LAWRENCE: Brame named to fill council seat

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Stephen C. Brame, who is a long-time member of the township Zoning Board of Adjustment, has been chosen to fill the unexpired term of former Township Councilman Greg Puliti, who resigned in December.
   Mr. Brame, who was sworn into office Tuesday night by state Sen. Shirley K. Turner, was the unanimous choice of Township Council. Like Mr. Puliti, he is a Democrat and joins the all-Democrat Township Council. His term will end in December.
   Assuming his new office as a township councilman means Mr. Brame must resign from the zoning board. Township officials are accepting applications — which are available online at www.lawrencetwp.com — from township residents to fill the zoning board vacancy. The council is expected to fill the opening at its Feb. 5 meeting.
   The Lawrence Township Democratic Municipal Committee nominated Mr. Brame, zoning board member Edward Wiznitzer, who is also the president of the Lawrence Township Democratic Club, and Planning Board member Ian Dember. The names were presented to Township Council.
   During the brief interview period at the beginning of Township Council’s meeting Tuesday night, the three candidates were asked to offer short statements about themselves, including what they considered to be the most important issues facing Township Council.
   Mr. Brame told the council that he and his wife, Joan Brame, have lived in Lawrence for 20 years. Two of their three children graduated from Lawrence High School. He is an attorney who specializes in land use and economic development issues. The family lives on Princeton Pike.
   Mr. Brame said transparency and working toward consensus are important. Once consensus on a topic has been reached, the next step is to “work uniformly” to carry it out, he said.
   Another important issue is revenue, he said. There is a need to figure out how to raise more revenue, other than through property taxes, to support the municipal budget. It requires the ability to “think outside the box” to find a way to bridge the revenue gap without “stressing” the taxpayers, he said.
   He also suggested looking at township assets as possible financial resources. He reminded Township Council that he sat on the zoning board while it grappled with the placement of a cell tower on private property. He said the township could look at it as an asset, by placing it on township-owned land and generating revenue.
   ”The point is, you have to take a creative way to work (on generating revenue) without stressing the residents,” Mr. Brame said.
   Mr. Dember, who was one of the three nominees, grew up in Lawrence and practices law at Nerwinski Dember and Fox in Lawrence. He lives on Town Court South in the AvalonBay rental community.
   Mr. Wiznitzer lives on Darrah Lane. He has lived in Lawrence for 35 years, and is a tax accountant with principal in H&W Edwards in Lawrence. He has worked as an industrial engineer and as a management consultant to private corporations, government and nonprofit groups.