I have known Atlantic Highlands Borough Council candidate Peter Doyle for some time, and I have at least as many positive things to say about him as I do the marvelous borough he calls home. He and I met at a Republican campaign function. The event was, incidentally, not a fund-raiser. It was held on Veterans Day, and, as a result, I have often thought that I have Pete’s strong military career to credit for bringing him into the circle of folks dearest to me. One of his siblings, also an active Republican, extended the invitation to him. Nearly five years after meeting him, I am still glad he decided to take her up on it. I am proud to have Pete’s friendship and devotion. I am, of course, also glad he has been brave or foolish enough to run for municipal office -- and I’m glad he represents the party I’ve come to see as the logical forum for bright young people who aspire to serve their communities. Anyone would be fortunate to know Pete. He charms people with his quiet, steady style, and it’s not just window dressing. He has stood by me through difficult personal events, not the least of which happened on September 11, 2001. Most families who were directly affected by the events of that awful day must be weary of -- and not inured to -- lesser stories of that adversity, so I’ll spare you the details. But Peter, who is by nature a fairly private person, was willing to open his home to a slightly estranged friend, no questions asked. He was emotionally supportive and accommodating at a time when many people, no doubt himself included, had faced some of the worst circumstances of their lives. He acted bravely on that September 11, and he has acted with consistent kindness ever since. I have always known him to make time in his schedule to live by his principals. He has always shown a tremendous devotion to family and friends, and he has never forgotten his roots or his responsibility to his fellow man. I have never seen him shirk a responsibility, and he is steadfast and loyal, almost to a fault. I have occasionally waxed eloquent about my own family’s record of public service: I boast about my sisters who are respectively a school nurse and counselor and a teacher. I am equally proud of our homemakers, family men and entrepreneurs. But I am perhaps proudest of my father, who had the guts and tenacity to serve as an elected official in the township where I was raised. He also was a Republican, although I know he always thought he worked more to help the area and not to gain power or practice partisan politics. I am proud of anyone who puts a hometown, borough or township ahead of themselves and wants to invest his or her personal resources to benefit the community. Pete has been fortunate enough to hear some of the great statesmen of our country speak, and he has been exposed to leaders in government at practically all levels. I know what he’s seen and heard in his military career, his private career on Wall Street and his fledgling involvement in the world of elective politics have made a strong impression on him, and I know that he wants to make his own corner of the world a better place. His family and his schooling instilled him with high ideals, and he has worked hard to live up to them. I have great faith that Atlantic Highlands will be a richer community, in all the best senses of that phrase, if it has someone like Pete watching out for it. And those who take the time to talk to him may find that they are enriched by knowing him.