As the election season heats up, Manalapan Township residents have an important decision to make. One candidate, Ben Samara, has been making waves by focusing on the issues that matter most to the community. Samara has been out and about, meeting with voters and listening to their concerns. Among the issues he's been highlighting are the Township's 2021 decision to cut trash collection without sufficient input from residents, the rampant overdevelopment occurring in Manalapan and the surrounding area, issues with Optimum cable and internet service, neighborhood safety and car theft prevention, and prioritizing crucial infrastructure projects.
When it comes to infrastructure, one resident Ben spoke with had a particularly striking story. The woman has been living in Manalapan for 37 years and said that the main road outside her home had not been paved in all that time, despite repeated requests. This is just one example of the kind of neglect that Ben is committed to addressing.
Another common point of frustration for residents has been the lack of consistent transparency from the current Township Committee and the limited amount of options for residents to provide real, valuable feedback prior to important Township decisions. This was one of the main reasons Ben decided to run for the Manalapan Township Committee in the first place. "In 2023, we should be using the technology at our fingertips to give our residents a powerful voice," he said. "Coffee with the Mayor events and posting about community news on Facebook certainly build community, but we need more. We need to offer our residents multiple points of access when it comes to sharing their opinions on the needs of our town. Not everyone can make it to in-person events to make their voice heard. Quite frankly, I believe the current Township Committee banks on that when the time comes to make difficult decisions. We constantly have in-person meetings called on short notice, if at all, for important issues, when what we should be doing is going to residents, both in person and online. Manalapan residents should be polled when it comes to important issues, so we're not making decisions in a vacuum. We know all of our residents live busy lives, and we should be making the process easier for them to participate in the process, not harder."
Despite the challenges facing Manalapan, there is reason for optimism. With candidates like Ben Samara focused on the issues that matter most, there is hope that the community can come together and make positive changes for the future.
Kommentare