email GaraLobell@nac.net
We hope everyone had a safe, fun and Happy Halloween. Greg's daughter enjoyed a Halloween party and Stefanie's children enjoyed trick-or-treating and the annual Halloween parade (Jake was a lobster and Madison was a princess). The weather could not have been better. So many fantastic costumes and the kids had a terrific evening!
We had the privilege to walk with Senator Christopher Bateman and Paula Marasco, Somerset County Republican Executive Committee in District 6 on Saturday. Thank you both so much for your support and advice. It was a beautiful afternoon and we truly enjoyed the company and great conversation.
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We were happy to answer some concerns and questions expressed by a few residents , we also spoke to residents that we missed when we were in the development a few weeks ago. We would like to thank all of you for your time and words of encouragement. If we have missed personally speaking with any of you and you would like to speak with us, please email us at GaraLobell@nac.net. We will be more then happy to stop by and answer any questions or concerns you may have.
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Thank you for the positive reception you are giving to the Republican candidates for Borough Council, Stefanie Rispoli Gara and Gregory Lobell, and they visit your homes. Their message is positive and upbeat and they are motivated my a deep concern for the direction in which our borough is headed. It is, however, time to set the record straight and provide some information to you about the "power" of the mayor's office. As the mayor of a community with the Borough form of government sometimes known as "weak mayor/strong council" as cited in NJSA 40A:60-1, my powers are limited. I preside over council meetings setting the agenda and maintaining order and decorum. I can make appointments to the Planning Board without council approval. All other appointments to boards and commissions must have council approval. The only time the mayor votes is when there is a tie among the council members. All other powers are given to the council. Many positive ideas that I've put forth, such as strengthening the housing ordinance and restructuring the council meetings to increase productivity, have been ignored, voted down, or stalled because of the political makeup. The only way for Raritan to move forward and begin to be pro-active rather than reactive, which has been the present council's posture, is for you to elect Stefanie Gara and Greg Lobell to the council. Having them and Republican Councilman Pat Marago working together will enable us to balance the council and encourage bipartisan cooperation. We will pass a stronger housing ordinance to deal with overcrowding and we will remove the health benefits that are being taken by some council members. We will also address other quality of life issues such as traffic throughout the borough.
Please elect Stefanie Gara and Gregory Lobell to the Raritan Borough Council on November 4th because RARITAN DESERVES BETTER.
Jo-Ann Liptak
Mayor
Raritan deserves an honest debate each and every time the Council spends taxpayer money or makes or rescinds rules that affect all Raritan residents. With the current make-up of the Council, however, the 5-1 Democratic majority does not produce much debate. I often feel as if decisions are made long before any official meeting. When this happens, we all lose. Electing Gara and Lobell would produce a 3-3 Council split, thus eliminating the influence of political parties, and forcing all six Councilpersons to enter into an honest discussion about each and every decision. That is the "government by the people and for the people" for which our forefathers gave their lives in order to protect.
I also believe that Raritan should institute a public meeting system in which the first monthly meeting of any given month is an agenda meeting, and the second meeting is the business meeting. Under such a system, the Council would not only have the time to properly discuss each decision with however much debate the decision properly deserves, but the public would be able to observe why each decision was made, and who stands on which side of a particular debate. Please be skeptical of any elected official who is unwilling to publicly stand behind his or her position. When government is secret, we all lose. Despite that, our current Council voted this idea down this year when introduced by Mayor Liptak, not surprisingly by a 5-1 majority.
I truly believe that Stefanie Gara and Greg Lobell will bring new ideas and a sense of openness and debate to the Raritan Borough Council. Gara and Lobell support the new meeting plan, as well as the enforcement of many other regulations which have historically, and mistakenly, not received close enough oversight. All Raritan residents deserve to have their government conducted as openly and honestly as possible. Please vote Gara and Lobell, Row 2, on November 4th.
