The vacant seat on the West Windsor Township Council generated interest from 11 candidates, all of whom were interviewed during in open session on March 30. Council was expected select one of the candidates on April 2, after the News deadline.##M:[more]##
Appointment of a candidate requires an affirmative vote by a majority of the eligible council members — which means that three council members must vote in favor of the candidate. In the event of a 2-2 tie, the mayor would have the deciding vote. The votes would be taken by paper ballot, with the clerk reading the results.
This voting and appointing method was enacted by a resolution after Township Attorney Michael Herbert told the council — which had contemplated whether it could allow an appointment with a vote of 2-0, if it were a case in which two council members abstained — that state statute required it as such.
The list of candidates who were interviewed included Francis Bal, of Stanford Place; Diane Ciccone, of Penn Lyle Road; James Goss, of Murano Drive; Andrew Hersh, of Indian Run Road; Joseph C. Jensen, of Glengarry Way; Michael Mastro, Stonelea Drive; Alison Miller, of Windsor Drive; Robert Murray, of Lorrie Lane; John Nuzzo, of Priory Road; Julia Peterson, of Sunset Court; and William Usab, of Newport Court.
Frank Bal, who has lived in West Windsor for four years, grew up in Sayreville. His mother was a business manager in NYC and his father designed GPS satellites.
He earned his bachelors degree in social science from St. Peter’s College and a masters in supervision of education from Seton Hall University. He began his career as a regional manager of a chain of retail stores before franchising his own. He joined the Army Reserves in 1991 in response to the Gulf War. He still remains a member of the Army Reserves today as a First Sergeant, and he also has served one year in Iraq.
Bal became a West Windsor police officer in 1997, where he was assigned to the patrol division and where he is also the president of the police union. He is a part-time member of the tactical team, honor guard, and is a DARE officer. He and his wife, Paula, a physical therapist, have a daughter who is in fifth grade at the Village School.
“I don’t know how to fix everything, and my ideas aren’t better than anyone else’s,” he told the council during his interview. However, he said, he is accessible, will be fair and consistent, and “will do what is right, regardless of whether it benefits me or not.”
Bal was asked by Councilman Charles Morgan what he thought the police department in West Windsor needed, as budget considerations would take place later that night. “It would be nice to have a school resource officer,” Bal said, adding that he would hate to see a “knee-jerk” reaction if an incident were to occur at the high school. Rather, the township should be proactive, and have an officer established at the school already.
He was also asked what he thought about redevelopment from a public safety point-of-view. He said he thought traffic was a huge issue to be considered, but said that if planned properly, there should not be any problems. He pointed to the Alexander Road bridge and roundabout.
He told the council that if he was appointed to the seat, he would run for election in November to keep the seat, comparing his commitment to his army experience. “I wouldn’t want to groom a sergeant in the military to see them go on to do something else.”
Diane Ciccone, a West Windsor resident for nine years, has served as a member of the Planning Board since 2006.
She ran for a Township Council seat in the 2007 election. Ciccone is an attorney with a private practice in civil litigation. Her work includes serving on several national arbitration panels, representing several organizations in New York City, including serving as outside counsel to the NYC Transit Authority, and state matrimonial and civil litigation.
Ciccone grew up in upstate New York near the Finger Lakes,.and attended Colgate University, where her daughter, Kali, is now a student. The family moved to New Jersey as a result of her husband, Daryl McMillan, taking a job with what is now Munich Re America.
Ciccone has worked with Bikefest, is a member of the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance, and served volunteer roles with the school district when her daughter was in high school.
Ciccone said she decided to become a candidate for the council seat for some of the same issues that led to her decision to run in 2007, including the environment. “I think that I can bring a good voice to the council,” she said. “Our economy is bad, and our taxes keep going up, and I want to hopefully find solutions,” which could include sharing services with other municipalities, she said. “At the same time, I think we need to increase our services. I want our township to grow in a way that we maintain our quality of life, enrich it, and also have an eye toward the future, so that we grow and don’t become stagnant.”
