SOUTH RIVER–Five candidates will face off to secure the two three-year terms on the South River Borough Council on Election Day, Nov. 5.
Republicans Donna Balazs and Anthony Ciulla will face incumbent Democrats John Alai and Julie Meira, along with independent candidate Lewis Glogower-Lopez.
Alai, 56, is a lifelong resident of South River who has served as a member of the Borough Council since 2017.
“I feel that three years is not enough time to accomplish the many goals that someone serving in office sets for themselves. I still have many projects and ideas I would like to complete,” Alai said. “I also enjoy serving my hometown and am extremely proud of the fact that the people of South River saw fit to elect me to such an honorable position.”
Alai coaches Pop Warner football and Little League baseball, and has recently been voted onto the Little League Board of Directors. He is a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the South River Historical Society and the South River Community Garden.
“The thing I would like residents to know about me is that I was born and raised here, but more importantly, I chose to stay and raise my family right here in South River,” Alai said. “I truly believe at the local level that we need to work across party lines to come together and solve these major issues. I deeply care about this town, and I am willing to work hard for each and every resident toward a bright future.”
When it comes to tackling some of the borough’s issues, Alai said most of South River’s issues are long-standing problems that have built up over the last decade.
“We need to work closely with the county and the state to start replacing our water main and sewer lines in town. We need to put back money into our budget that our current administration took out to have our own road program,” Alai said. “I feel we need to take the advice of the report we received from a public safety expert to create an in-house rescue squad as opposed to my opponents’ plan to sub out the job.”
Balazs, 60, has been a resident of the borough for 52 years. She was the first woman to be elected to the Borough Council, serving from 1992-99. She served a term as mayor from 1999-2000, finishing the term of the prior mayor. She was the borough’s first female mayor.
“I want the residents of South River to know that I take this position very seriously. Open and honest communication has always been very important to me,” Balazs said. “I take great pride in our town and will work to [the] fullest extent of my abilities for all citizens if given that privilege.”
Balazs is a member of the South River Board of Health and the Mayor’s Advisory Board.
“I feel the time is right to once again represent the citizens of South River,” she said.
If elected to the council, Balazs said the issues she wants to tackle “definitely [would be] downtown redevelopment and a volunteer program between high school students and our senior residents to exchange technical, historical and cultural knowledge.”
Ciulla, 58, is a lifelong resident and former councilman who served on the council in 2000, 2015 and 2016.
“[I seek] to continue to serve the borough residents, to work with a team that understands the importance of infrastructure maintenance and updating,” Ciulla said.
Ciulla said he has been a volunteer firefighter for the South River Volunteer Fire Department for 40 years; the borough’s fire chief in 1996, 1997 and 1998; an advisor for the Junior Firefighter Program; chairman of the Planning Board; vice chairman of the Zoning Board of Adjustment; and an officer in the VFW Auxiliary.
If re-elected to the council, Ciulla said he will, “Prepare a plan to repair, maintain and update our infrastructure as needed [and] bring in new businesses such as restaurants for the downtown area.”
Glogower-Lopez, 67, has been a borough resident for more than 20 years.
Running as an independent candidate, he said, “It means that when elected I will represent only the residents of South River, not just a political party and special interest groups.”
In the past, Glogower-Lopez has volunteered for the borough’s Little League, youth soccer and pee wee basketball, as well as an animal rescue group.
“Both Democrats and Republicans on the council do not represent the residents, just their special interest groups at the expense of the taxpayers,” Glogower-Lopez said. “Taxes, water rates, electric rates and fees keep increasing. I believe with responsible spending everything can be stabilized while being improved.”
If elected onto the council, Glogower-Lopez said that he will cake all councilpersons accountable for every one of their decision votes.
“I will be very outspoken about poor matters brought to vote for the wrong reasons. I will expose everything not up to snuff,” Glogower-Lopez said. “Create a budget that actually represents spending, not a moving target budget constantly being corrected by more bonding.”
Meira, 30, is a lifelong resident of South River who has served on the council since 2017.
“I have honestly enjoyed every moment of being a councilwoman these last three years, and I hope to continue to work hard for our residents. I have spent some of my time on council looking for solutions for our residents in amending ordinances that make it cost-effective, and simplifying the construction permit process,” she said.
Meira is serving on the Public Safety Committee and is the liaison to the library board.
“I have been an advocate in giving kids the chance to give their opinion. The Green Team has given positions to high school members to discuss important issues,” she said. “Last year, the Finance Committee gave high school kids summer internships. I hope to continue these efforts, slowly making a difference and encouraging others to want to do the same.
“My first year on council, we decided to form a Green Team to begin our Sustainable Jersey certification. Forming a community garden, with a local nonprofit, has really brought residents out,” Meira said.
“Going forward I’d like to advance the borough into streaming some permits online to save the resident a visit to the borough. This would save time and resources, making the borough more efficient,” Meira said. “I would also like to continue to push for improvements in our Master Plan. South river is changing and we need to embrace some of these changes, along with keeping some of South River’s charm.”
If re-elected to the council, Meira said she would like to continue to find ways to encourage businesses to open and stay in the downtown. She said she would also like to have a future plan for parking improvements.
“I have lived in South River my whole life. At the age of 30, my accomplishments are small but have impacted me in a great way,” Meira said. “My husband and I have three wonderful kids. I take pride in showing them how great this town is and hope that the small improvements I can make will be for the future of South River and all its residents.”
