BY JOYCE BLAY
Staff Writer
JACKSON — 2005 is a pivotal year in Jackson politics. It could be the first time Republicans take control of the Township Committee in five years.
At present, the Democrats hold a 3-2 majority. The Democrats on the governing body are Michael Broderick, Michael Kafton and Sean Giblin. The Republicans are Josh Reilly and Mark Seda. The terms held by Broderick and Reilly will expire on Dec. 31.
If the Democrats win both seats in November, their majority will grow to 4-1. If the Republicans capture both three-year terms, the GOP will hold a 3-2 majority.
Reilly and Ann Updegrave are running unchallenged in the June 7 Republican primary as they seek their party’s nomination to run in the November election.
Reilly, 33, grew up in Jackson. He is employed as a biologist in research and development at Hartz Mountain Corp., a pet products company headquartered in New Jersey. He was elected in November 2002 and was the lone Republican voice until Seda won a committee seat in the 2004 election. In addition to fiscal belt tightening, Reilly is a proponent of ethical reforms.
“There are paid appointments that are inappropriate,” said Reilly. “I would like to see all professional contracts being based on an open process rather than being awarded on the basis of political patronage.”
Reilly would also like tighter control of government spending.
“I would like to see the township live within its means as a growing community,” he said. “I would like to see more fiscal planning brought back into formulation of the municipal budget. I would also like to see more public involvement and access to the process. You can’t offer true tax relief without a corresponding cut in spending.”
Reilly said he would prefer to see a different plan for targeting open space land acquisitions. He told the Tri-Town News last year that it was upon his advisement that the committee purchased a parcel of land on Butterfly Road that had been zoned for residential development.
Reilly also said he would like to see more community involvement in the review of Jackson’s master plan. He said he viewed his term on the committee as a means of giving back to his community and expressed hope that voters would give him another three years to work on their behalf.
“Without another term in office and the support of voters for my running mate, the reforms I would like to see will be difficult to achieve,” he said.
Updegrave, 51, has lived in Jackson since 1987. She is employed as a patient representative at CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township.
Although Updegrave was a registered Democrat until 2004, she said she switched parties in order to bring about fiscal reforms.
She formerly worked in a part-time stipend position as principal purchasing assistant in the Jackson administrator’s office for four years. That job has now grown into a three-employee department.
Despite the town’s continuing growth, Republicans assert that the staffing increase in that department as well as the creation and staffing of a personnel department have unnecessarily contributed to the tax rate increase this year.
“I believe in spending money within taxpayers’ means,” Updegrave said. “I also believe in an open government where the public has input on how government spends taxpayer money. Last year, Democrats didn’t want to hold budget workshops, but since Mr. Seda was elected to the committee [last year], that’s changed.”