ELECTION 2006: Candidates for mayor and council share their goals

Hopefuls’ hopes for Township

By: Joseph Harvie
   Candidates for mayor and council say the township needs to find more ways to reduce spending while providing quality services for its residents.
   They also said the township should continue to work on projects — such as widening Route 1 and completing Route 522 to Route 535 — that could ease traffic on major roads.
   The candidates spoke the about issues they think are important to taxpayers as part of the South Brunswick Post’s five-part series leading up to the Nov. 7 election. The candidates for mayor are incumbent Democrat Frank Gambatese and Republican Lynda Woods Cleary. For Township Council, incumbent Democrat Chris Killmurray is facing off against Republican Nanette Craig. Both seats are four-year terms.
   Ms. Woods Cleary and Ms. Craig said having an all Democrat Township Council is not in the best interest of the township, and that dissenting voices need to be heard to keep the council honest.
   Mayor Gambatese and Mr. Killmurray said the township would continue work on widening Route 1 as well as look into ways to share services with neighboring municipalities to help save money.
   All of the candidates agree that the proposed plan to allow Middlesex County to take over the township Health Department should be further investigated before being approved. They said any savings should be significant and that there should not be a cut in services.
Lynda Woods Cleary (R)
mayoral candidate
   Lynda Woods Cleary, of Princeton Walk, said she thinks residents are most concerned with taxes.
   "They are very, very concerned about their taxes and whether or not they will be raised," said Ms. Woods Cleary, a self-employed financial adviser. "They also heard that next year there might be a tax assessment and they want to know if that will raise their taxes. Most people think that their property will be assessed with a higher value. And since the state hit us with an additional 1 percent on the sales tax, people are concerned. They don’t want to be overtaxed."
   She said the township has to look for ways to cut spending in order to lower taxes.
   "Spending seems to be out of control in South Brunswick Township," Ms. Woods Cleary said. "And then we have to look carefully at the tax situation in the township, reassess the situation."
   In addition, Ms. Woods Cleary said the township needs to put more work into getting traffic moving on Routes 1, 27, 130 and 522. She said the township should work with the state and federal governments to make sure improvements are made to the roads.
   "These are things we can’t do in a vacuum in South Brunswick Township," Ms. Woods Cleary said. "The roads I mentioned are not local streets. They are major arteries. The thing is, it doesn’t seem as though commerce is going to be reduced in Central Jersey, so at least we can try to get some relief for the people on the major roads here."
   Ms. Woods Cleary said she wants to make sure the township saves money if the county takes over the Health Department. She also said a health office should still be located in the Municipal Building, and that the same level of service is provided.
   "I would like to be able to keep a health facility in South Brunswick," Ms. Woods Cleary said. "Our township has grown considerably since I moved here many years ago. I know what kind of hardship it would be for a resident to go into New Brunswick to get services they had been getting here in South Brunswick."
   Ms. Woods Cleary said she would bring a new voice to the all-Democratic council. She also would also be another female voice on the council, joining Democrat Carol Barrett.
   In addition, she said that if elected she would try to get everyone in the township involved, and bring town hall to the residents by meeting with residents in different neighborhoods.
   "If you vote for me, you get someone with total involvement," Ms. Woods Cleary said. "Does that mean that all 38,000 people will be on a committee? No. But I will get them involved. I will call them at random and ask them to come to a meeting and ask them to give their opinion."
Frank Gambatese (D)
mayoral candidate
   Mayor Frank Gambatese, of Highgate Manor, said he wants to continue using relationships that he helped establish with state and county officials to provide the best possible services to township residents.
   "We are no longer considered the poor sister," Mayor Gambatese said. "We are a major player in the state of New Jersey. I believe I brought this (reputation) to the town and will continue to do so."
   He said the township has received more than $25 million in grants and federal and state appropriations for various projects since he was elected. The money, Mayor Gambatese said, has been used for various projects, including $7 million in federal aid to study the widening of Route 1 and $1 million from Middlesex County to build an artificial turf multipurpose sports field at Harvest Woods Park on Culver Road.
   Mayor Gambatese, a retired accountant, said since he is a retiree with more free time, he is able to better handle mayoral responsibilities.
   "Personally, I am a full-time mayor getting paid $8,000 a year," Mayor Gambatese said. "Now that I’m retired I have time to give my full attention to the problems and issues in the township."
   Mayor Gambatese said the township is working on ways to reduce traffic, better utilize public transportation, and provide the best social and health services for township children.
   "People don’t mind paying taxes as long as their quality of life isn’t in any way diminished," Mayor Gambatese said.
