By Geoffrey Wertime, Staff Writer
BORDENTOWN CITY — Eight candidates have filed to run for the three city commission seats available in the May 12 election.
Under the city’s nonpartisan commission form of government, the three positions are all up for re-election every four years. According to city tradition, commission members choose the mayor from among themselves, and the position normally goes to the candidate who received the most votes.
Mayor John Collom is not among the current political aspirants; he said previously he has no desire to serve a third term.
James Brimmer, Heather Cheesman, Steven Chestnut, Al Csapo, Larry Denney, incumbent James Lynch, former commission member Zigmont Targonski, and incumbent John Wehrman filed before the March 19 deadline.
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Mr. Brimmer, 59, of East Union Street, is a Realtor and former construction manager. Mr. Brimmer has not been on the commission before, but has served on local committees including the Emergency Management Team and the Housing Task Force. He also has been involved with local groups and volunteers as a mentor of students in the Bordentown Regional School District.
”I want to get in there and review what we have, and change what has to be changed,” he said of his goals if elected.
”I want the people to have more communication from their three commissioners as to the whys and wherefores of what’s going on. Explain to the public why their taxes are the way they are, and if you can’t justify it, then do something about it.”
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Ms. Cheesman, 37, of Prince Street, is a former member of the Board of Education, where she served for over three years.
A former special education teacher, Ms. Cheesman is now a Realtor and works with the Burlington County Clerk’s office. A city resident for about 15 years altogether, Ms. Cheesman said she worked on the city’s 325th anniversary celebration, and also has experience in student government.
”I think the bottom line when it comes to city issues is just thinking out and having a plan for the city from the leadership,” Ms. Cheesman said of her campaign. “I’m willing to bring open communication to the residents, understanding where everybody’s coming from, and leading the city in decisions that are positive for the city.
”My sense of Bordentown City is it’s a positive place to live; that’s why we all live here. I disagree with some of the agreements, contracts, and decisions that have been made in the last eight years; they weren’t always in the best interest of the city and could’ve been done better.”
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Mr. Chestnut, 30, of West Burlington Street, has not held political office before, and works as a human resources manager for several large municipalities in the northern part of the state. He is also a member of the Bordentown Historical Society, and has lived in the city for three years.
”As a younger person in the town, I realize the importance of keeping up the property values and keeping the town going,” he said.
”I do feel the city should be helping more to promote not only the city’s history, but the city’s businesses… Bordentown is kind of off the beaten path, it’s a small town with a lot of people, and it’s really, really important to get people in just to keep businesses going and to keep Bordentown alive.”
He said he would also like to ensure the town has “a commission of people that work well together. It’s important we can all communicate and get things accomplished.”
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Mr. Csapo, 56, of Farnsworth Avenue, has lived in the area his entire life, and has run in all but two city commission elections since 1981, though he has yet to be elected.
A retired machinist, he said he began attending meetings at City Hall at the age of 16.
”To tell you the truth I believe I’m the most experienced candidate out there that has not been elected because you pick up a lot of things going to the meetings,” he said.
Mr. Csapo has volunteered in both official and unofficial capacities, including the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife since the early ‘90s and doing wetland and street cleanup on his own.
”My election’s going to focus on life quality in Bordentown City,” he said, which would include taxes, garbage collection, and clean water.
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Mr. Denney, 59, of Prince Street, is also new to the city commissioners’ race, though he has lived in the city since 1965 and was the chairman of the city’s 325th anniversary festivities.
A business manager for the state Department of Corrections, Mr. Denney said he is the first to oversee the finances of two prisons, the Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility in Bordentown and the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Wrightstown.
If elected, Mr. Denney said he would seek to “get back to the fundamentals.”
”I’m a fiscal manager, and I can’t promise anyone anything because we have to see what kind of funds we have,” he said. “I think people are concerned about the streets, the sidewalks, and they want to know what’s going to happen with downtown businesses.
”We have to figure out a way to get people coming back to Bordentown,” he said. “You have to have a fiscal person because the economy’s so rough.”
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Mr. Lynch, 53, a lifelong city resident, is serving his 20th year on the commission, has been a part of the Bordentown Sewage Authority for 19 years, and was also a charter member of the regional school board, on which he spent three years.
In addition to his government work, Mr. Lynch, of Union Street, is sales manager at Lucas Chevrolet in Mount Holly.
”The success we’ve had the past four years — I think we need to look at that,” he said.
”The (emergency medical services) agreement with the township was a huge accomplishment for the municipality; we were working on it for two years, and now when you need an ambulance you can count you’re going to get one in two to three minutes.
”In the future, it’s probably more important than at any other time to try and maintain the services we’ve accomplished over the years. Knowing budgets are tight, at the end of the day there’s just not a lot of money to go around. We need to really be cognizant of the fact that we’re limited in the resources we have and we need to protect them.”
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Mr. Targonski, 65, of East Union Street, has lived in the city since 1969, and in that time he has spent 12 years on the commission, eight of them as mayor. He also served on the Planning Board from 1978 to 1989, and again as part of the committee from 1993 to 2001.
A retired shop teacher, Mr. Targonski was formerly the department head at Nottingham High School in Hamilton.
If elected, he said he would look to reduce spending, as well as “reduce unnecessary litigation,” citing specifically the series of disciplinary hearings against Public Works Manager Robert Erickson.
”I’d like to improve the communication with the residents to be more accessible, being courteous, being accessible around the clock,” he continued. “Somebody has an emergency or they have a problem, I’ve never ever hung up on a resident — I’ll find a way to solve it or I’ll find someone who can.”
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Mr. Wehrman, of Park Street, declined to give his age, instead saying he “won’t see 60 again.” He has been a city resident for 52 years, and spent 12 of them on the commission. He is also the director of Public Works, and has served 18 years on the Board of Education.
”I just think we have to continue to try to build on our tax base,” Mr. Wehrman said. “We’ve got to try to make the downtown business area — not necessarily revitalized, but we need to draw more customers in that area.
”I’m trying to keep the tax base stable, but that’s hard to do in this economy if there’s no state aid. I want to continue projects, things I’m involved in like the restoration of the Old City Hall and the continued upgrade of city infrastructure.”