Time to declare State of Emergency in Newark — send in the troops (Opinion)

That’s right. The Governor needs to stop playing politics with people’s lives.

How many years have the citizens of Newark been exposed to poison in their drinking water? How many years have politicians used the role of Mayor to either line their own pockets or jump into the national political scene to feed personal ambition? How many kids have suffered in school and later in life with health issues because they were drinking water with high concentrations of lead?

Now the Governor refuses to declare a state of emergency that would potentially free up millions in federal funds in order to fix the problem. Why? Are he and his Attorney General so consumed with hatred of President Trump they would sacrifice lives and health of kids and parents in Newark? What’s going on in Newark is criminal.

The Mayor, who cowardly ran away from the press over the weekend, has been afraid to answer questions and act. The Governor is too afraid to let the feds come in so he’d rather the people suffer? C’mon. Do better.

One voice for the people is Assemblyman Jamel Holley. He joined me on the air Monday and called for the Governor to declare a State of Emergency AND bring in the National Guard. He pointed to the overall crisis facing working parents and seniors who may be unable to get bottled water.

This is beyond the expertise of local officials. This is beyond a local problem that a little bit of state money will fix. The citizens in Newark are in crisis and they have been let down repeatedly by their so-called leaders.

Assemblyman Holley is right. Declare an emergency and get past partisan politics and send in the National Guard to make sure water is distributed to the people who need it. Lives are at stake and our Governor sounds like he’s still on vacation. Bet the Gov has clean water in his multi-million dollar mansions in Middletown and Italy…

Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015. Tweet him @NJ1015 or @BillSpadea. The opinions expressed here are solely those of Bill Spadea.

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