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HILLSBOROUGH: Burchette takes Wagner’s place on GOP ticket

By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
Greg Burchette
Burchette takes
Wagner’s place
on GOP ticket
Burchette
– 8BURCHETTE –
Gene RobbinsManaging Editor
Greg Burchette is the choice of local Republicans to run for Township Committee in the fall.
Thirty-seven members of the elected county committee unanimously chose Mr. Burchette at a special meeting last Thursday night at Avalon Assisted Living.
He was unopposed. David Wald, who had expressed interest, withdrew the previous day, said township party Chairman Steven Sireci Jr.
Mr. Burchette will join the ticket with Mayor Carl Suraci. Democrats have nominated their local party chairman, Michael Goldberg, and longtime Flagtown resident George Farley. Landscape businessman Judd Mandel has filed as an Independent, creating a race in which five people are seeking two three-year seats.
Mr. Burchette, 52, has resided in the Belle Mead area with wife, Sella, and son, Jared, since 1999.
He told the GOP group that former mayor and state Assemblyman Peter Biondi got him involved in local affairs over a proposal, which dissolved, to convert the Central Jersey Airport site into condominiums.
He said he worked in the local campaigns of "every official I see in this room," being the treasurer in many.
Three-term Committeeman Bob Wagner withdrew after taking a position with the state Department of Labor. Mr. Wagner’s new job post falls under the provisions of the Hatch Act, which bars government employees whose positions are supported by federal funds from running for public office.
Mr. Burchette is the owner of Bridgewater Motorworks on Union Avenue in Bridgewater. A graduate of Moravian College and Lehigh University, he is a trained hydrogeologist who pursued that career for more than a decade before taking over his current business.
He is also professionally and personally involved in aviation, serving as the manager of Central Jersey Regional Airport in Hillsborough and volunteering his time with Angel Flight NE, an organization of private pilots that provide free flights to those in need of air transport for medical care.
Locally, Mr. Burchette is a longtime member of the Hillsborough Rotary Club. He is a former chairman of the township’s Environmental Commission (2003-05), and has been a member of the Planning Board for the last eight years with a two-year stretch as chairman. He is on the Municipal Utilities Authority.
"The local GOP organization is thrilled to have someone of Greg’s caliber, experience and accomplishments step forward to serve his community in an even greater capacity," Dr. Sireci said. "He presents a terrific combination of technical expertise, business savvy, local government experience and dedication to community service that is ideal in a township committeeman. Greg was an obvious choice for us, and we are pleased and proud to have him on the ballot in November."