GOP officials say they hope to take back control of council in Nov. election
By lynn k. barra
Staff Writer
OLD BRIDGE — Township Republicans held a press conference last week at Geick Park, announcing their final candidate for Township Council and stating their goal to take control of the governing body in November.
"We have a wonderful opportunity at getting a majority on the council," Republican Mayor Barbara Cannon told the close to 100 residents who attended the conference.
The Democrats have held party control since 1998, but the GOP is hoping that will change, since the council’s six ward seats are all up in the Nov. 6 general election.
Democrats hold four of the ward seats presently, and two of those four Democrats are running for reelection.
The two Democratic incumbents, Joseph Hoff (Ward 1) and Reginald Butler (Ward 3), will face Republican newcomers Steven Brunell and Robert Larson, respectively.
Newcomers from both parties will be vying to win the council seats presently held by Democrats Georgette Hegarty (Ward 4) and Gerald Cucchiara (Ward 6), neither of whom is seeking re-election. And Republican incumbents Roman Sohor (Ward 2) and Richard Greene (Ward 5) will attempt to hold onto their seats, challenged by Democrats William A. Baker and John Denney Jr., respectively.
Hoff, the senior Democratic councilman, will be running against Brunell, who is the youngest candidate on either ballot.
"There are people who work with the system and people who work against the system," Brunell said. "I want to set them straight."
Brunell, along with the other Republican candidates, emphasized traffic safety, road improvements and overall quality of life in his platform.
"In Ward 1 we have eight districts," Brunell said. "Joe (Hoff) concentrates on two of the eight. A lot of residents don’t even know who their councilman is. They have to call Town Hall, and the town has to find out and tell them who to call.
"You can’t accomplish anything that way," he added. "You need someone who’s out there, who you see in the local supermarket and say, ‘Hey, I got a problem.’"
Hoff was out of state this week recuperating from a medical condition and could not be reached for a response.
Part of Brunell’s platform includes finding ways to reduce traffic congestion coming off Garden State Parkway Exit 120 and Matawan Road by expanding the roads. He also hopes to find a solution to what he believes is damage to the Cheesequake Village dam, which, he said, may now be leaking.
"There’s a dam in Cheesequake Village and Barkley Square, and it’s leaking," Brunell said. "If the dam leaks, the water from the leak will run into the Raritan Bay and out to the ocean. The people back in Barkley Square bought lakefront property. If there’s no dam, there’s no lake."
Brunell is employed as an account executive by Ocean King International.
Robert Larson, a nine-year Madison Park Volunteer Fire Company member and District 4 (Madison Park) fire commissioner, will be vying with Butler for the Ward 3 seat. In addition to improving traffic flow, particularly along Bordentown and Ernston roads, Larson said he hopes to improve the quality of life for children in his ward through the addition of recreational facilities.
"Kids got together and built their own park off Colgate Road in Madison Park," Larson said. "That was something that really touched me because I have three kids. When you look around Ward 3, even in the apartments, there is no recreation for the kids."
Larson added that his opponent promised to build a recreational facility 12 years ago.
"I think that’s pathetic," he said. "This guy is a ‘yes’ man and he just hasn’t done anything."
Butler said that because the proposed site for the recreational facility was privately owned, nothing could be built.
"The reason that I haven’t been able to build that youth center is because the property is owned by the Manzo family," Butler said. "For the last eight years, they’ve been in court. A trustee runs the corporation. We’d have to get them to donate property to us in order to build that."
The Republicans announced that Pat O’Donnell will run for the Ward 4 seat. O’Donnell, a commercial banker who works for United Trust Bank in North Brunswick, was chosen by the local GOP party on Aug. 28 to replace Elizabeth English, who withdrew from the race in June. O’Donnell will run for the seat presently held by Hegarty against Democratic newcomer G. Kevin Calogera, a member of the Planning Board and president of the Old Bridge Economic Development Corporation.
O’Donnell also expressed his views on the current Democrats in office, saying he would better represent the people in his ward and attend more meetings than Hegarty did.
"I vow to attend 80 percent of the council meetings," O’Donnell said. "I’m aiming for 100 percent, but I’m taking into account illnesses, family and whatnot."
The voice of the people is how Ward 6 GOP candidate Lucille Panos likes to describe herself. Panos hopes to beat out Democrat Arthur E. Riporti, who, like Panos, is running for public office for the first time. Panos and Riporti will run for the seat presently held by Democratic incumbent Gerald Cucchiara.
"I won the people’s vote," Panos said, referring to the June primary, in which she ran against fellow Republican Michael Dwyer.
Panos, who is employed as a secretary at John F. Kennedy School in Jamesburg, has been a community activist for more than 10 years.
"I’ve always been involved in the town," said Panos, who is originally from Staten Island, N.Y. "I always fought the issues, and the politics were secondary. I was brought up to believe I could make the world a better place."
A former member of the township’s Environmental Commission, Panos said she also regularly attends Zoning Board and Planning Board meetings. Should she be elected in November, Panos said she plans to take her community activism one step further as a council member.
"There’s an old saying that you can’t fight City Hall. I never believed it," Panos said. "I believe City Hall fights for you."