Letter to the Editor: How Walter Long Became Summit's Mayor and What He Believed About Good Governance

To the Editor:
As Summit is once again engaged in a campaign to elect a new mayor, I thought it might be helpful to share some background and insights into the mayor that I had the privilege of knowing the best, my dear husband, Walter Long.  

Walter and I lived in Summit for  37 years, raising our sons, Wally and Chris, and enjoying all that this special community had to offer — from good schools and recreation programs for the boys to a thriving downtown business, Travelong, for Walter.

During the course of a campaign, there is understandably a lot of looking back, recalling how former mayors and Council members came to be elected.  One story that has apparently been making the rounds is that Walter had, previous to his run for mayor, served on the Common Council and other city boards.

Well, I know Walter would want me to set the record straight, and so I will try with the straight talk and candor that was so much a part of my husband’s character.

The fact is that Walter’s first office in Summit, elected or appointed, was his election as mayor in 1996.  Walter decided to run for mayor, because he believed that Summit needed a fresh start.  At that time, there was dissension within the ranks of the downtown business landlords and tenants about a range of issues; communications between the Council and the downtown had broken down; nothing constructive was being done to resolve the issues that could effect the future of the whole town. Walter was understandably concerned, and believed that he might be able to make a difference.

While a registered Republican since his college days, Walter never believed in voting the party line for the sake of loyalty — rather he believed in voting for the best possible person — regardless of party affiliation.  

As it happened, the only candidate for mayor was an incumbent Council member who was running unopposed in the Republican Primary.  The fact that this race for Summit’s most important elected office gave the voters no choice bothered Walter greatly, and he was determined to do something about it.  In a conversation with friends, 24 hours before the deadline for Primary petitions, Walter decided to run against the Republican City Committee’s nominee.

Thanks to a coalition of Republicans, along with Democrats and Independents, who switched their affiliation to vote as Republicans, Walter won the Primary. He went on to serve two terms as Summit mayor — an office that he considered the highest honor and greatest privilege of his life. He never forgot that a nonpartisan coalition elected him, and he governed in that same nonpartisan spirit throughout his eight-year tenure.  

In fact, Walter took particular pleasure in the fact that, during his second term, two Democrats were elected to Council for the first time in Summit’s recorded history. As we all know, one of them - Jordan Glatt - succeeded him as mayor, and has, I believe, proceeded to govern in the same open and nonpartisan manner.

I think it is also important to remember that Walter did not believe in publicly criticizing or ridiculing fellow Summit residents who disagreed with him, and he was always respectful in his comments to other.  As Walter said, “If you are negative, you can never be positive.”  

It seems to me that now is the time for the Summit community to come together with strong positive ideas, counteracting the negativity and name-calling that seem to be defining the Common Council all too often these days.

 
As we all know, history can be instructive, and Walter’s run for mayor is, I think, important to recall at this time.  It is interesting to me that Walter believed that Summit needed a fresh start.  I understand that Eileen Forman Ludden, an accomplished woman, in her professional and volunteer life, has also called for “a fresh start” for Summit, running against two Council incumbents.  Some are claiming that her lack of experience on the Council means she is not qualified to serve as mayor “as all recent past mayors have”.  When I learned about what Eileen has already done for Summit, I honestly feel that her lack of previous service on Council should not make a difference, because it certainly didn’t with Walter!

Cathy Long