SAYREVILLE – Two Democrats and two Republicans have announced their intention to seek a pair of three-year terms on the Borough Council in Sayreville this year.
The council terms of Republican Pat Lembo and Democrat Steven Grillo will expire at the end of the year.
To run for the available terms in the November general election, Lembo and Fred Block filed as the Republican candidates and Kevin Dalina and Damon Enriquez filed as the Democratic candidates.
Block, who works in telecommunications and is currently an engineering leader for a Manhattan-based company, is making his first bid for public office. He previously worked professionally and as a volunteer in emergency medical services for 10 years, and is a life member of the Long Branch First Aid and Rescue Squad, an associate member of the Madison Park Fire Company and a member of the Middlesex County Fire Police Association, in addition to serving as a member of the borough’s technology committee.
“I’ve been watching and participating as much as I could in between being a father and husband to my family while also commuting to/from New York City for work,” Block said. “I’ve always believed that people at the local level should vote for the right person to do the job, not for the political party they are affiliated with. I’ve long felt that the town needed change so this year, I decided to step up and try to do something to make that happen.
“I believe that our residents are frustrated and unaware of the current status in our town,” he said. “We need to have more transparency as a council by helping residents become more aware and hopefully more involved. I believe I can help be a voice for our community or I wouldn’t have accepted such great responsibility.”
Dalina, who is the event manager and an adjunct professor at Middlesex County College in Edison, is making his first bid for Borough Council. As a professor, he teaches in the History & Social Science Department. He is also a commissioner on the Sayreville Economic Redevelopment Agency (SERA) and has served on the Sayreville Board of Health.
“My family has an extensive history of public service,” Dalina said. “My father Rick served as a councilman in Woodbridge for 24 years. My grandfather Pete was a councilman in Woodbridge for 12 years before serving as a Middlesex County Freeholder for 21 years. My uncle Stephen currently serves as council president in Monroe Township. Seeing their accomplishments and the impact they have had on their communities has motivated me to do the same in Sayreville.
“Working alongside the Democrats on council, I would work to control over-development, ensure Riverton happens, and correct issues with affordable housing,” he said. As a future parent, I would work with the school board to ensure schools are safe and education goals are met. I will work tirelessly to keep Sayreville progressing, but at the same time, preserve its small-town feel.”
Enriquez, who is a field engineer for the telecommunications company CenturyLink, is making his first bid for council. He serves on the executive board of the Sayreville Junior Bombers Football and Cheer program as a trustee.
“I took pride in serving my country for eight years, and I feel serving the residents of Sayreville as a councilman is a way to continue making a difference,” he said. “As a dedicated husband and father of three children, I have a vested interest in this town.
“I will work with the Borough Council to alleviate the congestion in town, the overdeveloping of areas, ensure that we have a viable solution for our affordable housing issues, as well as addressing the opioid epidemic that is facing our community and country at this time,” he said. “I will work with the Board of Education and Sayreville Police Department to guarantee the safety of all children in our schools, along with helping to make sure that we continue to move forward in curriculum and technology, all while remembering what makes Sayreville great: the people who have worked hard to make it the place it is today.”
Lembo, who is the owner and operator of a Tastykake distributorship in central New Jersey, joined the council in 2016. He is currently the council liaison to the Planning Board and a commissioner on SERA. Previously, he served as a member of the Sayreville Board of Education and as vice president of the Sayreville Leprechauns Pop Warner Football and Cheerleading Association.
“I am running for re-election because we are facing some crucial issues that will have a significant impact on the future of Sayreville,” Lembo said. “These issues include our affordable housing obligation, the threat of overdevelopment, major traffic concerns, improving the Route 35 section of Morgan, the Riverton project and providing a safe and secure town for all our residence, especially our schoolchildren.
“I believe in transparency and honesty,” he said. “My first and only priority are the residents of Sayreville, not partisan politics. I strive to work with my colleagues, regardless of party affiliation for the betterment of Sayreville.”
Grillo, who joined the council in 2016, did not file to retain his seat as a Democrat, but may seek re-election as an independent.
“I chose not to seek the nomination of the Sayreville Democratic Organization (SDO) for a number of reasons,” Grillo said. “However, based on positive and supportive feedback I have received from the community, I am considering running as an independent candidate in the November general election.
“My choice not to screen with the SDO was based on the fact that my relationship with the party has been non-existent since I chose to support our hometown candidate John Wisniewski for governor last year,” he continued. “While it was unthinkable to me that our local party – led by Chairman Tom Pollando and Deputy Chairman Michael D’Addio – would not support Wisniewski as a candidate, I also saw it as an indication of a fractured and confused local party.
“Additionally, I have been the focus of the ire of Deputy Chairman D’Addio in person and on social media for over a year due to my positions, votes and choice to support Wisniewski and [2016 presidential candidate] Bernie Sanders. In fact, he called me an ‘awful councilman’ and that he ‘wouldn’t support me’ at a Dec. 18 council meeting. How could I expect a fair and open screening with party bosses like that organizing the event?”
“Finally, I am simply not happy with the partisan direction that politics is taking in our town. This is something I hear week after week at our council meetings from residents and I could not agree more,” Grillo said. “If my willingness to vote across the aisle when needed and make appointments based on character and quality as opposed to political connections is too radical of a concept, then I am glad I am not the Democratic nominee.”
Independents have until June 5 to file for the November election.
Contact Matthew Sockol at [email protected].