To the Editor:
The Hopewell Valley Republican Association (HVRA) is concerned about the restrictions that the Hopewell Harvest Fair (HHF) is placing on political groups.
On June 21, 2025 the HVRA Civics Education Committee completed an on-line registration form to participate in the Town Square area of the HHF that is scheduled for Saturday, September 20, 2025 at the Hopewell Elementary School grounds. The HVRA received a “thank you for registering” e-mail in response.
The HVRA received no response about our request to participate at the fair so a follow-up e-mail was sent to the HHF committee on July 29, 2025.
On August 17, 2025 the HVRA received an e-mail from the President of the HHF, Scott Fulmer, apologizing for the delay in responding to our inquiry. The e-mail states:
“Our bylaws were updated not long ago regarding Town Square guidelines. The Board (of the Hopewell Harvest Fair) felt it was best to keep the Fair from becoming a politically charged event, deciding to limit political candidates and political party presence. Unfortunately, that means we can’t invite the HVRA to participate in Town Square this year. For the record we also turned away other politically affiliated organizations that applied.”
According to the HHF website in August these bylaws are only available for review at the Hopewell Public Library. A member of the HVRA visited the library on August 18, 2025, but was informed that no HHF bylaws are kept there.
HVRA was concerned about this “lack of transparency” and e-mailed HHF committee. On September 3, 2025, the HHF contacted the HVRA to confirm that the bylaws were no longer available at the library but that they will be digitally published and linked to the HHF website.
The bylaws state in Section III Part D:
“Participation via exhibits, displays or dissemination of promotional information by partisan political groups or parties, businesses, religious organizations or other groups or individuals will be restricted at the discretion of the Board of Trustees.”
While the lack of transparency is concerning, the restriction at the discretion of the Board of Trustees of the HHF on political groups is very troubling and in the opinion of the HVRA very misguided.
Statistics and surveys consistently show that the younger generations in our country have a woefully inadequate knowledge about civics and are less involved in civic practices such as voting. According to the Annenberg Public Policy Center at UPenn in 2022 only 47% of US adults could name the three branches of government. Voter participation in the 2024 general election by those between the ages of 18 to 24 years old was 47.7%. This affects the health of our nation and our democracy. It is vitally important that members of our community understand how governments and political systems function, know the rights and responsibilities of citizens and the importance of civic engagement.
Instead of limiting political expression and civics education, the HHF should welcome this opportunity to allow the public to meet candidates who are running for local races and learn about their policies and platforms. This is an opportunity for children to see the politicians and government officials who have the awesome responsibility of providing us with good governance and to recognize their positive contributions to our democracy. Our community needs to encourage and not discourage discussions and conversations about politics and government so we can find common ground to move forward in solving societal problems. Participation by political parties provides opportunities to engage in civil discourse and interact with members of the community who have different perspectives.
The Hopewell Valley Republican Association and the Hopewell Valley Democrats were both welcome to participate at Pennington Day this past May. At that event, the HVRA provided an opportunity for children and adults to take a 10 question “Civics Knowledge ” test based on the 100 question US Naturalization test. 12 adults and 33 children responded. These local results confirmed that younger generations have a lack of knowledge about our Constitution and appreciation for our democratic republic. The HVRA hoped to promote the same “Civics Education” program at the Hopewell Harvest Fair.
Hopewell Borough has welcomed weekly gatherings of “Democracy on the Corner ” every Thursday from 5:30 pm -6:30 pm for those who want to promote a visible demonstration of resistance against the actions of the current federal government. These demonstrations expose families and children in our community to a weekly politically charged event. Our community and those from other communities were exposed to politically- charged gatherings this summer if they drove on Route 31 by Pennington Shopping Center. Neither of these events allow for opportunities for civil discourse or the appreciation of different perspectives through face-to-face communication. The Harvest Fair does.
We encourage the HHF Committee to re-evaluate their position of restricting participation of political groups from the Fair. Please allow those political organizations that completed an application to participate in this community event.
Sincerely,
Sylvia Kocses
For the Hopewell Valley Republican Association
