LETTER: Republican candidates ‘listening to needs of The Hills

EDITOR: I have lived in Bedminster, specifically The Hills, for 17 years, and spent most of that as a board member for both my neighborhood and the master association here, and the last eight years volunteering on township boards.

In that time I have had a chance to see that not only is Bedminster a great place to live, but also is well run, and on a low tax budget. In addition, our local government has proven tirelessly and many times to be responsive to our community.

Over the last few years, the Hills master associations have invited Township Committee members to attend their meetings to answer questions and update residents on what’s happening in town. Current Committeeman and candidate Doug Stevinson has fulfilled this role many times.

He and other committee members have also been instrumental in helping The Hills neighborhoods and other parts of the township address frequent power failures in recent years. This has been achieved by working with the local power utility (JCPL) to repair aging equipment and streamline the outage alert notices. JCPL, township and community leaders meet periodically throughout the year to monitor progress and keep things moving.

Doug has also been a big part of helping parts of The Hills with crosswalk installations and street light repairs on township roads feeding The Hills.

Like Doug Stevinson, Gina Fernandez comes to the plate with a similar devotion and years of volunteering for our township. This devotion has proven to benefit Bedminster in every instance. I feel that Gina will be a great asset to the committee.

Both candidates are listening to the needs of The Hills, the largest part of Bedminster’s population.

Both candidates also bring a wealth of experience with our local school and will work hard with the board of education to provide our school students with the best education possible, and do so with our continued low property taxes.

That is why I am voting Stevinson and Fernandez for Bedminster Township Committee on Nov. 5, and encourage Bedminster residents to do likewise. All residents, please remember to vote!

JEFFREY S. LEONARD
Bedminster