is a key issue in bids
for four-year term
Kleinberg, Glickman
kick off mayor’s race
Ongoing development
is a key issue in bids
for four-year term
BY LARRY RAMER
Staff Writer
“I will appoint good people without regard to party labels and bring new people into government.” — Dr. Robert Kleinberg Republican candidate for mayor
MARLBORO — Both men running for mayor agree that continuing residential development is the major issue facing Marlboro.
Seeking the four-year term in the Nov. 4 election are Republican Dr. Robert Kleinberg, a chiropractor, and Democrat Steven Glickman, a labor attorney.
Mayor Matthew V. Scannapieco, a Republican, is not seeking re-election to a fourth term.
Kleinberg, who is a member of the Marlboro K-8 Board of Education, is advocating much more drastic solutions to the issue than Glickman.
“Anybody who says they’re going to stop development is not telling the truth.” — Steve Glickman Democratic candidate for mayor
According to Kleinberg, Marlboro should follow the lead of other municipalities by rezoning most of its remaining open land into lots where the construction of one home would require 2 acres. The only exception should be for some land that is zoned for commercial use, he said.
Kleinberg, who was critical of what he called the Republican-controlled Planning Board and the Democratic-controlled Zoning Board of Adjustment, said he would ask all members of both boards and all officials of municipal authorities to resign if he becomes mayor.
Kleinberg said these people should resign in the wake of published reports detailing several alleged conflicts of interests committed by members of both boards and the Marlboro Township Municipal Utilities Authority in dealing with developers.
He charged that Marlboro is being run by a single group of developers and public officials.
"One group of Democrats, Republicans, builders, developers and political insiders is doing everything in the town," Kleinberg said. "I will appoint good people without regard to party labels and bring new people into government."
Kleinberg did not hesitate to directly criticize Scannapieco.
"Mayor Scannapieco’s policies have hurt Marlboro, in collaboration with the zoning and planning boards, especially when it comes to overdevelopment," said Kleinberg.
In contrast to Kleinberg’s criticisms, Glickman said, "The planning and zoning boards have done well for the most part."
The candidate said he "might have some questions about the [town’s] master plan."
As far as development goes, Glickman said, "Anybody who says they’re going to stop development is not telling the truth. People have to recognize there are certain land use laws on the books and as long as the developers are complying with the law they’re allowed to develop the land."
However, Glickman did say he saw several ways of curtailing and controlling development.
"The township zoning and planning boards probably have to more narrowly interpret the law if they’re going to grant variances, and they have to take into account not only the needs of the developer, but the needs and the quality of life of the community, which is not to say they haven’t been doing this up until now," he said.
By tightening the criteria for granting variances, the town would be able to limit development to a greater degree, Glickman said.
In addition, he said the state Legislature should pass a law that would enable towns to compel developers to pay impact fees.
These fees would be used in part to help pay for the education of children who move into houses built by the developers, said Glickman. In his capacity as labor counsel to the New Jersey Conference of Mayors, Glickman said, he has examined bills currently before the Legislature dealing with this matter, and proposed amendments that would enable towns to more practically and easily collect the fees.
The two candidates offered widely different views of a variance the zoning board granted to a developer earlier this year which will allow for the construction of a 35-home development to be called Tennent Estates. The variance will allow a residential development to be built in a commercial zone on Tennent Road.
While Glickman said he is not happy the development will be built, he maintained that the board’s decision was based on practical, legal considerations.
"It is my understanding that the zoning board received a legal opinion that if the developer took the township to court, he would be successful in obtaining the variance. The attorney for the zoning board felt the developer had a winning position on this matter. Why litigate [the issue] if the equal result is obtained in the end?" Glickman said.
On the other hand, Kleinberg attacked the zoning board and its decision to grant the variance.
"In the Tennent Estates case, the zoning board took a piece of commercial property and rezoned it residential with an arrogant disregard to township ordinances and the impact on our town," he said. "In general, I would rather pay money to defend some lawsuits than pay additional taxes forever due to the added impact developments like this will have on our schools, open space, recreation, and roads."
Asked about the site of the former Marlboro State Psychiatric Hospital, both candidates agreed that the 400-acre property on Route 520 should be acquired from the state and primarily be preserved as open space.
Glickman said he would be in favor of using money from the township’s open space fund to help purchase the land, and said if Marlboro needs another school, he would support providing land on the site of the former hospital on which to build the school.
Negotiations with the state regarding the property should be continued in a similar fashion as the past several years, said Glickman, explaining that the delays in the negotiations are primarily due to changes in environmental regulations that he said lessened the value of the land.
Kleinberg said, "Marlboro provided municipal services to the hospital for years and now it’s time for the state to repay Marlboro. I would publicly urge the governor to give Marlboro the property at no cost. It seems incomprehensible to me, based on what I’ve read in the News Transcript, that hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent on attorneys, trying to acquire the property, and after five years we’re in the same place we started."
Glickman said his experience as a labor attorney representing municipalities helps to make him qualified to be Marlboro’s mayor. He said his firm represents 60 municipalities throughout the state in negotiations with their employees. The majority of these municipalities are controlled by Republicans, Glickman said.
"This shows we get the jobs because of our ability," the Democrat said.
Glickman said he believes his experience as a labor attorney has given him a good understanding of how municipal departments work and would allow him to evaluate how top professionals in the town are performing.
He said his experience in arbitration involving municipal employees has allowed him to become well-versed on municipal budgets.
"Part of the presentations in these arbitration hearings include an analysis of the municipal budget. I’ve been called in as an expert on municipal budgets, which are very different than school board budgets," Glickman noted.
The Democratic candidate said he is a former general counsel to the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police and is preparing manuals for police departments that detail rules, regulations and standard operating procedures for the departments.
Glickman, who worked as a labor attorney for former Marlboro Mayor Saul Hornik, said his experience in dealing with municipal personnel will allow him to "evaluate personnel and make sure the right people are serving in the right positions."
Kleinberg has served on the Marlboro school board for almost three years. He said he is partially responsible for a budget that is about four times larger than the municipal spending plan. He said he has run a successful chiropractic business for 21 years and added that the skills he has used in running his campaign will serve him well if he is elected mayor.
"Whether it’s running a chiropractic office, a school district or town hall, it’s all about people issues. I have a proven track record of bringing people together, as I have in this campaign. We have a diverse group of supporters who feel as I do that Marlboro is heading in the wrong direction," Kleinberg said.
Two important supporters of Kleinberg’s campaign — his campaign manager, Mitch Jacobs, and the chairman of the Marlboro Republican Party, Sal Alfieri — are attorneys who deal with real estate matters, in spite of Kleinberg’s charge that builders and developers are involved in running the town.
Jacobs said that neither he nor his firm would represent clients before Marlboro’s zoning or planning boards.
Alfieri was not immediately available for comment.
Kleinberg said he has not taken campaign contributions from developers or builders. He said he would not accept funds from the Monmouth County Republican organization, which he said might include contributions from builders or developers.