Suggestions:

One of the most effective ways for someone to express their opinion is writing a letter to the editor for their local paper. Not only can you express yourself, but you may help others to see things your way, or at least better understand the issues.

A lot of people, though, don’t know where to start, or feel intimidated by trying to speak their mind publicly. Here’s a few tips on how to get started.

1. Simple is good. Letters to the editor don’t have to be great literature, you just have to say what you mean. The issue you’re writing in about, how you feel, and why, are all that you need to get across.

2. Keep it short. Most newspapers have a limit of around 200 words but some have a limit of 150 words. So don’t worry about providing the whole history of your thoughts.

3. Make sure the reader knows what you’re talking about. A short sentence at the beginning of a letter, referencing the issue that you’re writing in about, helps people keep up.

4. Don’t get lost in the details. If people really need to know more about a given issue, suggest that they look it up online instead of trying to explain something too complex in a short letter.

5. Not all letters get published, even the best ones. Don’t be too disappointed if you don’t make it into the paper on the first try. Once you get into the spirit of it, writing letters to the paper can be very rewarding, and the more polished you get at it the better your chances are of being published.

Always include your name, address, day-time phone number and signature. Newspapers will not publish this information, but they may use it to verify that you wrote the letter.

Most important – WRITE! Do not try to do a perfect letter. Just give it a good effort and send it off. Letter writing is the one thing that any one of us can do on our own without the need to work through a group. No committees are necessary. Just do it!

Topics of Conversation

• Politician pay hikes. The Union County Freeholders voted to give themselves a pay hike, while thousands of residents were losing their jobs.
• Double Dipping. While many people are searching for jobs, a lot of political insiders actually have two, three and even more jobs on the public payroll. Ass. Joe Cryan has a $112,650 job as a Union County Undersheriff  in addition to his $49,000 legislative position. Sen. Nicholas Scutari also collects two tax-funded paychecks totaling $124,000, but he has a fulltime law practice, too!  The there is the King of Corruption, Sen. Ray Lesniak, who receives a $49,000 legislative salary plus $3½ million a year in taxpayer money through no-bid government contracts awarded to his law firm by school districts, municipalities & other tax-funded entities.
• Rising Crime. While counting their money, most politicians have been lax about tending to the business of protecting our safety. As violent crime increases, it is a reminder to residents that they are not doing their job. Meanwhile, such politicians as Lesniak, Cryan & Scudari vote to eliminate drug free school zones and make it easier for criminals to get out of jail.
• Taxes, Taxes, Taxes. Americans are plagued by economic problems and today’s political insiders have added to them by piling higher and higher tax burdens on struggling workers.  Lesniak, Cryan & Scudari have voted to increase dozens of taxes on working families but they built a sunset provision into an income surcharge on millionaires and then allowed it to lapse at the peak of the Great Recession.
• Corruption. Bribery and kickbacks have resulted in several criminal convictions among city officials and crooked contractors, including some who have made hefty contributions to political insiders who are not seeking re-election.  Remember Lesniak, Cohen & Cryan? Former Assemblyman Neil Cohen in serving five years in prison for distributing child pornography with his state computer in the office he shared with Lesniak & Cryan.  Now that Roselle Councilman Jamel Holley has completed his probation sentence for absentee ballot fraud, the regular political organization has endorsed him to run for mayor!  Worst of all, some of the most obscene acts are perfectly legal because Lesniak, Cohen & Cryan have been writing the laws… That’s why Sheriff Ralph Froehlich can collect a paycheck and pension for the same job.
• What’s Important to You? Speaking from the heart is always the most persuasive way to influence other voters. Explain why you support a particular Democrats for Change candidate.