Yes, but was it close?

"Truth always rests with the minority, and the minority is always stronger than the majority, because the minority is generally formed by those who really have an opinion, while the strength of a majority is illusory, formed by the gangs who have no opinion—and who, therefore, in the next instant (when it is evident that the minority is the stronger) assume its opinion ... while Truth again reverts to a new minority."--Soren Kierkegaard

Wow. The mayoral race final results are in, and Matawan Mayor Mary Aufseeser was able to hold onto her seat. By one vote. Talk about a town divided. When she won her election two years ago, she won with 1464 votes to then-mayor Bea Duffy's 1112, or 58% to 42%. Slightly more of a mandate than she got this time. What's different? Was it a perceived ineffectualness on her part for the last two years? Was it stonewalling of initiatives again and again by the Republicans on the council in an effort to undermine her administration? Was it just plain old voter apathy? We might never know, but two things are the evidently true in this matter:

1) She's going to have a tough road ahead of her, and

2)If people don't get out and vote, they really can't complain about who their neighbors elected.

Of course, once elected, the Mayor becomes the Mayor of ALL of Matawan, not just those who voted for her. So let's hope she gets the support she needs to see her ideas and initiatives through to fruition, so our town can continue moving forward. When she ran the first time, she said she wanted to see the existing downtown area revitalized, rather than razing the houses by the train station and putting up new strip malls. She also said she would like to see the police department get new cars (and a new building) and see the glass- and litter-strewn parks renovated and better-utilized. How has she done on those fronts? There are at least six new businesses on Main Street that were not there before she was elected, including the 2006 spa of the Year, Peter Conte; two new upscale restaurants, La Riviera and La Pesce; a brand new sushi/teriyaki eat-in/take out restaurant, Sushi Bento; a national financial firm in Edward Jones, and oh yes, the "controversial" anchor store, C-Town. All of these businesses came into EMPTY BUILDINGS on Main Street, in C-Town's case, the biggest property on Main Street, and one that had been empty for years.

The police department have their new cars (and trucks), but not the new building yet. The Lakeside boathouse has a new roof and the Jackson Street park has been completely beautified, and re-dedicated to Joe Penniplede. The park adjacent to the Community Center has also been rededicated, to the apparently ungrateful Jeremiah Hourihan. We say "Apparently ungrateful" because he wasn't at his own dedication ceremony because he reportedly didn't respect the democrats that were in charge at the time. These of course being the same democrats that let him keep his borough post on the Shade Tree Commission. Truth in Matawan doesn't know if these were the real reasons he didn't show up, as opposed to say, health reasons, but we'll see if we can uncover the truth there, as well.

As for the Mayor, good luck to her. As we've just seen, in less than two years, she's accomplished nearly all she said she wanted to in her initial run. Let's hope that with the proper support, she can do even more in the next 4 years.