Bryan Maher, Lauren Kohn, and Gary Zohn have united under the banner “Strong Leaders for West Windsor” in the November 8 non-partisan election for Township Council. All three candidates stand behind their career experiences in the financial industry, and they plan to be proactive in reviewing fiscal policies and analysis, the town budget, contract negotiation, and redevelopment.
Kohn could not be reached for comment, but the press release announcing the slate indicated she is in favor of examining current procedures for development applications to ensure that sustainable tenants are drawn in and vacancy is lowered. “Our goal is to ensure that retail and office space will be occupied quickly after construction is completed,” her statement says.
Meanwhile Maher has voiced his opinions on tax increases and the transit village project at recent town hall, council, and planning board meetings. Maher said each person on his ticket has a reputation of leading by example, acting swiftly, and getting things done.
Last weekend Maher reviewed the fiscal impact analysis study recently presented by Carson Bise, a consultant hired by the township administration and Intercap CEO Steve Goldin (see story, page 13).
At the Council meeting on Tuesday, September 6, Maher shared some of his own data analysis and spreadsheet projections showing outcomes where the transit village project might be a potential loss for the township and the school district. “We are emphatic that everything possible should be done to make the Transit Village tax-positive. There must be no additional tax burden on our residents,” Maher said in a statement.
Maher has lived in West Windsor for 15 years. He says while his family has enjoyed the quality of life in the area, Route 571 and the lack of improvement there has been his greatest disappointment.
Maher attended Villanova in the early 1980s before going to Clemson University and earning a bachelor’s in financial management and developing an interest in the gaming and leisure industry. He was recruited by the Trump Organization, becoming an expense analyst in 1990. Maher’s job with Trump brought him to Atlantic City, where he met his future wife.
After briefly returning to New Jersey Maher headed south again, enrolling in an MBA program at Georgia State University in Atlanta. He worked as a financial advisor for Dean Witter Reynolds while attending graduate school. After completing his MBA in strategic management and entrepreneurship in 1994 Maher asked to be relocated to Dean Witter’s New York offices. The family moved to West Windsor in 1996. Maher, a father of three, said aside that from schools and the area he grew up in, his wife’s family living in southern Jersey was a main consideration for moving here.
Gary Zohn grew up in North Jersey, where his mother was a homemaker and his father a salesman. With a penchant for finance, Zohn graduated from Temple University in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree with honors in marketing and distributive education.
He began his career as a broker on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and worked at Citigroup from 1986 to 2006. Zohn then joined Hamilton Executions as an institutional floor broker and in 2009 he began working in Hamilton’s NYSE Euronext division.
Zohn and his family have lived in West Windsor for just over 14 years. His three children, a 19-year-old daughter and two sons, 17 and 13, have grown up here.
Zohn, who has made the daily commute to Manhattan since 1997, said he would like to see ratables for retail coming into the transit village. “The InterCap deal could be very good for the town if it is tax-positive,” he said.
Zohn’s interest on behalf of commuters leads to the issue of West Windsor’s abandoned compost site on Alexander Road being converted to surface parking for commuter use. “This could add up to 600 new parking spaces for our residents,” Zohn said.
