Washington Township’s mayoral and council candidates debate in the last public forum before the May 10 election.
By: Lauren Burgoon
WASHINGTON If voters walked into Monday’s mayor and council debates hoping to figure out what sets the candidates apart, they certainly got their wish.
Monday was the last big chance the two men running for mayor and 12 council hopefuls had to convince residents that they should sit on Washington’s new government and throughout the night it became crystal clear that the candidates agree on very little. In fact, the only thing all 14 can agree on is that the planned southerly bypass, which would route traffic away from Town Center, is vital. Beyond that, each has different ideas about how to attract ratables, handle residential development and ensure there are ethics in the municipal government.
The debate, sponsored by the Greater Mercer County Chamber of Commerce and moderated by the League of Women Voters, was split into two sessions. The first half pitted the council candidates against each other. The 12 were held to a strict one-minute time limit to answer the four questions posed to them, forcing them to condense their positions on sometimes complicated matters for the more than 150 people crammed into the senior center. The mayoral candidates received a more lax 90-second answer time limit in the second session.
The debates were closely structured and left little time for personal attacks but some did manage to get digs in every so often. Council candidate Kristin Kiefer urged voters to "connect the dots" between her opponents and those supporting school budget increases. Mayoral candidate Dave Fried frequently voiced his displeasure with the town’s current leadership and said that, as a committee member, he is sometimes embarrassed to be associated with their decisions.
One question asked of the council hopefuls was what they would do to raise the bar for the town’s leadership and promote an ethical process. Most of the candidates tacitly agreed that there is an ethics problem with the current government.
"Ethics may be an issue right now, but it won’t be with our slate. I can guarantee you that," said Ms. Kiefer, running with the New Leadership to Control Taxes Now slate. "There are no personal agendas on our slate with the exception of controlling taxes and making sure the township is affordable for everyone."
Opponent Larry Schneider, running with the People for Reform, had a different view.
"Frankly I don’t think we need to raise the bar that high in order to do better than what we’re doing now," he said wryly. "Obviously it’s a problem… One of the things we’ve proposed to try to get this cronyism out is term limits on boards and committees."
Open and recreational space also was a hot topic. Playing fields are in short supply and children are being turned away from recreation programs because of it. At the same time, the open space process has come under fire for not securing more recreation space and because the advisory committee holds its meetings in private.
"If we don’t have open space, it makes congestion… I like open space and I’ll promote it if we can afford it," independent candidate Robert Matuzsan said, adding that recreation space adds to residents’ quality of life and should be secured.
Bill Lesniak said he wants to prioritize open space acquisitions so that properties with the most potential and the lots under the biggest development threat can be acquired first. Ronda Hyams said the town needs to make its open space goals clearer to the public. Their running mate, Sonja Walter, agreed that the open space process must be opened up or, she warned, residents will lose trust in the town.
Two other candidates, Mark Tobias and Joe Armenti, defended the open space process, calling it a model for other towns and a successful program.
The candidates also differed when it comes to attracting more ratables to Washington. The tax control slate touted its SABRE program (Strategic Alliance for Business Retention and Expansion), which would have existing businesses in town help potential new owners bring their operations here. Steve Cooper said SABRE will help attract blue-chip businesses to town.
Tim McGough, the second independent candidate, vowed to focus on the Route 130 corridor to expand the commercial tax base in town, while David Boyne said changing the Planning Board’s attitude to be more business-friendly is key.
After the council contenders squared off, it was time for Steve McPhillips and Mr. Fried to go head-to-head in their efforts to win the mayor’s seat. Both were asked 15 different questions, several of them nearly identical to the council debate’s subjects. As in their council counterparts, the different views of the mayoral candidates could not have been starker.
As expected, the debate largely focused on controlling taxes and bringing commercial ratables to town.
Mr. McPhillips promoted SABRE as an effective way to bring commercial tax dollars to town. He also said that there are too many zoning restrictions that hinder development along Route 130.
Mr. Fried said that more ratables alone will not solve the tax problem. He said the town needs a more business-friendly attitude, zoning and planning board decisions need to reflect the town’s agenda and more areas need to be zoned for commercial use.
It didn’t take long for public participation at township meetings to come up. Earlier this year the Township Committee removed one public comment session at its meetings, a move that some residents have decried ever since but supporters declared necessary to stop outbursts at municipal meetings.
Mr. Fried harshly criticized what he said was closing the government to the people.
"We’re here to listen to you. If we make you angry, you should come and yell at us. And I know we’ve made a lot of you angry this year," he said. "We need an open government. We need your input."
Mr. McPhillips, who is also a Township Committee member, said he only supported the change because the current mayor, as the head of the committee, asked for it.
"I supported that decision for now because things were absolutely out of control at the committee meetings… We needed to slow down and take control of what was going on at meetings," he said. "When we start the new government I have absolutely no problem with the council having two open sessions. I am for public participation."
When the discussion turned to Town Center and how the men planned to make it thrive, Mr. McPhillips said that some Town Center residents are concerned they won’t get the same services or attention as the rest of Washington.
"I want to assure them that they will get every bit as much attention as the rest of the township," he said. Mr. McPhillips added that Town Center is ahead of schedule and less children are living there than projected, meaning there is less strain on the school system and less need for some services.
Mr. Fried vowed to bring an anchor store to Town Center so the mixed-use concept of stores and residences is successful. He also said the southerly bypass must be put in and disagreed with Mr. McPhillips that the issue is nearly solved between Washington, Hamilton and the state Department of Transportation. Washington wants the southerly bypass to be a continuation of Washington Boulevard from where it runs near CVS and wraps around to South Gold Drive in Hamilton, allowing Route 33 to become Main Street.
"I don’t think we are significantly closer today on Route 33 than we were five years ago. I think it’s a mistake and my opponent voted for it and I wouldn’t have to approve another 700 homes on the southbound side of Route 33," Mr. Fried said. "We cannot build the homes and then hope we get the road we want."
Fears before the debates that there wouldn’t be enough room for the audience were not ultimately realized. However, the senior center was jammed to capacity and quickly became standing room only for dozens of people forced to line the walls to hear from the candidates. The event earlier was moved from Pond Road Middle School after some candidates complained that the location wasn’t neutral.
Monday was the last public forum where all 14 candidates will meet. The hopefuls are going into the final weekend of campaigning before the election on Tuesday.