She said she hopes the township could become a place that “our children want to come back to and live. This is really not attractive to single people.”
Ciccone told the council during her interview that she thinks of the redevelopment plan as a mini Master Plan and that it serves as a blueprint for what the township wants. As a Planning Board member who reviewed the entire plan, she contributed to the more than 100 comments on the plan before it was sent back to council. She said the best thing the council did was include the guiding principles in the document because developers will know exactly what West Windsor wants.
Ciccone said sound planning will ensure that “we are not faced with developers telling us what they want, and not negotiating with them.” She said council must act as “stewards” of the zoning.
James Goss and his wife, Dian, moved to the township a year ago after living in Freehold for seven years. Currently he serves as the vice president of public relations and marketing at CentraState Healthcare System in Freehold, where he lived for seven years before moving to West Windsor.
Goss earned a bachelors degree in broadcasting and film, and began his communications career in radio and television as a reporter, assignment editor, anchor, and news director in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He eventually worked in public relations for technology, trade associations, energy firms, and other agencies for seven years until getting into healthcare, first working for Blue Cross Blue Shield in Virginia as the head of public relations. He eventually moved to New Jersey in 2001 to pursue a job with CentraState.
From his experience in the news industry, Goss said he gained a thorough understanding of how the government operates. The issues that are important to him are controlling expenses, business development, and bringing more state aid to the township. He told the council that he would look into consolidation with another town, improve communication, and would work hard to reduce property taxes, although that would probably take a matter of years. He suggested the township develop a multi-year public/private plan for business development, and also that the township lobby to state lawmakers for state aid. He told council he would be interested in running in November for the seat.
Councilman George Borek asked how, given his background, he could help improve communication between council and the residents, Goss recalled two political figures in Tulsa — one, a Republican mayor, and the other a Democrat who went on to become the former chief of staff for President Lyndon B. Johnson. The mayor would always let someone finish what he or she was saying and was always polite, he said, and the former chief of staff always returned reporters’ phone calls.
Andrew Hersh. Andrew Hersh, who has lived in the township for three-and-a-half years, is a vice president with Marsh USA.
Hersh grew up in Maryland. Both of his parents were in social work. His mother retired as part of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and his father worked with the mentally challenged, helping to place them into jobs.
Hersh, who has a three-year-old son, Benjamin, has a bachelors degree in logistics from Penn State University. His background is in supply-chain management, shared services, cost reduction, and risk management. When he came to Marsh, he helped companies and entities run safer business by identifying risks and mitigating them. He led risk consulting in the Northeast and very recently began working with client relationships with Fortune 500 companies.
“Really, the two things I can do well is manage costs and also reduce the risks on the large projects we’re engaging in, and help make sure that what people fear doesn’t become reality, and that we can execute without those fears becoming reality,” Hersh said about what he can bring to West Windsor.
Hersh told the council that at 34 he has already risen to the role of a vice president because “I’m a bridge builder — people like me because I bring the community together.”
Hersh is currently the president of the central New Jersey chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association, and has done charity work with Mercer Alliance to End Homelessness as well as participate in Toys for Tots.
Hersh says he believes West Windsor can maintain or improve its high quality of life at a lower cost of living. “That goes into the school system, what we do in the community, and the activities. We really can do more for less. There are things in our capital projects budget which can be delayed because they’re nice-to-haves and not need-to-haves in this economy.”
Whether or not he is selected for the seat, Hersh says he is likely to run in November for the seat. For him, property taxes are a big issue, and “we just need to make sure we strike the balance,” he says. His work required him to be involved in budgeting and planning, and he says he can bring that knowledge to council.
Joseph Jensen, who has lived here for 10 years, also has two children — a daughter who graduated last year from High School North and is now attending Seton Hall University, and a son, a sophomore at North. Jensen, an engineer for Pfizer, also has background in construction and management and in dealing with labor unions, various construction entities, and with working on and developing contracts. He has also coached the local Babe Ruth 15s.
