Edison Mayor Issues Statement Opposing Ordinance That Divides Town

Issues call for township unity 

EDISON, NJ — Mayor Sam Joshi issued a strong rebuke Wednesday of Councilman Richard Brescher’s ward system restructuring proposal, which would replace Edison’s current seven at-large council seats with a five-ward, four council-at-large system.

Joshi is advocating for maintaining the current structure of council president, council vice president and five other council members all elected at-large by voters throughout the township. Should the new ordinance be approved the four at-large seats would be up for a four-year term in the 2022 election and in 2023, the five ward seats would be open for a two-year term. Then in 2025, the ward seats would be open again with the mayoral seat for full four-year terms.

Said Mayor Joshi of the proposal, “This past November, after two demanding elections, the residents of Edison voted for my team and me based on a platform of uniting the township, advancing policies that benefit our entire community and working collaboratively on shared goals that will make Edison an even better place to live and raise a family. Unfortunately, at tonight’s Council meeting an ordinance is expected to be introduced by Councilman Brescher that if passed, would run counter to the expressed will of the voters. His plan would divide the township into several different sections, creating areas with distinct boundaries and forcing neighborhoods to continuously compete against each other for limited taxpayer resources and services. It would create an unnecessary political distraction, preventing us from coming together to move Edison forward in a way that works for all residents no matter where in town they live. Even worse, this politically motivated initiative is being pushed in a year in which Edison has no local elections. If passed, this ordinance would mandate that we subject our residents to a needless and expensive election that will divert attention from working on the real solutions on behalf of our residents without politics getting in the way. For those reasons I am respectfully relaying to our Council members my opposition to this ordinance.”

The new structure would divide the township into five districts, each with a representative on the Township Council. There would be four council members chosen at large to provide balance, but the system would do little to fundamentally change the mayor-council relationship. Former Councilman Bill Stephens petitioned for a ward system ballot question under former Mayor George Spadoro’s administration but it was defeated in 2003.

Joshi continued, “Since becoming Mayor just last month, I have been reaching out to many of our residents, elected officials and others to discuss the numerous projects we intend to undertake. We aim for these efforts to benefit every member of our community. This is a critical time for us to come together and deliver the progress that all of Edison deserves. Pursuing a politically-motivated agenda to cynically cause division in our community directly contradicts what residents want — unity and progress, not more political infighting.

If any Council member feels that they cannot adequately represent the interests of the entire town, then they should consider resigning and allowing someone else to take up that challenge. Edison residents elected myself and all Council members to represent our entire community, and we’re 100% committed to unifying Edison and making sure our government works for all of us.”