BY PATRICIA A. MILLER
Staff Writer
Just who will be Millstone mayor during 2004 is still up in the air. "At this point, I really don’t know," said current Democratic Mayor William M. Nurko. "I’m not sure even the Republicans know."
But chances are, it won’t be Nurko.
Nurko, who is serving his second term on the Township Committee, would like another year as mayor.
"I was willing to take it on,’’ he said last week.
Control of the committee will switch to the GOP on New Year’s Day, when Republican newcomers Elias Abilheira and Nancy Grbelja take their seats.
In November, Abilheira and Grbelja defeated longtime Democratic Committeeman Charles Abate and his running mate, David Lee, in each of the township’s six voting districts.
Nurko said he asked the two newcomers for their support for another round as mayor, but was told they were not in the position to make that decision.
Republican Committeeman John Pfefferkorn declined to comment on who the next mayor will be.
"There are a lot of issues that are being discussed and appointments," Pfefferkorn said. "We’ll [Republicans] have additional meetings before the reorganization meeting to address all our issues. I didn’t say it’s undecided."
Nurko would like to see an elected mayor in the township.
"I’d like to see it happen, but I don’t think it will ever happen in Millstone," he said. "The job is almost like having a full-time job. Any new mayor coming in is going to have to make some sacrifices."
Regardless of who ends up as mayor in 2004, the committee will work as a team, Nurko said.
"It doesn’t matter who’s in the center chair on the dais," he said.
The addition of James Pickering this year as the town’s first "office manager" has helped to ease the administrative load, he said.
But Nurko thinks the town will eventually need an administrator position.
"We’re heading in that direction," he said. "It’s becoming increasingly more difficult to operate the municipality with a part-time committee and a mayor that aren’t working directly with the municipal staff on a daily basis."