I have been a Radburn resident for 45 years.  During that time, I have had the privilege and honor of serving on the Board of Trustees and as President.  As a community, Radburn has unique and unequaled qualities that have stood for nearly 90 years.

Recently, I received a letter from Senator Bob Gordon, Assemblyman Tim Eustace, and Assemblyman Joe Lagana that would undo many of the good qualities of Radburn. You probably received the same letter concerning Bills pending in the New Jersey Legislature that is written specifically to change Radburn and has been promoted by a group of residents that have been working to change Radburn through legislation and litigation.

I have read the Bills and they would invalidate the entire 87-year-old governance structure of Radburn and require new By-laws, resulting in major changes to Radburn.

My primary concern is that most residents are not familiar with the changes the law would bring and that everyone should have a chance to voice their opinion.

I am proposing that the legislators come speak with our community at a meeting.  Do you agree that this meeting should take place so people are informed before any legislation is passed?

What the Bill does:

1.      The Bill is intended to remove the Radburn Association's blind nomination system where board members can rank nominees according to their various perspectives, attributes, and abilities they bring to our community; the top four nominees become candidates on the ballot and are voted on by Radburn’s residents.

2.      The Bill eliminates the role of membership, which is the group of former board Trustees.  Our current system requires that of the nine current board Trustees, two must be experienced “Members” which helps to ensure continuity of leadership and stability in our community.

3.      The Bill eliminates the Citizens' Association President for an automatic seat on the board.

4.     The Bill would require that voting must take place at a meeting—you would no longer be able to vote by mailed ballots.

5.     With an unlimited number of candidates, and with no more community-wide mailed ballots, individual board members would need fewer votes to be elected.   This process would encourage groups of residents to compete with other groups. Radburn already has several invitation-only social media groups.  I think the process would be less open and become contentious.

6.     The Bill would not permit Trustee term limits.  Our current system limits how long Trustees can serve.  Many associations have long-serving, “permanent boards.”  Our current By-laws prevent that by having term limits and “sit-out” periods, but the legislation would not allow limits on how many consecutive terms a member could be elected.

7.     The Bill requires that every house gets only one vote, so two adults have to make once choice for Trustee member, which is the exact opposite of an open voting process.

8.     The Bill would allow the sitting Trustee members to change the By-laws (instead of the current system, where the former Trustees are a check on this power).  The Bill explicitly allows the By-laws to be changed to eliminate voting by tenants and to allow voting weighted by property value.

The vast majority of Radburn residents take pride in our community and do not want to see it ruined through the political process and special legislation.  Please take a stand with me -- sign our petition asking our state Legislators to speak with the whole Radburn community before passing any legislation that affects Radburn.