for mayor, council
is on Nov. 4 ballot
Mayor to wield power
in proposed government
Binding question
for mayor, council
is on Nov. 4 ballot
BY MARK ROSMAN
Staff Writer
Voters in Jackson will cast their ballots in a historic election on Nov. 4. A public question put forth by Voters Organized To Elect Our Mayor (VOTE) will ask residents who go to the polls if they want to change Jackson’s form of government from a Township Committee to a mayor and council.
The question will be carried by a simple majority. If the new form of government is approved, an election will be held next spring to elect the first members of that governing body.
Dennis Galvin and Robert Schiappacasse, two representatives of VOTE, met with the Tri-Town News on Oct. 8 to explain some of the details of the proposed form of government.
At present, the Township Committee consists of five members who may be elected from anywhere in the township. Each January when the committee reorganizes, the five members of the governing body choose one member of the panel to serve as mayor for the year.
In one of the key changes under the proposed form of government, Jackson residents would directly elect a mayor to serve for a four-year term, according to Galvin.
The township would be divided into six wards and the residents of each ward would elect a council representative. In addition to the six people elected through the ward system to serve four-year terms, Jackson residents would elect three at-large council members to serve four-year terms, for a total of nine members on the governing body.
But the real power in town would rest squarely on the shoulders of the person elected mayor, according to Galvin and Schiappacasse.
While the council would have the ability to adopt ordinances and approve mayoral appointments, the mayor would have the power to veto any new law, they said. The mayor would have the power to appoint all members of the zoning and planning boards.
The mayor would propose an annual budget which the council would review and revise. The mayor would have the power to order professional studies to be conducted on any number of issues, the VOTE representatives said.
In an anticipated change from the present form of government, the township administrator would work at the pleasure of the mayor. At present, four votes are needed on the Township Committee to remove the administrator from office, Galvin and Schiappa-casse said.
While the VOTE representatives said they are against part-time council members receiving health benefits, the group that put the public question on the ballot would not be responsible for determining who is eligible for benefits or what salary is paid to the full-time mayor and part-time council members.
That task would fall to the initial group of people elected to the new government.
Galvin and Schiappacasse said they believe a growing community such as Jackson needs direction that a strong mayor can provide.
"What message do we send with a rotating mayor?" Galvin asked. "Every year the new mayor has to meet with business people, the county freeholders and Congress [representatives] to begin forming a relationship."
He said a mayor elected for four years would be able, over the course of the term, to forge relationships that would prove beneficial to Jackson.
"We don’t have that now," he said.
Galvin and Schiappacasse said VOTE believes the ward system would provide local representation to different areas of the community and eliminate the possibility that two or more Township Committee members can come from the same area of town.
If the new form of government wins approval, nonpartisan elections would be held in May, they said. The primary system would be eliminated and any person who wanted to put his or her name on the ballot for a council position or the mayor’s seat would be able to do so. There would be no candidate screening process by a Republican or Democratic party as there is now.
Schiappacasse took issue with people who describe Jackson as a partisan community. He said Jackson has 25,000 registered voters; of that number, 5,000 are declared Republicans or Democrats. That leaves 20,000 undeclared, or nonpartisan, voters who would vote for the best person regardless of the candidate’s party affiliation, he said.
Galvin and Schiappacasse acknowledged, though, that the political parties that run candidates for Township Committee now would still be able to run and fund a person’s campaign for council or mayor. The difference is that party leaders would not be able to shut out anyone from running who failed to win party support.
The VOTE representatives said Jackson will continue to see a population growth over the coming years. According to the 2000 census, Jackson had 42,816 residents. Galvin and Schiappacasse cited Woodbridge, Middlesex County, which had a 2000 population of 97,203, as another community with a strong mayor form of government.
Galvin and Schiappacasse said VOTE believes a directly elected mayor is the best alternative for Jackson at this time. They will find out if residents agree with them on Nov. 4.