Post by admin on Dec 28, 2007 9:44:50 GMT -5
"(Schnurr) shares our vision and our optimism for the future of Freehold," Mayor Michael Wilson read from a prepared statement. "He will help us to continue to develop new and innovative ideas for the betterment of our town."
Schnurr said Thursday that as councilman, he hopes to cleanse the town of what he called its "partisan atmosphere."
"I would like to put the last few months of the previous election cycle behind us and move forward to improve the quality of life in Freehold Borough," Schnurr said, also reading from prepared notes.
"We need to listen to each other" without concern for party affiliation or group identification, and to pick good ideas regardless of where they came from, he added
To Councilman Schnurr,
I am writing this open letter to you because I know that you still read this site. I was sorry to see you delete so many ( All ) of your posts. Although we have met, this is where I learned the most about you and you have long been one of the sane voices on this site. You demonstrated an ability to put up a differing point of view without being hostile toward others. I would like to believe that you will have the courage and integrity to still communicate with us all on this open web site.
I highlighted the statements from the Asbury Park Press for a reason. I agree with the Mayor, we need people sitting up on that council who will have an optimists approach to our town. I know that you are a person who fits the bill and I know you have also instilled that Freehold Borough pride in your son, Michael, after what you told me about his Eagles Scout project.
The other highlighted statements are your own. I agree with you one hundred percent that there is a need to get past all of the recent partisanship. IMO, what has occurred in recent months is nothing more than a disgrace. There is enough blame to go around toward everybody, myself included.
If you are to put partisanship aside, you will have to start with your own council members. The recent events have shown that they are all far more partisan than they have let on in the past. What we have seen in the papers is an absolute disgrace. I hope that you, George, will play a roll in changing that.
I will speak for me and only me. I believe that this is a great town with great people. Even so, I have demonstrated that I am a cautious optimist. I grew up watching a beautiful seaside resort go down hill and a really bad way. When I look around town, I see so many parallels here that hurt that seaside resort. In other words, if this town council is not proactive, we could easily be just like Asbury Park and Ocean Grove as they were fifteen to twenty years ago. " The land of the newly wed and almost dead" as we used to say. All of the elements are present. This town teeters and could go one way or the other. I was, and am still, attracted to the fact that FB is a working class town. That can change if our elected leaders do not wise up.
Getting back to the partisanship, we need to see leaders who will listen. Not just wait and see, but act and listen. Take my advice, councilman, when someone asks a question, do not call them a GOP malcontent. That is cheap and in bad taste. Have the courage to answer the question, even if the answer is one that will not be welcome. Show some respect and realize the question comes about for a good reason and the person is asking out of genuine concern. That is what a leader does.
When the going gets tough, do not push away the very people who want to work with you. The ones who have tried to work with you. That is cowardice. Do not compare them to extremists who have never tried to help. That, too, is cheap. Your constituents who want to work with you will ask tough questions. Show some courage and take on those questions and above all, do not push those people away. We have seen too much of that .
This time last year, I had a massive sense of optimism for this town. There was a solid group of us who were working together with a positive future ahead. Fast foward to the recent partisanship and we now have ruined friendships and division where neither should have occurred, and have for all the wrong reasons.
As I said, the blame goes all the way around. But my focus here is on those who call themselves leaders. Their recent reactions have been horrible, have been very partisan, and have not been the reactions of leaders. George, I hope you have been watching and learning so that you will be better than that.
I am far from being one of the worst critics of the Mayor and council. I have always recognized that our town has had to face challenges that we did not ask for. I do not fault the elected leaders for their mistakes, but in how they handle themselves afterward.
I am sure many do not believe it, but I am very much a fence sitter. I want to have faith that our governing body is on the right track. I want to work with them far more than I want to work against them. Recent partisan events have shaken my faith in them. George, I hope you can do something to restore that faith.
Either way, George, you have a tough job ahead and I do wish you the best of luck. We will all be watching with interest.
Brian
Schnurr said Thursday that as councilman, he hopes to cleanse the town of what he called its "partisan atmosphere."
"I would like to put the last few months of the previous election cycle behind us and move forward to improve the quality of life in Freehold Borough," Schnurr said, also reading from prepared notes.
"We need to listen to each other" without concern for party affiliation or group identification, and to pick good ideas regardless of where they came from, he added
To Councilman Schnurr,
I am writing this open letter to you because I know that you still read this site. I was sorry to see you delete so many ( All ) of your posts. Although we have met, this is where I learned the most about you and you have long been one of the sane voices on this site. You demonstrated an ability to put up a differing point of view without being hostile toward others. I would like to believe that you will have the courage and integrity to still communicate with us all on this open web site.
I highlighted the statements from the Asbury Park Press for a reason. I agree with the Mayor, we need people sitting up on that council who will have an optimists approach to our town. I know that you are a person who fits the bill and I know you have also instilled that Freehold Borough pride in your son, Michael, after what you told me about his Eagles Scout project.
The other highlighted statements are your own. I agree with you one hundred percent that there is a need to get past all of the recent partisanship. IMO, what has occurred in recent months is nothing more than a disgrace. There is enough blame to go around toward everybody, myself included.
If you are to put partisanship aside, you will have to start with your own council members. The recent events have shown that they are all far more partisan than they have let on in the past. What we have seen in the papers is an absolute disgrace. I hope that you, George, will play a roll in changing that.
I will speak for me and only me. I believe that this is a great town with great people. Even so, I have demonstrated that I am a cautious optimist. I grew up watching a beautiful seaside resort go down hill and a really bad way. When I look around town, I see so many parallels here that hurt that seaside resort. In other words, if this town council is not proactive, we could easily be just like Asbury Park and Ocean Grove as they were fifteen to twenty years ago. " The land of the newly wed and almost dead" as we used to say. All of the elements are present. This town teeters and could go one way or the other. I was, and am still, attracted to the fact that FB is a working class town. That can change if our elected leaders do not wise up.
Getting back to the partisanship, we need to see leaders who will listen. Not just wait and see, but act and listen. Take my advice, councilman, when someone asks a question, do not call them a GOP malcontent. That is cheap and in bad taste. Have the courage to answer the question, even if the answer is one that will not be welcome. Show some respect and realize the question comes about for a good reason and the person is asking out of genuine concern. That is what a leader does.
When the going gets tough, do not push away the very people who want to work with you. The ones who have tried to work with you. That is cowardice. Do not compare them to extremists who have never tried to help. That, too, is cheap. Your constituents who want to work with you will ask tough questions. Show some courage and take on those questions and above all, do not push those people away. We have seen too much of that .
This time last year, I had a massive sense of optimism for this town. There was a solid group of us who were working together with a positive future ahead. Fast foward to the recent partisanship and we now have ruined friendships and division where neither should have occurred, and have for all the wrong reasons.
As I said, the blame goes all the way around. But my focus here is on those who call themselves leaders. Their recent reactions have been horrible, have been very partisan, and have not been the reactions of leaders. George, I hope you have been watching and learning so that you will be better than that.
I am far from being one of the worst critics of the Mayor and council. I have always recognized that our town has had to face challenges that we did not ask for. I do not fault the elected leaders for their mistakes, but in how they handle themselves afterward.
I am sure many do not believe it, but I am very much a fence sitter. I want to have faith that our governing body is on the right track. I want to work with them far more than I want to work against them. Recent partisan events have shaken my faith in them. George, I hope you can do something to restore that faith.
Either way, George, you have a tough job ahead and I do wish you the best of luck. We will all be watching with interest.
Brian