To the editor: Paul Marino, my running mate who has become a friend, and I have been ringing as many doorbells as possible in the township in our campaign for seats on the council in the November 8 election. Win, lose or draw it has been an unforgettable learning experience that brought us in touch with so many of our neighbors. I have enjoyed speaking to each of you as I appreciate the opportunity and your kind hospitality. At this stage it’s obvious, though, that we won’t be able to ring every doorbell and I would like to tell the people that we haven’t spoken with at least a bit about what makes me tick and why I think I deserve your vote so I can again serve the township as a councilman. No one in this township favors open government more than I do. The governing body of the township should not be having meetings and excluding the public from them. The governing body of the township should not be preventing people from addressing them at meetings. Rather than shutting people out, we should be throwing the doors to town hall open as wide as possible and council members should be encouraging more people to participate in our government. I believe that council members should always keep in mind that they are part of a government for the people and of the people, and not part of a partisan government that puts party loyalty before the needs of my neighbors. I have stood on too many doorsteps in recent weeks to ever forget that but, sadly, I also have attended too many meetings of the present government where the whims of partisan politics have overshadowed what’s best for the majority of our neighbors. In addition to the race for two council seats there also is a question on the ballot on November 8 about whether or not money should be siphoned from the open space trust fund and spent on recreation. Absolutely not. Our need to preserve open space and protect our precious water supply, and our wells, gets more critical every day and we should not dilute the monies intended for that. As many of you may know, I have always championed recreation projects in the township but this referendum is different. It is not the way to expand our recreation programs and I urge everyone in the township to vote against it. In a nutshell, I am asking you for you to vote for Gargano and Marino on November 8 so that Paul and I can represent the best interests of the majority of the people in the township on every issue. You have our word on that. Andrew Gargano Council candidate West Milford