ARTICLE: Concerns About Leadership From Salmon Ticket On Multiple Fronts
By Deborah Ledger | Published in The Hawk, October 27, 2022
As a longtime resident of Garwood, I have some concerns about the recent actions and the leadership qualities of some of the candidates on the Republican ticket for Mayor and Council. Over the last 27 years, I have seen several heated campaign seasons. This one has been particularly disturbing.
Recently, a Republican held seat on the council was vacated by a councilperson who moved out of town. One would have thought, as the remaining Republican on council and the party’s nominee for Mayor, Mrs. Salmon would have stepped forward to recommend a replacement. Sadly, this did not happen. Instead, to further stoke partisan drama, she declined to make any nomination and left it instead to Councilman Graham to make the nomination. She stated that she was not part of the majority party, so why bother if the decision would be made by majority vote. Issues before the council should be decided based on input from all members, regardless of the party in the majority as the purpose of 2 party representation and a full council is to debate issues and consider all sides. Mrs. Salmon’s stance on this gives me concern that perhaps if her ticket wins this election, it is her intention that the council members from the Democratic Party be silenced and sidelined.
Another recent incident which causes me great reservations about electing this slate of candidates occurred after the recent debate at The Pointe. The issues of concern this year in Garwood are by no means a secret. A few minutes scrolling the community Facebook posts or attending public meetings allows any interested party ample awareness of the hottest issues. All four council candidates participated respectfully and honestly with minimal sniping at opposing candidates. There was agreement across party lines on a number of issues. All four brought notes and made opening and closing statements. One candidate brought copies of a proposed borough ordinance as well as of an existing ordinance from another town. Presumably, he did so because he knew the issue was one which has been hotly discussed in recent weeks and anticipated it would be raised. Another candidate had typed her notes for reference on a tablet rather than carrying a binder full of papers. Digital notes are quite common and were not prohibited by the rules. Scrolling through tabs is no different than flipping through pages. However, at the end of a very civil and respectful debate, Mrs. Salmon chose to raise the specter of cheating, accusing the candidate with the tablet of having received questions and answers ahead of the debate. Not only did she question the candidate’s integrity with this accusation, she also unfairly cast doubt on the moderator and the sponsors of the debate. In the hours and days to follow, one of her running mates and several of their surrogates continued to propagate the same baseless allegation on social media. Meanwhile, no one questioned how a candidate would know to bring copies of specific ordinances from other towns to support his position.
In fact, baseless online smears and character attacks against opposing candidates as well as members of the community who either question them or simply support their opponents have been frequent from at least one candidate and many surrogates of the Republican ticket. The practice of spreading completely false character based allegations online has only been seen on one side and gives me great concern about how residents will be treated should this ticket be elected. I urge fellow residents to carefully consider both the issues and the conduct of the candidates on the ballot before voting. I will be supporting Blumenstock, Lazarow, and Nolde by voting column B on November 8.
Debbie Ledger
Garwood Resident