Score one for democracy in action, but also score one for low transparency.
One post-election item from South Jersey boosts our faith in the democratic process, but another undermines it.
Let's start with the praiseworthy item: Salem County voters reduced the size of their county freeholder board from seven to five members, a number better fitted to the county's population and work load.
The "yes" vote in a referendum was an overwhelming 3-1 margin. The two-freeholder reduction was at least tacitly supported by Salem County candidates of both parties. It should result in a more efficient, more responsive governing body, and save money by eliminating two part-time salaries ($25,410 each) and related office expenses.
Next fall, five freeholder seats will be filled in a kind of elimination round requiring all seven incumbents to run in order to stay on the board. The five winners from among all candidates will take their seats later in November 2017.
It's not completely accurate to portray this reform as a grassroots movement, since it began as a petition drive by a labor union upset by potential cuts in county public safety jobs. Regardless, the result truly demonstrates democracy in action.
Now, on to some chicanery that shakes people's faith in local government. Four days before Harrison Township went to the polls to select township committee members, the current committee awarded an appointed seat to someone whom Republican voters had soundly rejected in their June primary.
Back on the committee until the 2017 general election is Lou Manzo, whose committee term would have ended in December due to his primary defeat.
Manzo was a lightning rod for criticism within the local GOP. Some elements regarded him as too cozy with Gloucester County's Democrat-dominated county government. Stating that he wanted to pave the way for his successor, Manzo, who had also been the mayor, resigned his township committee seat in September.
This past Friday, the committee selected Manzo for the remainder of a committee term vacated last month by another committeeman. Regardless of whether you believe Manzo's cooperation with county-level Democrats was a sin or smart bipartisanship, most voters surely went to the polls Tuesday believing -- incorrectly -- that they were Manzo-free.
The township committee did give the Times proper notification of its Nov. 4 special meeting. But the pre-election timing and the unusual day and hour -- 5:15 p.m. on a Friday -- suggest that officials wished to appoint Manzo before the election, but tried to prevent most citizens from knowing before they had voted.
The two Republicans who knocked Manzo off the ballot in June were unopposed Tuesday by any Democrats. However, widespread knowledge of Manzo's return might have sparked protest votes or a late write-in campaign. This election wasn't "rigged," but it's understandable why some skeptics might think so.
Back in Salem County, voters picked Republican and Democrat incumbents for the two freeholder seats at stake. Maybe this shows satisfaction with how those currently in power handled the county's shrinkage initiative. They didn't show contempt for voters. Can we say the same for Harrison Township's leaders?
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