South Brunswick – Township voters will decide between two candidates in the race for a four-year mayoral term.
Incumbent Democratic Mayor Charles Carley faces Republican challenger Michael Havardansky in the general election on Nov. 8. Polls open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Charles Carley has lived in South Brunswick for 30 years.
Occupation: Civil engineer
Community service: Presently an active member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9111 and the Brunswick Moose Lodge; previously coached baseball for South Brunswick Athletic Association and soccer for South Brunswick Soccer Club.
Public service: Township Council member since 2005; current mayor
Michael Havardansky has lived in South Brunswick for 25 years.
Occupation: Vice president and controller of a women’s apparel company
Community service: Active member of St Augustine of Canterbury Church, where he is active in the men’s Cornerstone ministry and an usher at mass; and coached baseball, flag football and CYO basketball.
What do you see as the most pressing issue facing South Brunswick? If elected, how would you address the issue as mayor?
Carley: “I would like to continue my service to South Brunswick because I believe deeply in the goodness of our town and our shared experiment in American democracy.”
He further said, “My colleagues on the Township Council share those values. The people of this town share those values. I mean to do my part on the local level to advance our values – goodness, trust, humility. And that is that.”
Havardansky: “There are really two major issues facing South Brunswick which are kind of interconnected.” He spotlighted development and traffic congestion/accidents.
“Development is a big issue in South Brunswick right now and I feel the town has lost sight of the most important thing when it comes to development, which is to improve the quality of life in the town. High-density housing projects should be discouraged,” he said.
Havardansky further said, “plus, we are building warehouse after warehouse and nothing for the community or to make people come to South Brunswick rather than just pass through it.”
Havardansky noted that South Brunswick needs more family entertainment, restaurants and shopping opportunities and that he would work with the Economic Development Committee to ensure quality of life for residents is the top priority.
“As a result of over development without consideration for infrastructure, traffic congestion and accidents have become a major issue in South Brunswick. First, I think we need increased police presence and enforcement at the major intersections like New Road and Route 1 as well as Route 522 and Route 1,” he said.
He added that they need to work with county and state departments of transportation to look into traffic patterns and timing of traffic lights.
“South Brunswick’s population has doubled in the 25 years I’ve lived here, but no improvements have been made to the major roads through town,” Havardansky said.
“South Brunswick has become a bottleneck for north-south traffic in Middlesex County. This causes frustration, which can contribute to people making bad decisions.”