Email: bryan.littel@patch.com
Phone: 609-433-9911 Hometown: Flemington, NJ Birthday: Oct. 1 Twitter: @WDeptfordPatch Facebook: West Deptford Patch A New Jersey native, I grew up in Flemington, in the central part of the state, before heading south to study journalism (after a brief stint as a music major) at Rowan University. While at Rowan, I worked on The Whit, the campus paper, where I met my wife, Jen, who was Arts & Entertainment editor while I was photo editor. After getting my degree, I worked for the Bridgeton News (now The News of Cumberland County) and its sister papers, Today's Sunbeam and the Gloucester County Times, as a photographer and reporter, where my work garnered awards from the New Jersey Press Association, New Jersey Press Photographers Association and National Press Photographers Association. When I'm not tethered to my laptop and camera, I'm either out running year-'round (yes, even when it's 20-something degrees out), skiing in the winter or golfing in the summer. I'm slowly turning into a competitive distance runner, after knocking out my first half marathon (and a number of other races, from 5Ks up to 10-milers) in 2011. I also try to read as much as possible, regularly devouring 30 books or more a year, as well as countless periodicals, news articles and blog posts. Our Beliefs At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for them to inject their beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that their beliefs are on the record will cause them to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know. Politics How would you describe your political beliefs? I tend to be fiscally centrist and more socially liberal, but I'm a pragmatist at heart, especially at the local level. Good government is good government, whether it comes from people with Ds, Rs or any other letters (or no letters at all) before their names. Are you registered with a certain party? I'm currently registered as a Democrat for one purpose - so I can vote in primaries and have a voice in the political process from beginning to end. My voting record in general elections will show me choosing candidates from all over the political map, including the occasional write-in. I believe it's important to be as involved as possible in the process, which means voting every time I can - in every primary, Board of Education, local, state and national election. I'd love to see the day where all of those can get boiled down into  two election days per year in New Jersey, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. Religion How religious would you consider yourself? I grew up Roman Catholic, but take a wider view on religion as an adult. I've visited cathedrals in the U.S. and Europe, mosques in Egypt, and Buddhist temples in Tibet, and all of those experiences have reinforced the idea that religion is something deeply personal. Local Hot-Button Issues What do you think are the most important issues facing the community? The final development of Riverwinds as a full project, the budget–and potential tax–repercussions from from the Eagle Point Refinery and the planned development of LS Power's natural gas-fired power plant, just to name a few. Where do you stand on each of these issues? It's important to strike a balance between commercial and industrial development and township residents' interests, which falls both on elected and appointed officials to be good stewards, as well as residents to make those interests heard - whether by attending committee and board meetings, staying connected with the representatives through emails or phone calls or otherwise being involved in the process.