Pasquale Marago
Raritan Councilman
With only a few days left until Election Day, we are in the final stretch of our campaign for Raritan Borough Council. We will soon achieve a major goal of our campaign, visiting all 2566 homes in Raritan. We believe that it is important to learn the concerns of all Raritan residents, and not only those who are registered to vote for a particular political party. With less then 200 hundred homes left, we will fulfill our goal this week. We’d like to thank all the residents for their support, great conversation, and offers of a cool drink on the hot August days when we started. We learned that residents' concerns echo the concerns on which our platform is based. The common thread was that YOU are looking for better representation from YOUR elected officials. Our plan for Raritan has always been steadfast: amending and enforcing the Housing Ordinance; eliminating health benefits received by councilpersons; traffic calming and safety; forming a grants committee and utilizing the county grant writer, which has been ignored to this point.
We have only produced facts, supported by official documentation. This is something our opponents cannot do; instead they are trying to refute the truth with fear tactics. Is this because they have no plan, or do they feel that their incumbency is their automatic right to re-election?
We understand the frustration voiced by many of you. We have attended Borough council meetings to voice our concerns and have been frustrated as well. The Council’s inability to make decisions and their willingness to push issues off to the next meeting seems to have become business as usual. This is not the type of representation Raritan can prosper from and we vow to be expedient with the agenda and investigate issues quickly and thoroughly.
Our journey through Raritan is almost complete. Enter www.Raritan-Online.com to review our campaign and send us an e-mail about anything on your mind. Your concerns are our concerns. We will be very proud to represent you on the Raritan Borough Council and promise to give you the honest and competent representation you deserve.
Vote Column 2, Gara and Lobell November 4th.
Because. . . . Raritan deserves better!
We visited residents on Somerset St., Codington St, La Grange St., Elmer St. and completed District 4. Many residents would like to see "SLOW children at play" signs put up throughout the District. Residents on Codington St. have requested 2 or 3 hour parking signs put up to help combat the train station overflow onto there street. Several residents do not have driveways and it is difficult to find a parking spot when they come home in the evening. Many residents on E. Somerset St. are concerned with speeding and would like to see more police presence in the area during the morning and evening rush hours.
We had the privilege to walk with Congressman, Rodney Frelinghuysen on Sunday, October 26, in District 5 (Lywood St. and Ashton St.) Thank you so much for your support and advise. Raritan Borough is very lucky to have such an active Congressman working so hard for all us. Your dedication to this Borough is greatly appreciated. (We will definitely be taking you up on that dinner at Espo's later next month) We could not have asked for a better day to walk. Many residents were outside enjoying the day and we would like to thank all of you for your words of encouragement.
Today has been a very busy day for us, we re-visited residents throughout District 1 (Canal St., Glaser Ave., Thompson St., Loomis St. to name a few) as well as District 5 (Woodmere St., Colby Ave., Arnold Ave., Obert Dr., to name a few). Now that we have completed the entire Borough, we are working hard to re-visit many of you that we may have missed on our first time around. Please do not hesitate to contact us GaraLobell@nac.net if we have missed you and you would like the opportunity to speak with us regarding any issue.
We have been very impressed by the many residents we have met that will be voting for the first time this year. All are very excited to finally have this opportunity to be part of the voting process. We visited residents on Thompson, Anderson, Second, and Raritan Ave. in District 4 to name a few. Residents are concerned with speeding and are looking forward to seeing some traffic calming ideas implemented on many of these roads. Several residents in the District (as well as many others throughout the Borough) would like to see what the Borough and Recreation could do to accommodate getting a larger, deeper swimming pool. We have advised many that this is something that would have to be carefully looked into as to insurances, costs, maintenance etc. If this project is feasible, we could look into different Grant opportunities to see if we could obtain funding for such a project.
