Hopes for GOP primary nomination
By John Tredrea, Special Writer
Hopewell Township Mayor Harvey Lester is changing political parties.
Mr. Lester announced Tuesday that he is switching his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.
Democrat Lester was elected to the Township Committee in November 2012 and began his first three-year term at the reorganization meeting in January 2013. Mr. Lester is serving the last year of this three-year term, which ends Dec. 31, 2015. If he plans to run again for a seat on the five-member committee, he must file to run in the June 2 primary election by no later than 4 p.m. on March 30.
Asked if planned to file as a Republican candidate for the Township Committee, Mr. Lester said: “Yes, I hope to receive the Republican nomination for the Township Committee.”
Reacting Tuesday to Mr. Lester’s announcement, Ray Disch, chairman of the Hopewell Township Democratic Committee, said: “I was disheartened to learn that Harvey Lester, who was elected two years ago with the strong support of the Hopewell Township Democratic Party, has decided to dishonor that election by switching parties and turning his back on the voters of Hopewell Township.
“Just this week he presided over a township budget that promises the largest tax increase in over a decade, far in excess of any budget we have seen from Democratic leaders in Hopewell Township, and not the sort of thing we will accept from any candidate we will put forward in the November election,” Mr. Disch commented.
On Tuesday, citing ongoing disagreements he has had with township Democratic Party officials, Mr. Lester explained his switch of parties by saying: “I believe in limiting development. Always have, always will. In the past, Democrats have represented that view, but following their massive Kooltronic-Pennytown scheme and more massive Scotch Road Town Center proposal, I see that local Republicans are currently the party holding the line on development. It’s about values, not labels.
“After several months of trying to inject new blood and new ideas into local Democratic orthodoxy,” he added, “I feel that I am moving to a party where my kind of thinking outside the box will be successful.”
Township Republican Chairwoman Mary Jane Chipowsky stated: “We welcome Harvey Lester. He has demonstrated a willingness to listen to the voters and to work cooperatively with all sides to achieve the best possible outcome for the township.”
BACKGROUND — Several years ago, after purchasing the Pennytown tract as a site for affordable housing, the township explored the possibility of building a mixed-use development, to include several hundred homes plus office on retail space, on the Pennytown tract and on property, owned by Kooltronic, across Route 654 from Pennytown. After months of hearings on the idea, which was controversial among residents who live near where the project would have been built, the idea was abandoned.
The Scotch Road development proposal, one of the most controversial township issues in years, was discussed in depth at township Planning Board meetings last year. Here again, township officials said the impetus for considering the plan was the need to comply with the state’s mandate to provide affordable housing. Tentatively named Jacobs Creek Village, the proposed mixed-use development, discussed at the Planning Board meetings, could cover about 600 acres and would have about 1,500 residences, to be built over a time period of about 10 years. The residences would include about 500 apartments — one-, two- and three-bedroom — and about 1,000 modestly-sized single-family homes and townhouses.
MAYOR LESTER added Tuesday that the township was expected to file, before the end of business hours on Tuesday, a lawsuit against state government that would seek $639,633, plus court costs and attorney fees, the township says it is owed by the state under the terms of the New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act. Filing the lawsuit was authorized by a resolution the township passed Feb. 23.
The resolution states that on Aug. 12, 2008, Capital Health Systems (CHS), which has built a hospital in the township, “was required to pay and did pay a non-residential development fee of $639,633.” That money went into the township’s affordable trust fund. The resolution goes on to say that, on July 27, 2009, the New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009 stated that non-residential developers, such as CHS, “were entitled to a refund from the township’s affordable housing fund for all non-residential development fees previously paid to the township.” The resolution goes on to say that, under the Stimulus Act, the township was entitled to full reimbursement from the state for the $639,633 that was returned to CHS by the township.
Despite repeated requests to the state to receive its reimbursement, the township has never received it, the resolution states, adding that nearly five years ago, “on or about March 24, 2010, COAH (the state Council on Affordable Housing) notified the township that the township’s reimbursement request had been received and was eligible for payment from the New Jersey Affordable Housing Trust Fund and COAH was attempting to determine from the New Jersey State Treasurer if monies were available for said reimbursement.”
The measure goes on to say that “despite repeated follow-up requests from the township to COAH, said reimbursement has not been forthcoming” and that the funds “are urgently needed since the township’s affordable housing trust fund has been exhausted on initiatives undertaken by the township in order to develop and implement its affordable housing program.”