HAZLET — Change could be coming to the Township Committee, as five candidates are seeking two seats up for election in November.
Committee incumbents James DiNardo and Barbara Ronchetti are seeking re-election on the Democratic Party ballot line, while Thomas Mann and William “Bill” Shea have been nominated by the Hazlet Township Republican Club to run for the committee seats in the municipal election.
Deanna Marie De’Liberto will run on her own as a Republican candidate for the Township Committee in the Nov. 3 election.
DiNardo and Ronchetti are seeking their fourth and second terms, respectively, on the committee.
“We have gotten a lot accomplished, but there are still a lot of things that we want to do,” DiNardo said.
DiNardo was elected to the Township Committee in 2006 and served as mayor in 2007, 2008, 2013 and 2014.
“Hazlet is a great town. … I have lived here my whole life, but when I first ran for committee, I just did not like the direction Hazlet was going in,” he said.
DiNardo said running for re-election this year is about bringing sustainable savings to the township — initiating programs, applying for grants, and establishing other initiatives that can continue to benefit the township for years to come.
“When I was mayor, we had a flat budget for two years in a row, and we want to get back to that,” he said.
Ronchetti was elected to the Township Committee in 2012 after serving as the recreation director from 1990 to 2012.
Like DiNardo, Ronchetti said she is running for re-election to ensure that Hazlet moves forward in a positive direction for the residents.
“We are looking into outsourcing recycling and eventually garbage, which will be better and more cost-effective for the township,” she said.
“We also want to go back to how the budget was done before, where every department was cooperating together to produce the best possible budget.”
Mann moved to the township five years ago with his wife and two children, and said he wants to do what he can to make sure his children grow up in a positive environment. Mann said his priorities include bringing more businesses to Route 36 and making sure residents’ voices are heard by committee members.
“In Hazlet, we are really starting to move in a positive direction, and I want to make sure we stay on that path,” he said.
“I want to be representing the people of the township and listening to what they have to say and making sure that their voices are being heard by the rest of the committee.”
Shea, a resident for eight years, echoed Mann’s vision of maintaining a thriving township for his children to grow up in.
“Hazlet is already a great township to live in, but I think there is always room for small improvements that can really help the town move forward,” he said.
Shea is active in the community, coaching boys and girls basketball, baseball and softball.
“I want to make sure that my children have a high quality of life here,” he said.
De’Liberto is the president of Election Integrity NJ — a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to upholding free and fair elections.
“I am running because I am concerned about the residents and the impact increases in municipal taxes have on them,” she said.
Another reason that De’Liberto said she is running is to help ensure Hazlet’s future by keeping businesses in the township and bringing new ones in.
“Personally, I don’t think Hazlet is a business-friendly place to be. … It is so important for us to keep the business we have here and to find ways to attract new businesses to our area,” she said.
“I just don’t want Hazlet to become a ghost town, and we stop that by supporting our businesses and having better communications with our residents.”