Robert Brown, Mitchell Ege and Orville Tillett have no opposition
By: Sue Kramer
LAMBERTVILLE Voters will be asked to elect three men to uncontested seats on Lambertville’s Board of Fire Commissioners Saturday, Feb. 17.
The only contested race is for the unexpired term of former commissioner David Owen, who moved to Fairfax, Va. in August. Both Union Fire Company Capt. Brian Snell and commissioner Lester Myers are vying for that one-year term.
In the uncontested races, Robert Brown will be seeking his third term on the board and Mitchell Ege, his first. Both men are running unopposed for three-year seats.
In the third uncontested race, Orville Tillet is seeking the unexpired term of former commissioner Richard Anthes, who resigned nine months after taking office. Mr. Tillet, who is the brother of Lambertville Fire Chief Ron Tillett, Jr. and the son of outgoing board chairman Ron Tillet Sr., would serve the remaining two years of Mr. Anthes term.
Mr. Tillett, 40, is a lifelong Lambertville resident. He attended Lambertville Public School and South Hunterdon Regional High School. He has worked for United Water-Lambertville for 15 years.
Mr. Tillett also attended Middlesex Community College where he completed the courses needed to earn state licenses certifying him to treat water (T2) and operate a water distribution system (T3).
The South Main Street resident has been married to his wife, Bernadette, for 14 years. The couple has three children: Brittany, 12; Jaime, 9; and Kyle, 6.
Mr. Tillett has been an active firefighter and member of Columbia Fire Company for 24 years. He has held several positions, including third lieutenant and assistant engineer. He is currently the company’s second lieutenant. He also volunteers his time to the Lambertville-New Hope Ambulance and Rescue Squad and is an assistant coach with the Lambertville Basketball Association’s girls basketball team.
"I’ve been involved with the fire department my whole life," Mr. Tillett said. "I’d like to follow in my father’s footsteps with continued service to the community and the fire department. The Fire Commission was always made up for both the firemen and taxpayers. There’s so much new equipment and pricing. It’s more expensive than it was 10 or 15 years ago."
There are also many changes in firefighting, he said.
"I want to be part of the changes, the new equipment and the new ideas," he said.
Mr. Brown, 58, is running unopposed for a three-year term.
Although Mr. Brown’s mother was from Lambertville, he didn’t move to town until he was 7. He attended Lambertville Public School and Lambertville High School.
Mr. Brown started helping out in his family’s painting business when he was 12 and went on to start his own painting business. He is now semi-retired, but his dedication to community service and volunteerism keeps him as busy as any full-time job would.
Mr. Brown joined the Lambertville Ambulance Association when he was 20 and served as the association’s chief during its merger with the Lambertville Rescue Squad a year later.
He has held numerous positions with the squad, including all lieutenant positions. He was vice president for six years, a member of the squad’s Board of Trustees for seven years and is now in his third term as president.
In addition to responding to emergency ambulance calls, Mr. Brown teaches scuba diving, rescue diving and airboat and conventional boat safety and handling.
He was also on the squad’s heavy rescue team for 12 years and was part of the outstanding team that won three world championship competitions.
Mr. Brown still helps the squad during emergency calls, volunteering to drive ambulances between midnight and 6 a.m.
Mr. Brown and his wife of 38 years, Susan, have two children: Robert, who is a Lambertville police officer, and Tiffany, who is a teacher at Delaware Valley High School in Alexandria Township.
Mr. Brown said his goal as a fire commissioner is "to supply the fire department with the most up-to-date and safe equipment and training" with as little tax burden on the public as possible.
"I’ve been on three truck committees," he said of the fire apparatus the board has purchased since his tenure. "We paid cash with no financing. We don’t want to waste the taxpayers’ money on having to pay interest. We invest the money and earn interest. That’s how we try to keep taxes down."
Mr. Brown sees the rising cost of apparatus and the need to avoid financing these purchases as an ongoing challenge to the board.
"We hope to try to save enough money, without burdening the taxpayers, for the new ladder truck that’s coming up in 2007," he said. "I can foresee it going into $700,000 or $800,000 for a truck at that stage of the game. It’s going to be one of the biggest ticket items that the fire commission has been faced with."
Mr. Ege, who is running unopposed for a three-year term on the board, is a lifelong Lambertville resident.
A graduate of South Hunterdon, Mr. Ege, 39, attended Mercer County Community College where he majored in criminal justice.
Mr. Ege has been a patrolman with the Raritan Township Police Department for the past 13 years. Prior to that, he was a patrolman in Lambertville for two years.
Mr. Ege also has been a member of the Lambertville Fire Department for 25 years. He is the secretary of the Union Fire Company. He is also the company’s incoming second lieutenant and has held the position of third lieutenant.
Mr. Ege and his wife Cindy have three sons: Mitchell, 16; Chad, 14; and Justin, 12.
"I hope to use my past experiences in the fire service when considering equipment purchases," he said. "We have to make very sound judgments about the needs of the fire department vs. those of the taxpayer and make the financial decisions that will benefit both."
Mr. Ege said he would bring a commitment to working out differences of opinion to the board.
"I’d like to see the whole commission work as a team," he said. "I want to see us vote in unison, with no opposing votes."