   In addition, he said the township is looking into having the Middlesex County Department of Public Health take over the township Health Department. He said that negotiations are still ongoing, and that he’s not sure if the township should go with it.
   "First we need to see that the savings would be significant," Mayor Gambatese said. "And our Health Department provides great services for our residents, we need to make sure that these services are not diminished."
   He said the township wouldn’t move forward with the deal unless the savings are close to one tax point, which is $385,485. However, he said that he is also working with local hospitals to help reduce costs of township health services.
   "I’ve been in dialogue with St. Peter’s Hospital (in New Brunswick) and with Princeton Medical Center, who will run programs at their cost for our seniors and that is also way of saving money for the township."
Nanette Craig (R)
council candidate
   Nanette Craig, of Stockton Road in Kendall Park, said she would work to lower taxes for residents by seeking ways to bring in more revenue.
   She said the township keeps losing tax appeal cases to large businesses and would like the township to be more aggressive in the appeals.
   Ms. Craig said the township needs to talk more to its neighboring towns, and the state, when dealing with traffic problems.
   "(Franklin) put a light up on Route 27 near Vilet (Road), and our town didn’t say to them, wait a minute that’s too close to Stillwell. The people from Stillwell won’t be able to make left turns from Stillwell to Route 27," Ms. Craig, a retired nurse and nursing administrator, said.
   In addition, Ms. Craig said the state should look at changing the light at Sand Hills Road and Route 27.
   "The traffic out of South Middlebush has a left-hand turn arrow," Ms. Craig said. "The people coming out of Sand Hills, they don’t have a left turn arrow and they have to combat traffic coming toward Sand Hills Road."
   Cutting township spending is also important, Ms. Craig said. She would like to see more shared services between the township and its neighbors as well as using cost-cutting measures such as holding fire elections, now held in February, with the general election in November to keep costs down.
   Ms. Craig said that while she is not opposed to the county taking over the township Health Department, the township needs to make sure the quality of service isn’t diminished. She said the township has looked into this before and the monetary savings weren’t that great so it decided to keep the hHealth Department in the township.
   "Right now, the only salary is the health officer’s so I’m not sure if there is much to be saved by doing this," Ms. Craig said. "We should be cautious and look into it a little more."
   Ms. Craig said residents should vote for her so that there would be an opposing voice on the all-Democratic Township Council.
   "Residents should be annoyed with the fact that they don’t know what’s going on in town," Ms. Craig said. "Things are already decided before the council meetings. They are just rushing through like they’re running a race. You don’t know how they come up with decisions because they don’t discuss things. But they are pushing through ordinances."
Chris Killmurray (D)
council candidate
   Chris Killmurray, of Summerfield Estates in Dayton, said that if he is re-elected, he will continue to work on the quality of life issues residents bring before the council.
   "I’ll make the same pledge now that I made four years ago," Mr. Killmurray said. "I’ll try to talk less and listen more. And that’s something I try to do with people when they see me at the (ball) fields or at town hall or see me around town, over the phone or via e-mail. I do my best to assist them. Sometimes it’s as simple as getting a question answered and sometimes it’s about getting a new service that needed to be addressed."
   He said the issues include preserving open space for active and passive recreation. He said the township was successful in acquiring the 90-acre Kendall Woods parcel across from Woodlot Park on New Road. Mr. Killmurray said that he would continue to work to preserve parcels that would help limit development, including the 200-acre Van Dyke Farm, on Davidsons Mill Road.
   He said he would also look to expand services such as the Police Department and the library.
   "I let the residents know when I’m spending their money, like when I voted to hire three new police officers this year," said Mr. Killmurray, an attorney with Hoagland, Longo, Moran, Dunst and Doukas of New Brunswick. "And I look back at the library expansion. We used tax money for that. And I found that if you explain to people how you spend their tax money they really appreciate that."
   In addition, Mr. Killmurray said that a lot of residents approached him about a skate park, and after hearing the Township Council’s concerns, decided to support it.
   He also said the township has had success dealing with transportation in the township, including getting $7 million in federal money to study the widening of Route 1.
   "We were able to break the logjam on widening Route 1," Mr. Killmurray said. "For the first time it’s on the table and we’re successful with that being looked at for the first time."
   Mr. Killmurray said the only way to move forward with handing health services to the county is to make sure it will save money, and won’t affect the quality of services.
   "It’s certainly not the only thing we’re looking at," Mr. Killmurray said. "Matt (Watkins, township manager) sat down with other towns to see what services we could share with them. And while consolidation is a good idea, it’s not easily accomplished."