland Park. He's also promised to dedicate more effort to environmental issues and the community by 'creating a livable and welcoming environment in town' and constructing a new local library and senior centre.

The drawback to Womack's pledges are a possible rise in property taxes, which are often offset by increased business development and more conservative community spending.

At the end of the day, residents of North Brunswick have to decide whether they're willing to spend a little more in order to make their community a more enjoyable place to live or not. Given the high tax rates of other local townships (Highland Park especially) I think 'Mac' has quite a good handle on things.

On the election ballot are also four questions facing residents of Middlesex County. Voters are asked to vote 'Yes' or 'No' on them.

1: Permanently dedicate all revenue earned from last year's sales tax toward property tax relief.

I think people should definitely vote 'no' on this issue. The extortionate property taxes in New Jersey are no joke - even a modest home can cost the owner as much as a rent-cheque every month. However taking money from one stream of taxation revenue to offset another tax seems totally redundant. This just illustrates that the current taxation system in New Jersey is skewed and needs to be totally reassessed.

2: Approve borrowing $450 million for stem cell research.

Some of the leading research into stem cells is done just down the road, in New Brunswick. We already have a reputation in New Jersey as a leader in the field of medicine and pharmaceutical developments. A gamble into the future of Stem Cell research might pay off handsomely in a few years time. However, the $450 million has to come from somewhere and eventually residents of New Jersey will feel that pinch. My recommendation is to say 'no' to this question and source the money some other way (perhaps with all that sales tax left over from last year!)

3: Approve borrowing $200 million for open space preservation.

New Jersey is known as The Garden State. Once you get passed the big industrial and chemical plants on the outskirts of New York City, you really see that she lives up to her name. With beautiful woodland, rivers and forests, New Jersey is absolutely gorgeous. The problem is that continued urban development and sprawl threatens to swallow all the lovely countryside up. I think $200 million to preserve the beautiful forests and greenlands of New Jersey for future generations is a wise investment. Vote yes.

4: Revise language outlining when voting rights can be denied by deleting from the state Constitution the phrase "idiot or insane person" and replacing it with the phrase "person who has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting."

Vote 'yes'! As fun as old fashioned and politically incorrect language is, by making this change in the state constitution, we make it absolutely clear under what circumstances a person's right to vote can be refused. Besides, this restriction clearly isn't being enforced, because we saw plenty of idiots march into the ballot centres to vote for [CENSORED - Editorial Bear]

So there we have my brief election overview - if and when I hear the results of the local elections, I will update you on them.