Steven Maness
launches council
write-in campaign
SAYREVILLE — A local resident is throwing his hat into the political arena.
Steven Maness recently announced his candidacy as a write-in for Borough Council this November.
Maness, who will be running on the Independent ticket, said he would like to be the alternative choice to the two main political parties come November.
"If elected, I would get the Democrats and Republicans to address the issues and put aside the politics," Maness, a registered Republican, said.
A resident of Stradford Road, Maness is no stranger to community involvement.
He ran for the Board of Education in 1996 and for the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 1998 as an independent.
He lost both elections.
Maness also served on the Human Relations Commission from 1993 to 1996.
Maness said he would like to address the alleged mismanagement of the borough, as well as the alleged improper allocation of funds.
In addition, he would like to get the town revitalized, cleaned up and entice new industries to the borough.
"Sayreville used to be a place where people wanted to move. Now everybody is leaving," Maness said. "I want to see my town get back on its feet."
Maness is a program coordinator for seniors at the Cerebral Palsy Association of Middlesex County.
He earned his bachelor of science degree in environmental health and a doctorate in psychology and counseling from Stockton State College, Pomona section of Galloway.
He is currently working on his master’s degree in public administration through an Internet correspondence program with Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Ga.
The ordained minister said he would like to see the borough change for the better. If elected, he said he is devising a five-year plan that would reduce the borough’s tax rate by 50 percent.
Complete details on that plan have not yet been finalized, but Maness said bringing back industry in the borough would aid in his tax reduction plan.
Maness lives with his wife Debbie and their two children, Corey, a 15-year-old honor student at Sayreville War Memorial High School, and Courtney Taylor, 10, who is a student at Sayreville Middle School.
If elected, Maness said he is not afraid of taking on political corruption and mismanagement of government.
"I want to help the people of Sayreville take their town, government and educational system back from those who think they own it," he said.