A New Jersey man who is running for the Cranford township committee has gone viral for breakdancing up to the podium during a recent town hall meeting. In a livestream on Cranford TV-35, which is the public channel for the Township of Cranford, Will Thilly was seen getting up to ask a question about local taxes. However, instead of walking up to the podium, he began dancing.
“Mr. Thilly, I started your time,” a township official said.
Thilly held up his index finger and gestured at the official to hold on, and continued to dance. While some people in the room buried their faces in their hands, others looked away.
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Thilly eventually walked up to the podium, and then turned around to grab a bottle of water and some papers. “How was everyone’s weekend?” he said, but the room remained silent.
He added, “Anyone go anywhere fun? I got back. I went to Mexico. I just went to visit some family in Monterrey. There’s no beach there. It’s a beautiful town, a lot of history and it’s like really nice.”
Thilly went on to ask if anyone is afraid of flying. The room remained quiet this time too.
“Did you know I could do the backspin? Anybody,” Thilly said. “Wanna see me do the backspin? No? I’m gonna do the backspin.”
Thilly dropped to the ground to a backspin before getting back up and walking over to the podium. He gestured towards the crowd, asking them to cheer, but no one did.
“Well, why did our taxes go up so much? We were told the referendum was going to bring it up for an average household about $400,” Thilly said. “And mine went up, like, 900 bucks. I think we were told like that was from the schools or something? But the school referendum said it would only go up, like I said, 400 bucks on an average assessed home.”
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“So I wanted to know why it went up, if it did much more than that,” he continued. “And what extra expenses were incurred by the schools that weren’t told to the public when we voted on that referendum?” he added, before moonwalking back to his seat.
“Thank you, Mr. Thilly,” Cranford Mayor Terrence Curran said. “I like the interpretative dance.”
Who is Will Thilly?
On his website, Thilly says he is running for the Cranford Township Committee to “tell you the truth, to fight for what you need, and to defend our Town and schools.”
“Did you know that in recent years the Township Committee under both political parties has awarded over $150 million in 30-year tax exemptions to billionaire developers at 750 Walnut and Birchwood?” he added. “We residents have to pay for this on their behalf. It’s a few thousand dollars every year in extra taxes per household. In return, we receive little besides increased traffic, flooding, overcrowded schools, and overburdened infrastructure.”
Thilly explained that he wants to be “elected to stop the resident-funded overdevelopment of Cranford.” “Our Township meetings need to be about getting residents what they want, by offering clear answers to their questions, encouraging open discussion and dialogue, and ultimately working together for consensus and compromise. I will lead this effort,” he further said.
