BY LAUREN MATTHEW
Staff Writer
Six of the Old Bridge Township Council’s nine seats will be up for grabs in November’s general election.
In all six cases, the incumbents currently representing their wards will try to win new four-year terms, with opposing party candidates trying to unseat them.
Ward 1 Democrat Robert Volkert, appointed in 2003 to replace the late Joe Hoff and then elected to complete the term last year, will be on the ballot opposite Republican Josephine Shiffres.
In Ward 2, Democrat and current council President William Baker will run against Republican Brian Cahill.
Ward 3 Democrat and longtime Councilman Reginald Butler will seek a new term, with competition from Republican Ray Wetstein.
Democrat G. Kevin Calogera, representing Ward 4, will run against Republican Isaac J. Crosson.
Ward 5 Councilman Richard Greene, also chairman of Old Bridge’s Republican Party, will seek another term, with competition from Democrat Michael Spina.
Republican Lucille Panos will defend her Ward 6 seat against Barbara York, a Democrat.
With such a wide field of competition, there is the potential for a shift of power on the council, which at present consists of seven Democrats and the two Republicans, Greene and Panos. The Democrats have held a 7-2 majority since the late 1990s, though there have been some changes in its membership. The Democrats also hold the seat of mayor — Jim Phillips defeated Greene to succeed Republican Barbara Cannon in November 2003.
“I think we have a great slate,” Greene said of this year’s GOP ticket. “I’m really excited about it.”
The Republican candidates, he said, have shown a real concern for local issues and a willingness to get involved.
“I’m looking forward to a successful campaign,” he said.
In the council’s present state, many actions on major issues — such as the 500-acre Crossroads redevelopment plan — have come down to a vote of six to three, with Calogera voting in the minority with the two Republicans.
Greene said that shows that voting should not be about partisanship.
“When we make our decisions, it has nothing to do with what party we’re affiliated with,” he said.
What should ultimately go into the casting of a vote, Greene said, is what’s best for Old Bridge.
However, Greene said he feels good about the Ward 4 situation. Even if the Republican candidate loses and Calogera wins his seat again, that’s still a councilman who works well with the Republicans.
“It’s a win-win situation,” Greene said.
William Flynn, Old Bridge’s Democratic Party chairman, said he feels that the Democratic incumbents have done an excellent job on the council.
“They’ve all established a good record,” he said. “They’re all deserving of winning.”
Spina, in Greene’s ward, and York, who runs against Panos, have both been very active in the community, which could bode well for them, Flynn said.
“We hope they do well, too,” he said.
The Democrats are running their campaigns on the theme of working together and getting things done, Flynn said. The council, with its Democratic majority, has made tremendous progress, according to Flynn.
Of Calogera’s record of voting against certain issues proposed by his Democratic colleagues, including Democratic Mayor Jim Phillips, Flynn said the councilman is still a Democrat.
“Our Democratic Party is a big tent with lots of diversity and room for opinions,” Flynn said.
There’s not a problem with Calogera’s votes, he added, as long as the councilman can back them up with logic and reasoning.
“He’s got my full support,” Flynn said.
The only council members whose terms are not up this year are those who hold the three at-large seats. Democrats Patrick Gillespie, Dennis Maher and Ed Testino were elected with Phillips in 2003.