Shutzer, Toubin will
complete Dems
Wilson to seek record fifth term
as mayor of Freehold Borough
Council members
Shutzer, Toubin will
complete Dems’ ticket
By clare marie celano
Staff Writer
Saying there are new challenges to be faced by Freehold Borough, Demo-cratic Mayor Michael Wilson told the News Transcript this week that he will seek a fifth four-year term in November.
He will be joined on the Democratic ticket by Borough Council members Michael Toubin and Sharon Shutzer.
Wilson had just started his second term on council and was the council president when Mayor Jack McGackin died in April 1985. Wilson was appointed as the interim mayor and was subsequently elected to complete McGackin’s term. He has since been re-elected four times. When his current four-year term expires on Dec. 31, Wilson will have been mayor for 18 years and nine months.
If he wins a fifth term, Wilson will have the opportunity to make borough history. A new term will allow Wilson to surpass the time spent as mayor by Dr. Peter F. Runyon, a veterinarian who served as mayor from Jan. 1, 1926, through Dec. 31, 1945.
Prior to serving as mayor, Runyon had been a member of the Borough Council for seven years, beginning with the first council that was formed after the borough broke away from Freehold Township.
Wilson, who resides on Brookwood Drive with his wife, Rita, and their daughter, Ashley, said he is looking forward to continuing to serve residents of the borough.
Comparing his work as mayor to "embarking on a journey," he said the council formed a partnership with the people of the borough years ago.
"We set a goal and established a plan to lift our town from a despair that could be seen everywhere and return it to its former status as a first-class municipality," Wilson said.
The mayor said accomplishing this goal meant moving through the town, "block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, until the town would once again reflect its unique lifestyle and community."
The success of that mission can be witnessed in many ways, according to Wilson. He cited the town’s revitalized Main Street, which he said now serves as a "beacon of activity and promise," and the rebuilding of Mechanic Street as two important events that have taken place.
Wilson also noted the project that took the former A&M Karagheusian rug mill and "converted [it] into a housing opportunity for many of our families and senior citizens," as well as a home for a YMCA community center and the borough’s police department.
Referring to an old public works yard on Manalapan Avenue as an "industrial eyesore," Wilson said that property has been redeveloped into an assisted living facility through public and private cooperation and partnerships.
"In short," Wilson said, "I am proud to say that the so-called ‘Renaissance’ of Freehold Borough is successfully completed. It is time to embark on a new mission — to preserve the investment and sacrifice that the people have made to bring Freehold to what it is today. This town is rooted by a structure of values that cherishes our community and respects the rights and properties of all of our neighbors."
Stating that "never before has the quality of life nationally and locally come under the assault that we have recently witnessed," Wilson said the quality of life campaign begun by council last year will now be the cornerstone of the new mission of council members.
He said a Quality of Life Enforcement Team established by the administration and the council has aggressively addressed violations of municipal codes.
Wilson cited the council’s "declaration of war" on absentee landlords as part of the mission. He said the council will continue its effort to guarantee that residents can work and play safely and comfortably anywhere in the town.
Shutzer, who is serving as council president this year, said she is looking forward to having the opportunity to serve residents for three more years. Shutzer has served on the council since 1992 and said she loves representing the people of the town.
"I’m a go-getter and I am not afraid of a challenge," she said.
Shutzer has spent nine years as Freehold’s fire commissioner, a position she currently holds. Also on her list of community and council posts are council liaison for the council on aging, chairwoman of the personnel department, and member of the Shade Tree Commission, the recreation committee and the Multiple Dwelling Review Board. She’s also worked with the health and welfare department and the code enforcement department.
Prior to serving on council, Shutzer served for six years on the borough’s Board of Education.
Born in West Virginia, Shutzer has lived on West George Street for more than 30 years with her husband, Richard, a native of Freehold.
The council president has been teaching eighth grade at Intermediate West School in Toms River for 37 years. The couple’s daughter, Cary Snyder, newly married, has settled with her husband, Brian, in the borough.
Quality of life issues are a priority on Shutzer’s list of concerns. Another priority for her is having the borough’s voice heard in ongoing litigation involving the Freehold Regional High School District Board of Education’s voting apportionment case.
Seeing a new $400,000 fire truck delivered to the borough’s fire department is something she said she’s looking forward to as well.
Shutzer said the one promise she has made during her previous campaigns, and the one she will make again in 2003, is that she "will do whatever I think is in the best interest, in my opinion and in my heart, for the people of the borough."
Toubin is finishing his fifth term on the council. He served on the Board of Education for seven years before becoming a member of the town’s governing body. He said he is looking forward to serving residents for another three years.
A key issue of concern for Toubin is the continuation of the work of the Quality of Life Enforcement Team.
The councilman said he would also like to pursue additional regional contribution agreements with neighboring towns. The agreements relieve developing communities of a portion of their state-mandated obligation to build housing for people whose income meets regional guidelines and allow them to transfer units to a developed community such as the borough which can use funds it is paid to rehabilitate substandard housing.
Upgrading the water distribution and supply and modernizing the borough’s water lines are also a priority for Toubin.
Another issue that Toubin would like to see is a greater police presence in borough schools.
"Now that we have expanded our police department, I’m looking forward to having more of our officers in more classrooms teaching to our children as the world changes," he explained.
Enrichment programs for children are also a priority for Toubin, who noted that the YMCA Community Center and the upgraded Little League complex are great opportunities to keep children involved and off the streets.
Toubin and his wife, Anita, have four grown children and three grandchildren.
The other members of the council are Robert Crawford, Michael DiBenedetto, Kevin Coyne and Kevin Kane. All six council members and the mayor are Democrats.