By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
ENGLISHTOWN — An incumbent member of the Borough Council will run for a new three-year term in the November election.
There will be two three-year terms on the ballot this year, but only one resident filed to run for a full term on the council.
Republican Councilman Lou Sarti Jr. did not file a nominating petition to retain his seat on the governing body, according to the borough clerk.
Republican Councilman Greg Wojyn has lived in Englishtown since 2001. He was initially appointed to the governing body in July 2009 to fill an open seat and was subsequently elected to serve full terms.
Wojyn is seeking a three-year term that would run from Jan. 1, 2017 through Dec. 31, 2019. He could not be reached for comment.
There will also be a one-year term on the November ballot. Republican Eric L. Mann filed to run for that term, which will be served in 2017.
Mann was recently appointed to the council to serve the remainder of 2016, following the resignation of Rudolph Rucker from the governing body. Rucker died on April 29, shortly after leaving the council.
Mann is an international group credit manager for Kyocera Document Solutions America. He has lived in Englishtown since 2013 and chairs the borough’s Shade Tree Commission.
“I have been working on the periphery, trying to make Englishtown a better place for its 1,900 residents,” Mann said. “In a small town, people have to chip in to make it work. The council is the best way for me to focus my efforts and to hopefully use my understanding of budgeting in a way that will help.
“The council has been trying to minimize the impact of property taxes on residents,” he said. “The impact can be significant on individuals with a fixed income. School taxes go up every year. We have to try to figure out how to do more with less; that is a big part of what the council does. We have to figure out a cost-effective way to use our resources.”
Mann said he has known Wojyn for 30 years and served with him in the Navy in the 1980s.
Residents who want to run as independent candidates for municipal office have until June 7 to file a nominating petition.