ROBBINSVILLE: Election splits all-GOP council

By Joanne Degnan, Staff Writer
   ROBBINSVILLE — Robbinsville voters will go to the polls Tuesday to choose three people for the Township Council in a five-way nonpartisan race that has, nevertheless, turned rancorous and split the all-Republican council.
   Incumbents Christine Ciaccio, David Boyne and Rich Levesque are running for re-election under the banner “Moving Robbinsville Forward.” The challengers for the three open seats, all for four-year terms are, Joe Schiavino, running under the slogan “Had Enough?” and Planning Board member Ron Witt, whose banner is “Independent Leadership for Balanced Growth.”
   Candidates in nonpartisan elections do not run under political party labels, but politics has been front and center in this contest. Mayor Dave Fried, the Mercer County Republican Committee chairman, council President Sheree McGowan and Councilman Vince Calcagno, all have publicly endorsed Mr. Witt.
   Meanwhile, Mr. Levesque, the GOP municipal chairman, is running for re-election with Mr. Boyne and Ms. Ciaccio on a slate that emphasizes smart economic development to increase ratables and stabilize property taxes.
   Polls are open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Residents will cast ballots at the township’s regular polling stations, which in some cases may be different from where they voted in last week’s school elections. (Robbinsville’s nine voting stations are collapsed into five for school elections). Residents unsure where to vote Tuesday can check their sample ballots or the township website, which lists street names and assigned polling places for municipal elections.
   Information about the five candidates, listed alphabetically, follows.
David Boyne
    Mr. Boyne, 58, of Barto Way, is the CFO of a national transportation company and has three decades’ experience as an auditor, accountant and senior financial adviser.
   Mr. Boyne was elected to a two-year staggered term on the council in 2005 after Robbinsville changed its form of government. He was re-elected in 2007 to a four-year term.
   Mr. Boyne holds a seat on the Planning Board and is the liaison to the Board of Education and Recreation Committee. He and his wife, Carol, have two children.
Christine Ciaccio
    Ms. Ciaccio, 53, of Route 130, has lived in Robbinsville for more than 30 years and is the owner of Tony’s Farm and Garden Center.
   Ms. Ciaccio has served on the council since 2007 and is its liaison to the Open Space Advisory Committee and the Planning Board’s historic preservation advisory subcommittee.
   Prior to being elected to council, Ms. Ciaccio served on the zoning board for 14 years and founded the Washington Township Business Association. Ms. Ciaccio and her husband, Tom, have two grown children.
Rich Levesque
    Mr. Levesque, 29, of Garden Place, has served on the council since 2008, when he was appointed to fill a vacancy.
   He was elected in 2009 to finish the remainder of that unexpired term and is now running for re-election.
   Mr. Levesque is the council’s liaison to the Economic Development Advisory Committee and the Municipal Alliance on the Prevention of Substance Abuse, which he started in 2009.
   Mr. Levesque is employed as director of Public Outreach and Political Affairs at Insight Consulting Services, a Trenton lobbying firm.
Joseph Schiavino
    Mr. Schiavino, 47, of Isa Place, is a spacecraft systems engineer who has lived in Robbinsville seven years.
   This is his first bid for public office.
   Mr. Schiavino has said he thinks the council should be more independent of the mayor and has been critical of the 29 percent municipal tax increase that was enacted last year after successful commercial tax appeals undercut the budget.
Ronald Witt Jr.
    Mr. Witt, 43, of Honeysuckle Drive, is the executive vice president of a Cranbury-based construction management company and general contracting firm.
   He serves on the Robbinsville Planning Board and is a former member of the Economic Development Advisory Committee and the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
   Mr. Witt advocates “balanced growth” of residential and commercial and retail components, instead of strictly residential development that strains the town’s resources because of the education costs involved for new schoolchildren.
   Mr. Witt and his wife, Maureen, have three children at Pond Road Middle School. He has coached youth sports, including Little League, soccer and basketball.