A GOP former councilman writes that he plans to run this year for mayor as an independent.
To the Editor:
The more people I meet, the greater my desire is to run for mayor of Washington Township. The more politicians that I see and hear the more I realize it's the same old rhetoric and politics put before the people.
This community deserve better. Therefore, I am announcing my intention to run for mayor as an independent. My goal is not to serve a particular party, but to serve the entire community.
I will address the waste of taxpayers' dollars via creating jobs for officials' family members and friends, as well as ill-conceived and poorly implemented property tax-abatement and PILOT (payment-in-lieu-of-taxes) ordinances. Common sense dictates that the recent PILOT ordinance be repealed, since the math will show that it will cost taxpayers millions of dollars over 25 years.
I will discuss the need for a zero-based budget that has been ignored by many administrations. Also, l will address the waste of legal fees paid to professionals, and offer a solution.
l plan to focus attention on the township's many empty commercial buildings, and work to offer incentives so that small businesses may breathe life back into those buildings and stimulate job growth. I will explain how to improve public safety by utilizing our existing police force at its full potential, and how to keep our children safe at school.
As mayor, I would govern the township the same way I governed as a councilman, with unbiased leadership. Our municipality would convert from the gravy train station for the few it has become, to a service bureau for the entire community.
With the voters' trust and my leadership, we will remove the dysfunctional political culture from our local government and make our town a community of the people, by the people, for the people.
Giancarlo D'Orazio
Washington Township
Editor's note: D'Orazio is a former Republican township councilman. His term ended after he was defeated in a 2014 primary election.
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