job done by Democrats
on Manalapan committee
Republicans seeking to gain
foothold on governing body
Musich, Toto challenge
job done by Democrats
on Manalapan committee
By dave benjamin
Staff Writer
Anthony Musich
MANALAPAN — The two Republicans running for seats on the Township Committee are calling for change and a return to checks and balances.
Republicans Tom Toto and Anthony Musich are challenging incumbent Democrats Rebecca Aaronson and William Scherer for three-year seats on the governing body.
"I’ve been meeting with a lot of residents who are very unhappy with this township government and rightly so," Toto said. "They ask me, ‘How would Republicans be different?’ It’s not that there’s any magic as to whether one is a Republican or a Democrat. The key is how we, Tony Musich and I, who happen to be Republicans, will improve things over Ms. Aaronson and Mr. Scherer, who are Democrats."
Toto said someone has to be able to keep an eye on what is happening from another perspective, the inside.
Tom Toto
"The fact that there is no one watching over this shockingly inept government doing so many things that raise everyone’s eyebrows is enough of a reason to bring someone else in to see things from the inside," said the candidate. "I think the major issue in this campaign is integrity. Competence and experience are also important issues."
Toto charged his opponents with sitting on a governing body that made overpayments to the township attorneys, paid the same invoices twice, fired township employees with no explanation, paid for a committee member’s continuing education courses and was in office when municipal funds went missing from town hall this year.
"We’ve needed new soccer fields. Three years ago, Ms. Aaronson and Mr. Scherer promised to add soccer fields. Right now we have one less soccer field than when they were first elected, not more. There is a real competence issue when the people of Manalapan Chase can’t get their houses fixed when those houses are in violation of code and the current head of the construction department signed the certificates of occupancy," the candidate said.
"There is a real integrity issue when Mayor Aaronson claims she got into politics because of the trees being cut down at the Epicentre and then she accepts $5,000 for her county freeholder campaign from David Steiner, the developer of the Epicentre. I was mayor of South River for eight years. Nothing like what is going on in Manalapan now ever happened on my watch," Toto said.
As the former mayor of South River, Middlesex County, Toto said he fought hard for his town.
"I went to Trenton and met with legislators, fighting for my town and getting a grant that the state is still providing every year, $1 million," he said.
Musich, a former member of the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education, said, "The last three years have seen the control of the township in the hands of five Democrats and no Republicans. There is no one there now to watch what this government is doing or ensure an open discussion of issues.
"Our citizens are paying the price for that lack of accountability," the candidate said. "We have a major tax increase this year. We now have the highest combined municipal taxes in our history. On top of the municipal tax, this Township Committee has voted to increase our school taxes to the highest in their history despite the voters having turned down any tax increase. I support our schools, but there are tax increases that have been caused by township mismanagement, including the unconscionable waste of hundreds of thousands of dollars being given to the municipal attorney who in turn plows that money back into their election campaigns."
Musich charged the Democrats with failing to supervise the township administrator. He said people are needed on the governing body to watch them.
"We have heard for four years how they have preserved open space and purchased land," Musich said. "The fact is, the last time Ms. Aaronson and Mr. Scherer ran they promised to purchase and preserve thousands of acres of land. To date, they have purchased about 100 acres, not counting land purchased by the state and county for which they are trying to take credit.
"They have encouraged almost no farmland preservation. Most of what they are taking credit for was begun before they came into office. They put in place a sophomoric downzoning ordinance that encouraged all of the farmers to sell their land on the cheap to developers; developers who contributed many thousands of dollars to Ms. Aaronson’s and Mr. Scherer’s election campaigns for higher office last year. That’s not a coincidence," he said.
The candidate continued, "In addition, one third of our township’s students are going to be redistricted to other high schools despite the fact that so many of our residents have been very clear that they wish to remain in Manalapan. Our children will pay the price for this lack of leadership. If they want to support those residents they should join Marlboro in their suit against the Freehold Regional High School District.
"Someone asked me why, with all of these issues, we haven’t challenged them to a debate. The answer is simple. They won’t attend a debate. They rarely attend the meetings they’re scheduled to attend now. They attend few municipal functions and Ms. Aaronson achieved fame last year by missing the first eight months of meetings of the county agricultural board, claiming no one told her they were meeting," Musich said.