| I said when I de-lurked almost two years ago that
I hope we can work together to build a progressive infrastructure in this state that will eventually be as strong as the various machines.
My first effort in that direction was working to enact a strong ban on pay to play in my home town of Washington Township.
I chronicled that effort at Blue Jersey, detailing my debate with Mayor Moriarty on the merits of strong pay to play reform. We won that battle, but there are other battles ahead.
I'm writing today because I have taken the next step toward creating a more progressive and better governed New Jersey: I've decided to run for local office: Mayor of Washington Township.
I want to make it clear that I am not running against Mayor Moriarty. First, he has not announced whether he is seeking re-election, and local conventional wisdom is that he is likely not to run. Second, and more importantly, while I do have substantive differences on policy and political philosophy with Mayor Moriarty, I am not running against anyone. I am running for a vision of progressive good government that is based on what is best for our community, not for developers, contractors and well-heeled contributors.
We just launched our campaign website this morning, and I wanted the members (and lurkers) of Blue Jersey to be among the first to see it.
Here you can learn more about our Campaign for Change in Washington Township. The site is still a work in progress, so I welcome your feedback and suggestions to improve it.
I've always been civically involved and politically active. But last summer was a real eye opener for me. Along with other members of Democracy for Gloucester County, we knocked on countless doors to get folks to sign a petition strengthening our ban on pay-to-play and closing its loopholes. The more I talked with my neighbors and tried to work with town council, the more I realized that the cynicism about the influence of money in politics was not only pervasive, but "right on the money".
Still, we made the case to anyone who would listen that if we worked together as a community, we could really change the way our government operated. We were successful. 1,800 residents signed the petition - 500 more than was needed to get the issue on the ballot. Today, I'm proud to say that we have among the strongest pay-to-play bans in the entire state. It was disappointing but not surprising that town council and the mayor did not switch to supporting our ban on pay to play until after we had knocked on countless doors in 90 degree weather and collected more than enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot.
When I was knocking on those doors, I was often asked if I was running for office. When told I should, I simply laughed it off. But then, I got to thinking - if every time we needed to bring about change we had to get thousands of people to sign their name to a petition, it would be impossible to really get much of anything done.
So, I decided to throw my hat in to the ring.
I'm not running for Mayor to simply "take on the political establishment" or tilt at windmills, and I wouldn't be running if I didn't believe I could win. I'm running for Mayor to bring about much-needed change and to hopefully show an example that can be replicated as to how a progressive challenger can assemble a grass roots coalition of supporters and win.
I'm really excited about this campaign and I am especially looking forward to working with my neighbors inside and outside of Washington Township so we can stop wasting taxpayer money, fix a broken political system and end the culture of pay-to-play that is holding Washington Township and so many other towns back from reaching their full potential.
We're going to fund our campaign through contributions from real people, not businesses looking to get a sweet-heart deal. The only thing that those who contribute to our campaign for change are going to get is good government that takes into account the needs of all the taxpayers, so we need your help to counter the financial resources of those that favor the status quo of politics as usual. Something is really quite wrong when we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on unnecessary studies to reward politically connected consultants, and we need change.
Election Day is less than four months away. Even if you don't live in Washington Township, but still believe that the best form of government is one that is open, honest and beholden only to the people, then I hope you'll contribute to our Campaign for Change.
We are taking our campaign door-to-door to listen to the interests and concerns of our neighbors. More than simply asking for their vote, we'll be encouraging them to get active in their government. We'll also be running a very active campaign online - especially relying on the netroots to help us spread the word and organize support. I hope I can count on your support. Our Campaign for Change isn't primarily about me. It is about showing what can happen when people work together to take their government back.
Also, while you have your credit card out to contribute , I hope you'll show some love to Blue Jersey as well. This site is a fantastic resource for progressive New Jerseyans and I look forward to working with all of you, not only on our Campaign for Change, but on a whole array of progressive projects.
Thanks,
Josh Aronovitch
change@joshformayor.com |
