Democrat freeholder candidates claim a Republican majority wants county workers to capitulate to privatization threats.
To the Editor:
As Democrat Salem County freeholder candidates, we wish to comment on two recent issues in county government as currently led by a Republican freeholder board majority.
One issue is a petition to reduce the number of freeholders from seven to five. The other is proposed privatization or outsourcing of emergency dispatch services and medical services at the jail.
The EMS and jail moves are being proposed as a result of a financial crisis that Salem County is now facing. This been brought on by total mismanagement by the majority party.
The financial crisis has been known to Republican officials for months. However, instead of explaining to county employees at that time the position the county was in, then working together to solve the problem, Republican Freeholder Director Julie Acton chose to use a bullying tactic. Much like Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, she chose confrontation instead of cooperation.
We as freeholders have worked with our collective bargaining units for years. We have always found them to be reasonable when approached as partners, not as servants.
After Republican leaders threatened privatization and the loss of government jobs, they have proposed a meeting with the labor units. Most likely they expect the workers to buckle under to fear rather than work together to find a solution.
We Democrat candidates join county Sheriff Chuck Miller, Pennsville Police Chief Allen J. Cummings, and other law enforcement and emergency services leaders, in opposing this move.
We do, however, support a reduction in the number of freeholders. Salem and Gloucester counties both have seven-member freeholder boards. Gloucester County has 288,000 residents, while Salem has fewer than 65,000. We have too many freeholders in Salem County with little results to show. We feel that the folks of the county deserve better.
Lee R. Ware
Freeholder
Salem County
Note: This letter was also signed by incumbent Ware's freeholder running mates, Earl Gage and Charles Hassler. Acton is seeking re-election on the GOP ticket.
Spring brings great stagecraft to N.J.
To the Editor:
During this time of the year, my thoughts turn to all of the aspiring actors on the stages of schools and in our communities.
For the most part, I find actors a bore and insincere. After all, their job description is to wear other people's clothes and speak other people's words as they play make-pretend for a living. However, I do have respect for the actors who ply their craft on the stage.
Movie actors may take three months to make a two-hour movie. Their mistakes are then edited out and we see only their finest moments. And then we give them great awards for perfection! Oh, if only life worked like that for the rest of us.
In movies, so much depends on the director. On television, actors depend on the writers, and they also get retakes. But stage actors have no such escape. They not only must execute their own parts, but must also seamlessly cover fellow actors who may make a misstep or flub a line. That takes skill and talent.
If you've never attended or supported the aspiring thespians in your locality, I'd encourage you to do so. I believe acting on the stage is acting in the purest sense of the word.
Ken Frank
Pitman
Send a letter to the editor of South Jersey Times at sjletters@njadvancemedia.com