As I was thinking about the topic of this month’s column, I was also thinking about the Memorial Day holiday. The big event of the long weekend is the township parade with its mix of somber tributes to those who gave their lives and the joy of families and friends spending time together.
Although these two emotions might seem incompatible, I believe that service to your community needs to come from a place of affection and connection to the people that you serve.
As I reflect about my service to the community I think about the journey I started over 20 years ago when my family and I had just moved from San Francisco to Lawrence Township. My wife had her job at ETS, and my daughter had just started daycare. We had one car and so every morning,
I’d drop the two of them off and go home and look for job openings at architecture offices. As I looked over the listings, I thought of some advice that a mentor had given me, architects need to be involved in their community. So, in the fall of 2004, I applied to various committees and landed on the Growth and Redevelopment Committee, now called the Business and Economic Growth Committee.
Over the following years of meeting on the second Tuesday of every month, I began to get to know our community. The meetings were not glamorous with little to no public participation. Instead, it was simply a group of interested residents, business owners, and the council liaison working together to advocate to the township on behalf of local business. We understood how important small businesses are to the local economy as well as the community. That first committee will always be special when I think about my 19-year association as a member, chair, and liaison.
In 2012 I began serving on the Planning Board and learned about making difficult decisions in public. I took a training course about the roles and responsibilities of the position. I learned how to view an application through the lens of the entire town and not just the specific application. I learned about the laws that guide decisions and listened critically to professionals and experts that testified before the board.
I saw from my more experienced board members how they asked questions and signaled to the public how they were thinking about a project. I felt connected to my community and worked to balance my personal perspective with that of the community while being mindful of the law.
When I had the opportunity to run for township council in 2015, I had over 10 years of experience understanding Lawrence Township and the responsibilities of representing our community. I worked diligently to meet voters and connect with them. I spoke about my experience as an architect and how the work of listening to a client’s requirements, developing a vision, staying on budget, and communicating are skills I would bring to my service on council. I won my first election with a 20-point margin.
Over the years, those traits have served me well. I feel more connected to Lawrence and I believe, based on the last election results, that Lawrence feels more connected to me. For every community celebration and environmental improvement there have been challenges that have tested my appetite to serve Lawrence.
The ongoing issues with Trenton Water Works that began during the 2017 Labor Day weekend, the bias incident at Lawrence High School’s homecoming in 2019, and the reorganization meeting of council in 2024 all made me question whether it was all worth it. I am human and hearing years of angry public comments and emails can be challenging to one’s metal health.
Yet, I kept coming back to my love of this community. This complicated, diverse place that I have called home for nearly 22 years. I think of my family, of the friends I have made, my neighborhood, the township staff that I work with, the people that I have met and even those that I have disagreed with.
It is our community and my desire to “keep Lawrence a wonderful place to live” that keeps me energized about continuing my public service.
Christopher Bobbitt is a councilman and mayor of Lawrence Township.
