Be sure of this: Cherry Hill’s next mayor (whether it be Democrat Dave Fleisher or Republican Nicole Nance) will have much to worry about. The town is at a crossroads. The community is well past middle age and is facing its golden years with an air of uncertainty if not outright anxiety. Here are five big areas of concern that the next mayor will likely face:
1) The schools. From the outset education (in addition to location) was Cherry Hill’s prime calling card. The schools very quickly established a sterling reputation. They were new; they were well run; they attracted great teachers and they produced outstanding students. But other districts have upped their game and in recent years Cherry Hill has begun to lag with test scores falling and students playing catch up under a regime that seemed more focused on equity, diversity and inclusion than reading, writing, math and science. As the schools search for a new superintendent and the township picks a new mayor this would be a good time for the two entities to jointly launch a restart that brings the schools back to their core mission: student-centered academic achievement. The next mayor could and should signal a willingness to take the lead in this direction.
2) Route 70. Yes, it's a state highway bit it's also Cherry Hill’s backbone. This is the main artery leading through South Jersey’s largest and best-known community. Right now Route 70 is a complete mess as it undergoes a $151 million state-directed upgrade that include major structural and drainage improvements. The nine-mile long upheaval (from Pennsauken to Evesham), was supposed to begin construction in 2021 and be completed by early 2027 but it’s already behind schedule. Cherry Hill (the community most impacted by this massive effort) needs to stay on top of this and make sure the finished projects Route 70's unique role and its streetscape particularly in areas such as Erlton and other neighborhoods along the route. The opportunities for beautification, pedestrian-friendly improvements, lighting and other enhancements should not be overlooked. On top of that, businesses, residents and commuters must be kept informed every step of the way and their input must be part of the process, lest Route 70 be turned into another Route 130.
3) Blight creep. Do we really have to mention which areas of the town are susceptible to creeping blight? If you’ve driven around Cherry Hill recently it’s likely that you’ve already seen patches of graffiti, shuttered or boarded up homes or businesses, deteriorating signage, unkept lawns, residences, sidewalks or even whole blocks that are somewhat questionable. Yes, this is hardly the norm. But blight has a way of settling in, bit by bit and step by step so that it’s almost unnoticed at first. Then you wake up one day and you’re suddenly living amidst squalor. The next mayor must take the lead to initiate a clean up, paint up, fix up program that begins with Cherry Hill’s oldest, most vulnerable communities and eventually includes everyone and every section of town from Woodland to Ashland and every point in between. True, the west side of town seems most at risk right now, but be sure of this: once blight takes root it can spread faster that kudzu and a once desirable community can quickly become the next slum. This is no time for complacency!
4) The Mall. More than 60 years after it opened its doors (and several updates later) the Mall remains the jewel in Cherry Hill’s crown. This pioneering, landmark edifice is more than Cherry Hill’s Main Street, it’s also an economic powerhouse that brings throngs of shoppers and diners and hundreds of millions of dollars to the region years after year. It helped to give Cherry Hill its name and its luster. At a time when shopping malls are closing and/or sitting deserted all over the country, the Cherry Hill Mall remains devoid of major vacancies and comparably robust. But it hasn’t been easy and the environment for brick and mortar retailers remains challenging. To its credit, Mall management has worked hard to not only keep the ship afloat but keep it full, bright, clean, safe and welcoming. The next mayor and newly elected members of Township Council should work closely with the mall and with all of the town’s commercial enterprises to keep doors open, lights lit and shoppers and diners flocking to what has become South Jersey's undisputed business and commerce center.
5) Democracy itself. It's been more than 40 years since Cherry Hill has had genuinely competitive, two-party governance. Forty years! No matter your political leanings, you'd have to admit that entrenched one-party rule (without so much as a single dissenting voice at the governing table) simply is not healthy. Look at almost any town or city that has experienced such an extended stretch of one-party dominance and you will discover an echo chamber and a prescription for patronage, favoritism, nepotism, secrecy, incestuousness and, eventually corruption. The ruling party in Cherry Hill brooks no deviance from the party line. If you doubt that, you haven't paid attention to how quickly those who stray are banished. But group think does not bode well for the future. Unless Cherry Hill's minority party (in this case the outspent and out-organized GOP) can succeed in electing some of its candidates to office, democracy will die in Cherry Hill. The only way to prevent this is to deliberately vote at least one or more dissenting voices into office. Absent that, the next mayor (no matter his or her party) should conscientiously recruit members of the opposite party to serve on important non-elected government bodies such as the planning and zoning boards.
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