PRIMARY: Write-in campaign develops in Cranbury

By David Kilby, Staff Writer
   In the primary elections Tuesday, three candidates will be competing for two seats in Jamesburg and a write-in candidate, Karen Callahan, will be running to take Mayor Win Cody’s seat as he steps down from the Township Committee at the end of the year.
   She has no opposition as no Republicans nor Democrats filed for the one available three-year seat on the committee.
   There will be no contest in Monroe in the primary elections as three Republicans and three Democrats fend for the same three open seats on the Township Council, one of them being that of the mayor.
Cranbury     In Cranbury, Mayor Cody, a Republican, will be stepping down from the Township Committee. Karen Callahan, a Republican, is running as a write-in candidate.
   Ms. Callahan said she has been planning to serve the community in a larger capacity this year because her youngest child, Annie, begins full-day kindergarten this fall.
   ”When Win made the decision not to run for re-election, he and other Republicans approached me to see if I would be interested in running for his open seat,” she said. “After several conversations and careful consideration, I decided that this opportunity and timing were a perfect fit.”
   Ms. Callahan moved from Plainsboro to Cranbury three years ago.
   ”Once Paul (her husband) and I had children, we had the opportunity to become more acquainted with the town of Cranbury and quickly recognized the benefits this community had to offer,” she said. “We believed that Cranbury was a community better suited for our family and soon began the process of house hunting.”
   With the help of friends, they were able to find their current home in the Shadow Oaks neighborhood, “where we couldn’t be happier,” she said.
   Ms. Callahan left her job at Hewlett Packard in 2002 to begin and raise a family. Prior to leaving the private sector, she said she worked as the director of global service operations for the StorageApps division of Hewlett Packard.
   ”My responsibilities included managing the call center as well as the level one, two and three engineering groups worldwide,” she said. “I was also responsible for maintaining the business unit’s annual operating budget.”
   She now has three children; Meghan, 8, Jack, 6, and Annie, 5, and has been married to Mr. Callahan for 10 years.
   She served as co-president of the Cranbury Area Mother’s Club from 2006 to 2010 as well as co-chairwoman of the Cranbury PTO annual spaghetti dinner, committee member of the Cranbury Arts Council Spring Gala, room parent for the Cranbury School PTO from 2009 to 2011 and room parent for the Cranbury Presbyterian Nursery School from 2006 to 2009.
   ”I hope to bring my experience from the private sector to the committee by offering new and innovative ideas to help meet the challenges set forth by the state and changing economic environment,” she said.
   Polls will be open in Cranbury from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The polling places will be the Boy Scout room in the lower level of Town Hall, 23A N. Main St. for District 1 voters and the senior room in the lower level of Town Hall for District 2 and 3.
Jamesburg 
    In Jamesburg, two incumbents and one new candidate will be competing for two seats, and all three candidates are Democrats.
   The incumbents are Brenda Deans and Daria Ludas, and the new candidate is Brian Taylor, a Monroe Township police officer.
   Ms. Ludas has been on the council for one full term and three months in an unexpired term, taking the place of Tom Bodell in September 2008.
   As a council member, she serves on the Fire and Safety Committee and Education Committee and as president of the Jamesburg Civic Association.
   Ms. Ludas is a former library trustee president and has taught second grade for 27 years.
   She is also a member of the St. James’ Parish Columbiettes and has lived in Jamesburg for 23 years. Her daughter, Jennie, went to Grace Breckwedel Middle School and Monroe Township High School.
   ”One of the reasons we moved to Jamesburg was because it is a quiet, small town and a great place to raise a child,” she said, adding she moved from Woodbridge.
   ”This year, a huge issue for Jamesburg is where our students will be going to high school in the 2012 school year,” she said. “I’m on the Education Committee, and that’s something I want to work on and see through. I want to make sure Jameburg students have a quality education and I also want to be fair to taxpayers.”
   The Jamesburg Board of Education earlier this year decided to stop sending Jamesburg high school students to Monroe Township High School starting with the 2012 school year because Jamesburg cannot afford the new high school’s tuition, which is $16,100 per student.
   The last Jamesburg students to graduate from MTHS, as of now, will be this year’s eighth-grade class.
