I wanted to take the time, as a respected Democrat and community advocate, to personally encourage West Windsor residents to vote “No” on the Election Day ballot question to turn our municipal elections “partisan.” We’ve had “non-partisan” elections for over 30 years, and the system works. As the first African-American man elected to West Windsor Town Council in our township’s 227-year history, I have been proud of our residents to see Me for Me. Because if we sit down and talk, we generally have far more commonalities with one another than differences. And that has nothing to do with a ‘D’ or ‘R’ next to our name. Ask yourself this question – is what we are consistently seeing at the national level in politics, what we want to see as a township? There has to be something special and good about keeping the PURITY of things these days, especially in politics/elections. So why change now? How would this change benefit all of us and especially our Independent voters? It won’t. We all must agree that divisive rhetoric and behavior has to stop and does nothing to advance our township! West Windsor is one of the most desirable townships not only in our state, but in the country. I personally grew up in an urban, poor and very PARTISAN city. So I definitely know the difference and have always been grateful to live here. More importantly, I am honored to say that I was ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE, not because of my party affiliation or because I was selected to be on a ballot by a small group of Democrats in town. Which removes our Independents out of the pure political process mentioned above. So why would we want to do that if we cared so much about ALL of our residents? Now ask yourself another question – isn’t that the DEMOCRACY we actually want? Isn’t that the opportunity we want for our children and the next generation? Isn’t that what my grandfather and so many other family members fought for in the Deep South from slavery up and through the Civil Rights Movement and to this current day? To have a fair, equitable election decided and significantly based on one’s contributions, their service, their character, their commitment and their merit? Personally, that is the way I want to WIN and as a former Division 1 Basketball Player, the way I was trained to WIN! But, if we do a little research on candidates who WON election(s) vs. candidates who LOST elections(s), what we discover in the results is clearly based on your community resume. Has nothing to do with party affiliation.  For example, in the last 10 years (3-4 election cycles – Mayoral, Town Council and/or School Board), the WINNERS of those elections, won based on their contributions, their commitment, family values, their dedication, their business acumen/experience and most of all, their selfless acts and years of service to our residents. It wasn’t about political affiliation at all. Now do you see the difference and maybe why there is a push for Partisan Politics in our township? And to those who may question transparency and engagement, there is actually more community engagement in recent years than ever before, i.e., Social Media, Town Council meetings, community & social events, etc. There is more community awareness of all of us on Council and the Administration, including knowing our political affiliations. This Council has participated and has been visible at school, social, sporting, business and cultural events around this township and continuously engages in conversations with our residents at all of these events. We listen and discuss concerns with our residents and as you can see, we are out in the community and spend countless hours on ALL things West Windsor! But here is the REAL: This township isn’t about the two major political parties. Never has been. The beauty of West Windsor and why it is still ranked so high as a Township and School District is that a plethora of elected and non-elected individuals/residents, volunteers, previous administrations, teachers/educators, parents/students and community organizations built and catapulted this township to be what it is. YOU – the RESIDENTS OF THIS TOWNSHIP are what matters the most, whether you are an Independent, Democrat or Republican. ALL OF US HAVE COLLECTIVELY CONTRIBUTED to the success of West Windsor but in recent years, a small group of people in this great township continuously criticize and now want to change the election process. Why? Our non-partisan system has produced a current council that exudes diversity of thought, but also ethnic and religious diversity (2 Jewish-Americans, 1 Indian-American, 1 Polish-American, and 1 African-American), political diversity (3 Democrats, 1 independent, 1 Republican), and gender diversity (3 women, 2 men). If residents vote ‘Yes’ on the ballot question to go partisan, I will need to be selected by the same small group of people who some have sadly said publicly that I am not a ‘Good Democrat’ or a ‘Real Democrat.’ So, what would be my chances of attaining this small select group’s approval in that closed meeting and being selected to represent the Democrats on the ballot? In addition to creating more division in the community, most do not know that this push for a ‘Yes’ vote, could also be a way to attempt to push people like me and my many years of service to this incredible community, off of the ballot as a Democrat. And that is not right, definitely not democratic and would potentially give someone with far less contributions to represent the party. Is that what we want West Windsor? Non-Partisan is the most fair and equitable election for this township, according to the makeup of our incredible residents – Independents/Democrats/Republicans. I am proud to be the first African-American man elected to West Windsor Town Council, because I won on merit, experience, contributions and a pure love for this township, not party approval. So I am the undeniable PROOF that NON-PARTISAN has worked! Please Vote ‘NO’ to the ballot question and let’s continue to work! — Martin Whitfield Martin Whitfield is a member of the West Windsor Township Council since 2021, and prior to that was on the West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education since 2017.