We are looking forward to walking with Congressman, Rodney Frelinghuysen this Saturday, October 25th and Senator Christopher Bateman Saturday, November 1st. If we have missed personally speaking with any of you and you would like to speak with us, please email us at GaraLobell@nac.net. We will be more then happy to stop by and answer any questions or concerns you may have
It has been a very busy week. We have visited residents on Elizabeth, Riverside, DeCicco and Richards to name a few, in District 5. As in many other areas of the District, residents would like to see more road maintenance with cracks and potholes being addressed. Our DPW has the necessary equipment for these repairs. We must start being more proactive with our roads to insure the longevity rather then continually watch them deteriorate to the point of total replacement. We visited residents on Gaston Ave. and First Ave. in District 2; we continue to hear concerns about traffic and speeding. We have also visited residents on Bell, Sherman and Cornell in District 4. Once again, the major concerns are speeding and traffic as well as health benefits to Council members. It is imperative that we revisit the traffic study and work closely with the Chief of Police as well as our Borough Engineer to get a plan together and implement that plan for the safety of all residents.
We attended a Council meeting on Tuesday, October 14. It was interesting that an issue from our blog was addressed in District 5. Safety on our roadways should always be a priority. The Council will be replacing the signage on Lynwood and DPW will be taking an inventory of substandard signage throughout the Borough. Several residents on their continual work on the Hidden Pond issues acknowledged Mayor Liptak and Council President Licht. Councilwomen Wilson made a suggestion on a workshop that will allow the Borough and residents to work on a solution.
We have been running a positive, factual campaign; however, our opponents would have you believe that we are dishonest about their records. Instead, it is they who are misleading the voters. Specifically, our opponents have flatly denied that they receive discretionary medical benefits funded by the Raritan taxpayers. Now it is up to the Raritan taxpayers to decide who is being honest and who is not being honest.
Through an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request, Raritan Borough has disclosed that Councilman Laggini, Councilwoman Carra, and Council President Licht all receive family medical benefits through Raritan Borough, at a cost of $1,196 per month per family. This is a cost of $43,056 per year born directly by the taxpayer. Even worse is the fact that each Council member has the opportunity to purchase benefits elsewhere, just as the rest of us must do, but, instead, choose to saddle the Raritan taxpayer with the bill! Our opponents swear that the Council is required to accept the medical benefits; however, no other member of the governing body accepts medical benefits at the taxpayers’ expense. The truth is that Councilpersons Laggini, Carra, and Licht have made a conscious decision to ease their own personal finances at the expense of the Raritan taxpayers, yet Councilpersons Laggini and Carra have campaigned on a platform of fiscal responsibility, and Council President Licht serves as treasurer to this questionable campaign. Knowing these facts, how can they be trusted in the future? This type of dishonesty is surprising, even from would-be career politicians.
The Gara and Lobell ticket will demand better for Raritan. Borough Department heads will be required to submit regular budget status reports to the Council, shared services with surrounding communities will be pursued, and housing and rental ordinances will be enforced. These quality of life issues will be addressed to guarantee Raritan's future. Raritan can no longer afford self-serving politicians, and only Raritan voters can fix the dishonesty by voting Gara and Lobell on November 4th.
The time has come to be proactive rather than reactive, and to lead by example. We Stefanie Gara and Greg Lobell are those leaders. Please learn more about us and our campaign at www.Raritan-online.com, where we have posted a copy of the OPRA report on our personal pages. The report details the astounding $108,000 worth of medical benefits that our opponents have received directly from all of you. Wouldn’t you have preferred to keep that money for your own families?
We welcome all comments and suggestions, and we hope to meet each and every voter before Election Day. Look for us at your front door. Remember, a vote for Gara and Lobell on November 4th is a vote for Honesty in Raritan government. Raritan deserves better than politicians who lie about the benefits they receive at taxpayer expense.
Stefanie Gara
Greg Lobell
Republican Candidates for Borough Council
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| Click to view OPRA Request | |
We attended the Walter Mannheimer reception on October 2. It was a great fund raising event and we were able to meet so many wonderful people.
