Batko switches parties;
Phyllis Batko
claims GOP is ‘stagnant’
By jennifer dome
Staff Writer
SAYREVILLE — Councilwoman Phyllis Batko announced this week that she will no longer be a member of the borough’s Republican Party, citing philosophic differences.
"As time passed, it appeared to me that the goals of the Republican Party were not really those that I had campaigned on," Batko said.
Batko said she has been a Democrat since she began voting. However, she switched parties in 1997 when she first ran for the Borough Council as a Republican. Though she did not win that election, she ran again and won as a Republican in 2000.
"I feel like we’re stagnant," Batko said about the Republican majority on the Borough Council. Her change in party affiliation will evenly split the council, as there will be three Democrats and three Republicans. Any votes along party lines that result in a tie can be broken by Republican Mayor Kennedy O’Brien, however.
Batko said she does not plan to change the way she votes, though.
"I vote what I think is right. I don’t vote along party lines," she said.
Batko has voted differently on many ordinances and resolutions from the Republicans, particularly on issues dealing with finances. Batko said she is concerned that the amount of bonding the council has approved will have a negative effect in the future. According to Batko, bonding can fix a problem in the short term, but the funds will only have to be paid off down the road.
"I find myself more comfortable with [Democratic Councilman Thomas Marcinczyk’s] proactive style and his fiscal responsibility than that of the Republican majority," Batko said. She and Marcinczyk have voted the same way many times in the months since Marcinczyk took his position on the council in January.
"I will continue to work with those who are elected by the people no matter what their party affiliation," Batko said.
Paul DeSarno, a member of the local Democratic Party, said he believes the borough’s Democrats have differing views about Batko’s return to the party.
"I think it’s a big party and there’s room for everyone," DeSarno said, stating that diversity is a positive quality. DeSarno said he feels Batko’s switch is an indication of the Republican Party’s inability to move in a particular direction.
O’Brien responded to Batko’s announcement by saying he wishes her well.
"It’s the right of every American to have religious and political choices, and this is her choice," he said.