The 2020 Bordentown Township Committee election results are in and both incumbent James Kostoplis and newcomer Aneka Miller have been elected to serve on the board.
Both Democratic candidates ran unopposed for the two seats up for election on the committee this November.
James Kostoplis has been a resident of Bordentown over the last 30 years and is currently the Undersheriff of Burlington County.
This will be Kostoplis’ second term on the committee after being elected to the board three years ago.
“(Bordentown) is a nice town and I’m looking forward to helping the community,” Kostoplis said on being reelected to the Bordentown Township Committee.
Kostoplis said he ran for a spot on the committee three years ago because he saw it as an opportunity to do more for the public and help people.
Helping people is something Kostoplis has found a lot of joy through his 47 years of law enforcement and time as a volunteer for Bordentown as a firefighter and an emergency medical technician.
“I’m always trying things to help people. What makes me happy is making others feel safe and happy,” Kostoplis said.
Since his time on the board, Kostoplis believes the township has done a good job of keeping municipal taxes “stable”.
He added that the township is looking into getting more grants to help in repaving roads in the town and updating the parks in the community for residents.
Aneka Miller has been a part of the Bordentown community for the last 14 years.
She has been involved in many different organizations of the community, including serving on the Bordentown Regional Board of Education (BOE).
“This was an opportunity for me to leverage my skill set and grow to help make an impact on the community,” Miller said of running for the Township Committee. “I felt it was my civic duty to have an impact in this regard of local government.”
Miller is a regulatory project manager for Merck and holds a degree in electrical engineering from Morgan State University and an MBA from Rutgers University.
She has been on the BOE for the past two years and is an active member of the Bordentown Community Alliance.
As part of the Bordentown Community Alliance, Miller said she hopes to use her voice on the committee to speak out about racial injustice.
Miller is an advocate of “unity for the community,” and that starts in her eyes with building relationships between Bordentown residents and the Bordentown Township Police Department to make the community a better place for all.
“I want us to be a shining example of what a unified community looks like,” Miller said. “I feel we are on the right path to that. I want both the police and residents to trust each other.”
Miller attended the Bordentown Township Committee meeting on Nov. 9, where she was congratulated by Mayor Steve Benowitz and Kostoplis on being elected to the committee.
Knowing Miller from her time on the Bordentown Sewerage Authority, Kostoplis said he is excited to have her on the committee and believes she will do a great job as a committeewoman.
“I am excited,” Miller said of her nomination. “I want to serve the community with fairness and transparency.”