We visited 171 residents in Districts 2 & 5. Many residents on Valpeck Avenue and Weiss Terrace would like to see the Borough get control over the illegal dumping of bulk garbage. This is a problem throughout the Borough and is costing each taxpayer. We believe it is time to work with DPW to see what can be implemented to help get this situation under control. We asked all residents to please be aware of anyone "dropping" off garbage, if possible get a licenses plate number and notify the police department immediately. Speeding and traffic are major concerns for residents on First Ave as well as the adjoining streets. Again, we would like to revisit the traffic study that was put out a few years ago and see if any traffic calming measures can be implemented at this time at a cost we can afford.
We had the privilege to walk with Raritan native Somerset County Freeholder Jack Ciattarelli in District 2 (Meehan and Weiss Terrace.) It was a beautiful day and we truly appreciated all the time you spent with us. Thank you for all the support and advice.
With the election less than 30 days away, we want you to be assured that we are ready for the challenge to represent you on our Borough Council. We have proactive ideas that will benefit Raritan and all it’s citizens as a whole. With your support we can get control of our town again and improve the quality of life for all.
We visited residents on Brooklyn, New York, Plainfield and Rhine Blvd. in District 5. Many residents throughout the district are very concerned about traffic, speeding and the safety of our children at bus stops. Working together with our Borough Engineer and Chief of Police we would like to revisit the traffic study that was put out a few years ago and see if any traffic calming measures can be implemented at this time at a cost we can afford. One item that we have already addressed is the new in-street pedestrian crosswalk signs on Somerset St. and First Ave. Greg came before the council requesting these signs for the safety of all residents. He also provided all necessary estimates to help expedite the process and yet it still took months before these signs were in place. Safety issues must be acted on immediately not when it is convenient. We promise you, we will always prioritize and give immediate attention to all safety issues. Street signage is also a safety issue to many residents, several are concerned that the fire or rescue departments may not be able to immediately find them do to poor or illegible street signs. We would like to see if we could obtain funding for replacement of many of ageing signs.
During campaigning we received a couple questions that were out of the norm. The questions were about signage. Not parking or street signs this time but our campaign signs. One question was "What's going on with your signs? We see them one day they're gone the next, then back up the following day only to be gone again." Well we expressed with regret that we have become victim to some signs thieves, a reprehensible childish act that we will not feed into. When asked, "Who is responsible?" We assured residents that the Police and Prosecutors office have been notified. If you should see anyone taking our signs please contact the police department. A couple of residents displayed feelings of anger and disbelief of how petty some can be. Our answer is to keep focused and stay on track with our campaign, leaving the professionals to get to the bottom of this issue. We thank you for your concerns about our campaign, our voices will be heard with or without signs.
Lastly, 3 different residents who have put our signs in their front yard were contacted by one of our opponents who asked them to remove our sign. We express regret that people have been put in this situation and we are dismayed by this kind of petty behavior.
We decided to cut our campaigning short this weekend in order to enjoy the plentiful events hosted in honor of Sgt. John Basilone. We enjoyed the 19th Annual John Basilone Memorial Concert with our families on Saturday evening. Sunday, we put on the rain gear, grabbed our umbrellas, got out the chairs and headed off to our favorite spot for the parade, in front of the Raritan Bakery. Although at times it rained hard, the parade is an event we would never miss. It is amazing that the Basilone Parade is the only annual parade in the U.S.A. dedicated to a war hero. Another great fact is that our 3rd graders in John F. Kennedy School thought of honoring Sgt. John Basilone with an annual parade.
We visited residents on Lynwood, Perlee, Prospect and Torlish Gate in District 5. Several residents would like to see better signage around bus stops, also street signs are difficult to read do to ageing and should be replaced. Residents are concerned with cut through traffic and speeding on Ashton and Lynwood. Cut through traffic seems to be an issue in many locations throughout the Borough. We would like to work with our Chief of Police as well as the County to see a proactive approach implemented throughout the Borough to help combat this problem.
