‘No’ vote to turn West Windsor election partisan (MARTIN WHITFIELD OPED) – Trentonian

I wanted to take 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 elected to the West Windsor City Council in our community’s 227-year history, I was proud that our residents see me for myself. Because if we sit down and talk, we generally have a lot more in common with each other than differences. And that has nothing to do with a “D” or “R” next to our name.

Ask yourself this question – is what we consistently see nationally in politics what we want to see as a locality? There must be something special and good about keeping things PURITY these days, especially in politics/elections. So why change now? How would this change benefit all of us and especially our independent voters? It won’t be.

We all need to agree that the divisive rhetoric and behavior needs to stop and does nothing to promote our community! West Windsor is one of the most desirable localities not only in our state, but in the country. I personally grew up in an urban, poor and very PARTISAN town. So 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 vote by a small group of Democrats in town. Which takes our independents out of the aforementioned purely political process. So why would we want to do this if we care so much about ALL of our residents?

Now ask yourself another question – isn’t this the DEMOCRACY we actually want? Isn’t this the opportunity we want for our children and the next generation? Isn’t that what my grandfather and so many other family members fought for in the deep south from slavery up and through the Civil Rights Movement to the present day? To have fair, equitable elections decided and meaningfully based on their contributions, service, character, commitment and merit? Personally, this is how I want to WIN and as a former Division 1 basketball player, how I was trained to WIN!

But if we do a little research on candidates who WIN elections vs. candidates who LOST elections, what we find in the results is clearly based on your community CV. It has nothing to do with party affiliation. For example, in the last 10 years (3-4 election cycles – mayor, local council and/or school board), the WINNERS of these elections have won based on their contributions, commitment, family values, dedication, business acumen. / experience and above all their selfless acts and years of service to our residents. It was not about political affiliation at all. Now you see the difference and maybe why there is a push for Partisan Politics in our commune?

And for those who might question transparency and involvement, there is actually more community involvement in recent years than ever before, ie social media, City Council meetings, community and social events, etc. There is more community awareness for all of us on the Board. and Administration, including knowledge of our political affiliations. This Council has attended and been visible at school, social, sporting, business and cultural events around this city and is continually engaged in conversation with our residents at all of these events. We listen and discuss concerns with our residents and as you can see we are out in the community spending countless hours on ALL things West Windsor!

But here’s the truth: This town isn’t about the two major political parties. It never was. The beauty of West Windsor and the reason it continues to rank so highly as a city and school district is that a multitude of elected and unelected individuals/residents, volunteers, past administrations, teachers/educators, parents/students and community organizations have built and catapulted this city to be what it is.

YOU – THE RESIDENTS OF THIS TOWNSHIP are what matter most, whether you are Independent, Democrat or Republican. WE ALL COLLECTIVELY CONTRIBUTED to the success of West Windsor, but in recent years, a small group of people in this great city have continuously criticized and now want to change the electoral process. Why?

Our non-partisan system has produced a current board 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 that some have unfortunately publicly said I am not a “Good Democrat” or a “True Democratic”. So what would be my chances of getting the approval of this small select group in that closed session and being selected to represent the Democrats on the ballot?

As well as creating more division in the community, what most don’t know is that this push for a Yes vote could also be a way of trying to push people like me and my many years of service in this incredible community, outside vote as a democrat. And that’s not fair, it’s certainly not democratic, and it could give someone with far fewer contributions to represent the party. Is this what we want West Windsor?

Non-partisan is the fairest and fairest choice for this township based on the makeup of our incredible residents – Independents/Democrats/Republicans.

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

So, I am undeniable PROOF that NON PARTISAN worked! Please vote “NO” on the ballot question and let’s keep working!

—Martin Whitfield

Martin Whitfield is a 2021 member of the West Windsor Community Board and previously served as a 2017 member of the West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education.