Holmdel At A Crossroads

Someone once said, ‘Bad politicians are elected by good people who do not vote’. I am therefore calling on the good people of Holmdel – Independents and Republicans alike – to vote for Ron Emma in the Republican Primary on June 8.

(Yes, Independents can vote too! If you are an Independent, you do not need to change your party affiliation beforehand to vote. You can switch back to being unaffiliated after the primary by submitting a form available on the county website.)

We are currently at a crossroads. Holmdel is plagued by partisan politics and outside meddling, which have had a pernicious effect on our town.

Since losing control in 2019, when independents were elected to the township, outside forces have been working hard to wrest back control of Holmdel. We must do everything in our power to only elect Independent minded candidates who are focused on the best interests of Holmdel.

Ron Emma is such a candidate. He is beholden only to the people of Holmdel and not to any outside group, professionals, or other entities. He will ensure fiscal responsibility and transparency, and work to improve the quality of life in our town.

The sponsored candidates, who may be decent people and who try to appear independent, are ultimately beholden to their sponsors. Why? Look at the track record: our current Mayor, one of our former Mayors, and our former Deputy Mayor were all shunned by their previous sponsor because they did not subscribe to the sponsor’s party line. (Not to mention even our former Lt. Governor for expressing support to our former Mayor).

These outside forces have made it abundantly clear that when Holmdel’s goals are not aligned with theirs, they will switch to candidates who are beholden to them to ensure the advancement of their agendas.

Members of past township committees who were sponsored by these same outside groups have proven to be fiscally naïve or downright irresponsible. They have saddled our town with over $33 Million in short-term debt (where we only pay the interest and not the principal) accrued between 2013 and 2019. Assuming this amount of short-term debt is tantamount to “kicking the can down the road”, as this staggering amount would significantly escalate our costs when converted to permanent debt.

Both the current sponsored candidate and sponsored Township Committee members have been touting the Bell Works PILOT revenue largesse to fund a variety of spending initiatives, while being silent about this huge debt burden on the town. This debt burden alone is assured to consume a good portion of our current and future revenues.

If we continue down this road, we are doomed to fail, which is why I believe we are at a crossroads.

To paraphrase President John F. Kennedy, now is the time to ask, “What can you do for your town?”

You can do the town a lot of good by voting on June 8 for Ron Emma, the only truly independent Republican Candidate.

Prakash Santhana

Holmdel Township Committeeman (2020 – 2022)