SAYREVILLE – Two Democrats and two Republicans are seeking a pair of three-year terms on the Borough Council in Sayreville this year. Voters will head to the polls on Nov. 6.
The council terms of Republican Pat Lembo and Democrat Steven Grillo will expire at the end of the year. Grillo is not seeking re-election.
Running for the available terms are Lembo and Joel Bloom as the Republican candidates and Kevin Dalina and Damon Enriquez as the Democratic candidates.
Democrats hold five of the six seats on the Borough Council. Republicans hold one council seat and the mayor’s office.
Bloom has served as a certified Medicare volunteer; a volunteer at the Sayreville Food Bank, where he has worked with the Bridges of Peace charity; and a member of the Sayreville Lions Club, where he is a current past president.
“I have always been active in community service, even more so since my retirement,” Bloom said. “I am seeking the position on the Borough Council to further serve the Sayreville community. I am concerned about the current political imbalance on the council, which often leads to decisions that do not reflect the best interests of the Sayreville residents.”
Prior to retiring, Bloom worked professionally in the lottery industry in both the private sector and as a state employee. He holds a degree in business management and served in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Reserve for 14 years, as well as in the Sayreville Police Auxiliary.
“During my 40-year business career I managed multi-million dollar infrastructure projects, requiring knowledge of finance, security and legal matters,” he said. “All of these areas are important parts of local government, and will assist me in making informed decisions for Sayreville.”
If elected, Bloom said the most important issue facing Sayreville over the next three years is the potential for housing over-development, which he stated can cause overcrowding in the Sayreville School District. Other issues that he intends to address are the borough’s use of payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) programs for residential developments and working closely with the Sayreville Board of Education as a member of the council.
“PILOT programs place an additional financial burden on current taxpayers, while new residents will pay nothing to the school tax,” Bloom said. “I am aware of the COAH [Council on Affordable Housing] obligation, but we need to find reasonable ways to meet this obligation.
“While the Borough Council has no authority over the Sayreville schools, that is the responsibility of the nine members of the Board of Education, Pat Lembo and I are determined to work closely with the board to ensure that any council decisions will not have a negative impact on our students and staff.”
Dalina is a commissioner on the Sayreville Economic Redevelopment Agency (SERA), which he was appointed to in 2017, and was previously a member of the Board of Health from 2015-16.
“Sayreville is at a crossroads right now, and if we were to elect Republicans to council, their choice to build hundreds of new housing units could make commuting in and out of Sayreville disastrous,” Dalina said. “I want the people of Sayreville to know where their tax dollars are going and I want to create more jobs here in town. Transparency and fiscal responsibility are the platform Damon Enriquez and I are campaigning on, and we always want to be open with the people of the borough.”
Professionally, Dalina is the event manager and an adjunct professor at Middlesex County College. As a professor, he teaches in the History and Social Science Department.
“I have devoted my entire career working and developing programs for the betterment of students,” he said. “From 2011-16, while working in the Office of Student Activities at the county college, I worked with student clubs to develop programs to stop bullying and promote acceptance across the campus. That is the experience I would like to bring to the Sayreville Borough Council.”
During the next three years that Dalina would serve on the council if elected, he said, “Voters will face a crumbling infrastructure, congested roads and bring more jobs to town. Sayreville will need elected leaders who will be fiscally responsible when making key investments in town and who are transparent with how taxpayer dollars are being spent to solve those issues.
“If elected, I will work with the council to invest in projects that will bring jobs in town and stand up against developments that will continue to put a strain on our infrastructure,” Dalina said.
Enriquez serves on the executive board of the Sayreville Junior Bombers Football organization and Cheer organization, which he is also actively involved with as a coach; his three children are all a part of the program.
“I have been a resident of Sayreville for 18 years and while the Democrats on council have accomplished a great deal, a lot still remains to do,” Enriquez said. “I am committed to ensuring that our municipal government is fiscally responsible and accountable to our residents, and that it is transparent and puts the safety of our public first.”
As a professional, Enriquez currently works for CenturyLink as a network technician, where he has been employed for 13 years. Previously, he served in the U.S. Navy as an operations specialist for eight years, serving during Operation Desert Storm, the Haitian conflict, and the Bosnian conflict, and earning eight medals.
“Meeting the demands of numerous clients in a timely manner while being fiscally responsible is something that I pride myself on, and I feel as though that could translate to working on the borough council as well,” he said. “I believe that my experience in the military will be extremely beneficial to the Sayreville council because that is where I learned the values of transparency and accountability.”
If elected, Enriquez stated it is critical to stop over-development, maintain fiscal responsibility, accountability and transparency, and prioritize public safety and improving the quality of life for Sayreville residents.
“As a coach, I want to build on Democratic council accomplishments, such as securing the $1.5 million grant to give us new playing fields,” Enriquez said. “I would like to continue that by ensuring that Kennedy Park maintains its open space status. It is also important to me that Sayreville is not inundated with traffic and congestion that would come from the development of thousands of new housing units.”
Lembo joined the council in 2016 and has served on the Sayreville Planning Board and SERA as a council liaison for two years. Prior to being elected to the council, he served on the Board of Education for six years, five as board vice president, and as vice president of the Sayreville Leprechauns Pop Warner Football and Cheer Association for eight years.
“I am running for re-election with my running mate Joel Bloom to bring Sayreville one step closer to a balanced council,” Lembo said. “Our current makeup is five Democrats and one Republican. One party rule does not always serve the best interest of all our residents. My commitment has always been to serve our residents, not any political party. I believe Sayreville’s best days were when we had a balanced council.”
In his professional career, Lembo is the owner and operator of a Tastykake distributorship in central New Jersey.
“My 30-year background as a self-employed business person has helped me stay focused on fiscal responsibility,” he said. “Prioritizing financial needs is essential in business and government. My priority will always be doing what is in the best interest of the Sayreville taxpayer. My six years on the Board of Education also helped my gain valuable experience in budgeting and negotiating labor contracts.”
Lembo stated the issues he intends to address if re-elected are fiscal responsibility, the borough’s affordable housing obligation, the safety of school district students and staff with the Board of Education, and property taxes.
“Fiscal responsibility is the key to dealing with infrastructure improvements,” he said. “With Joel Bloom’s help, I would like to see more resources devoted to rebuilding our roadways. We must also be responsible in meeting our COAH obligation, we need to stay ahead of the curve in this area and dramatically reduce our legal costs connected to this issue in the future.
“I will also continue to cooperate with the Board of Education to ensure the safety of our students and staff,” Lembo said. “As a council member, my commitment is to work toward keeping property taxes as low as possible.”