By Doug Carman, Staff Writer
HIGHTSTOWN The Democratic Municipal Committee chose three frequent commentators at Borough Council meetings as nominees to fill the vacancy created by former Councilman Dimitri Musing’s recent resignation.
Municipal Chairman Walter Sikorski named Gail Doran, Eugene Sarafin and Mike Vanderbeck as the three people who will go before the council for a vote. Borough Clerk Debra Sopronyi said the council has to fill the vacancy within 30 days of Mr. Musing’s April 12 resignation, and since it’s not on the April 26 agenda, she predicted the council likely will vote among the three on May 2.
Ms. Doran, a resident of Hutchinson Street, is a frequent and long-time attendee at the council meetings. Most recently, she has spoken up at several meetings criticizing the Hightstown Police Department and the gang survey’s data.
Mr. Sarafin, a trustee at the Hightstown First Aid Squad, previously served on the council and ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the East Windsor Regional School District’s board in 2002. He recently issued an Open Public Records Act request against the now-dissolved police subcommittee demanding its reports.
Mr. Vanderbeck, also a former council member, is the landlord of the building that houses the Slowdown Café.
Ms. Sopronyi said that if last year’s resignation of Councilman Mike Theokas were to serve as a model, the council will hold public interviews during one of its regular meetings with all three candidates, make some commentary on the three and then agree to vote for one of them.
The person appointed to the vacant seat will serve until Nov. 8. Voters can then elect someone to serve the last year of Mr. Musing’s unfinished term. So far, no one, including these three nominees, has filed to run in that election.
Ms. Sopronyi previously told the Herald that candidates have until 48 days before the election to contest the seat.
The remaining council members consist of two Democrats and three Republicans.
Democrat Isabel McGinty has recused herself from recent and future meetings, calling for the same resolution that Mr. Musing attempted to bring to the council before she would return to the dais.
Potentially, if Ms. McGinty continues to recuse herself, only one Democrat will be voting on the impending appointment.
Mr. Musing resigned on April 12, eight days after the council rejected a motion by him and Ms. McGinty to put a resolution on the agenda to require the borough to offer legal protection from lawsuits. He alleged that Borough Council members, board members and employees might be covered by an insurance policy but were still personally vulnerable to litigation.

