The Times-Beacon Jan. 3rd article "Novak outspent Ryan by almost $9K" shows that although J.J. Novak greatly outspent Dorothy Ryan, she still pulled off a stunning defeat of Novak this November. Ryan, with very little money and a lot of help from her 2 sons won the old fashioned way...she earned it. Hard work and the truth can sometimes beat money and misrepresentations. The one thing that this article left out was the impact that the thousands of visitors to this website had, during the months leading up to the election. We feel that you -- the readers of this site -- made a difference, and deserve recognition.

This little community website was the only place where all issues were discussed. Not in any newspaper -- or any other place on the web -- could you find a forum that had the courage to speak about the issues of this all-important 2007 Twp. Committee election. On this site, we looked at every high-priced political ad and analyzed it separating fact from fiction. We were able to truthfully speak about each ad right up to the most egregious mailer that was sent out days before the election. No other media outlet stated the simple fact that Novak promised to keep taxes stable, but broke that promise and raised the Twp. portion of the tax by 8.6 % . No other media outlet showed pictures of our crumbling streets, sidewalks and unusable tennis courts. No other media outlet allowed input from ALL voters, while not posting reader comments we know to be untrue without commenting on them ourselves. We are proud of that. Most importantly, though, we are proud of you -- our readers. It is only because of you -- and the continued growth in our readership -- that this site exists.

One more thing that makes us proud is the fact that we are fair. We invited everyone to participate including all Committeemen. Although now-former Committeeman Novak spent much money and would comment on anything in great detail in any media, he never commented on this site. He couldn't. We knew it as well as he did. The truth will always win in a fair and honest debate of issues. Novak's (and his fellow Committeemen's) silence was our strongest endorsement. Dorothy Ryan on the other hand reached out to our readers. She was smart. It didn't cost her anything but her time. She showed she had the courage to face issues head on. To us it is no mystery why she did so well in Districts 1 & 2. Although we care about ALL of Barnegat equally, the Downtown area has always been our focus -- hence our name. We believe our Downtown defines Barnegat's history and we believe our future as a community. Districts 1 & 2 were instrumental in electing Ryan while this area has been overlooked by the Committee for much too long.

We must unite as a community. As we stated on election night "Barnegat Wins". Now it's time for us to win again. With the help of our readership, we will look closely at the issues we face and will continue to serve our community as we look forward to the next election for Twp. Committee in 2008. As a community, we have proven that you don't need a lot of money to know the truth. All you need is at least one place to find it.

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