Jensen was also a candidate for an open school board seat vacated over the summer by Stan Katz. He said he is able to donate more of his time to the township now that his two children are older and he feel he can contribute because of his background in dealing with development, building, and budgeting issues, including half a billion dollars worth of construction projects. “You need to know how to break things down, and you need to know how to analyze them because without that, you can’t really get to a good solution,” Jensen says.
While he says he feels major contentious issues, like redevelopment, may have prompted the large pool of candidates, he just wants to help. “There are times when you say I want to do something, and there are times you say I feel compelled to do something,” he says. “I guess you would say this is not something I wanted to do, but I felt compelled to do it.”
Michael Mastro, a resident of the township since 1974, has had prior experience in West Windsor government. From 1983 to 1988, he served two terms on what was then the Township Committee, including terms as deputy mayor and then mayor, and also served on the planning board and as the chairman of the zoning board.
His father worked many jobs in Brooklyn, and his mother was a businesswoman. Mastro has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Long Island University. Mastro, who is retired, worked as an engineer with Bell System for 35 years. Originally living in Brooklyn with his wife, Marie, who was a teacher in the WW-P school district, Mastro moved to West Windsor 35 years ago because the couple had three children, and the family needed more room.
Mastro says he felt he had a lot of experience and that “if they’re looking for someone who didn’t need any training, I could just jump in and fill the spot.” When Mastro first came to the town, the farming community consisted of only 9,”000 residents. Now, with the population approaching 30,”000, Mastro says he has watched the township go through a lot of change.
Among the biggest issues facing the township, he says, is keeping the tax rate stable and maintaining the good quality of life people currently enjoy. He said development is also a big issue and that the council should make sure the town is developed with people in mind, and with minimal costs to the taxpayers.
During his time serving in West Windsor, Mastro told the council during his interview, he spearheaded the effort to get the senior center constructed because the seniors were meeting at the firehouse, but the fire company was growing and was no longer able to allow them to meet there. He said he also worked in getting sidewalks in many of the township’s residential developments. During his tenure, the township also acquired the first hook and ladder at the Princeton Junction firehouse.
Mastro said he had not decided whether he would run for election in November if chosen for the seat.
Alison Miller. Before the interviews began, Alison Miller dropped out of the process, telling council she felt that it was important for council to include members with a variety of backgrounds. After seeing how many people with varied experiences applied, she said she felt there were people “whose hearts burn more strongly than mine” for a chance to serve.
Bob Murray also has had a wealth of experience with West Windsor government, as a two-term mayor, as well as deputy mayor and member of the Township Committee from the late 1980s through the early 1990s.
Murray, who owns a management consulting firm, R.E.M. Associates, in Princeton, says the next six months will be critical for three reasons — moving the redevelopment plan forward, the economy and the stimulus funding, and the budget process. “That’s going to take a lot of work by a lot of people, and to be one person down during that period is going to be tough,” he said. “I’ve been there, done that, and I’ve got the kind of experience, and I think I could be helpful. I have no desire and intention to fill that seat permanently.”
A resident of the township for more than 37 years, Murray and his wife Kathleen have two sons, both of whom went through the WW-P school district in the late 1980s. Murray’s father was an auto parts dealer, and his mother worked for a wholesale lumber firm.
Murray holds a bachelors degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Widener University. In addition to his mayoral experience, Murray also served on the Planning Board, Zoning Board, served as police commissioner, and also serves on the Friends of West Windsor Open Space (FOWWOS). He also chairs the Juvenile Conference Committee.
He told the council during his interview that officials also need to work hard at getting the township’s fair share of the federal stimulus aid. He also said that while the council “got a lot of work done, you’ve only scratched the surface,” when it comes to redevelopment. Nonetheless, he said council should be commended because officials were trying to work on a plan for the train station in the late 1980s and early 1990s while he was serving, and at that time, they could not get it done.
