Long Branch activist wants freeholder seat

BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer

BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

Long BranchLong Branch LONG BRANCH — One city resident says he is running for a Monmouth County freeholder seat because he is an idealist and believes he can make a change.

Brian Unger, 53, a public relations executive who has been a resident of Long Branch for 23 years and a lifelong Monmouth County resident, is the Green Party candidate vying for one of the two open freeholder seats.

“This is just something I have always wanted to do,” Unger said about running in the Nov. 8 election.

“I have always loved public issues and I always believed that government is supposed to be representing the highest ideals of the community.”

If elected, Unger said he will make it his job to address the following three issues: pay-to-play, cutting back on county expenses, and the environment.

He stressed the importance of creating statewide legislation to ban pay-to-play in local municipalities.

“It needs to be done within the next two to three weeks,” he said. “Post it, amend it and adopt it. We cannot wait until after the election or until next year.”

He proposed PACA (Public Accountability in Contracting Act), which eradicates no-bid contracts of any sort in county government and forbids the county from granting contracts of over $10,000 to any business that contributes more than $400 into the political campaign of a county officeholder.

“Monmouth County is the center of the biggest corruption and government waste scandal in New Jersey,” Unger said.

“Long Branch has acted, Belmar has acted, dozens of towns throughout the state have acted. Let’s have the toughest pay-to-play legislation now.”

But, Unger said, even when pay-to-play legislation is passed, a difference will not come until the costs of county employees are cut.

“Two hundred sixty-nine county employees get free cars, free gas and free car insurance,” he said.

“I think we need to identify 150 cars, auction them off and put the money back in the taxpayers pockets.”

He added that Monmouth County is the fourth-largest county in New Jersey, but it has the second highest payroll in the state at $157 million a year.

“I want an immediate hiring freeze,” he said. “A few thousand dollars here, a few tens of thousands of dollars there; pretty soon it adds up to real money.”

Another issue that Unger said needs to be addressed in the county is the environment. He is proposing that a County Coastal Commission be organized to deal with environmental concerns, such as beach access, run-off into the waters and public parking.

But it doesn’t end with the environment, he said and added that freeholders need to recognize the urban issues in towns like Long Branch, Asbury Park, Neptune and Freehold.

“We have to stop pretending that these towns do not have issues with education, crimes, jobs and affordable housing,” he said.

“We waste so much money in Freehold on excessive pay checks, when we need to be paying attention to these communities. This is not something that will go away if we ignore it.”

Unger, who has been a lifelong Democrat, says the Green Party is a number of defected Democrats who feel the Democratic Party has drifted too far to the center and has become a shadow of the Republican Party.

It is the fastest growing party in the nation, according to Unger, who said over 225 elected officials in the county legislatures, city councils, mayor’s offices, and judicial, education and tax boards throughout the countrybelong to the party.

If elected, he said he wants to first make a change with the political offices.

“People make politics and government a career who have really lost touch with the needs of the community,” Unger said.

“We have a crisis of representation in government now. We have delegated our government representation to the wrong people and now [citizens] are disappointed.”

Unger said he would use his seat as a “bully pulpit” to fight for the real public issues.

“Four out of five freeholders are silent on almost every issue,” he said. “They do not use the office to make a difference in the county. They use it to fatten their wallets.”

Vying for the two open seats are un-elected Republican incumbent William H. Burham, who is holding one seat, and the other seat has no incumbent and is being sought by Republican Colts Neck Mayor Lillian Burry; and the Democrat challengers are Manalapan Committeewoman Rebecca Aaronson and former Freehold Borough Councilwoman Barbara McMorrow.