Existing events like the Basilone Parade and St. Ann's Festa are enjoyed by all in town, and many who now live out of town like coming back to be part of these events. We'd like to see a "community day" held in spring and also a couple fund raising events like pancake breakfasts or spaghetti dinners. Bernard's residents raised over $10,000.00 for their fire department and seniors holding a Community Day event.
Residents also made suggestions that they would like the Borough to reach out to J&J and see if they could enjoy the beautiful outdoor walk path provided to employees on the Ortho properties. The path would be a nice privilege for the residents to use for daily exercise and pleasure.
We visited residents on Cardinal Way, Vanderveer Road and Hidden Pond Court in District 3. The residents in the Hidden Pond had several concerns. The development is located in Raritan Borough however when the properties where built it was easier for them to tie into the Bridgewater Township sewer system. Currently these residents are paying Raritan Borough taxes (which include sewer) but they are also receiving and paying a sewer bill from Bridgewater Township. These residents are paying two municipalities for one sewer system and are eager to see some relief from the Borough. Hidden Pond Court is currently a private road, accessed like a public road. The residents and homeowners association have been working with the borough in hopes to make the road public. Residents also feel its time for their properties to be reassessed. We have advised the residents to contact the Tax and Finance Officer to see when that development is scheduled for such an assessment.
Thank you to Assembly Women Denise Coyle for walking with us in District 5 (Ashton St., Danbury Ave., and Thompson St.) Your support and dedication to us as well as the Borough of Raritan is greatly appreciated. It was such a pleasure meeting so many residents on this beautiful fall day. We are ecstatic that so many of you have taken the time to learn about our campaign and issues even prior to meeting us. It is obvious that this web site is a very effective tool for those who want to track both parties in this campaign and see who has an actual plan for the future of Raritan. It is vital when making a decision that all the facts are readily available to you and how each issue must be dealt with. We hear your concerns and your suggestions and we are ready to take on the responsibility to represent you on our Borough Council.
We visited 197 homes in District 3. Residents expressed concern regarding the appearance of our downtown. We discussed our plans for a Raritan Borough Grants Committee. We are confident that this committee will not only produce the funds needed to help continue the downtown beautification but can fund many other projects. (i.e. Dog Park on First Avenue, Road replacement/repairs, Recreation, etc.) Several residents made some suggestions regarding evening activities on our Main Street. We discussed that we are Chamber members and that the discussion has come up in earlier Chamber meetings for restaurants and coffee shops to have little cafés outside. Many were very receptive to this idea and added they would enjoy patronizing there own downtown instead of having to go outside the Borough for that small town cozy atmosphere. This can draw more café style businesses to the Borough as well as bring in business from out-of-towners who also would enjoy this type of atmosphere. We expressed our feelings that this is the direction we would also like to see our downtown strive for as well.
This upcoming week is very exciting to us. We will be walking with Assembly Women Denise Coyle and County Freeholder Jack Ciattarelli. We are also looking forward to attending the 19th John Basilone Memorial Concert with the Quantico Marine Corps. Band at Raritan Valley Community Collage and of course the John Basilone Parade.
We visited the remaining homes in District 6 (Brentwood, Helene, Arnold area). Property taxes continue to be the major issue. Several residents expressed concern that Colby and Berwick are in need of road repairs. Several would like to see the Borough more proactive with preventative road maintenance (i.e. tarring the cracks and patching). We discussed that the Borough Engineer is working on a 10year road map/plan for the Borough. Concerns were also raised about speeding and cut thru traffic throughout the development.
We again had the privilege to campaign with Bob Zaborowski and Peter Palmer, Somerset County Freeholders in District 3 (Bluebird, Esposito, Robin, Cardinal, Melanie, Renzi) we heard echoing concerns regarding increased property taxes. Most residents were not aware that 3 Council members are receiving health benefits on the taxpayer's expense costing the Borough $43,056.00 this year. We explained the State mandates any employer with 50 or more employees must offer benefits, but does not require the employer to pay for them. Again, we feel Council members should have the right to purchase into the plan but not on our dollar.