   Ms. Ludas’ other main goal, she said, “is to promote Jamesburg businesses and Jamesburg as a town.”
   Ms. Deans said the main issues Jamesburg will be dealing with in the next few years are “keeping the budget down, bringing ratables into Jamesburg and keeping taxes down as much as we can.
   ”That is the main thing. It is difficult because taxes are raised everywhere,” she said, adding wherever the council can lower taxes, it will.
   On the council, Ms. Deans serves as police commissioner and the first chairwoman of the Ethics Committee, which was established this year.
   She has lived in Jamesburg since 1998 and works as a real estate agent. She also worked for the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey where she negotiated contracts for computer-related technology and consulting services.
   ”That’s why I’m able to get involved in contract negotiation. These skills I bring to the borough whenever I need them,” she said.
   She is also a member of the National Association of Realtors.
   ”I see how property taxes are going up and the value of people’s homes are going down,” she said. “That’s what makes me so adamant about keeping taxes down. Hopefully we’re at the bottom of this, and things will get better for everyone.”
   She also said members of the public can play a large role in municipal government.
   ”You can help just as much from the side,” she said. “I just hope homeowners had more time to be more involved. If I do not win this election, I could still be involved, and that’s what’s important.”
   Mr. Taylor, who has two children, one attending Seton Hall University, South Orange, and one who just graduated from there, said he felt now is a good time to get involved in the town more.
   ”I wasn’t really happy with the way things are going in politics,” he said. “I just consider myself an average guy with all the same pressures and bills as everyone else. I just felt I could make a change for the better. I think it’s time for new thoughts, new perspectives and new people (on the council).”
   He said he attended a few of the meetings of the Citizens of Jamesburg and Monroe United, a group of parents formed to try and keep Jamesburg students in MTHS.
   ”I was really inspired to see just average people banding together to make a change and go in a direction that’s best for their children,” he said “That kind of got me to want to make a change on the political side.”
   He said he understands the school board and council are separate governing bodies, but believes they can work together more closely.
   In addition to the high school issue, he said another issue facing Jamesburg is lack of revenue.
   ”We’ve done really well in getting grants over the years, but I feel we have to look elsewhere for revenue to alleviate the taxpayers,” he said. “I believe towns should be run the same as households. If you don’t have the money, you don’t buy it. You have to live within your means.”
   He added Jamesburg has additional challenges because it is a small town.
   ”Small towns really need to band together,” he said. “They’re at a disadvantage due to the number of residents. I’d like to band with a bunch of small towns. Banded together, they’ll have an equal voice as the larger towns.”
   Mr. Taylor has lived in Jamesburg for 20 years and has been a police officer in Monroe for 23 years. He is also a Third Degree Knight in the St. James’ Parish Knights of Columbus.
   He coached Little League baseball in Jamesburg and served as equipment manager. About 10 years ago, Jamesburg gave him an award for helping rescue a man from a heart attack by performing CPR with another coach, Keith Krauss.
   ”I grew up in a large town, Old Bridge,” he said. “I moved here because I love the small town atmosphere, and I truly want to make this a better place to live for all. I just love the town and the people.
   He added, “I feel that whenever people have been in office for a long time, it’s time for change. I’m not saying they’re not doing a good job, but I just feel that people are unhappy, and if people aren’t happy, it’s time for a change and something new.
   ”I didn’t want to be a person that’s complaining and not doing anything about it. I’m not a political man. I just think fresh faces and fresh ideas are a good thing.”
   Polls will be open at Borough Hall at 131 Perrineville Road from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Monroe 
    There will be no contest in the June primary in Monroe as three Republicans and three Democrats are uncontested for mayor and the two available seats on the Township Council.
   The Democratic candidates are incumbent Mayor Richard Pucci as well as incumbent Councilwoman Leslie Koppel and newcomer Stephen Dalina.
   Irwin Malitt, a Democrat, decided not to run for re-election. He has been a councilman for six terms.
   The Republican candidates are Carlos Lopez for mayor and Philip Kaufman and Brian Hackett for council.
   Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. There are numerous voting places. To find the voting place for each ward and district, call the township clerk’s office at 732-656-4573.