TO THE EDITOR: Community. That is what Mayor Larry Jacobs, Committeewoman Renee Mareski and the Bedminster Township Committee have brought our municipality over the past several years.
They created a farmers’ market to promote our rural culture. The market has been an unprecedented success, not only for the farmers, but also as a gathering place where several hundred of us meet every week to shop and talk about our families and the week’s events.
Mayor Jacobs and Committeewoman Mareski consistently champion efforts to improve quality of life for our residents.
When COVID-19 was shutting down society, Jacobs, Mareski and the Township Committee kept our parks open, ensuring that our hike and bike paths continued to be a place for Bedminster residents to keep fit and enjoy the outdoors.
Working together as a team, they opened a food bank, so those of us with a steady income could help those who found themselves suddenly without.
They also moved quickly with special use permits, cutting red tape to allow our local businesses to survive the unprecedented economic impact of the governor’s lockdown.
Jacobs, Mareski and the Township Committee brought Bedminster together to mourn the loss of Bedminster Police Sgt. Alterek Patterson, an early casualty of the pandemic and a local hero.
Although COVID-19 hit New Jersey hard, Bedminster has enjoyed a relatively high vaccination rate, and one of the lowest infection and mortality rates.
While our mayor and Township Committee continued to keep taxes low, promoted our local economy and preserved our open space, they did much more, ensuring throughout the crisis that we kept our sense of community.
I will be voting to re-elect Mayor Larry Jacobs and Committeewoman Renee Mareski for the Bedminster Township Committee on Nov. 2, and I urge you to do as well.
STEVE PARKER
Airport Road
Bedminster Township
Editor’s note: The writer is a former Mayor and member of the Bedminster Township Committee. This Letter to the Editor originally appeared in The Bernardsville News.