The 2012 campaign for one seat on the Manalapan Township Committee is expected to pit a sitting member of the governing body against a resident who will be making his second consecutive bid for public office.
Filing petitions to run for the three-year term were Republican Ryan Green and Democrat Seth Ptasiewicz. Green has served on the Township Committee since January 2010. Ptasiewicz is running for the second consecutive year after falling short in his bid to win a committee seat in 2011.
Neither man will face a primary challenge in June. They are expected to square off in the November general election.
Green, 32, has lived in Manalapan for 24 years. He is a school social worker. Prior to his service on the Township Committee, Green served on the Manalapan Zoning Board of Adjustment and the Manalapan- Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education.
As a committeeman, Green has been the governing body’s liaison to the Planning Board, Finance Committee, Recycling Committee, Cable Television Advisory Committee, Council on Special Needs, Transportation Committee, Public Safety Operations Task Force, and the Manalapan Arts Council.
Asked why he wants to remain on the committee and what he would seek to accomplish in a new term, Green said, “I have very much enjoyed serving the residents of Manalapan as a member of the Township Committee and I would like to continue doing so for another three years. Since I joined the governing body in 2010, we have cut spending by over $1.3 million.
“More importantly, we have accomplished this while maintaining municipal services. Garbage collection will continue to be two times per week. Our roads will continue to be repaired and repaved. Our recreation facilities will continue to be the best in New Jersey.
“Manalapan has been my home for most of my life, and I know that times are tough for many of our residents. We are all doing more with less, and government should not be any different.
“Moving forward, I will keep working hard to cut spending and control taxes. I want to see new businesses and jobs come to Manalapan. And I will keep building on our many successful shared services agreements with other municipalities, which is one of the ways we kept taxes flat the last two years. As a member of the Township Committee, I will keep working to make Manalapan an even better place to live and raise a family,” Green said.
Ptasiewicz, 47, has lived in Manalapan for 12 years. He is an attorney primarily practicing in the areas of labor law, employment law, employee benefits/Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
Ptasiewicz currently serves as an appointed member of the township’s finance committee.
Asked why he wants to serve on the Township Committee and what he would seek to accomplish as a member of the governing body, Ptasiewicz said, “I have chosen to run, again, for many of the same reasons that I chose to run last year. I am looking to give a voice to those people in the community who believe their interests are not being adequately represented at Town Hall.
“I will bring to the position over 20 years of real world experience in the private sector, working with businesses of all sizes to assist and guide them navigating the myriad and burdensome laws and regulations that govern their daily existence, as well as providing pro bono legal services to the citizens of this state. If elected, my main goals are to ensure there is 100 percent transparency in how the township government runs and accountability to the people of this town,” he said.
— Contact Mark Rosman at [email protected]