The coming election on September 15th, 2020 in the Village of Lawrence is a very consequential moment for the future of our beloved village. We live in unprecedented times, from both an economic, medical and political perspective. Many of our fellow residents have faced challenges as result of the lockdown and Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. These challenges are calling for new leadership for our community.
Our village must have leaders who understand the issues at stake. Very simply we need fresh governance, that is both responsive and representative to the residents of Lawrence.
Lawrence is great place to live but it can and should be better. To strengthen our community, we need to focus on three areas.
First, we need hold the line on raising taxes. Besides the toll the virus has taken on the lives and the families of many of our neighbors and friends, Covid-19 has been an economic catastrophe for many of our citizens. Too many of our neighbors and friends are facing stunted and shuttered businesses as well as the ever-present and real prospect of short-term and even long-term unemployment. Time and again Mayor Alex Edelman has stated that he favors raising taxes, by noting that if you can afford to live in Lawrence you can afford to pay more taxes. In these uncertain times such a proposition must be stopped in its tracks.
Second, there has been much debate about what to do with the proceeds from the sale of the old sewer facility near Route-878 and Rock Hall Road. Mayor Edelman is frantically obsessed with building an indoor pool complex, that is geared primarily for country club users. Currently, such a proposition is amongst the silliest and most frivolous proposals possible. We have seen with many of our children and grandchildren being home from school the need to make our community more family friendly.
Lawrence is in dire need of real bike lanes, as increasing numbers of our residents are on bikes, especially children and we need to do our utmost to guarantee their safety, without disrupting traffic.
The community is also I need of another park/playground, it is almost shameful that Lawrence is without a genuinely nice place to play that that is both spacious and easily accessible on foot to all its residents.
Mayor Edelman’s response to the demand for a new park has been brusque and sporadic placement of a handful of benches sparsely laid out on busy Rock Hall Road.
Thirdly, we must seriously begin to repair and upgrade our local infrastructure. In too many parts of village our roads are crumbling; we have pushed this off for too long. The more we wait the more it will cost, we cannot do it all at once, but it must be done. We need cost effective plan to embark on this vital project.
The cost for these proposals is pennies when compared to the construction cost and upkeep of unnecessary pool complex that we cannot afford very few really want.
The way forward for our village is an agenda focused on our roads, our kids and our pocketbooks. The Lawrence Peoples’ Party led Mayoral candidate Danny Goldstein and his slate of trustee hopefuls Bruce Backman and Dr. Joel Preminger understand what is at stake and will work tirelessly to improve life for the taxpaying residents who live in the Village of Lawrence.
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