Three incumbents and one challenger will vie for three seats on the Spotswood Borough Council in the May 11 nonpartisan municipal election. Council members Marge Drozd, Charles J. Spicuzzo and Curtis Stollen are seeking re-election, running on a ticket called “Dedicated Leadership — Working for You.” Fire Chief Nicholas Poliseno is seeking his first term, running as “A New Perspective for Spotswood.”
Drozd, 55, is a family nurse practitioner and manager of Community Mobile Health Services at Saint Peter’s University Hospital. She holds degrees in nursing from Bloomfield College and Rutgers University. Drozd is a lifelong resident of Spotswood and has been a council member since 2006. She has served as liaison to various committees. Marge Drozd* She is founder and president of the Spotswood Education Foundation and serves on the Immaculate Conception Church School Advisory Committee. She previously served as president of the Spotswood Board of Education, vice president of the Parents Auxiliary of the Spotswood Youth Baseball League and general coordinator for the playground at Appleby School. She and her husband, Gary, have three grown children. The three available terms will each last four years. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Why did you choose to run (or run again)
Poliseno, 32, is a manager/liaison to the New York City mayor and Department of Transportation in Manhattan Electric for Consolidated Edison. He is a high school graduate and has lived in Spotswood for 13 years. He has been a member of the Spotswood Volunteer Fire Department since 1997, and is currently Nicholas Poliseno serving as chief. He is also a member of the Spotswood Neighborhood Watch Program, a coach for Spotswood recreation soccer and a coach for the Spotswood T-ball program. He and his wife Allison have two daughters, Victoria, 6, and Olivia, 3. this year?
Spicuzzo, 33, is a journeyman electrician with IBEW Local 456. He has lived in Spotswood for 30 years. He graduated from Spotswood High School and the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical School District’s electrical apprentice program. Spicuzzo has been a councilman since 2008, serving as liaison Charles J. Spicuzzo* to the fire department, Board of Education and police department. He is a member of the PTA, Spotswood Education Foundation and Polish American Club, as well as a coach for the Spotswood Youth Baseball Organization. He has a wife, Denise. Drozd: Personally and professionally I have always been about providing service to my community. Spotswood is at a crossroads in terms of shrinking state aid and rising infrastructure costs. We have to think outside the box and be creative to do more with less. Utilizing my experience in providing health services to the community professionally and with the volunteering I have done, I have an extensive network of contacts/resources that I can use to help meet our town’s needs. We need experienced and hard working leadership for the important issues we are facing.
Stollen, 57, has been a member of the Borough Council since 1998, serving as president in 2000 and from 2006 to the present. Stollen is a graduate of Seton Hall University and has owned and operated a retail electronics business for 20-plus years. He currently manages commercial real estate holding companies. Stollen has served on the Planning Board since 1996 and has previously been a member of the Municipal Curtis Stollen* Building Committee. He said he has contributed to the improvement of the outward appearance of the community using money subsidized by state and county grants. Stollen has lived in Spotswood with his wife, Colleen, for 28 years, and they have two children. Poliseno: It’s time to bring a new perspective to Spotswood. My opponents are running as a team, I am running as an individual. My obligation will be to serve our residents — not running mates. Since 1997 I have faithfully served our fine community as a member of the Spotswood Volunteer Fire Department, currently as fire chief. In 2008 I authored and received a $237,000 federal grant for much-needed fire equipment, which ultimately saved taxpayers money. I promise to provide the same level of dedication and commitment as a council member. It is for these reasons that our voters should vote for me.
Spicuzzo: I chose to run again because I feel I still have a lot to offer to the town. In the two years that I’ve been on council I have learned a lot and look forward to learning more and putting my skills to work to improve the town for the residents. In the short time that I’ve been on council I have always tried to make the right decisions for the people of Spotswood and I have always listened to them and helped as much as I could.
Stollen: I believe my input has made a difference. I hope to continue to contribute. To properly serve takes an investment of time. I care a great deal about our community and have the passion, time and energy to serve. During my time as councilman, there have been issues that I wish we did not have to deal with, but I will not shy away from what needs to be decided for the public good. I believe that the people who watch know where I stand and they know my sincerity. I work to serve favoring no one, but with fair treatment to all. As a council member, what ideas or proposals would you introduce over the next few years?
Drozd: Working as a team with my colleagues on the council, I will continue to seek out grants as well as county, state and federal funding for important community initiatives — sidewalk and road improvements, recreational facilities for our youth, improved and increased services for our disabled and senior residents — as well as for our infrastructure needs, such as lake and water utility improvements. Safety concerns, as well as quality-of-life issues, will continue to be a priority.
