An open letter to Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede

I read the January 6, 2019 Trentonian article by Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman, in which you alleged that since the democrats took over majority control in January 2018 that the council meetings lost civility. That is simply not true. It appears that you are trying to use the inappropriate conduct of a couple of attendees at one meeting, to attack the democrats on council in an obvious partisan way during this mayoral election year. I have attended nearly every single council meeting in 2018. I have attended numerous council meetings in past years as well. What is clear is that the residents are angry, very angry, with you and your administration. They are angry about all the lying from you and your administration, the foot dragging and dishonesty in the fire district consolidation efforts, the illegal and needless killing of animals at the animal shelter, the use by you, of social media and press releases to attack those who question you or your administration, while at the same time, you censor comments that don’t fit your narrative or you just block people from posting completely, to silence them from commenting at all. They are angry at the state of the township, the quality of life issues which go unenforced, leading to deteriorating neighborhoods and eyesores that drag down property values, they are angry that our roads are falling apart before our eyes, they are angry at you for refusing to meet with the public to discuss any of these issues. You hold no town halls, no public forums, you never invite folks to express themselves and get answers straight from their mayor, in person, face to face.

What happens when a mayor closes herself off from the public she is supposed to serve and hides from them while avoiding their questions and their anger? These angry residents take their concerns, complaints and anger to council meetings, where they know they will get a chance to speak and where they know that this bipartisan council, will take those things seriously and seek to investigate and assist. Now it is true, there has been a high level of emotion at nearly every council meeting this past year, understandably so, but despite this, the council has always maintained good order in the chamber, contrary to your distorted portrayal. Even in the outburst at the meeting in December, council acted to shut it down and then implemented additional rules for conduct to avoid similar situations in the future. Our council isn’t so timid that that hide from the residents, our excellent, and bipartisan council allows the residents to vent and express themselves. They do not slink into a bunker, closing themselves off from what the members of the public have to say. Passionate discourse is an American tradition. It is in our DNA. It is our legacy. Free speech and the right to air our grievances is critical and essential to a responsive, well-functioning, government. I applaud the latitude afforded by the members of council to the public as they embrace this wonderful style of open citizen forum. You should try it sometime Mayor Yaede.

But, the underlying cause for the public’s anger has nothing to do with council, it has to do with you Mayor Yaede, you and the actions of your administration as you have lied about, defended and protected, incompetence, illegal conduct, inhumane treatment of animals and the awful habit you have developed of attacking everyone who questions you or your team, even when the facts show that you are in the wrong.

If you are honestly concerned about the anger and “civility” of residents, and I know that you are not, you should step in and meet with them directly in town hall style settings, where they could speak directly to you and get answers to their questions and concerns straight from you, not having to ask council so that council can then ask the business agent and then, if we’re lucky, we get an answer at the next meeting in two weeks or a month later. Wouldn’t that be nice, having a mayor who doesn’t hide from the people she is paid to serve, protected by an armed security detail, and using layers of buffers to shield herself from the very residents who pay her salary?

Mayor Kelly Yaede, your attack on council hasn’t fooled anyone. The bi-partisan Hamilton Council has been the saving grace of Hamilton Township during this period of gross dysfunction and deceit within your administration, as they have held open the door and the microphone for the passionate, sometimes even heated thoughts and concerns of Hamilton residents. You want to complain about a Hamilton problem, try starting with the mayor in the mirror. You can hide, you can throw mud, you can lie all you want, but we see right through it and, make no mistake about it, Election Day is coming.

— Mark P. Van Wagner, A passionate Hamilton resident who pays attention and who

votes.

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