To the editor:
Come November, I will be enthusiastically voting for Rich Smith for Montgomery Township Committee. The current Republican team is doing a great job and Rich’s unique background and dedication to Montgomery will ensure that we stay on the right track.
Rich and his wife, Valerie, moved to Montgomery 15 years ago and quickly became involved in the community. Rich was one of the founding officers of the Montgomery Township Education Foundation – a nonprofit committed to supporting our public school system and children (like his two daughters). During his time with the MTEF, its biggest accomplishment was securing funding for the construction of Cougar Stadium.
Rich and his family also helped lead the local relief effort for Hurricane Katrina victims in 2005. Along with several other families, Rich and Valerie organized and obtained donations. Not only did they gather enough supplies to fill up a 50-foot trailer, they also drove down to Biloxi, Mississippi to deliver the goods.
In addition, Rich’s community service includes volunteer work with our local government. He is currently serving on Montgomery’s Zoning Board and is a former member of the Transportation Advisory Committee.
However, what makes me so excited about Rich is his construction engineering and business background. Rich has worked for some of the largest construction companies in the nation and is an infrastructure expert. Montgomery faces several significant challenges with our sewer system and roadways over the next few years. Clearly, he has the right experience and the right skills at the right time. On Nov. 8, please vote for Rich Smith. Montgomery needs him.
Christine Madrid
Montgomery
Want to learn more about Rich Smith? Here is his complete Bio
Rich and his wife, Valerie are 15 year residents of Montgomery and have two children, one a recent graduate of Montgomery High School and one currently attending Montgomery High School. Rich is a Vice President and Regional Manager with DPR Construction, a national construction company specializing in mutli-million dollar advanced technology buildings. He holds a B.S. in Construction Engineering from Arizona State University. Rich has worked for three of the world’s largest construction and engineering firms during his 30 year and brings a vast amount of relevant experience to the Township Committee. He currently serves on the Township’s Zoning Board of Adjustment and served for a year on the Township’s Transportation Committee.
Active in the community, Rich coached Montgomery Girls Basketball (2000-2004) and the Girls Softball League (1998-2006). In 2005, Rich was one of the original board members of the Montgomery Township Education Foundation and served on that board until 2009. He Co-Chaired the North Princeton Development Center Citizens Committee in 2004. Rich was also one of the organizers of “Operation Friends”, the Hurricane Katrina Relief Assistance effort in 2005 and was one of the Montgomery citizens that drove to Biloxi, Mississippi to deliver the truckload of donations collected in the Township.
Rich says that he and his wife Val have been fortunate to live in many different parts of the country and there’s a reason we decided to stay in Montgomery for the past15 years and raise our family here. It’s a diverse community with great people willing to work together to make good things happen. I’m one who believes that we shouldn’t look to government to solve every problem or need and in times like this, we need to be really careful with the taxpayers’ money. Everyone in Montgomery has been affected by this economic downturn and we have to make sure that the taxes we all pay are being spent only on the things that are absolutely essential.
Additional Letters to the Editor about the Candidates/Issues
Dear Editor,
At the last Montgomery Township Committee meeting, I got to see one of our local candidates in action and I didn’t like it. Democratic candidate Mark Petraske spoke during the public comment section and confirmed my fears about him. He just doesn’t get it. He is an old school tax and spend, big government politician.
At the meeting, Petraske came out against the upcoming municipal court consolidation plan with Hillsborough. This plan will save the town $70,000 a year, but Petraske doesn’t believe these savings are worth it, even though the service to the residents will be the same. This shows extremely poor judgment on his part.
Sharing services is one of the ways that the Republican team is fulfilling its vision of “Better, Smarter, Government”. Along with the savings from the court consolidation, the Republican-controlled Township Committee has entered into agreements with Hopewell and Pennington Boroughs to provide them health and animal control services, generating more than $70,000 in annual revenue for Montgomery. And at the last meeting, they finalized an agreement with Franklin Township to share a purchasing agent, saving another $25,000 a year.
Petraske also complained about meetings not currently being televised by the Township. I would like to point out that while the local Democrats were in control, meetings were not televised due to the cost of the required equipment and manpower – about $30,000. However, instead of looking for the smarter way to accomplish this, Petraske would like us to just jump in with both feet and spend the money.
