The three candidates running for seats on the Cranbury Township Committee are scheduled to have their lone joint appearance of the campaign in early October when they take questions from voters less than a month before Election Day.
Democrats Jay Taylor and Michael J. Ferrante, the two incumbents, and Republican challenger Wayne Wittman are due to attend a candidates forum, set for Oct. 9 at 7 p.m., in the large group room of the Cranbury School.
The event, sponsored by the Woman’s Club of Cranbury, is a tradition of local politics for decades, Ferrante said on Sept. 13. He said that at last year’s forum, a standing-room- only crowd attended.
“It’s a nice chance to get a bunch of neighbors together in a room,” he said. “People ask questions and you get to sort of give your pitch and try to differentiate yourself from the other candidates.”
“It’s the one time a year where residents can come out and ask questions of the candidates that pertain to Cranbury and get our views,” Taylor said on Sept. 13.
Wittman, a former township committeeman seeking to rejoin the governing body, said on Sept. 17 that he is looking forward to the forum.
“People get to hear what you’re all about,” he said. “It’s a good time to have people distinguish you from the other candidates, what you’re made of, why you’re doing what you’re doing.”
On Nov. 6, two seats will be up on the five-member Township Committee. Originally, Taylor and Ferrante were due to face Wittman and fellow Republican Nancy Witt, but she quit the race shortly after winning the uncontested GOP primary in June. Democrats are assured of winning at least one of the seats and holding on to their majority on the governing body, now at 4-1.
Ferrante replaced Committeeman David Cook, who resigned his seat in April. In terms of his platform, he touched on the need to “navigate” through constructing a new public library and defending against any attempt at consolidation, by the state, of either the school district or the municipality.
“I think we need to be prudent with funds and try not to raise taxes,” he said.
In trying for a fourth term, Taylor said that as he campaigns around town, taxes and how the members of the governing body will ensure they will keep them down are at the “top of everybody’s mind.”
“The Township Committee, over the last nine years, has done a great job in terms of minimizing expenses,” he said. “Now we have some ratables that are coming on board, so now we can be in a position to help residents out.”
He said that among other things, voters are “very concerned” about a state proposal to consolidate towns like Cranbury.
Going into this race, Ferrante said he sees a new interest among residents in municipal government. He feels there is a “general curiosity” among the public about who serves on the governing body and how the board works.
“I think over the last couple of years, there’s been an awakening of people getting very engaged in government,” he said. “We’ve certainly seen that sort of spill over into Cranbury.”
Wittman said as he campaigns, he finds many residents are concerned about traffic. He said he supports the construction of a new public library in town, and added he hopes Cranbury can obtain a state grant to help pay for the project.
“If we don’t get the grant, then we’ll have to figure something out,” he said. “That’s kind of the way we’ll approach it at that point and time.”
Wittman said he is trying to promote volunteerism in the community — “fostering civic engagement of one sort.” He said there are around a dozen organizations in which residents could get involved.
Asked about there not being a second Republican in the race, Taylor said he thought the Republicans’ strategy of consolidating the vote to Wittman “could help them.” He recalled how, a few years ago, current Mayor Glenn Johnson won as the only Democrat running against two Republicans.
“I’m not sure how much party affiliation really matters at the local level,” Ferrante said. “I think mostly at the local level, people want someone they think is going to research the issues and make the best decisions in a very well-thought out manner.”
Wittman said he feels “comfortable” running as a solo candidate and he downplayed the importance of partisan labels.
“It’s not the Republicans vs. the Democrats here,” he said. “It will be up to the voters to decide who they want for the two seats. It’s that simple.”