Paterniti tells the truth, resident says
Ihave not always seen eye to eye

with Dr. [Thomas] Paterniti, but I wish to applaud the Democratic municipal chairman for his honest assessment of Mayor [Jun] Choi's broken campaign promises and hiring spree. It is refreshing to hear the truth from a high-profile Democratic leader about the truthful actions of one of his candidates, good or bad. Choi's talk of change hasn't been worth a dime.

He has been on a hiring binge since taking office three years ago, not with employees that make a difference to residents but, rather, with police captains and fire officers that sit in newly decorated offices. Choi himself hired 12 new people in his office. One of them, Jerry Barca, his communications director, spits out political press releases at taxpayers' expense. The township's payroll run shows nearly 100 new employees. What happened to the hiring freeze he promised? To add insult to injury, he directed his handpicked council to write him a 53 percent salary increasewith $10,000 in medical benefits, on top of a shiny new car.

Only arrogant politicians can do such things in these worsening economic times. Dr. Paterniti and many residents believe that Choi would hold true to his promises, but many of them are now questioning his behavior.

When questioned by reporters, Choi says "Paterniti's comments are baseless and I think it's unfortunate that, in these hard economic times, Paterniti would hurl these baseless attacks." Mayor Choi, come back to Earth. The facts are the facts. That's exactly what Dr. Paterniti's point is. These are hard times for the workingman, and you have broken your promises of a more efficient local government.

I find Choi's remarks insulting and arrogant. Dr. Paterniti has every reason to question Choi's spending habits. After all, the doctor embraced him, raised over $100,000 for his campaign, and believed in his promise of change. Now the doctor is faced with the townspeople scratching their heads and asking what happened. Choi has egg on the face of every Democratic committee person that supported him, and many of his committee people have turned their backs on him, fearing they will not be re-elected this coming spring.

Choi resigned from the Department of Education, a state entity that is full of bureaucratic, Trenton-style waste, and it seems as though Choi has brought that mentality to the township.

I wish to thank Dr. Paterniti for his honesty and leadership with regard to Choi's administration, and I hope that a new mayoral candidate comes forward to stop this young man and pull this town together.
Anthony Russomanno
Edison