Murray said many members of the public think that the project will be completely built immediately over the next two years, but that people need to realize that it is a 20 to 30-year process.
Julia Peterson, who has lived in the township for three years, said she moved to West Windsor from northern Virginia because of two reputable ballet schools located in Princeton, good academic schools, and her job. Her oldest daughter finished college and is working in IT marketing in Boston. Her second daughter graduated from the WW-P district last year and is now attending Indiana University.
Peterson was raised on Long Island. Her mother was a school teacher, and her father owned a construction business. Peterson, who is in product development and quality assurance in the textile industry, attended college at Syracuse University, but transferred to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, where she earned her associate’s degree. After she got married and moved to Cambridge, MA, she earned her bachelors of science at Northeastern. Her husband, David, works in chemical safety.
She told the council her employment requires her to turn others’ ideas into reality, and that she has to ensure the clothing is styled properly, is done on time, and comes in on budget. “I’ve always been in middle management,” she said. “I’ve always carried a lot of the weight.”
Since moving to West Windsor, she became involved with Womanspace. She also brought a hands-on science program to the district, she says. She also helped bring in a foreign language program at the elementary level. “Bringing science and language to students at an early age is imperative.”
Peterson said the most important issue to her is that she believes “we have to do some development in the town center.”
“I think it has to be easier for people to be able to commute to their places of business,” she said. “The parking situation is not acceptable. We’re a very wealthy community, yet our downtown is looking a little rundown. We want to be a desirable community. We want to maintain our property values. I think both of those things would help us do that.”
She also told the council that she believes the tax rate is very high. She told the council that if she is seated, she would seek election in November.
John Nuzzo, who has lived in the township for nearly four years, moved to West Windsor to open up It’s a Grind coffeehouse in Plainsboro with his brother-in-law, also his business partner. Nuzzo grew up in Brooklyn. His mother was a homemaker, and his father worked for the New York City Department of Sanitation. He earned his degree in accounting and business from St. Francis College in Brooklyn and got married in 1972. For 31 years, he worked for an electrical construction company.
After he retired, he and his wife, Deborah, who serves on the board of directors for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in East Brunswick, were involved in fundraising for the JDRF while in Connecticut. “I’ve been very much involved in the areas I lived,” says Nuzzo. “I think it’s important as a resident and taxpayer to be involved in the community you live in, especially in today’s day and age.” He says his brother-in-law, who moved here 14 years ago, suggested opening the business in the WW-P area because of the school system, so Nuzzo made the move. “I think it’s just a wonderful area to bring up children,” he says.
William Usab has lived in West Windsor for 11 years and has four daughters, two of whom are still in the WW-P school district. He and his wife own a Keller Williams Realty agency. Usab has a masters and Ph.D from MIT, has worked at United Tech Research, and has taught at Purdue University. He quit engineering and went into real estate because “I wanted to be out around people.”
Usab also said high property taxes were a concern of his, but that he also likes that the town is blended, much like his family. He said he likes to see his Indian daughters doing American things and vice versa. He also said that developing the transit village, and moving the project forward was very important. He said from his experience, the next generations need places to eat, easy access to transit, and are not necessarily interested in buying into a suburban development.
There is a big demographic moving from northern New Jersey, and many of them are moving here for the school system and for the diverse culture. But, some of the most affluent in the township are paying $20,”000 a year in taxes, and many people move out once their children graduate. High-end jobs are also moving out of the township, and there is a higher need for rental property, he said. He said officials need to find a way to bring environmentally clean companies into the town to reduce the tax base. He also said the township would benefit from research-spinoff companies associated with universities, like Princeton.
When asked about his opinion on school children in the redevelopment area, he said he thinks the enrollment will drop in the school system, which will be balanced out with the growth of units from the transit village.
