Thompson rounds out list of charter study candidates
'I think this is a significant opportunity for our community'
Randy Thompson is one of five citizens whose names will appear on the general election ballot this November for a charter study commission.
A charter study commission [CSC] would scrutinize the city’s current form of government and possibly recommend changes. The CSC is subject to two votes in the November general election. First, voters can choose to implement a CSC or not. Then, they can vote for the five members they’d like to see serve on the commission.
Five people’s names will appear on the ballot. Barring a successful write-in campaign and if the public chooses to implement a CSC, the five candidates will be the committee members.
Thompson lives on Park Avenue with his mother and his nine-year-old daughter, who is a student in the Asbury Park school district. He is the president of the Asbury Park Homeowners Association.
He is the director of public affairs for the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, meaning he is a state-level government advocate for issues affecting adults and children with mental health and substance abuse disorders.
He feels his experience with analyzing public policy in his career will be an asset to the CSC.
“I think this is a significant opportunity for our community to actually give it a thorough study and to improve our form of government to find out exactly waht is the best form,” he said. “I’d love to be a part of that.”
He urges the public to vote yes on the public question to establish the CSC.
“I just hope that everyone recognizes that the public question is a good opportunity for us to really study this issue and hopefully it will pass,” Thompson said.
The other four candidates are Rita M. Marano, Michelle Maguire, Pamela Lamberton and Duanne “King” Small.