Poliseno: Property taxes are very high in Spotswood, with families and seniors struggling to keep their head above water in these difficult economic times. As a result, I will do my best to maintainminimalmunicipal government spending. Our traffic congestion in town requires further analysis to ensure a viable “town friendly” master plan that is reasonable and affordable. I would endorse community safety improvements. Spotswood is a “walking” school district; installation of sidewalks in the vicinity of our schools would safeguard our children. Utilizing my grant-writing experience, I would explore grant opportunities to clean up and dredge DeVoe Lake.
Spicuzzo: I would like to see improvements to the traffic around the schools, mainly Schoenly, for the safety of our children and parents. I would also like to have the drainage issues in parts of the town addressed. The cleanup of the lake will be a great step in controlling some of the flooding. Though the cleanup of the lake is not a new idea, we have, over the last few years, made great strides in trying to get it cleaned up, and I would like to continue in this right direction.
Stollen: We must work to maintain Spotswood as a community that we can afford to live in, while addressing quality-oflife issues, such as drinking water, sidewalks, traffic, flooding and basic services to our youth and senior population. You may think these are two different directions for a candidate to take. There is no reason that, while looking for every means to control expenses, we cannot be ready to think outside the box and take advantage of any opportunity that comes our way to improve these vitally important issues that face us. What can be done to stabilize municipal taxes?
Drozd: I will continue to network with our county, state and federal political leadership to advocate for Spotswood’s residents. We must educate them as to our needs and how onerous legislated mandates can be on small towns. In communicating with them, I help to provide input into legislative solutions that will address municipal and school funding at the state and federal level. In the meantime, I will continue to keep a close eye on our resources and continue to craft a lean municipal budget that adequately meets our residents’ needs.
Poliseno: Placing restraints upon municipal spending would be top priority. New ways to save taxpayers money should continue to be explored because Spotswood has become very comfortable within itself. In today’s economy, individuality costs a great deal more than if we were to share some of the operating expenses of municipal services. A decision to continue shared services opportunities with North Brunswick is a step in the right direction. The council should examine what services can be shared and, more importantly, which of our neighboring towns has the ability to partner with us. This is a win-win arrangement for everyone.
Spicuzzo: In these trying economic times it is very hard to discuss taxes. I will try to stabilize taxes the best way I can without seeing any cut in services. In a small town like Spotswood there is no room to cut employees. We run a tight ship, and have many of our great staff members doing more than one job already. If we need to cut positions, I feel it will hurt the residents.
Stollen: Our tax situation is one that has its cause outside our borders. Fortunately, we have had responsible municipal leaders for some time working efficiently with what has been left within our control. Unfunded state mandates, state bureaucracy, limitations in contract negotiations, and the redistribution of our tax dollars have left us underfunded and overtaxed. Though the state special interests have been served, we have not. We must unite as a voting block to demand representation that distributes aid fairly to the citizens of this state and removes the mandates that favor special interests, driving up our cost of providing services.
What are the some of the biggest issues you would like see
addressed?
Drozd: Priorities will continue to be: Helping traffic flow through town, road and sidewalk improvements to ensure pedestrian safety, lake improvements, creating an encouraging climate for business owners, and finding a cost-effective way to build a free-standing senior/youth center for our residents.
Poliseno: Traffic congestion in town will eventually cripple Spotswood’s economy. I don’t see this as a “Spotswood only” problem, it’s a shared issue caused by our neighbors traveling through our town. A master plan with extensive reconstruction and buy-in from our neighbors is the only realistic solution. Sidewalks and the safety of our children walking to school must be addressed. The dredging of DeVoe Lake can be a reality that could bring growth to our community. Flooding issues that crippled residents could all but disappear. Working in tandem with state and federal agencies is a must for the success of our town.
Spicuzzo: Like it was said in the past, some of the biggest issues in town are the lake and the traffic on Main Street. We are working on both of these issues already and have made good progress. But the work isn’t done and we need to keep at it.
Stollen: I would like to see addressed the targeting of small municipalities with the incorrect notion that we are an expensive means of providing services, because nothing would be further from the truth. Our neighbor, East Brunswick, has a wealth of income from commercial ratables throughout the township and its taxes are just as onerous. The wielding of irrational mandates from the state is making it difficult and expensive to provide services. Just as our school system was forcibly regionalized with Helmetta to save the $50,000 they spent on a Board of Education. The result? Helmetta continues to pay an education professional overseer and Spotswood is penalized $700,000.