As the new year starts for the people of Barnegat, Committeeman Thomas Hartman walks out on elected office leaving generations to feel the pain of his time served. Hartman lied to the people of Barnegat and the local press regarding the township killing Barnegat's only day of town pride, by the people and for the people, Heritage Day. Sadly this was only the tip of the iceberg as the SS Barnegat -- much like the Titanic -- sails through dangerous water.

• Twp. taxes skyrocketed as the people were not told the truth about what their tax rate would be.
• Lucrative benefits for Committeemembers and Administrator while the people are the only ones tightening their belts.
• 49 % proposed pay increases for some Twp. employees
• Parks that magically go down in price until they finally fail
• Playground and baseball fields ripped down in front of children's eyes
• Youth center shut down while children are using it
• Million dollar property bought and called a park, but the public has little use for it
• Message of intolerance spread while public officials refuse to marry ANYONE who requests the Mayor of Barnegat perform the service
• Highly qualified appointees removed from public service because it was feared they would run against Hartman for office
• Voters in downtown and bayfront areas not allowed to vote in their own neighborhood
• Infrastructure crumbling
• Allegations made by former Zoning Board Chairman of misconduct by Committeeman Hartman
• Barnegat plummets from being voted the best place to live in Ocean County, as for sale signs pop up everywhere
• The post office is allowed to not only move from the downtown, but will continue to take up valuable space as a warehouse only at the downtown location
• With no effective plan, the historic downtown slowly dies

These are only a few of the dark spots of Hartman's time in office. The one thing they all have in common is that the local press either refused to cover them, or simply wrote public relations pieces to cover them up.

As a Committeeman Thomas Hartman was a failure. I can speak first hand on how his lack of leadership and lies hurt good people who volunteer for this town. He hurt innocent children who loved celebrating their town pride with their family. He has left us all with a lack of trust in public officials that will haunt Barnegat for years to come.

We bid farewell to Commiteeman Hartman. As a private citizen we wish him good luck and good health in the future, but as a public figure to me Hartman's legacy will be that he killed Barnegat's Heritage Day. For that he has earned the disrespect for generations to come. But as you can see, there are much bigger issues that we all face in the years ahead. Committeeman Hartman abandoned ship and the SS Barnegat is now in the hands of Cap't Melchiondo and his assistant Cirulli. I hope they don't take us all down with the ship. Because up to this point they have done very little to steer us away from the iceberg that Barnegat has been heading for. NOW is the time for leadership and accountability.