To The Editor:
We are writing to express our support for Town Council candidate Carrie Ford. Carrie has been our neighbor and friend for 10 years and we enthusiastically back her bid for a seat on the Council.
Carrie, who was named a top New Jersey attorney in 2015 by NJ Monthly, has excelled in her professional career. She has proven leadership skills and the ability to navigate tough decisions and negotiations through her experience as an attorney. She regularly negotiates complex deals with strength, fairness and grace. Carrie is married with young children in the school system, and is a regular volunteer in the school. A New Jersey native, she has lived in Verona for over 10 years.
Carrie will provide a fresh perspective to our town council, balancing the makeup of our leadership with a new voice, one that belongs to a full-time attorney, a woman, a mother.
Carrie is committed to improving public safety, she has laid out a plan to work with the county on traffic studies so that the town can make smart improvements to provide safer streets for our children. She believes in making informed decisions that will affect the town and its residents positively, and wants to work with the town to grow our downtown business district. She believes in transparency, and that an informed community who are invested in council decisions will only bolster the efforts of the town council. She is one of three candidates that Verona’s Police Benevolent Association has endorsed because of her commitment to our police officers and their ability to protect and serve the town.
Carrie has the ability to mediate strong personalities. She is not afraid to speak up, and she does so with measured and thoughtful debate on hot topic issues. Carrie has had very positive interactions with both existing members of the council and current candidates and wants to build on much of the positive work the council has done in recent years. As a part of the council, we truly believe she will be a welcome addition to ongoing discussions, providing a collaborative and effective partnership with all council members.
As with many of her endeavors, Carrie has chosen to turn her campaign into an opportunity to bring positive change. She has used her campaign to raise contributions for the food pantry and this Saturday is hosting an event to raise money for the Verona Rescue Squad. Her drive and commitment to contribute lend itself to the work she will do as a member of the council.
We are very lucky to have such a fine group of candidates to choose from. For us, however, it’s an easy choice. We want a smart woman on the town council, one who believes in both tradition and change, and who has the brains, heart and commitment to achieve it.
We encourage you to find out more about Carrie and consider voting for her on May 9th.
Sincerely,
Will Battersby and Monica Cleary Battersby
