Monroe panel names slate for council elections.
By: Bill Greenwood
MONROE The Monroe Township Republican Committee has named its slate of candidates for the 2007 Township Council elections.
The organization chose Tom Nothstine as its candidate for mayor and Carlos Lopez and Karen Scarpa as its candidates for two at-large Township Council seats.
If elected in June 5 primary elections, the trio would challenge Democrats Mayor Richard Pucci and incumbent council members Leslie Koppel-Egierd and Irwin Nalitt in the November general election.
"It’s time for a change in this town," Sidna Mitchell, chairwoman of the Republican Committee, said in a press release. She added that the mayor and all five council members are Democrats.
"The Democrat Party has been in control of Monroe for two decades," she said. "People are tired of politics as usual and this Republican ticket is willing to work hard to give the township residents a real voice in their government."
Mayor Pucci and Mr. Nalitt have both served since 1987. Ms. Koppel-Egierd has served since September, when she filled the unexpired term of John Riggs.
Any Democrat or Republican who would like to run for one of the open positions must submit a nominating petition to the Monroe Township clerk’s office by April 9, said Township Clerk Sharon Doerfler.
The petition must be signed by a minimum of 50 registered voters.
However, Ms. Doerfler said independents must file directly with the Board of Elections at the county clerk’s office in New Brunswick.
Mr. Nothstein, a Monroe resident since 1985, is president of the Monroe Township Republican Club and a Middlesex County Republican committeeman. He has an electrician’s license and has been a sales engineer and service manager for 10 years, according to the release.
He also has been a volunteer soccer coach, Girl Scout cookie manager and volunteer pit crew member for the Monroe Township High School Band.
"When I heard U.S. Attorney General Chris Christie talk about corruption in New Jersey and how we needed to get involved at the grass-root level, I felt I had to step forward and run for mayor," he said in the release.
Mr. Lopez, a Vietnam War veteran, ran for a Third Ward council seat in 2005, losing by a vote of 1,826 to 1,665 to Councilwoman Joanne Connelly. He has spent many years in the financial services industry and was once a primary analyst for rating municipal bond credit issues, according to the release.
He is a member of the National Federation of Municipal Analysts, vice president of the Monroe Township Republican Club and a Middlesex County Republican committeeman. He has also been a member of the ad hoc committee for both referendums for a new high school and a member of the Middlesex County Hispanic Association.
"Going door-to-door and talking with people of various political persuasions convinced me that I needed to stay involved," Mr. Lopez said in the release. "My goal is to bring governmental openness back to the residents of Monroe and not have the secretive, behind-the-door government we have now."
Ms. Scarpa, a Monroe resident for over 25 years, owns realty executives Scarpa Realtors and is a licensed real estate agent. She has worked with the Girl Scouts, Habitat for Humanity and various programs at the Monroe Township Senior Center, according to the release. She also is the host of "Karen’s Korner," a radio program on WCTC (1450 AM).
She is a member of the Jamesburg/Monroe Falcons Business Network Group, the Monroe Republican Club and Middlesex and Mercer counties’ chambers of commerce. She was named New Jersey’s Businesswoman of the Year in 2006 by the National Republican Congressional Committee.
"To work in a proactive manner and not in a reactive one is my goal for the government of our town," Ms. Scarpa said in the release. "As a Realtor, I understand growth and development. Having a balance between the different facets of real estate such as residential, planned retirement communities, retail, commercial, warehousing, land preservation and recreational facilities has always been a primary concern of mine."

