BY JOYCE BLAY
Staff Writer
There is only one Jackson Township Committee seat up for grabs this November, but winning it is key for Jackson Republicans seeking a greater voice on the governing body.
Democratic control of the committee is not as risk. The Democrats have a 4-1 majority and can have no less than a 3-2 majority come Jan. 1.
However, Republican candidate Mark Seda, 36, acknowledged in a recent interview that if he is elected to serve on the committee with incumbent Republican Josh Reilly, the two would be able to make and second motions, forcing a vote on issues the party supports.
At present, Democrats control the committee’s agenda. Over the past two years he has been a committeeman, Reilly has more often either joined the Democratic majority or voted against it. Rarely has a Democrat broken ranks to ally himself with the first-term Republican.
Democrat incumbent Joseph Grisanti, 44, is just as determined to retain his seat and to continue to pursue the Democratic agenda he has promoted during his two terms in office.
The available committee term is for three years (January 2005 through December 2007).
Grisanti won his first contest for a seat on the committee in 1998, after a year serving on the Board of Education in 1996-97. Grisanti was re-elected to the committee in 2001, defeating Republican Henry Aranda.
In 2003, Grisanti ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the state Assembly.
Born on Staten Island, N.Y., Grisanti earned his bachelor of arts and law degrees from St. John’s University, New York. He is a former FBI agent. He opened a law practice in Jackson in 1994.
Grisanti is separated. He has two children, ages 15 and 18.
Although Seda has no prior experience as an elected official, he maintains that as the head of his own firm he has demonstrated leadership qualities. Seda owns a heating and air conditioning firm servicing corporate clients in the New York City and northern New Jersey area.
Seda served on the zoning board from December 1998 to May 2000.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Seda grew up in Jackson after moving there with his family three decades ago. He is divorced and the father of one daughter.
For both candidates, the defining issue of the campaign has been commercial development, which Democratic committee members have supported as a supplementary means of funding Jackson’s growing school district. At the center of that debate is developer Mitch Leigh’s proposed commercial development, Jackson Commons, which is currently being heard by the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
The 2.9-million-square-foot site is on Cedar Swamp Road and East Commodore and West Commodore boulevards. Retail consultant Barry Lefkowitz and the township’s Economic Development Committee, which is chaired by Robert Ryley, met with representatives of Leigh Realty before the developer made an application for preliminary approval to the zoning board.
Ryley’s full-time position is aide to the mayor and Township Committee.
Last month Grisanti rejected the advice of Township Attorney Kevin Starkey and announced his support for Jackson Commons. Starkey had suggested that committee members not take a position on an open zoning board application.
“I respect Mr. Starkey’s advice, but it’s like fighting with one hand tied behind your back when your opponent is opposed to it,” said Grisanti. “Instead of just letting the zoning board do what it is supposed to do and rule on the application, (Seda) has made it a campaign issue, which is unfortunate.”
Both Grisanti and Seda oppose the construction of a warehouse distribution center in a highway commercial zone, for which Leigh requested one of two variances from the zoning board. Leigh also requested a variance to build a 55-foot hotel in an area zoned for a maximum building height of 50 feet.
The zoning board is expected to continue hearing the Jackson Commons application on Oct. 20 and may vote on the plan at that meeting.
Last month, David Eareckson, a civil engineer working for Leigh Realty, said Leigh would replace the proposed warehouse distribution center with an office building following public comment opposed to that particular design element.
That has not dissuaded Seda from opposing the entire Jackson Commons development.
“It is a conceptual design and we don’t know what is going in there,” he said. “Traffic studies are incorrect until we know what is going to be put there. Are we getting a Home Depot or a Lowe’s? That’s my problem. Commercial ratables are great when they benefit the town without sacrificing our quality of life.”
Seda also said his concern was that Leigh could obtain the preliminary approval he is seeking from the zoning board and then sell the project before it was built.
However, when told that Leigh had met with the Economic Development Committee and Lefkowitz prior to making his application to the zoning board, Seda said he was unaware of that fact. He also said that he has not attended any of the monthly meetings held by the Economic Development Committee, which counsels potential commercial developers seeking to build in Jackson.
Grisanti said he was also unaware of the counsel provided Leigh by the Economic Development Committee or Lefkowitz, whose contract he twice voted to approve.
“If Barry Lefkowitz had come to me and suggested the placement of the center in that area, I would have said no,” said Grisanti. “I’m in favor of the application as long as the environment is protected. (Businesses) not only provide a service, they help put our children through school, which is right now being paid for on the backs of residents. (And) wouldn’t it be nice to keep the money spent on goods and services in Jackson instead of elsewhere?”
Grisanti said he is proud that he helped reduce municipal taxes by a cumulative total of 11 cents per $100 of assessed valuation since Democrats took control of the Township Committee in 2000 — the lowest it has been since 1990. However, he said that until the committee begins to formulate next year’s budget, he could not predict what next year’s municipal tax rate will be.
Seda said there is at least one expense he would seek to eliminate if he were elected to the committee.
“I … object to the appointment of an aide to the mayor and committee who still serves as a campaign consultant,” said Seda, referring to Ryley. “I still don’t know what he does on a day-to-day basis.”
Seda said that previously the position of aide to the mayor and Township Committee was part-time, but that the Democratic majority that took control in 2000 appointed Ryley to the position full-time at a salary of almost $70,000.
At a recent committee meeting, the Democrats said Ryley’s counsel was available to any committee member.
Grisanti has asked the Tri-Town News in past interviews what Seda has proposed he would do rather than what he would not do. In contrast, Grisanti said he and other Democrats enacted a 3-acre zoning ordinance in 2001 which he said has reduced residential development in Jackson since it was approved.
Additionally, Grisanti said that he and other committee members have increased recreational opportunities in the township for young and old residents. He cited land the committee provided for the Jackson Little League, the Jackson Soccer Club and a roller hockey rink.
Seda questioned what purpose it would serve to donate land without funding any associated expense.
“It’s great to give organizations land you already own, but what good is it without sufficient money to build (on) it?” said Seda. “If we don’t have the money for something, don’t propose it.”
In rebuttal, Grisanti said that good planning required a public discussion.
“Recreation has always been a top priority for this committee but it takes money and planning,” said Grisanti. “We didn’t even have a recreation master plan until four years ago. It constantly changes.”
Grisanti said if he is re-elected to the committee, he would continue to work aggressively for more recreation in town, less residential development and stable municipal taxes, if possible.
Seda said the last thing he intended to do was make promises to voters just to be elected by them.
“Politicians make a lot of promises, but I’m not looking to make a lot of promises,” he said. “I don’t promise anyone that I’m going to employ them for their lifetime. I live every day aggressively to watch the bottom line and keep people employed. That’s the way the town should be run, too.”