We would like to extend a huge "Thank You" to Bruce Doorly, he has helped this campaign have a more open line of communication to every resident regardless of which party they are affiliated with. We feel this has created a larger and more open line of communication for everyone. We would like to thank all the residents that have shared concerns and suggestions to us not only in person but online as well.
We attended a council meeting Tuesday night 9/9/08. The Council had agreed to the landscaping work on the backside of the Municipal Building. The Borough Engineer, Stan Schreck was generous to provide the landscaping design pro-bono. The description and pictures the Mayor and Council showed were very nice and create an inviting atmosphere. Greg had suggested that the Borough contact the Vo-tech's landscaping and design class and see if they would be interested in designing the front portion of the building (facing Wall Street). We would like to thank Mayor Liptak for taking the initiative to contact Vo-tech; they were very excited and have agreed to take on the project. We are both very happy to see the municipality using local services to help our community. This type of outreach will benefit both the community and the students.
We will be completing District 6 this evening. It has been such a pleasure meeting so many of the residents. The majority of the concerns for residents on Arnold, Berwick, Brentwood, Colby, Tysley and many other streets in the district are the continual increases in property taxes. Most families today are on tight or fixed budgets and every year the taxes continue to increase causing financial stresses. Two residents expressed sincere concern. "Should the taxes continue at the rate they are going we will have no other option then to sell our homes" It is a scary thought to work your entire life, live here for years and now when you should be enjoying retirement you are on the verge of having to leave the home and town you have grown to love. We told many residents we hear you and understand your concerns, we can not promise that we can lower your taxes but we do have several ideas on how to help stabilize them without losing the services that you deserve and expect. Other residents have expressed concerns and suggestions about having scheduled street sweeping, county library usage and parking issues. These are legitimate concerns and once elected they will be investigated and addressed.
We would like to extend our thoughts and prayers to all those families who lost loves ones on this the 7th anniversary of 9/11. Many people who died on that very day were not originally in those buildings, they were people like you and I serving in Police and Fire Departments responding and risking their lives to help a fellow American. Many paid the price with their lives as well. Today we honor all these people.
We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to Mayor Joann Liptak, Dale Floiro, Paula Marasco, Denise Coyle, Bob Zaborowski, Peter Palmer, Pat Walsh and many others from the Borough of Raritan and Somerset County who attended our fundraiser this Sunday. It was a great show of support and excitement for the Gara & Lobell ticket. We would also like to send a big THANK YOU to Spain 92 for an exceptional reception. Following our fundraiser we had the privilege to campaign with Bob Zaborowski, Somerset County Freeholder, in District 3. Thank you for the many words of encouragement and advise. We look forward to campaigning with you again next week. A special congratulations to Rich DeLuca on a couple of priceless t-shirts, we truly appreciate your support.
Began District 6 this week. We visited 149 homes. Thank you to all the residents who so graciously extended ice water to us on this very hot and humid week. Once again many residents major concern was the downtown area. It again proves to us how vital amending and enforcing the Housing Ordinance is. Residents are upset over the NJ Transit situation and property taxes. We explained that we cannot reduce taxes however once elected we can make sure that the Municipality will have full budget accountability to ensure that all tax dollars are being spent wisely. Several residents on Woodmere Street are very happy with DPW for keeping up with the maintenance of Green Acres. Their hard work is greatly appreciated; all have enjoyed their yards with minimal mosquito problems. We look forward to visiting many more residents in the upcoming week.
We visited 304 homes in District 1 this week. Again most residents largest concerns are our downtown area. Many residents are saying, "We are ready for change". We have assured them that we are the change they are looking for.
Our first two days we visited a 111 homes in District 1. Although we were very nervous many residents on Glaser Avenue and Granetz Place were very receptive and welcoming. Many residents seem to have the same concerns "When is someone going to help clean up the downtown area?" We elaborated on the fact that this was one of major concerns as well. All and all the first two days prove to us that many residents are echoing our gravest concerns.
