Leaders and Followers

It’s time to Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way!  Leaders LEAD by example.  Followers are given “marching orders” and effectively “rubber stamp” someone else’s dreams.

Peter Rebsch is a 20 plus year small business owner and I am a 20 plus
year Certified Public Accountant.  What Peter and I have in common is our understanding of accomplishment in the business world.  We understand having to work with deadlines in the back of our minds.  For Peter, it is getting a job complete by the specified date in a contract and for me, it seems like April 15th is always around the corner.  In our positions, we need to make important business decisions that could have a long-term effect on the companies we work for.

About six weeks ago, as the result of numerous conversations, I announced a plan to benefit the community on many levels.  It starts with the town buying the water company property; it leads to a flood mitigation plan and ends with the
community use of the property.  The flood mitigation portion helps our 200 plus neighbors who have homes in the flooding areas of town stay in their houses and maintain their property values.  The community use of the property allows us
to put ball fields on higher ground so we do not constantly have to rehabilitate (read, spending money) for our football and Babe Ruth fields. 

Lo and behold, two weeks ago, my opponents came out endorsing my plan.  I’m not sure they have an original thought, so they just FOLLOWED my plan.  Their
letter in this week’s Twin-Boro News reaffirms that they still don’t have an
original idea.  What’s even funnier, one of these opponents sat on the Council a few years ago and VOTED FOR DEVELOPMENT by approving the Gramercy
project due to be built across from the post office.  Now, he’s reversing his decision?  In addition, in his previous terms as a councilman, he served under former Mayor Frank DeBari, which clearly was a follower position.  My other opponent is a worker bee in the
Clerk’s office in Palisade Park.  He’s in a low level position, so certainly, this is a follower position.  The Democrats have put forth two followers as their candidates this year and I don’t think that is what New Milford needs.

I don’t have to tell you that this will be a critical time to vote.  There are many issues going on in our lives today.  Some of these you know already because the media has kept you informed, others, you can only dream about.  Voting for Peter and me will make some of your dreams become reality.

On Tuesday, November 6th, I am asking you to support Peter Rebsch and Howard Berner for New Milford Council.  Let’s stop dreaming and start living again.

Howard Berner

Borough Council President

Borough of New Milford