BY MAURA DOWGIN
Staff Writer
Zolton Koye
EDISON—The four Republican candidates for Township Council say they want to make a change in the township.
Zolton Koye, Satish Poondi, Edward Richardson and Lee Sakol have all expressed their desire to cut taxes and preserve open space.
Koye, 75, of 105 Jodd Street, hopes to "reinstate accountability" to local government, he said.
"I feel I can do some good and point things in the right direction," Koye said.
Satish Poondi
He believes the major issues in the election are taxes, the ward system, overdevelopment and corruption in the government, he said.
The increase in taxes is caused by not bidding on certain projects, nepotism and a lack of accountability in overseeing contracts, he said.
"I’m going to do my best to make some justice in town," Koye said.
Seniors on fixed incomes cannot continue to live in Edison if their property taxes keep rising, he said.
Edward Richardson
The overdevelopment of the town must be stopped, Koye said. Stopping construction of new homes will stop the schools from having to expand.
Koye was a design electrical engineer and a consultant with different international companies, including Pfizer, and has worked all over the world. He has been retired for 11 years.
Koye, a resident of the township for 52 years, was a Marine stationed in Cherry Point, N.C., from 1946 through 1948.
Poondi, 21, of 7 Deerwood Avenue, has lived in Edison since he was seven and thinks it is time for a change, he said.
Lee Sakol
"I’ve always been interested in government and public affairs," he said.
The property taxes in Edison are "skyrocketing," he said. The population is also going up because of high density housing.
With a lot of new high density housing comes new schools, the need for more fire department services, and more police, Poondi said.
"It increases spending. It increases property taxes," he said.
Poondi wants to see the township pass a Pay-to-Play ordinance, which would restrict the amount of money that can be donated to a party or a candidate by people seeking contracts with the municipal government.
Poondi also supports the ward system. There are issues in Edison that council people are not aware of, or do not have enough knowledge of, because there are no council people who live in the area with the problem, he said.
Poondi is currently a pharmacy student at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.
Richardson, 32, 123 Marina Drive, moved to Edison from Brooklyn, New York, 2 years ago, he said.
"As soon as we moved I knew I wanted to get involved in politics and see if I could make a change," he said.
Richardson became involved in New Jersey politics after becoming a Republican Party volunteer in the 2001 senate race, he said.
The increasing property taxes, if the trend does not turn around, will eventually force people to move out of Edison, Richardson said.
"There’s a point where people are willing to go up to with taxation [and] they won’t go any further," he said.
The majority of property taxes goes toward the school system. He said the township should do what it can to reduce costs in the school budget.
Putting all professional services up for public bid may decrease the cost of the services, he said.
Richardson is also proposing a mailing to all taxpayers to explain where the public money is being used. People should be able to easily understand what their money accomplishes, he added.
Richardson is currently a waiter at the Edison Diner. He worked in the software industry for Financial Technical International, Manhattan, for five years before the company went through layoffs and downsizing. He also worked for a year as an English teacher in a Brooklyn high school.
Richardson attended Brooklyn College and Hunter College, both in Brooklyn.
Sakol, 58, of 1423 Waterford Drive, has been an Edison resident for nine years, he said.
He moved to Edison from Long Island "for the countrified atmosphere, even though it’s a relatively large town," he said. "I get a kick out of seeing live deer."
"There’s a lot of things that need to be changed," Sakol said. "Nothing is going to change if the council stays status quo and business as usual."
Sakol is getting involved to help stop the rapid increase in taxes, he said.
"It doesn’t seem like there’s an end (to the tax increases) in sight," he said.
The town is becoming overdeveloped to the point where traffic and school taxes are becoming unbearable, Sakol said.
"There are times when I wish I had a sandwich in my car so that I would have something to eat while waiting to get out of my development. It takes that long," Sakol said.
The town needs more planning, he said. The council should "develop sites with the goal of bringing revenue into Edison," he said. There are many areas of town where business space is for rent and not being used, he said. The township should offer more incentives to get businesses into town.
Sakol said he is an entrepreneur. He is trying to get a cosmetic business off the ground, he said. He was an elementary school teacher in Queens for 10 years, he said. He has his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business management from The College of Long Island University in Brooklyn.