November 3, 2013

Dear Atlantic Highlands Taxpayer,

          Local taxes in Atlantic Highlands are going up 9.04% this year.  This is on top of a 2% rise last year, and that does not include the $120 flat fee added to your water bill.  So, Atlantic Highlands’ take has risen between 13% and 16% (depending on the value of your house) in just the last two years.  Why?

          There are two answers.  The first is that, while some people say that there are two parties in Atlantic Highlands, the Republicans and Democrats, the truth is that there is only one party, the Soak the Taxpayers for the Benefit of the Harbor Party.  Every year, every major party candidate says, “The harbor returns money to the borough.”  This fact is true, but the reality is false.  It contributes nothing to the schools.  It contributes less than it should to the borough.  It is mismanaged.  It is a pork barrel for the politicians.

          If the harbor is returning so much to the borough, why is the municipal tax rate the 13th highest of the 53 communities in Monmouth County?  And because the harbor contributes nothing to the schools, Atlantic Highlands’ overall tax rate is the 9th highest in the county. 

          In the wake of hurricane Sandy, the harbor was destroyed.  The borough council, with alacrity, bonded money and combined with federal disaster aid, spent $22 million to rebuild the harbor; but it did virtually nothing to reopen the Bayshore Trail, which is still closed to local residents.

          This year, the borough will take more than 30% of all the real estate taxes.  Including the elementary school, it will be almost 60%.  Highlands has the 15th highest, Union Beach has the 2nd highest, Keansburg has the 4th highest local tax rate.  The small Bayshore towns are unaffordable.  Consolidation is the only way to achieve economies of scale. 

          No matter which Democrat or Republican you elect, for council or mayor, taxes will keep rising, regardless of what they say.  The problem is systemic.

The Real Problem

          Until 1988, voters in New Jersey filled vacancies in the legislature through Special Elections.  When an assemblyman or woman, or state senator left office before the end of her or his term, a special election was held to fill the vacancy.  In 1988, an amendment was put on the ballot that took the right to fill vacancies away from the voters and gave it to the political party committee of the person who held the office.

          How did this happen?  The legislature lied to the voters about the meaning of the amendment.  The Explanatory Statement on the ballot said the amendment “requires the county committee to fill the vacancy within 30 days,” as if the then current law allowed it to delay.  In fact, this amendment gave the county committee the right to fill the vacancy; voters were never told they were losing their right to elect a replacement in the initial instance.  The local newspapers (supported with your tax dollars as official notice publications) and the League of Women Voters colluded with the Republican and Democratic parties to keep the voters uninformed of the real meaning of this amendment. If the voters had been told the truth, the amendment would have lost in a landslide. 

          So, what has happened in the last 25 years is that the voters have basically been excluded from influencing state policy (isn’t that obvious?)  Now, legislators regularly resign before the end of their terms.  The county committees appoint a new legislator who then stands in the November election as an incumbent.  Because the legislative districts are gerrymandered to favor one party over another, the party committee, not the voters, have become the most important constituency for legislators.

          Local office holders like borough councilwomen and men, many of whom would like to run for higher office, know that the next rung on the ladder of elective office is controlled, not by the voters, but by the party officials (who in the last primary were elected by 3% of the voters.)  So, basically, voters do not count anymore, which is why fewer and fewer people are bothering to go to the polls in each succeeding election.

The Rigged Races for Governor

          The situation is just as bad in the Governor’s race.  New Jersey has “public financing” of Governor’s races.  Most people think that this makes the race fairer by giving poor candidates an equal chance.  In fact, the opposite is true.  Public financing is used to exclude independent and underfunded candidates from the race.

          Public money goes only to candidates who already have access to large amounts of private donations.  New Jersey’s system is not public funding, but a public subsidy that goes only to candidates who already have collected over $300,000 in private contributions.

          In exchange for receiving public funds, gubernatorial candidates are required to participate in two sponsored debates.  This requirement has been twisted around to exclude candidates who do not get public funds.  So, not only do independent and poor candidates not get public subsidies, they are not allowed to participate in the publicly mandated debates.

          This year, an already bad situation was made worse by the scheduling of the Governor’s debates before the Special Senate election in October.  The last of the two debates was on the night before the Senate race, when the federal government was shut-down, and when people were and should have been thinking about the Senate race.

          Elections have a purpose.  They are supposed to let the voters determine the direction of government policy.  If there are no debates about issues, or if they are invisible, the voters are excluded from the process.

          I’m asking you to support Barbara Buono for Governor.  Governor Christie went to Highlands this summer to accept a $4.5 million contribution from the United Arab Emirates for Sandy relief.  This is a bribe to get his support for war with Iran.  It will be repaid in the blood of Americans fighting Iran.  Barbara is far from perfect, but at least she supports investing in the future, like the new rail tunnel under the Hudson River.  China has bullet trains, but under Christie, New Jersey is supposed to prosper with a century old train tunnel.

          Christie and the local Republicans have taken millions of tax dollars to rebuild the municipal harbor, and then turn right around and support the Senate candidate who shut down the government and was opposed to Sandy aid. This is the worst kind of hypocrisy. They are happy to spend your money on their pet projects, and then claim that food stamps or other people’s projects are unaffordable.

What you can do

          The Republicans and Democrats have created a political system as expensive as possible with as few voters as possible.  We need to take back the political system from the national media and the special interest donors without having to compete by raising and spending money we do not have.

          We need to take back the governorship from the national media that has made our representatives celebrities while our taxes go through the roof.  Only by electing candidates who do not need a fortune to run and who are beholden to the voters after winning can the line be held on taxes. 

          Let’s surprise everyone by showing just how smart New Jersey (even the Jersey Shore) can be.

          This letter is going to everyone in Atlantic Highlands.  It will be posted on my website at: http://www.leinsdorf.com/2013/atlantichighlands.htm Copy this link to all your friends in New Jersey and ask them to read this letter.

Thanks for your attention.

          Josh Leinsdorf, 60 Bayside Drive, Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey

          (732) 291-0126, (609) 658-8919 email: jleinsdorf@monmouth.com