Finding Mendham Township’s Hidden Treasures

Early September is an excellent time to take stock of our town’s very special character. This past weekend, we enjoyed the Brookside Engine Company’s 49th annual Clambake, a truly special community event that brings us all together. And much more sadly, this week marks the 18th anniversary of 9/11. Although we were not residents at the time, we have heard so many stories from friends about how this community came together in response to that horrific attack.

Trishna and Melissa with the pie eating champion at the Brookside Fire Engine Company Clambake.

Mendham Township now faces many challenges, but none that the sense of community and the power of its resilience cannot overcome. We believe that Mendham Township has always been a hidden treasure, but to succeed in the future, we need to put that treasure on the map. Indeed, our future depends on demonstrating how Mendham Township is a desirable and welcoming a community for young families. There have, sadly, been terrible incidents that don’t reflect the goodness in this community and have generated bad press. Although these are unfortunate incidents, the community response in rising up and condemning hatred speaks to the true values of Mendham Township residents and made us so proud to live here. We need to embrace the goodwill that is within this community by recognizing celebrations of diversity that ought to have the town’s support and pride. We should show the outside world Mendham is for all people.

Melissa and Trishna want to work — for you and with you — to build a stronger community. We know how hard it can be to integrate into a new community because we were both in that position a few years ago. We therefore feel uniquely positioned to identify the concerns of families living in Mendham, and those thinking about moving here. Mendham Township is a wonderful place. Our job is to make sure everyone sees this, so that we can ensure Mendham’s future is as bright as its present and its past.

There are many practical steps we can take to strengthen our sense of community and improve its livability:

• Create an all-volunteer Township Welcoming Committee that leverages existing information and resources to ease the transition of new residents into our community.
• Tell our family, friends, and neighbors that their government and community stands with anyone of any faith, creed, culture, or sexual orientation. To be clear, we support a resolution celebrating Pride month.
• Investigate ways to utilize existing spaces in a smarter way, with the goal of making those spaces work for us, either as retail or other possibilities.
• Continue the efforts underway to build better parks and community spaces.
• Work with our federal partners to reverse the repeat of the SALT deduction.
• Continue and expand Committeewoman Amalia Duarte’s efforts to provide robust information about the business of our government to expand transparency.