Washington Township has long struggled with an identity problem. Not only does it share a zip code with Trenton, there are Washington Townships in nearly every corner of the State (one in Bergen, Burlington, Gloucester, Morris, and Warren counties).

Thanks to the efforts of Lewis Koushel from Washington Township, area residents will have the opportunity to decide in November whether or not they want to change the township's name to Robbinsville. Since 2005, Mr. Koushel has been collecting signatures to put the question on the ballot, and his efforts have paid off. He gathered nearly 1,500 signatures and filed the petition with the township in early June-just in time to get the question on the ballot for the general election in November.

This is not the first time a push for a name change in Washington Township has been exerted. In 2002, 62 percent of voters approved a nonbinding referendum to change the town's name to Robbinsville. However, when it came to collecting petition signatures to codify the change, residents were focused on altering the township's form of government and the drive for the name change fizzled out.

In December 2002, the Township Committee also sent a resolution to the state Department of Transportation requesting the Exit 7 sign on Interstate 195 be changed back to Robbinsville as it originally read (it was changed to say Washington in 1999). In the years that followed, residents petitioned, businesses complained and the then-Township Committee requested that the DOT change the sign back to Robbinsville, to no avail.

Recently, the use of the Robbinsville name has become more prevalent with the newly opened Robbinsville High School, the post office substation, and a growing number of businesses using Robbinsville in their titles to cut down on the confusion with the other municipalities. More residents, especially newer ones to the township, seem to be in favor of the change as reflected in the wide-spread support for Mr. Koushel's petition. This time around, the name change might just go through. And if it does, Mayor David Fried says it will be phased in over three years and will not pose a financial burden to the municipality.