Lakewood Recall Effort

A lot of talk has been expended over the mysterious effort in Lakewood, NJ to recall one of the non-Jewish Committee members on the Lakewood Township Committee.

For those who may be unfamiliar; here is a synopsis of the story.

In Lakewood there are five Township Committee members, two of whom are Frum, who decide all issues of the town.

A recall petition has been filed by three non-Jewish women, who have admitted to being used as a front for people in the Frum community, to recall one of the non-Jewish Committee members. As of yet, no one has stepped forward to admit to being behind the recall effort, and why it was launched.

Now here is my “independent Frum thinking” opinion on the matter.

The prevailing belief is that these women are being set-up by real estate investors and developers who are upset with this Committee member’s recent crackdown on quality of life violations, and for not automatically supporting the “Master Plan” for Lakewood.

To those unfamiliar with the dynamics of Lakewood, there are a plethora of homes rented out by Frum people to all kinds of drug addicts, lawbreakers, and violent people. This has reached crisis proportions, with people being assaulted, robbed, and hissed at in broad daylight with total impunity. A public outcry ensued, resulting in the Township Committee finally cracking down on Quality Of Life violations. Many landlords are bearing the brunt of this crackdown, since their slum-like homes are being targeted by QOL enforcement agents.

The Master Plan was an initiative to decide on the zoning for the remaining areas of Lakewood not yet officially zoned. The committee chosen to study the issue proposed allowing all thirty five remaining areas to be zoned for high-density building. Not a surprising conclusion from a committee comprised mostly of developers, builders, and engineers. There has been much public outcry against the radical urbanization called for in the Master Plan, and some of the proposals have been rejected.

Understandably, some developers and power-brokers are incensed with the two aforementioned happenings, especially in a town that was always known to be “in the pocket” of developers and builders.

If these are the reasons behind the recall effort, I strongly oppose it.

The average person in Lakewood, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, strongly supports the aggressive targeting of QOL violators, and also strongly oppose the total and complete urbanization of their community.

Also, if these are the reasons, why should they take out all their angst on this particular Committee member? After all, he is only one of five decision makers. No decision can be taken alone, so in any particular issue he must have had support from other Committee member’s to pass his initiative.

From a Frum perspective too I strongly oppose this move. The age-old mode of behavior for Jews in Galus was to keep as low a profile as possible, and certainly not to overtly antagonize the Goyim. Although this approach is sadly becoming less and less adhered to, (perhaps the subject of a future post), nevertheless it still remains the traditional Frum way of life as practiced for two thousand years. To organize a recall of a politician, not on grounds of public safety or the like, is stepping way over the line. Why can’t they just wait until the next election and endorse another candidate? What is the pressing need to antagonize elements of the non-Jewish community to such a degree?

Ironically, in the last election, a Frum member of the community was running against this particular Committee member, on a popular platform calling for bringing wasteful spending under control. Although many assumed that the Lakewood Va’ad (a group of business leaders who set policy for the Frum community) would endorse the Frum candidate, they strangely endorsed this particular Committee member instead. This is quite a bizarre twist, considering that the Lakewood Va’ad is basically comprised of developers and builders.

And finally, why are the ones behind the recall effort remaining in the shadows? If they have legitimate concerns with this particular Committee member, let them come out in the open and explain themselves. Such cowardly behavior does not lend one to believe that there are justifiable issues at stake.

Feel free to comment away, whether you live in Lakewood or not.