Your Turn

I have been watching the government in Brick recently and I don’t like what I see. Mayor Scarpelli has used his position of power for all the wrong reasons to divide our community into a fractured one, pitting seniors against families raising children. Democrats and Republicans need to work together for all the residents, not just those who they feel they can influence and pander for votes. Mayor Scarpelli should put aside the partisan politics of destruction and get to work helping all the residents. Making a political issue about summer camps and the decreased SummerFest schedule is not a Republican issue. It’s an issue about how under Scarpelli’s leadership, our township programs ran at deficits for many years, costing millions of dollars. Scarpelli should blame people like me as well as the others who said enough is enough when we voted Scarpelli’s ruling party from office last November. We collectively asked for our township leaders to work within their means without raising taxes and provide the necessary services that a town should.

A mayor who says one thing and does another concerns me. Last January, Scarpelli said that he would do everything in his power to televise council meetings but to this day, all we get to see on Brick’s Channel 20 is Scarpelli’s propaganda show, "About the Town."

Recently Councilman Tony Matthews asked Scarpelli if he had every appeared at a budget and finance committee meeting to make suggestions on allocating township funds. He replied that he had never been. A self-proclaimed CEO of a 50-plus million dollar corporation should be more hands-on when it comes to crafting the municipal budget. I guess when push comes to shove, the leaders of Enron and Tyco did little more with their companies when they drove them to bankruptcy. How can the mayor of out town defend a $52,000 per year part-time job when he doesn’t even care about participating in the process for crafting a budget? I guess with his party in control in past years, taxes increased 50 percent and our debt skyrocketed but Scarpelli made you feel good with his warm smile and party after party. The simple fact is that most were uninformed.

A few months ago a personal attack letter written by a well-known civic leader in Brick named me the "referee" as it pertained to Brick’s political process. I will accept that title and judge the current state of Brick’s government. The residue and remainder of the "Scarpelli Team" needs to be sent packing next year and a new leader should take the mayor’s office back for the people, not just the special interests. The Scarpelli council members should be thanked for their service and their seats filled by independent thinkers who will respond to the needs of our community, not just the voter mandates handed down every two years at election time. We need more people from the community to get involved in the political process so that fresh talent will replace stale politicians.

I can only speak for my family and my extended family living in Brick when I say thank you to those council members who crafted the zero-tax increase budget for 2004. My support is offered to them when they are under attack from the loyal opposition who try to pit the seniors against young families. When it’s all said and done, our government leaders are the custodians of the public trust while they hold office and it is up to the electorate to decide if they have betrayed this trust. I led the fight against the Scarpelli team three years ago because I felt he had betrayed the trust then related to our town’s finances and it hasn’t gotten any better since. People like council President Steve Acropolis, who have been attacked relentlessly for their convictions should be thanked for helping the average family in Brick. Acropolis would be a great candidate to run for mayor in 2005. Steve has shown a willingness to stand up against political pressures and name-calling and do what’s right for Brick. Let’s hope that Acropolis continues to give of his time and his vast experience to be Brick’s next great mayor.

John Barrett, a Brick resident, is a Republican Party county committeeman for District 40 and a former mayoral candidate.