The Barnegat Chamber of Commerce has finally come out and made a stand. They will be putting out signs to "Just Say No" to the proposed toll hikes on the Parkway. How brave of them. DowntownBarnegat.com fully supports the Chamber's efforts, as opposing the toll hike is a classic no-brainer. Now that the Barnegat Chamber has taken a public stand against injustice it is time to hold their stagnant Board of Directors accountable for their silence when it comes to other issues that effect the people and businesses of Barnegat.

Bigotry and intolerance is bad for business. Do the members of the Barnegat Chamber of Commerce support denying civil rights to the people of Barnegat? We fully expect the Barnegat Chamber of Commerce to strongly denounce Committeeman Jeff Melchiondo for denying same-sex couples the right they have under state law to have a civil union ceremony in Barnegat. Our community is not based on bigotry and intolerance. The Barnegat Chamber of Commerce should know that. If the Board of the Chamber is now speaking out as a group, we suggest they start here in town...with this important civil rights issue. They should put out this sign... "Say No To Bigotry."

While they are at it, why don't they say no to businesses not being welcomed in Barnegat? Where was 3-term Chamber President Jerry Thompson when Sonic was not made welcome in town? Or the proposed new restaurant at Sweet Jenny's stalled? Where was Mr. Thompson's eloquent voice when the Post Office has been threatening to move out of the historic downtown for the past 3 years? Turning the historic downtown into a warehouse area would be devastating to our community and the businesses he supposedly represents. Hey Jerry...how about a sign that says "Say No to the Post Office Move."

How about all the empty stores or the businesses that are leaving our town? The Barnegat Economic Development Committee (EDC) puts out a mailer before each election to tell us what a great job they're doing. But if you look closely, all you see is failure. Someone has to take responsibility for the lack of economic development in Barnegat. So maybe the Chamber can buy signs stating "Just Say No to the Barnegat EDC"

DowntownBarnegat.com resigned from the Chamber of Commerce out of protest for their involvement in not supporting Barnegat's Heritage. If we could, we would resign again. Now it's up to the other good businesses that make up the Chamber to take a stand. If Mr. Thompson won't do so, it is up to our business community to say NO to bigotry, NO to the Post Office move, and NO to bad economic development. We hope the good people who run businesses in Barnegat force Mr. Thompson to do the right thing. His current ploy to choose to attack the proposed toll hike smells of politics. We all know the Barnegat Chamber of Commerce -- and the Barnegat Twp. Committee -- is closely linked. It is hard to know where one begins and one ends. To choose to attack the toll hike -- and not address the things here in town that he can actually do something about -- is cowardly, and a ploy we can all see through. Mr. Thompson, we hope that you have the courage to do the right thing. Until then we have no choice but to say NO to the Barnegat Chamber of Commerce. Keep a look out for the signs.