Today’s Asbury Park Press has a feature on Leighton Avenue resident John Tyler, who ran for Borough Council last year but came up short at the polls.
It begins:
Whether it’s a defective utility pole or problems with a local liquor store, John Tyler Jr. is the man who brings the issue to officials who are responsible for fixing it.
And if they don’t, Tyler will go back to them. Again and again and again.
Ask Borough Council members. Tyler is one of a trio of west side residents who came to them in 2006 to talk about quality-of-life issues on the west side and problems with a neighborhood liquor store. Now, he is among the regulars at the twice-a-month meetings, keeping an eye on progress and speaking up when progress appears to be lagging.
“It seems like they work on the mentality that people keep calling, nothing happens and they get tired,” said Tyler, a father of four. “They’re picking on the wrong people.”
Tyler is the polite, but persistent, citizen activist. Born and raised in Red Bank, his goal is a simple one: to stay in the borough, raise his family and have a decent quality of life in his neighborhood.
Press reporter Larry Higgs recounts Tyler’s involvement in making Best Liquors an issue the store’s license is at risk in a hearing before the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control scheduled for next month. It discusses his family life, his goals, and his thinking on another run for the council.
Tyler ran unsuccessfully as a Republican council candidate last year and is undecided about a future run for office, saying he might be able to get more done as a citizen.
“I’m happy to be on this side,” he said.
