Retirement means relaxing for many men. Not Chuck Chang, who recently retired from Exxon Mobil after almost 30 years. While his wife, Sue, and his sons have urged him to take it easy, Chang says he wants to use his experience to benefit the town.##M:[more]##
“I was an industrial hygienist. I saw that I can use my professional background to be helpful to the town. I am interested in reviewing issues for environmental issues, traffic safety and health related issues, and noise issues,” said Chang.
He first became a member of the Planning Board in 1993, serving as an alternate until 1997. He was re-appointed in 2000, and has been a full member since that time.
Chang was born in Taiwan, and raised in a farming family. He was educated at the National Taiwan University, and first came to the United States after being one of two people from his country to be chosen to study public health courtesy of a World Health Organization scholarship. He earned a master’s degree from Pittsburgh University and a PhD from Northwestern.
Chang moved to West Windsor from Huntington Beach, CA in 1981, when he was transferred to Mobil’s Manhattan headquarters. He says the determining factors for choosing West Windsor among all the New York suburbs were the school system and, secondarily, the ease of commute. He has two grown sons who live in Flanders and Parsippany.
Chang says he’s already begun going door to door to obtain the signatures needed to become a council candidate. He said when he speaks with residents he encourages them to attend the upcoming charrettes on redevelopment.
“I’d like to see this project developed. Right now you can’t tell where the downtown area is. It’s a great town, and we can make it even better,” says Chang.
Additionally, Chang says he’s found most residents to be concerned with traffic and taxes. “I want to look at what we can do to help those things. We need to find an optimal balance. Everyone wants all the services we can have, but you have to pay for them.”
