Seal charge disproportionate
Did local activists Bill Stephens and Anthony Russomanno break the law when using the township seal to advertise for their rally last month? Yes - in all likelihood a minor legal infringement, and they should pay some manner of penalty for it. Was the response from the township, leveling charges of fraud and impersonation, at all proportionate to the offense in question, however? In all likelihood, no, it was not.

Instead of responding to this in a measured and calm manner, the administration has chosen to kill a fly with a shotgun when a fly swatters would have been much more appropriate. The Middlesex County Prosecutor seemed to agree by downgrading the offense to a disorderly persons charge. Far from solving their problems, the actions of the administration will just serve to throw gas on the fire.

No matter how one actually feels about Stephens and Russomanno, the fact that they have actually been handed a great gift from the township, albeit inadvertently, is unquestionable. Far from hurting them, this event will catapult their influence even higher by adding to their mythos as insurgent activists, whether for good or for ill.

It is basic politics that tells us that the worst thing to do to rabble-rousers is to level criminal charges at them. More often than not, it only legitimizes their beliefs in the eyes of outside observers. Just look at former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan, whose profile has risen since his own arrest at one of the governor's town hall meetings.

All these charges serve to do is lay bare the insecurities and anxieties of this administration. The township would be wise to remember that mercy can also be a sign of strength, that something is so beneath their notice that responding is just not worth the time.

In conflict, it is not enough to only have a just cause to make one's own side righteous. One must also conduct oneself in a just manner, and part of this includes observance of proportionality when deciding upon a response.

No matter how pure one may think one's cause is, if one is willing to win at any and all cost, any victory one achieves will be a pyrrhic one at best. All people in Edison's political life would do well to remember this in the future.