Candidates differ on police, recreation

The four candidates vying for two seats on Bourough council next month say that partisan politics should play little or no role in leading the bourough.

By: Vic Monaco
   HIGHTSTOWN — The four candidates vying for two seats on Borough Council next month agree that taxes and the redevelopment of the former mill property are priority issues. They also all say that partisan politics should play little or no role in leading the borough.
   "All the people running are here for the same reason — we want to make Hightstown better," says Democratic challenger Ryan Rosenberg.
   But he and Democratic colleague Constance Harinxma say the borough should look at the possibility of consolidating its police force with East Windsor’s, while incumbent Republicans Nancy Walker-Laudenberger and Ron Sackowitz prefer to praise the service the current department provides.
   And Ms. Harinxma says the borough needs to create better recreation services for its children and focus more on traffic safety.
   "If a community is good for kids, it’s good for everybody," she says.
   Those were some of the highlights as the Herald sat down in two separate interviews this week as the candidates were poised for a showdown in a League of Women Voters forum Thursday night.
   Ms. Walker-Laudenberger, a 28-year borough resident and former educator, is seeking her third full three-year term on council after being appointed in 1997 and skipping a year to run for mayor. She also has served on the Planning Board, Environmental Commission and Water and Sewer Commission.
   "I have not shied away from any job that’s come before me that would benefit the community," said Ms. Walker-Laudenberger, who also has been chairwoman for the Community Fair the last three years.
   Mr. Sackowitz, a 10-year borough resident who works for the Western Monmouth Utilities Authority, is seeking to retain the vacant seat to which he was appointed in February.
   "We have the experience and the will to do the job. You can ask anyone on council that I hit the ground running because of my prior experience in public business," said Mr. Sackowitz, a former union negotiator and current lab manager and safety coordinator.
   "We’ve lived in the area long enough to get sense of the community evolution," he added.
   Ms. Harinxma may have lived in the borough only three years but she says her job as a social worker gives her a "window into Hightstown" that many others don’t have.
   Mr. Rosenberg, who’s been a Hightstown resident two-and-half years, says being a 29-year-old political newcomer would help him bring a "fresh perspective to complement some of our seasoned council members."
   When asked, the Democrats said the borough should explore the possibility of consolidating its police department with East Windsor.
   "That is a really tough question," Ms. Harinxma said. "Part of being family-friendly is that you want a secure, safe community and having more policemen makes it safer. … However, considering the costs, it is worth exploring to see what might be an option. That’s not to say that we would choose it but just to see how it might work and what would the savings be and how we might restructure that and would we really be losing coverage."
   "If we could maintain the level of services we have now, why wouldn’t it be worth exploring?" added Mr. Rosenberg.
   Mr. Sackowitz has little doubt on the issue of consolidating with East Windsor. When he lived in the township, he said, it took about 30 minutes for police to respond to his call on a neighborhood problem while borough police arrived in eight minutes for a similar call from him.
   "Sometimes you have to pay a little more for the quality of service you get," said the 61-year-old.
   "And we’re not convinced it would be cheaper," added Ms. Walker-Laudenberger, who serves as the council’s police liaison.
   Ms. Harinxma, a 45-year-old mother of two, said she’s heard many complaints about the East Windsor recreation programs that many borough children take part in.
   "Their children get first dibs, from what I understand. If a program fills up with township kids, our kids are out," she said. "Bearing in mind that we have so many families with children, we have to do something. We can’t just say ‘There’s no money — too bad.’ We have to seriously look at how it works in East Windsor, see if we can enhance that program to better serve our kids and if we can’t, then we need to look at our own community and see what we can do with our own resources."
   Those resources, she said, include local schools and churches.
   Anticipating that criticism, the incumbents pointed out that the borough has a free summer parks program, a Police Athletic League and a YMCA, which she acknowledged provides only day care.
   "We would love to have everything. … We just have to weigh what we can afford," said Mr. Sackowitz.
   Ms. Harinxma also said local leaders need to put a higher priority on traffic safety including stricter enforcement of speed limits..
   "I don’t want to sound like the police aren’t doing their job. I just think there should be more of a focus," she said. "And I also don’t see why we can’t have some blinking lights in the center of town."
   All the candidates listed the tax rate as an important issue.
   Mr. Rosenberg, who owns his own graphic design firm, said maintaining a stable tax rate is a "tough nut to crack" but possible if the borough is "selective about the businesses and number of residents we bring in."
   Mr. Sackowitz said residents need to understand that only 20 percent of their tax dollars go to the borough, while the balance go to the school district and county.
   "It’s the school tax killing the state," he said. "Our hands are handcuffed."
   Mr. Sackowitz said he looks at the Social Security cost-of-living increase of 4.1 percent as a budget guideline.
   "I would loathe any budget over that," he said. "I would like to get less but I would hope it wouldn’t be any higher."
   Ms. Walker-Laudenberger, 55, sounded more positive about stabilizing the municipal tax rate. She said the borough is on the verge of getting much new tax revenue from The Enchantment at East Windsor, the age-restricted community under development which she said has already generated $100,000. In addition, she said, the planned redevelopment of the former mill property and the eventual redevelopment of the former Minute Maid plant would help a lot.
   "We don’t see ourselves in such a terrible situation," she said.
   The four candidates indicated they are pleased that the latest plan to redevelop the mill property calls for 100 housing units, down from an earlier reported figure of 130. But Mr. Rosenberg said the borough should "stick to its guns" – a reference to the borough ordinance that calls for a maximum of 80 units
   Ms. Walker-Laudenberger said it is incumbent upon the new developer to "make a case" for exceeding 80.
   And Mr. Sackowitz said he is concerned with the extra traffic the development would bring. But he added that "the time is right" for such a mixed-use development.
   "People are seeking to live in boroughs and small towns with a center," he said.
   Asked about complaints about overcrowded living conditions in certain neighborhoods and recent raids by federal immigration agents, the incumbents pointed out that the Borough Council reacted with a resolution that, among other things, banned local police from taking part in such raids and asked that federal agents not identify themselves as "police" when the local department is working to establish trust with the community.
   "We want everyone to feel they can call the cops and get help," said Mr. Sackowitz.
   Ms. Walker-Laudenberger also pointed to the Latino council, recently created by Mayor Bob Patten, and the Hightstown Equity Coalition as groups working to improve relations.
   The challengers said the key is improving communication with the Hispanic community.
   "It is the town’s responsibility to let people who come to our town know what the rules and regulations are," said Mr. Rosenberg. "I think occasionally it’s a matter of miscommunication."
   "The issues of illegal immigrants and overcrowding are a problem in our town," said Ms. Harinxma. "I think people have to be aware that it’s not as if these people are setting out, deliberately, to break the law. There are cultural differences of what we consider not to be right – like having multiple families living in a house, in their culture that’s the way they do it. It’s an education piece we’re missing here."
   "I think it’s having a larger world view," added Mr. Rosenberg.