Reader Submitted
To the editor:
For months now, my son Harrison has been knocking on thousands of doors throughout Hillsborough because he knows that caring committee members are best able to serve the needs of their voters, by listening to their concerns.
Harrison (Harry) Burke grew up in a family where service to others is the norm. His mother, Mary, worked in executive functions for the Somerset and Middlesex Arc. I worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist in Early Intervention. Harry’s uncle and Godfather recently retired as Executive Director of Catholic Charities. His brother Josh is the director of Camp Jotoni, a camp for children and adults with developmental disabilities.
Following in such footsteps at the age of 14, Harry began volunteering at Camp HEART located right here in Hillsborough, as well as Camp Jotoni and Camp Fatima every summer since.
At 16 years of age, Harry combined his summer savings with fundraising dollars he raised himself, to volunteer with an international service organization, Fields of Growth, to bring the game of lacrosse to the youth of Uganda, as well as building mud huts for villagers of the Bwindi Rainforest.
Now well on his way to finishing his Masters in Political Science at Rutgers University, Harry’s current focus is on answering the call to public service. He knows changing the political climate of our country starts at the local level.
Harry is not afraid to speak up when something is not right. This was evident at the March 28th township committee meeting when he pointed to a disclaimer in the Fitch Report, the report which laid the basis for outsourcing of the Hillsborough Emergency Medical Service. A disclaimer which stated, “an affiliate of Fitch and Associates provide management services, under contract, for RWJUH Mobile Health Service (EMS).” And after listening committee members attempt to defend it, Harry spoke back – “if the report was legitimate it wouldn’t need a disclaimer.”
As people with proven records serving others, my son Harrison Burke and his running mate Jane Staats seek to provide balance to a township committee that currently consists of three real estate and two business professionals. With Jane Staats and Harry Burke, if a petition shows up with over 1,000 signatures it will won’t be filed away with no response. If a resident go before the township committee I trust Harry and Jane to promote true discussion.
After so many years of one-sided governing, Hillsborough deserves better. We need a township committee that doesn’t just fall in line when it comes time to vote. We need members like Jane and my son Harry who will not only listen but act upon the concerns of its constituents.
John Burke
Hillsborough
