The Backstory

When I was first elected to Council in my town, I thought it might be interesting to learn about municipal government. I am originally from NJ, but fortunate enough to have lived in many other great states, including South Carolina, Arizona, Colorado, California, Minnesota, New York, and finally this little town in Central New Jersey (and yes, there is a “Central Jersey”). I came here in 2015, after living for eight years on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. In many ways, I left a part of myself there, and will likely never recover it. But I am in love with a man in NJ, who I have known most of my life, and being with him far out-weighed my love affair with Manhattan. Besides, the town I was moving to has a train station within walking distance from where I would be living – a direct line to the city, so I could always find my way back.

As a first step, I moved into an apartment of my own – a brand new building in the next town over. The apartment practically sat ON TOP of the NJ Transit rail line. It reminded me of home, and the train calmed me down every time it passed by. It was a good transition, except that I would need a car. After eight years without one, I could not fathom spending that kind of money on a giant hunk of metal. I put it off for as long as I could before finally breaking down to join the SUV-loving suburbanites. Conforming to norms is not my thing. But oh well, I loved this man, so bring on the KIA!

A little less than a year later, I moved out of that apartment, and into my boyfriend’s place – a townhouse in a meticulously landscaped community adjacent to an old canal. And it is beautiful. Turtles, birds, deer, and squirrels are my constant view. I was a runner then, clocking about seven miles at least four times a week. I was in top shape, and even a little too skinny, which is no small task for my body type. The loop in Central Park is just over six miles, and that had been my oasis for many years. It is the greatest place in the world, as far as I’m concerned. But the beauty of running along the canal blew me away. Yes, it is very different from running in Central Park, but the natural beauty of it is equal. And although I can no longer run, I am grateful to have such beauty around me. I love it.

At about this same time, the work I had been doing for the past dozen or so years had slowly been drying up. My biggest client – a corporate giant, had restructured its healthcare business, which had been my biggest account. This move nearly put several freelancers (like myself) and even a couple of agencies out of business. At the time, it was scary. I had built everything on that business, even though I always knew a strategy like that could easily burn me. And it eventually did. Still, I was proud of what I had accomplished. I had worked my ass off for many years, commonly billing 12+ hours a day. And I was able to save and invest a reasonable amount, so I did not need to panic about suddenly having so little income. I had no debt, and not many expenses, along with the support of an amazing man helping me though it all.

No longer in the city, my motivation for exercise and “clean” food started to wane. I moved less and I ate more – more pizza, more tacos, more pasta, and a lot more gin. Suddenly, skinny was gone. But I was also relaxed, for the first time in such a long time. I didn’t have kids (not by choice), so I had buried myself in work during those years. And while my friends now had kids that were growing up, they were busier now than I had ever been. None of my friends were nearby. In fact, no family or even a single friend lived in NJ. And without the stimulation of Manhattan, I began twiddling my thumbs, with tacos and gin.

One day, I noticed a sign on the window of a vacant building (one of many) on our Main St. It said that a gym would be opening in the next 60 days. Ugh. I am NOT a gym person. I am a runner. But I was not happy with the direction of the numbers on the scale, so after it opened, I decided to give it a shot. It was there I met the Mayor. She had joined for the same reasons the rest of us had, but also in a deliberate effort to support this new business. I thought that was pretty cool. I had never met a Mayor before, and I really liked her.

The Summer had passed, and Fall was beginning to set in. That’s when the canal is at its best, with all of the leaves turning colors. I was still running, but had begun to have increasingly more back pain. Whatever I had been doing at the gym was aggravating an old injury. I had been kicked by a horse when I was 10 years old, and had dealt with pain ever since. But it was much worse now. My running days were numbered, as I began to seek out doctors for help. Over the coming months, I received many injections, which offered little to no relief. And eventually, I had an ablation of the spine, where the nerve endings are burned in an effort to limit the amount of pain you feel. There is no guarantee these things will work, but I got lucky. For the first time in over a year, I finally got some relief. I was not cured, and I would never be able to run again, but I could finally get some sleep. I am an insomniac – for life, but the back pain had meant even less sleep than usual.

It was around this time that the Mayor approached me about running for Council. I had no idea what it even was, but was flattered that she thought I would be a good fit for an elected position. She made the requirements sound pretty simple. At a minimum, you need to attend two meetings a month, Chair one committee, and be a member of two other committees. So, at the most, there would be three meetings a month. Without a whole lot of thought or hesitation – kinda atypical for me, I said I’d do it. How hard could it be?