Letter to the Editor: The Case for Shehady

Dear Springfield,

As you may know, I am a retired Army Major with over 21 active duty years of service to our country. Part of my responsibilities as an officer and commander was to evaluate the leadership potential and qualities of fellow officers and soldiers. Having observed and worked with Ziad Shehady for the past several years, I have witnessed firsthand his knowledge, abilities, strength of character, enthusiasm, energy and his devotion to Springfield.

Election season is upon us and soon you will have to select a new member for the Township Committee. When you look for a candidate to vote for, keep in mind the qualities you want in a candidate:

• someone who is proactive and not reactive or inactive
• someone who has a leadership presence and managerial capabilities
• someone who is energetic and in touch with the residents and communicates directly with them.

Springfield needs Ziad back on the Township Committee. Last year, under his leadership, we had great momentum in moving Springfield forward.

Public Access Channels – For the first time, Springfield began broadcasting on its own public access channel on Comcast and Verizon. An informative bulletin board system was initiated by Ziad only to lay virtually dormant for the majority of 2011 under Mayor Keffer who missed an opportunity to use this medium to
communicate to residents during Tropical Storm Irene.

Turf Field – The realization of a turf field for Springfield was set in motion by Ziad with a comprehensive agreement between the Springfield Board of Education and the Township. We could have had a turf field under construction by now, but it was stalled and virtually ignored by Mayor Keffer until weeks before the election and what he has done is commissioned yet another “study” at your expense.

New Police Chief – The appointment of our new Police Chief was a result of Ziad’s push to update the Police Department organizational structure and bring in a temporary Public Safety Director to provide the professional development, supervision and oversight, and fiscal management that was lacking under the
previous chief of police.

Special Improvement District (SID) – Every campaign season, candidates talk about downtown redevelopment except last year, under Ziad Shehady and Committeeman/Small Business Owner Jerry Fernandez, Springfield took its first steps to making the dream come true. The SID was instituted and
initiated only to be stonewalled by Mr. Keffer, Mr. Amlen and Mr. Huber.

These are just a few of Ziad’s accomplishments in just one year.

I will be the first person to tell you that party affiliation at the local level is irrelevant. You need to look at the qualifications and ability of the person you want on the Township Committee. If you are happy with status quo, then your choice is simple. However, if you want Springfield to compete with our neighbors then Jerry Fernandez and I need your support and ask you to vote for Ziad Shehady on Tuesday, November 8th so we can regain the momentum we lost in 2011.

Sincerely,

Marc A. Krauss

Committeeman, Township of Springfield
Major (Retired) U.S. Army
marc.krauss@springfield-nj.us