By Jessica Ercolino, Staff Writer
ROBBINSVILLE A council member who often has criticized the administration’s procedures intends to campaign against the township’s current leader this year for the next mayoral term.
Both Councilwoman Sonja Walter and Mayor Dave Fried have requested petition packets to run for mayor in the May 12 nonpartisan election, Township Clerk Michele Auletta said this week. As of Monday, no other resident had requested packets for that position. Three residents had picked up packets to seek two seats on the Township Council.
Ms. Walter, a Township Council member since 2005, said she put a lot of thought into running for mayor after being “beaten up over the last year” from a political standpoint.
”There were numerous things I considered, not the least of which was a paraphrased statement from Barack Obama, ‘If you want change, you can’t wait around for somebody else to do it,’” she said. “I’m definitely not the type of person who sits around and complains. It’s put up or shut up with me.”
Recent Township Council meetings have become contentious with Mayor Fried and other council members verbally sparring with Ms. Walter on a number of issues, which she has said is because she asks too many questions. The councilwoman said she does not believe there has been uniformly applied rules for certain township officials.
Ms. Walter’s biggest criticism is a “disenfranchised” government with “far too much bullying and far too little information.”
She said, “Too often at meetings, it’s a quick and dirty vote. Residents are afraid to ask questions, and they don’t feel like they know what’s going on. Questions should not be feared; they should be welcomed.”
Ms. Walter said she is in favor of economic development but is concerned with a “development for development’s sake” sentiment in the township and believes more cost-benefit analyses should be performed before moving forward with decisions.
The mayor-hopeful said she is focused on putting the power in the hands of township residents.
”I don’t feel there is a democracy in Robbinsville,” she said. “Residents are the ones who should have a voice, and I don’t think they do.”
Mayor Fried, who was elected as the township’s first mayor when it changed from a township committee form of government to mayor-council in July 2005, said he has been focused on “a lot of little things” throughout the last four years.
”When I became mayor, people were looking for a silver bullet, but there isn’t one big thing that fixes everything,” he said. “Some of these little things have been challenging, but that’s what people want of their elected officials for them to fight the good fights, not just the easy fights.”
The mayor cited the consolidation of the township’s fire district and Municipal Utilities Authority in 2006 and 2007, respectively, as moves he said saved the township $1.2 million a year. He added that bringing trash collection in-house, switching to a streamlined recycling system and entering into a number of shared services agreements also have saved the township money.
Ms. Walter was appointed council president her first two terms on the council and vice president for her third. She said she understands the current mayor’s intent to run on his record, but it is “not just his record.”
”Without the support of council, a lot of the initiatives he wanted would not have come to fruition,” she said, while adding that she “often didn’t agree with the methodology.”
Mayor Fried has served on the Township Committee since 2000 and as mayor twice. Previously, committee members would appoint a mayor for a one-year term while the elected mayor now serves four years.
If re-elected, Mayor Fried said he plans to continue developing Route 130 and begin commercial development on the south side of Washington Town Center, which he says will continue slowing residential growth in town and stabilize the local tax rate. He said he also hopes to preserve the 220-acre Edinburg Village parcel in 2009, which would be the last of three priority open-space properties to be preserved and could lead to a proposed decrease in the open-space tax rate, he said.
Two seats on the Township Council also will be up for grabs in the May election with the terms of council Vice President William Lesniak and Ms. Walter expiring this year.
As of Monday, three residents former Mayor and current Planning Board member Vincent Calcagno, Planning Board Chairwoman Sheree McGowan and Sylvia Way resident Lance Brown had picked up petition packets, Ms. Auletta said.
All council terms are four years long and begin July 2. Anyone applying may only run for a council seat or the mayor position not both, Ms. Auletta explained.
Those interested in running for office can pick up a petition packet from the township clerk’s office at 1 Washington Blvd. during office hours. They are due back to that office by 4 p.m. March 19.
An eligible candidate must be a resident of the township for one year and a registered voter. The applicant also must collect 84 valid signatures of local registered voters as part of the petition packet.