By: Mae Rhine
STOCKTON Three candidates are battling for the Republican nomination for two available three-year terms on the Borough Council, while a former longtime member has no opposition for the Democratic nod.
Constance Bassett, Gary Dailey and David Pasicznyk are vying for the GOP nominations. Former councilman Neil Esposito, with no opposition, will receive the Democratic nod in Tuesday’s primary.
Ms. Bassett is president of Moorland Studios Inc., a family-owned monument conservation and decorative arts fabrication business in Stockton. She has lived in Stockton 19 years, having grown up on a dairy farm in Pottersville on the border of Hunterdon, Morris and Somerset counties. She and her husband, David Cann, have two children, James, 13, and Eliot, 11.
She attended the Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York and the University of South Carolina, as well as the Parsons School of Design and the Arts Students League, both in New York City, and the Johnson Atelier Technical Institute of Sculpture in Mercerville.
She is active in the Solebury Meeting; Audubon, Honey Hollow, Solebury, Pa.; the Hunterdon Land Trust, Sergeantsville; and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network.
Ms. Bassett, who has never sought public office, said the main issues of her campaign are to preserve and protect Stockton’s small-town atmosphere; maintain the borough’s small school; keep taxes in check; and protect the natural resources, i.e. the watershed and land preservation.
"Stockton is my home and has been for almost 20 years," she said. "I grew up in a small town and have seen it change so much, I would not want to go back there to live. It is no longer a small town, but sadly like so much of New Jersey, it has become a commuter town, part of the suburban sprawl and no longer the thriving community of residents and local businesses.
"Stockton is still a country town. I hope it stays that way. I would like to do what I can to find creative solutions to problems that every town is faced with, without sacrificing the qualities of a rural town with old-fashioned family values."
Mr. Dailey is director of engineering for Kuhl Corp. in Raritan Township. He has lived in Stockton 18 years and in Hunterdon County for 34, coming here from Towson, Md.
He is a graduate of Mercer County Community College and a member of the Stockton Fire Company.
He is a former member of the Stockton Board of Education, serving two terms.
He said his engineering background would help with the borough’s ongoing road and sewer reconstruction projects.
Mr. Dailey said he has "no personal agenda."
He explained, "I am a longtime resident with only the well-being of the town as my main concern."
Mr. Pasicznyk is a geologist, bureau chief of the Bureau of Ground Water Resources Evaluation for New Jersey Geological Survey, Division of Science, Research and Technology, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection,
He has lived in Stockton for 11 years, coming from Carversville, Pa., Danboro, Pa., and Republic of the Philippines.
He has never sought public office.
Mr. Pasicznyk graduated from Temple University in 1979 with a bachelor’s of science degree in geology with a minor in environmental geology. He also has taken a graduate course in geophysics at Temple.
He took a course in engineering geophysics at the Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colo., and in marketing principles, international marketing and management at the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science. He also has taken courses in environmental law, business law, law for the expert witness, hydrogeology, groundwater resource management, supervisory skills and practice and certified public manager.
He is a member of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Concerned Citizens of Stockton.
"I feel that I have a sound background in applied science and technology and an understanding of effective government services," he said. "In my current position, I am responsible for a group of 20 geologists, hydrogeologists, geophysicists, engineers and technicians whose primary function is to help the state, municipalities, citizens and other stakeholders address many issues from ground water problems to beach replenishment and geotechnical problems. I have learned to address these issues in a quick and cost-effective manner. Also, I do not hesitate to explore new ideas and options and am not afraid to ask for people’s opinions, criticisms and ideas."
He wants to see preservation of "the unique character and quality of life" of the borough "without placing undue financial burden on the citizens of our community, especially those on fixed incomes."
He wants to see education in the state’s tiniest K-6 school Stockton Elementary preserved and maintained.
"The Stockton School is the smallest, oldest and best school in the state," he said. "It not only provides an excellent education for our children but also gives them a sense of community not found in the many ‘big box’ elementary schools that are becoming commonplace throughout the state.
He also feels, "Smart growth must be embraced. It is the only hope we have to prevent our area from becoming a mindless, homogenized sprawling suburb. We live in Stockton because it is a real community, not a McMansion development. People realize that sprawl brings problems and burdens, which result in tax increases increases which many in Stockton cannot afford."
Regarding water, he feels the borough has a good water source and, ergo, "We do not have the problems that, unfortunately, confront many other municipalities, such as arsenic or nitrate contamination. We must do everything we can to protect the quality and quantity of this precious resource. We should ensure that our borough’s wells are adequately protected, from not only from contamination, but also from depletion by misuse of resources. Likewise, we must also realize that as a river community, we have a moral obligation to other residents of the state to ensure that the Delaware River and the Delaware and Raritan Canal are not threatened by activities within the borough."
Mr. Pasicznyk said tourism plays a major role within the community.
