Ms. Plumeri said the measure would protect wills from being tamered with, damaged or lost.
By: Steve Bates
The Republican candidate for Mercer County surrogate wants to make a difference to everyone in New Jersey as well as to her potential constituents.
As part of her platform, Vicki Plumeri of Robbinsville has proposed a series of reforms that she believes would protect the wills people leave behind and ensure that their beliefs on living wills and organ donation would be respected.
To achieve these goals, Ms. Plumeri said Tuesday that she would push for state legislation that would allow the surrogate’s office to act as a place to keep their wills on file. Also, she would push for the creation of a statewide database that would tell doctors whether residents want to donate organs when they die or whether they should be kept alive by artificial means.
Ms. Plumeri will face off against Democratic incumbent Diane Gerofsky, who lives in Lawrence, on Nov. 6. The two are vying for a five-year post as surrogate.
She cites her experience as head of the Law Department for the city of Trenton under George Dougherty and the time she has spent in a similar capacity at a private law firm as what makes her qualified to assume the post. Also, she has served on the Mercer County Board of Elections and was appointed as a member of the Mercer County Board of Social Services.
While she is confident in her abilities, she says she is best suited for the job because she sees herself as a young leader with new ideas.
"There’s absolutely more we can do to help residents," said Ms. Plumeri. "I want to use technology to make it easier for Mercer County residents to interact with the surrogate’s office."
Under the plan, residents could pre-file their wills with the county surrogate. The wills would be kept in sealed envelopes in a vault. Residents could alter their wishes simply by bringing a new will to the office.
Ms. Plumeri said the measure would protect wills from being tampered with, damaged or lost. Families would not have to search for wills, and they also could be confident about the integrity of the document.
She says the service would be completely voluntary, because it may not be for everyone.
The candidate also wants people to be able to pre-file living wills with the county and have them available to doctors who want to know how to proceed in treating people who, because of injury or illness, cannot communicate their wishes.
Ms. Plumeri said the only thing that saved her from having to wrestle with a heart wrenching decision about what to do for her father when he was incapacitated, was that they had already discussed his wishes.
"Think about the people who haven’t made that decision," she said. "It would be much better if it was in writing by the person. The person themselves made the decision."
The same technology could be used to enable hospitals to identify organ donors without the aid of the organ donor information that appears on the back of a drivers’ license, she said.
"Organs for transplants are in such short supply, and they are so badly needed to save lives," she said. "This reform would ensure that we don’t waste the opportunity to save lives simply because a drivers’ license cannot be produced."
All of Ms. Plumeri’s plans would require state legislation, although the pre-filing of wills is already on the books in Georgia and New York, she said.
The candidate said she is campaigning on these reforms because the surrogate’s office is staffed with excellent, well-trained people who can handle the day-to-day operations. She said anyone could fill the surrogate’s position because of the quality of the support staff. The goal of the next surrogate should be to expand upon the features of the office already in existence.
"You need to come up with better service to the residents of the county and state," she said.

