It's always about priorities for the Sussex County Board of Freeholders.

Too bad their priorities are misplaced.

With the county facing health and economic crises due to the pandemic, you would think the five Republicans tasked with leading our county would be focusing on these important local issues .

They're not. Instead they side step and distract from their blatant failures by passing pointless resolutions hoping to distract the county from their inability to lead effectively and govern the way that is necessary to keep the county at its residents heads above water.

The Freeholders have decided to pass a resolution (which has no legal effect) disapproving of the state legislature's passage of the Reproductive Freedom Act, which, among other things, would affirm a woman's right to make her own choices when it comes to abortion. Mind you this resolution, along with other pointless resolutions passed by the freeholder board cost money via billable hours paid to their resolution writers.

Now, I recognize that the mere mention of the word "abortion" is akin to waving a red cape in front of a bull. Emotions can be high on both sides of the issue. The topic has likely caused discussion, disagreement and argument among many family and friends. Even my fiancée and I are on opposite sides of the subject (we agree to disagree).

But the Freeholders seek to inflame an issue over which they have no control. They describe the Reproductive Freedom Act as a "pro-abortion" bill, when it clearly is not. Allowing a woman the freedom to make her own choices does not make you "pro" anything, except pro-choice,

And to inflame their base ever more, the Freeholders state that the RFA promotes sex trafficking (quote directly from Freeholder Sylvia Petillo). I'm not sure even Mr. Spock could delve into the logic of that statement. And I'm not going to try. There is NO mention of sex trafficking in the bill. This is another glaring example of the freeholders sloppy attempt at a slight of hand trick to distract from their failures.

So, the question remains: why do the Freeholders choose to waste taxpayers' time and money dealing with things over which they have no control, while ignoring local issues where they do have a say?

Like I said, it's all about priorities.

Too bad theirs are the wrong ones.

Michael Schnackenberg

Newton, NJ

Source: https://www.tapinto.net/towns/newton/categories/letters-to-the-editor/articles/reproductive-rights?fbclid=IwAR0oAqjdNHMbD4pQasKnNbuub7ZCzO1GxBedJS7aIJZHlRBmZHl324Xyhak