That’s not how the Republican team deals with things. They look for the most efficient solution and have found it. A new local club at the Montgomery High School has been established called Montgomery Connect. These students are going to take the initiative to record important meetings and events at no cost to the town. There is also an upcoming meeting with Comcast and township officials to discuss getting the students’ content on channel 14.
Now that’s “Better, Smarter, Government”. If you sum up all of these items, they save taxpayers almost $200,000 while providing the same level of service. Isn’t this how government should work? I am proud of the local Republican team and look forward to voting for their candidate, Rich Smith, on November 8th. Now is not the time to go back to the failed policies of the past.
Margaret Windrem
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Dear Editor,
On November 8th, we have a clear choice for Montgomery Township Committee. We can vote for an exciting fresh face or someone that is pretending to be one. The fresh face is Republican candidate Rick Smith and the pretender is Democratic candidate Mark Petraske.
It’s amazing to watch the local Democratic team trying to paint Petraske as a new choice. Nothing could be further from the truth. Petraske ran for Montgomery Township Committee in 2003 and came in last place. For years afterwards, he supported the Democrats as they raised our taxes by 30%, increased debt to over $60 million, and depleted our municipal surplus by 75%. Fresh face? I don’t think so.
And let’s not forget that Petraske was former Governor John Corzine’s handpicked General Assembly candidate in 2009 – also coming in last place. Petraske was a vocal supporter of Corzine’s reelection and his job-killing tax and spend policies, so don’t believe the campaign rhetoric. Petraske is an old-school tax and spender and he’s not going to fool me. Montgomery can’t afford him.
Come Election Day, I will be voting for Rich Smith. Rich’s construction engineering and business experience give him a fresh, pragmatic perspective that will be valuable on the Township Committee. More importantly, he represents the new way of doing things in Montgomery and will ensure that we stay on the right track.
Overall, the Republican Township Committee team is doing a great job – spending is below 2004 levels without impacting services, the town’s Hurricane Irene response was impressive, the air cannon issue in Skillman was resolved, and they gained a commitment from the state to pave a portion of Route 206. What else can we ask for? Now is not the time to go back to the failed policies of the past. Please join me in voting for Rich Smith.
Janet Linnus
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To the Editor,
In this year’s campaign season, I’ve heard some complain that the Montgomery Township Committee meetings should be videotaped and the videotape posted on the Township website. To do that, however, would require that the Township, using taxpayer dollars and Township employees, make and certify the accuracy of the videotape, which would be a public record under state law.
What a shame to spend taxpayer dollars that way. In addition to actually attending the Township Committee meetings, which are publicly noticed and open to the public, Montgomery residents already can easily review the content of the meetings at their convenience and from their own homes.
First, the Montgomery Township website, www.montgomery.nj.us, posts the minutes of the meetings and provides a link to the official audio tape of everything said at the public Township Committee meetings. Second, the meetings are already videotaped. The Montgomery Tea Party has been videotaping the Township Committee meetings for months and anyone may view those videotapes by going to the organization’s website: www.themontgomeryteaparty.org.
I applaud the current Township Committee for using taxpayer dollars wisely, for focusing on what really matters, for watching every penny of spending — now down to 2004 levels — and for holding the line on taxes.
Respectfully submitted, Maryann Guill Couch, M.D.
NEWSFLASH: Sadly, the local Democratic Party and their candidate, Mark Petraske, are running the dirtiest campaign Montgomery has ever seen!
LIE: The Republican Township Committee is planning to eliminate the police force ; FACT: There is no plan, it doesn’t exist, and no Township Committee member even supports the concept. This charge is so ridiculous that Mayor Caliguire had to respond and set the record straight: Response to Democratic Falsehood
LIE: The Republican Township Committee is against videotaping meetings ; FACT: Current Township Committees members are working on a plan to televise meetings AT NO COST TO THE TAXPAYERS. The Democrats had almost a decade to televise meetings while in control and NEVER DID SO!
Why are they lying and trying to mislead the public on a range of issues? Because their record of tax, borrow, and spend is crystal clear. Do you want to read the real story about their candidate, Mark Petraske? CLICK HERE and CLICK HERE
The Democrats are trying to hide these facts from you. Don’t be fooled! Mark Petraske is an old school big government liberal. He supported former Governor Jon Corzine for years and quietly stood by as his local team pushed Montgomery into massive debt. (GO TO THE ISSUES PAGE FOR MORE DETAILS)
Rich Smith – in his own words (see our newspaper ad below!)
