I think that the Board of Elections did an outstanding job separating the Municipal, General and School Board elections. During the public portion of the 2/12/14 Council Meeting, a resident spoke about how it is necessary for the City to have elections that are partisan. They named some of the local townships that have this. My question is: “If it was such a concern – why wasn’t this voiced YEARS AGO?”

I’ll repeat what I said a little over a year ago. People complained shortly after the 2012 election that the winning candidate for Mayor did not have the majority of the vote.

If the CANDIDATE you supported won the election with the same totals that the winner did would you be making a stink and say that you’re candidate did not represent a majority of the voters? I THINK NOT!

As far as the General, Municipal and School Elections being held at the same time on the same ballot on November 6, 2012: – maybe I’m missing something – it doesn’t really matter to me when the elections are held – I always vote in all of them. (Either in person or in rare cases absentee (mail-in)). The biggest problem that the City has is voter apathy. Out of around 22,000 registered voters you’re lucky if 4,000 vote.

In essence, a very small portion of the voting population are deciding the City and School Board leadership for the whole town. Now, that is what I consider a PROBLEM – not whether if the City is partisan or non-partisan.
Yes, I have to admit some elec- tions get more turnout than others. So if anyone would like to write a letter disputing anything I say – feel free to do so.

I do agree with a comment made by one of the speakers during the 2/12/14 Meeting. They said that it should be put on the ballot that the voters should decide if the elections should be partisan or non-partisan. The second item was the voters should decide on the ballot question if the elections should be all at once.

Until then, if you are that passionate about these two items, you should start right away to get a petition going to have this done.

For myself, since I am Independent I cannot vote in the Primaries anyway. So that’s a moot point for me. In the meantime, I will continue to do as I did in the past and vote in each election – no matter when or how they are held. I encourage you to do the same. – C.M.

As someone who was a poll clerk for a long time I can tell you that not many people come out to vote in the Primaries. Partisanship would be a step in the wrong direction. Perth Amboy is primarily a Democratic town. If we go to partisanship, the main election would take place in the Primaries, since most people in Perth Amboy vote Democratic. Any candidate who wins the Democratic line in the spring will easily win in the fall. Secondly, not everyone has declared themselves, so why should they be excluded from choosing who they want as Mayor? Thirdly, if there is such a small voter turnout in the fall, why should a handful of even fewer voters choose our Mayor in the spring?

There were six candidates who ran for Mayor in 2012. That is not the norm. This is America. Everyone deserves a fighting chance to get elected. Don’t take that away from Perth Amboy.
-K.M.

I feel that partisanship for Perth Amboy would have a very negative affect. Not necessarily the right person would get in, but a person just who was voted in the line. A person stated it was confusing for the Municipal Election the same time as the Board of Education and General Election. I cannot see what the difference would be holding all the elections at once. By going to Partisanship even less people will decide our next Mayor. This should not be.

From the last election’s turnout, I believe that it would show a better reflection of Amboy’s population. I did not find the ballot one bit confusing. Keep the elections in the fall the way they are now. –P.W.