Home Rules

Its time for everyone to make a stand.

Boy I miss 1917. From what I have read, back then the New Jersey Legislature adopted the Home Rule Act, providing local governments with the ability to make important community-specific decisions by allowing them broad powers for enacting laws and regulations covering issues like school, fire, water and other local interests.

This Act took hold in New Jersey over the last 100 years, leading to arguably one of the most overtaxed, inefficient delivery of services to the over 600 local School Districts and more than 560 local Municipalities. Sure, we could centralize, streamline, and benefit from economies of scale. We could fix our pension deficient, lower our property tax burdens, and offer more consistent levels of public services across the State. 

But then how many principals would be fired? How many fire chiefs? How many of your friends and family would see their careers eliminated and worse, our access to local officials be stripped? 

Do we want New Jersey run like the federal government? Hell no. I’ll take home rule and high taxes any day if it means 3 letter, unelected bureaucracies are not deciding what day I am allowed to purchase food, put out my trash, or drive my car. We know where centralized power leads: deep levels of corruption, arbitrary and capricious mandates, and erosion of our Constitutional Rights.

So give me excess taxes and empower local BOEs, or give me a one-way ticket to Florida. 

Wall Township Board of Education knows. 

Manasquan caught their drift. 

West Milford’s Township Council has made a rumble. 

Rumor has it, 20 or more Boards of Education are uniting and we are keeping track of who is and who is not willing to protect our children. They are ready to play ball for us. 

When the cat is away in Italy, the mice play. 

I warned a few towns, there’s blood in the water. The sharks are circling. The first class action was filed in July 2021.

Another amazing advocacy group is formulating another strike. 

The dominoes are falling. 

What side will your town be on? Where do you want to be when the chips fall?

I know where I will be. Standing outside of Medford’s now-virtual meeting on August 16, 2021, calling on my Board to step up, or step down. 

Time’s up. Pick a side. 

I choose home rule. Tax me to death, thanks, but let me choose how my child breathes. 

Liberty or death. 

Kristen Sinclair
Sent from my iPhone