The Candidate's Blog: Transcript Ten

The Absentee Mayor

I hate to be such a stickler for facts but, Mayor David Mayer said the following upon assuming office in 2010, “I understand that over the years people have lost touch and confidence in government. We can change that by bringing greater accountability, transparency and community involvement. In the coming days, I will be discussing ideas with the residents to bring greater financial discipline in government operations. These ideas can help lessen the future tax burden of homeowners. Further, I will be presenting proposals to increase public safety, generate economic growth in the township and consolidate government services to bring about efficiency.”

Have you been to a Council meeting, BOE meeting, Planning Board meeting lately? Do you feel that our elected officials have exhibited “greater accountability”? Did Mr. Mayer discuss the purchase of a quarter-of-a-million dollar armored police vehicle with you? Did Mr. Mayer discuss bringing off-track-betting to Blackwood-Clementon Road with you? Did Mr. Mayer discuss a statue and plaque at the Gloucester Township Community Park, dedicating the site to himself, with you? Did Mr. Mayer discuss a potential 25-year tax abatement offered to the Gloucester Premium Outlet developers with you? Did Mr. Mayer discuss with you cutting down all the trees around our schools so he could put up solar panels, and reward all his friends in the business? Has Mr. Mayer evoked “community involvement” in any of his decisions foisted upon the residents of Gloucester Township?

You said it, Mr. Mayer; “greater accountability, transparency and community involvement”; do you, Mr. Mayer, even understand what these words mean? So, what happened?

Remember the promise of the revitalization of the Erial Nike Base, the Hit Doctor, and the Little League World Series in Gloucester Township? The Patch wrote (February 15, 2011), “The development endeavor currently receiving big buzz around town is the brand new baseball complex being built on the old Nike missile base in the southern end of town, near Cross Keys Road.”

“being built…”? What kind of writing is this that uses present tense for something that hadn’t happened yet and, subsequently, never did? What was this, a press release from David Mayer or his sidekick Gabby Mosquera?

The Hit Doctor Debacle - another one of David Mayer’s “Failed Successes” - evidences the propensity around here of counting our chickens before our eggs have hatched. Then again, when you’re all about boasting over your so-called successes in order to get your team elected, you don’t ever have to actually deliver on the promises you make, you just float them out there and then move on to your next project. The voters will never remember, right?

Here’s more Patch reporting about Mr. Mayer that looks like another press release penned by the mayor himself, “The township's new Internet project, GT CitizensAccess, will connect citizens with Mayer, the Township Council and the local political process in an innovative way” (February 15, 2011).

Are you feeling connected yet? I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when I read all that. Have you ever tried to watch a Council meeting on the Live Stream? ‘Nough said. Thus is Dave Mayer’s claim that he’s giving access to the governing process to the residents of Gloucester Township and leads us to David Mayer’s response to the name “Mayor Blackberry.” David Mayer said, “I think you can use modern technology to be effective and improve taxpayers’ lives. Whether it’s a BlackBerry or a computer, you can respond to concerns on any given day…I’m very proud of how we’re running Gloucester Township. If my BlackBerry is what they’re talking about, we’re doing a great job." And regarding the criticism that seniors would have a problem viewing township meetings on the Live Stream, Mayer was reported to say, “They must not know the seniors I know who e-mail me.”

All this new access brought about by GT CitizensAccess , as well as Mr. Mayer’s email quote, is laughable. The fact is that Mr. Mayer doesn’t even answer emails. I have written two serious emails asking serious questions voiced by other concerned citizens as well as myself, which I have posted to both of the mayor’s township email addresses as well as published here and here on the Patch, and the mayor has found neither the time nor the courtesy to answer or even acknowledge that he has been addressed by a tax-paying resident of his township.

Mr. Mayer, do you know how to use your Blackberry, or are you purposely ignoring me because my questions are too hard for you to answer?

Again from the Patch (August 20, 2012), “Mayer said his administration has focused on stabilizing tax rates…”

Wait, stabilized tax rates…is that why real estate taxes in Camden County are the eighth highest in the nation (“Camden County, New Jersey, the only county on the top ten list that was not in New York, was ranked at 8th” – TaxPlanning: U.S.)? This is all thanks to Mr. Mayer’s Democrat party that has controlled Camden County for decades.

Has Mr. Mayer “lessened your tax burden” as he stated he would when he took office? Mr. Mayer, we don’t need our tax rates stabilized, we need them lowered. We need you to stop spending all of our money like there’s no tomorrow because, actually, for some township residents that is exactly the situation, no tomorrow. Many of us can no longer afford to live here but we can’t sell our houses either.

Gloucester Township needs a mayor who responds to the residents of the township he or she purports to represent, not the current practice of pledging fealty to the special interest groups who continue to fund political machines. We don’t need the Absentee Mayor that we have, we need a mayor who is willing to listen to the people and then respond with transparency by telling us what he or she is doing and why.

In November, the residents of Gloucester Township have a choice to make. They can vote for Team-Mayer and continue allowing the shakedown of Gloucester Township while cronyism and business as usual continues to give us the usual business…or, they can vote for a change in leadership, as well as bringing an end to one-party rule, by voting for the Gloucester Township FIRST mayoral/council team of Tanya L. Brown, Paul DiBartolo, Patricia Kline, and Joe Pauli.

I hope to see you at the polls on November 5th, 2013.