Winter 2004 Edition     

Borough Council Race:  Why No Republican Candidates  Ed Trawinski is the head of Fair Lawn's Republican Party (officially he's the Municipal Chair of the Fair Lawn Republican County Committee).  He also ran for State Assembly in 2003.  In 2003, three Democrats ran unopposed for three Borough Council seats.  Fair Lawn News readers asked Trawinski about the 2003 Council race and, more importantly, his daughter's health.  The Republican Party in Fair Lawn (officially Republicans for Responsible Government) did not file a slate of candidates for the 2003 council election. Why not? At a critical time in the process in early March, my daughter became seriously ill. Recognizing that it would be a month or so before I would be able to fulfill my responsibilities in leading the Council candidate selection process, I asked several other long-standing Republican leaders to assist me in attempting to fulfill my responsibility of helping to select candidates for this year's election. For a variety of reasons that process was not successful. Thus Republicans for Responsible Government did not field a slate of candidates for local election in Fair Lawn in 2003.  Suffice it to say that it is my intention that the Fair Lawn Republican Organization will field candidates in future elections. In the meantime we will continue to speak out and participate in the debate as and where appropriate so that the best interests of all the people of Fair Lawn are addressed and served. Some people think the Republicans did not field a slate of candidates because they wanted to keep turnout low in Fair Lawn.   Fewer Democrats voting in Fair Lawn, would help your 2003 campaign for Assembly in the legislative district which includes towns from Elmwood Park to Fort Lee. As a moderate Republican and known coalition builder, I have won and lost elections in Fair Lawn.  I would like to think that many of those same voters would support me again.  Besides the idea that the political parties can control turnout is dubious at best.  The truth is that historically the turnout is low in non-Presidential, non-Gubernatorial and non-US Senate year.   I am personally doing my best to increase the turnout. I have every confidence that the record of accomplishment of Joe Tedeschi and myself on taxes, spending and borrowing on the Borough Council far exceeds that of one of my opponents who served before me and those who have come after me. There are numerous examples of unopposed candidates. Sometimes it happens. Also this is not the first time here in Fair Lawn. How is your daughter doing? She was the Fair Lawn High School student who was diagnosed with meningitis in 2003. Thanks for asking.  Our daughter's prognosis is good. For all of you who have offered your good wishes and prayers, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. Our daughter continues to progress nicely, is back at school and God willing, will make a full and complete recovery. The reason and the only reason I stayed in the Assembly race at the time was when my daughter came out of the medically drug induced coma that she was placed in to increase her chances of survival, that she said to me: "I hope you are not going to use my illness as an excuse to quit. You taught us to hang in there against all odds." I told her this was different and she asked me not to drop out. I did not even think about political activity after that until mid-April when after living in the ICU at Valley Hospital for nearly a month it became apparent that our daughter was not only going to live, but also was on target for a miraculous recovery for each I thank God and all the good people who have offered their prayers for her each and every day.