Galloway Council Stands Behind Resident in Fight for Jessica Lunsford Act

Galloway Township Council will likely see a resolution on the agenda for the next council meeting to send out another letter concerning the Jessica Lunsford Act. Mayor Don Purdy made the suggestion Tuesday night following an extensive discussion of that matter, raised by resident Anna Jezycki.

Jezycki raised the question last Tuesday night at the night with Sen. Chris Connors, Assemblyman Brian Rumpf and Assemblywoman DiAnne Gove.

There are four bills in committee concerning the law, at this time, and none of them have been move to a vote.

The bill concerns 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, of Florida, who was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered by a registered sex offender in 2005. New Jersey is one of the few states that still hasn’t passed the act.

“When Tom Bassford was mayor, he did a lot of work, and it filtered into Mayor Hartman,” Jezycki said. “Do we still have the support of council?”

Council members assured her she and the CUFFS committee did, with Purdy proposing a resolution to send out a new letter be placed on the next agenda and Councilman Dennis Kleiner saying he would communicate with his contacts in the Senate and the Assembly.

The previous letter was sent out to 119 municipalities in 2010. Jezycki questioned why the legislators from District 9  haven't followed up on the bills they introduced.

With the bills stalled, Connors suggested Jezycki contact the Committee Chairs who decide which bills get voted on. On Tuesday night, Bassford had another suggestion.

“He introduces the bill every year. If it stalls, it’s not his people who are stalling it,” Bassford said. “You can only do so much when you’re in the minority party. You need to contact someone in the majority party.”

Bassford added that the bill needed to get out of committee so that people have to “stand up and be counted.”

“Let’s put up another resolution,” said Purdy, who said he would go with Jezycki up to Trenton for a hearing before the Senate and the Assembly. “Let’s do another resolution so it’s up to date.”