Letter: Union County Mayors Must Embrace Affordable Housing Opportunities

To the editor:

The NAACP opposes the attempts by Union County mayors Colleen Mahr of Fanwood and Sal Bonaccorso of Clark to plot with other Union County elected officials to derail New Jersey’s fair housing policies.

Governor Christie has unsuccessfully tried to gut our fair housing laws since the day he took office, and we’re not going to permit these elected officials to pick up where he left off.

New Jersey is one of the most segregated states in the country in large part because of exclusionary zoning policies.

More than 120 towns in our state – including 10 in Union County – have already come to the table to implement agreements that create more homes for lower-income families in communities with good schools and jobs.

We can’t and won't let a small group of holdouts derail the progress we’re making to reduce New Jersey's extreme segregation.

Richard T. Smith,

President, NAACP New Jersey State Conference