Both newly elected Council President Joel Pabon and newly elected Board of Education President Mark Carvajal were not the first choice for their positions. But when they were voted in they jumped in head first. They are both no nonsense leaders and their fellow members plus those who attend the meetings feel very comfortable with them.

There is no jousting or posturing during the meetings and although there are still disagreements, they are not as intense as they were in the past.

I was listening to a radio program called, “Religion on the Line.” This program features a Rabbi and a Deacon. They have their disagreements but they always resolve them in a very respectful way. This past Sunday, they had a guest who spoke about politics in Israel. The United States basically has a two party system and some people are up in arms when people suggest that we need to have a third party.

In 1999 in Israel over 30 different parties vied for the Assemblies’ 120 seats with 15 parties and party blocks being elected. Each elected party had members part of the policy making. No one was excluded.

So it was amusing to me when people were up in arms about the last Mayoral and Council election in Perth Amboy. Some people were saying that there should have been a run-off because the winner did not get the majority of the votes.

I wonder if the same people that were complaining would say the same thing if their candidate had won. Would they be requesting a run-off?

This was a non-partisan election and the results were what they were.

Remember, you can go back to partisan elections in a few years. Look back at the low voter turnout in the past elections. A handful of people determined the leadership for a large amount of residents who chose to stay home.

So we had six people running for Mayor and five for Council. Some people were having a fit. What would they do if they had to choose from over 30 political parties? Perish the thought.

You can be political opponents (sometimes in the same party) but you have to hand it to politicians from all different spectrums who have ideas and can sit down and work together for the good of their community.

I would have liked to see some of the candidates who lost serve on different Boards within the City. There seems to be a lot of vacancies.

It’s a disappointment when you run so hard for office and lose after putting so much into your campaign. Even so, that does not mean you should stop participating in government.

You can still come to the Council Meetings and present your criticism or ideas. As a matter of fact, I would like to see some of the residents who frequent the Council Meetings run for office.

It is always easy when your are on the other side of the fence but when you have to cross over it’s a whole different ball game. All of the candidates had some good ideas and perhaps they should think about running again in the future.

C.M.