"We have several excellent restaurants, antique and gift shops, a historic inn of renown, an award-winning bed and breakfast and another B&B in the works," he said. "These establishments, together with other businesses that serve our everyday needs, provide the economic backbone of our community. We should do all we can to promote and patronize them and ensure they have the necessary support from council to flourish. And we must realize that to protect our tourism-based businesses we must ensure that Stockton remains a beautiful, clean and pleasant place to visit."
Mr. Pasicznyk supports asking the Delaware Township Police Department to help enforce traffic laws.
"We should work out a cooperative agreement with Delaware Township concerning funds that are collected from traffic summons," he said. "What is the point of even considering installing traffic lights, stop signs, parking meters and speed limit signs in the borough when enforcement of our existing traffic laws is intermittent at best? Also, we should enforce our parking laws. Vehicles parked illegally obstruct views, making crossing the street a dangerous venture for our pedestrians.
"In addition, visitors who park their vehicles and use the D&R State Park exacerbate our borough’s parking problem on weekends. This is an issue that we should insist be addressed by the state. The state should provide adequate parking for those who use its parks and not place the burden on our borough."
He also said Stockton should have a noise ordinance, adapting it from sample state ordinances.
"Then we must enforce the law," he said. "The borough could reap a windfall merely by enforcing noise ordinance violations against motorcyclists who have illegal (muffler-less) exhaust systems."
Mr. Pasicznyk said he often was asked to run for Borough Council.
"But my answer has been that I don’t really like politics and prefer to work behind the scenes," he said. "One day while working on yet another home-improvement project on our old house, my wife, Joanne, asked, ‘What’s the use of working on our house if you don’t work to improve the community?’ "
He said that question kept going through his mind, prompting his decision to run for the council, where he hopes "to do some good."
He added, "I feel that our borough could benefit greatly by looking into programs and grants that are offered by the government, nonprofits and other organizations. These options should explored, especially if they allow us to decrease the tax burden on our citizens. I grew up in a family who ran their own business and worked my way through college doing electrical construction and renovations of old houses. Over the years, I worked for large corporations, medium-sized ones, small businesses, was self-employed and now work for the state. Joanne operates a small photography business. At my job I am responsible for my bureau’s budget, both operating and salary accounts every nickel. I understand budgets, cutbacks and how to get the most bang for your buck."
He also has worked with his wife on fund-raisers for the Trenton Artists Workshop Association and other organizations.
By doing this, he said. "I learned the value of volunteer groups and how they benefit the community often on a shoe-string budget. These volunteer groups, whether they are fighting fires, rebuilding playgrounds, saving lives or fighting sprawl, are valuable assets to Stockton."
He concluded, "I have a stake in Stockton. I’m here to stay because I don’t think I will find a nicer place to live or more interesting people in any other community. My daughter, Laurel, is 4 years old, and I feel that Stockton is a great place for a kid to grow up. It is not some mindless development filled with mindless people who are all alike and are all the same age. We have kids, teens and seniors; we are a real community. And that is something worth protecting.
"Stockton is a unique community with a great quality of life, and we must do all we can to protect it. That is why we all choose to live here. But one ‘quality of life’ issue that we can’t forget is the financial well-being of borough residents on limited incomes. We are not Basking Ridge or Short Hills or Princeton. We have people from all walks of life and all economic levels. We must make certain that an undue burden is not placed on those living on fixed incomes while at the same time not depriving our children of their needs. It is a delicate balancing act; one I intend to address very seriously. And if the voters choose not to elect me, I will still be there, going to meetings, asking questions and doing what I feel is best for Stockton."
Mr. Esposito has lived in Stockton all 56 years of his life.
He is a graduate of South Hunterdon. He worked for Roy Stout in a Lambertville machine shop, doing Navy contracts, for 12 years. He left there to go to the family owned Errico’s Market. The market was started by his father-in-law, Chester L. Errico, in 1917, a former mayor.
He worked there 25 years, then the family sold the business in 1991, and he went to work for Lehigh Fluid Power in West Amwell for five years.
About a year ago, the family reopened Errico’s Market and Deli after the other store folded.
He was on the Borough Council 13 years.
He decided to try to make a comeback, because "Well, people had asked me before, and I always kept seeing my name as a write-in."
That 13 years of experience, plus being a lifelong resident are his main strengths, he said.
"I’ve been a resident for so long, I seem to know a lot of the problems going on," he said. Besides, "Being a homeowner and taxpayer is experience enough."
Stockton’s major problems for the future are getting its streets and drainage ditches done.
"Roads need to be repaired," he said, with funding found from other sources, "without hitting all the taxpayers for higher taxes."
He also would like to see a public restroom in town, preferably at Prallsville Mills although the borough park would be a logical spot, he said.
"There’s a lot of joggers, bikers; an awful lot of people in town" who need that, he said.
Mr. Esposito is married to Marie, "Prissy," and they have two girls, Reath, 31, and Leigh, 30.
