ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD
New Jersey's 1st Official Electronic Newspaper
Atlantic Highlands - Fair Haven - Highlands -  Keansburg - Little Silver
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BODY POLITIC by Jack Archibald, Atlantic Highlands Councilman

Contact Jack Archibald jack@ahherald.com View archive

MAKE AHHERALD AN OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER AGAIN

Politics on a local level can be unkind, but we usually don’t expect the government to single out a business for its wrath. Unfortunately, that has become the case in Atlantic Highlands as the Democrat majority continues to penalize an Atlantic Highlands business at the expense of others, while proclaiming how open and honest their government has become.

The target of the Donoghue Administration is none other than the Atlantic Highlands Herald. Earlier this year, members of council voted along party lines to discontinue the designation of the Herald as an official newspaper of the borough. It was not as if the Democrats were saving large sums of taxpayer money, because the Herald charges less for public notices than other local papers.

It was done purely to poke a thumb in the eye of the publisher. For years, our town could be proud of having the first electronic newspaper in New Jersey-perhaps in the nation, but that distinction mattered little to the new council members. After pledging to run on a platform of supporting Atlantic Highlands businesses, the Mayor and his party broke that promise. Make no mistake, the Herald is an information gathering service, but it is also a business based in Atlantic Highlands.

By now, our residents have come to expect this Administration to say one thing, and do another. The Mayor and his party have no problem sending their press releases to the Herald for their political purposes, but when Herald reporters request information from borough hall, they clam up. Through it all, the Herald staff maintains its professional demeanor and honors its commitment to a free press.

The Administration should change its stance regarding the Herald. There is still room for another official paper in the borough and all it would take is a resolution reinstating the Herald. It is a shame that this Mayor and his party won’t support an Atlantic Highlands business, because they ran on a platform that promised just the opposite.