HOLMDEL – Two three-year terms on the Holmdel Township Committee will be on the ballot in the Nov. 5 election.
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Republicans Eric Hinds and Chiung-yin Cheng Liu and Independents Cathy Weber and Prakash Santhana are running for the two available three-year terms.
Hinds is seeking is fourth term on the Township Committee and has served his community since 2011. Hinds has lived in Holmdel for 15 years.
Liu is the owner, director and an instructor at Liu Music in Middletown. She has lived in Holmdel for 23 years and is currently serving in her third term as a member of the Holmdel Board of Education.
Weber is a 25-year resident of Holmdel and a former Holmdel Board of Education member and has been a part of various community groups including the Girl Scouts, the Holmdel Swim Team and former president of the Preserve Holmdel group, whose goal is to keep Cross Farm Park natural. She is currently a Senior Associate Director at Princeton University and holds an MBA from the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.
Santhana, a five-year resident of Holmdel, is a member of Preserve Holmdel and the Fire Action Safety Today (FAST) group, which is dedicated to bringing fire safety improvements to all residents in response to the township’s fire study. He is the Managing Director at a top global consulting firm. and holds an MBA graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Hinds was asked what he would like to address if he is elected to a fourth term.
“The biggest piece for me is to strategically use our pilot revenue to reduce taxes or to offer more,” Hinds said. “I’m going to study the concept of paying for the sanitation, garbage pickup. We’ve identified 11 different companies that go through the town and I’m looking into if the town could pick that up with one company and possibly have less wear and tear on the roads, it’d be a great service to offer with no additional cost. My number one goal is to reduce the burden that the tax payers feel on taxes.”
Liu, Weber and Santhana were asked why they are running for a seat on the Township Committee and some issues they would like to address, if elected.
Liu said, “After nine-plus years of public service with BOE and volunteering with varied organizations, my records and experience speak for me that I understand the importance to get back to the community with a positive and respectful manner and work ethic. I was recruited by the Monmouth County Republican Organization running for the position of Holmdel Township Committee. It will be a great honor to continue serving my beloved Holmdel in a different position.”
Liu said she wanted to improve on fire safety and emergency services, holding fiscal responsibility within the municipal government and advocate effective communication between the local government and residents.
Weber said, “I was inspired to run because of my concerns about the current lack of leadership of the township committee and the need to increase transparency. Running as an Independent, I want to continue to work in bi-partisan manner to bring the town together and run a clean and responsive government.”
“If elected, I plan to focus on fiscal accountability and reducing taxes, restoring integrity through open meetings and discussions and representing all Holmdel residents in maintaining a high quality of life and tackling tough issues like fire safety and flooding. I plan to increase resident participation in our town by restoring advisory boards like the financial oversight board, pool committee, and shade tree commission among others,” Weber said.
Santhana said he was inspired to run for a seat on the Township Committee due to “corruption and cronyism at the township combined with the increasing spend, debt and taxes.”
“I’m running to bring about a change in the way we run our local government” Santhana said. “My goal is to lower taxes for all residents by exploring various revenue options, including the use of PILOT revenue, and scrutinizing our expenditures to cut wasteful spending. It is very important that we are fully transparent in the way we operate and we plan to restore advisory boards to ensure a robust governance process. Fire safety and flooding are two key current issues and we must bring all our resources to bear to resolve them immediately.”