To kickoff the 2011 campaign, Rich sat down to discuss his background and the important issues facing Montgomery:
1. Why did you decide to run?
I have always been the kind of person to jump in and help and serve my community when there’s a need. My family and I have lived here for 15 years and with one daughter in college and another in high school I decided it’s time to get involved and serve the community in a more meaningful way. Given the nature of the local economy, I feel that my business and management experience combined with my construction management and engineering background would be very helpful as we tackle some pressing issues.
2. What changes would you like to see made in Montgomery?
I think we need to reduce the township’s debt, reduce spending further and hold the line on municipal taxes. I know that in our family and other families, we all keep a watchful eye on debt and our budget, and our local government should do the same.
The township has recently been on the right track with Mayor Caliguire and the Township Committee getting the ball rolling on shared services when they had the county pick up our 911 dispatch services for much less than it was costing us to do it ourselves. I’d like to see us really accelerate the effort to share and consolidate services with neighboring towns or the county. For example, Montgomery pays a judge, a prosecutor, a public defender, and all the associated costs of operating our own municipal court. Sharing a court with a neighboring town won’t diminish the level of service, but it will save us a lot of money.
3. What things do you feel that the Township Committee has done well?
Given the overall economy and lower township revenues I think the current Township Committee has done a great job of controlling the costs of our local government. The 2011 budget level was reduced to 2004 spending levels and they have proven that doing more with less is possible.
The Township Committee also acted wisely in selling Skillman Village to Somerset County. Once the sale closes, which should be soon, the township will have preserved over 250 acres of open space and lessened the township’s debt.
4. What is your professional background?
I graduated from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Construction Engineering. I have worked all over the country for some of the largest construction management firms in the world working on major projects in the public and private sector including; pharmaceutical, government, hotel and microelectonics. This involved coordinating all the design, construction and development aspects of multi-million dollar projects from beginning to end. My family and I moved to Skillman in 1996 to open and manage a regional office for a Fortune 500 high-tech construction company.
5. What type of community service have you engaged in?
How much time do we have!
I coached my two daughters’ softball teams, sometimes both teams at the same time, from 1998-2006. I also coached girls basketball from 2000-2004. It was very rewarding to coach the girls, watch them become great players and teach them about good character whether we won or lost.
I was one of the original Board members of the Montgomery Township Education Foundation and served as the construction manager for Cougar Stadium.
One of the most rewarding things I have done since living here was to be one of the organizers of “Operation Friends”, the Hurricane Katrina Relief Assistance effort in 2005. To see our entire community volunteer and donate their time and money to help people they didn’t even know was incredible. I was one of the Montgomery citizens that drove to Biloxi, Mississippi with my wife Valerie and Frank and Noel Drift to deliver the tractor trailer load of donations collected in the township. It was truly amazing to see the effort that so many Montgomery citizens put into helping others during an extremely difficult time.
In 2004 I Co-Chaired the North Princeton Development Center (now known as Skillman Village) Citizens Committee with my wife Valerie. This diverse committee worked long and hard to get Montgomery and the state to discuss the NPDC site and settle some of the final issues that were stalling the sale of the property.
Finally, I currently serve on the Montgomery’s Zoning Board of Adjustment and served for a year on the Transportation Advisory Committee.
6. What are Montgomery’s best features as a community?
Montgomery’s best features include its many talented volunteers in health and public safety, in private organizations, in government and in our library and schools, who provide outstanding services to the town. We also have excellent schools and an amazing amount of natural beauty to enjoy, such as the Sourland Mountains and the Delaware-Raritan Canal. Montgomery also has an extensive network of hiking pathways and 30% of the township itself is preserved open space. With the soon-to-be addition of Skillman Park, another 256 acres will be added to this total. I will continue this effort to ensure that these natural gifts are enjoyed by future generations.
7. Any closing comments?
From an early age, I was taught to be responsible for my actions, work hard and to also help others in need. I became an Eagle Scout when I was young which instilled in me many of the values I have today.
I am keenly aware that many people in town are still feeling financial stress and are worried about the value of their homes and the amount of taxes they pay to live here. I truly believe that we shouldn’t look to government to solve every problem and we must be careful and responsible with taxpayers’ money. Many people in Montgomery have been affected by this economic downturn and we have to make sure that the taxes we all pay are being spent only on the things that are absolutely essential.
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