The current Township Committee consists of 5 members who represent the town at large. They serve 3 year terms; the terms are scattered: 2 seats, 2 seats and 1 seat so we have an election every year; and the members of the Township Committee elect one of its members to be Mayor every year. That system has meant most mayors serve a one-year term and then another person takes on the responsibility. Over the last 10 years we have had 16 different Committee members and 8 different people as Mayor. In my humble opinion this has slowed progress down in Springfield.

I understand that in 2012 a Charter Study Commission was tasked to study the form of government and the ultimate decision was to keep it the way it is. But it is obvious that today’s political climate is much different than in 2012. It may be time to look into changing our form of government.

For instance, why can’t we have our mayor serve longer times? Or probably most importantly, why do we need to continue with the partisan nature of elections at the local level? We have Board of Education elections this year and here we are voting for who we feel are the right people for the job. We have no clue of party affiliation because it does not matter! Just like it should not matter on the issues on a local level! Unfortunately, it is obvious that many people still vote down party line and perhaps not the best person for the job.
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