- October 6, 2021
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- Posted by: admin
WOODBRIDGE, NJ — This Nov. 2, there will be an election for Woodbridge town council; mail-in ballots already arrived in homes last week. Current Councilmembers Nancy Bader Drumm, Howie Bauer, Cory Spillar, Viru Patel and Debbie Meehan are asking voters to re-elect them.
They are all Democrats and seen as allies of Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac, also a Democrat.
They are challenged by Republicans, whose No. 1 criticism of McCormac and the current Council/Planning Board is that they are allowing too much development and new construction in Woodbridge.
The Republicans running are John Vrtaric, Paul Lund, John Masculin and Rocco Genova.
As you get ready to vote, here is a rundown of all the candidates and where they stand:
Woodbridge’s First Ward Council seat (Woodbridge proper/Sewaren): Democrat Nancy Bader Drumm seeks re-election, challenged by Republican John Vrtaric
Drumm has lived in Woodbridge proper for her entire life. For thirteen years, she operated a successful small business from her home as she raised her children. If re-elected, this will be her third term on the council.
I have been a Ward 1 Councilwoman for two terms now and I have learned so much about how the government works,” said Drumm. “I feel strongly that my experience has prepared me for another term as Council representative.”
For the past five years, Drumm has also sat on the Planning Board; she was appointed by McCormac. She is on Woodbridge’s Green Team Advisory Committee; is a member of the Historical Association of Woodbridge Township and works at the Woodbridge Chamber of Commerce.
There are many areas that I have concentrated on being on Council for my last two terms,” she said. Bringing new businesses in to support the new developments in the downtown area will ensure success. Along with our Administration, that has already started. Several new businesses have opened and several more will be opening in the near future. Our Downtown Main Street is getting a cozy downtown feel bustling with businesses that have been here for many years along with our new businesses.
Vehicular and pedestrian safety will always be a top priority, especially due to the growth in the downtown area,” she continued. “Safe roads and pedestrian crossings are paramount. The quality of life in our town shows due to many accomplishments that have come to fruition. We have new schools, we support our troops, provide celebrations of our Township’s diversity via events throughout the year, festivals, summer concerts, sports programs, food drives and senior living centers. The Sewaren area of my ward is getting a brand-new dog park, an expanded marina and complex as well as just had a grand re-opening of the renovated Sewaren library. In addition, the rain gardens we have built, our paved road programs, flood mitigation efforts, garbage pick up and street cleaning, a new history museum and additional street lights have all added to our quality of life here. These are all new and exciting reasons why working with our Administration and council has motivated me to run for re-election.
Vrtaric owns two barber shops/salons in town and is chair of the Woodbridge Republican Party.
“In reality, the people of Woodbridge are very unhappy, and they’ve been unhappy for years,” he said. “Crime, building, traffic, you name it. There is all this this building in town and why don’t seniors citizens get a tax break? We never do. Our taxes never go down.”
“They (the McCormac Council and administration) are spending like there is no end to it,” said Vrtaric. But what have they really paid for? Nothing. Everything they did is credited or bonded. So you and I, the taxpayers, are paying for everything. And all they will tell you is the good news of the Township.”
Woodbridge’s Second Ward Council seat: Democrat Howie Bauer seeks re-election and is challenged by Republican Paul Lund, Jr.
Bauer did not get back to Patch when we asked why he seeks re-election, but Lund did.
Lund, 58, has lived in Woodbridge for his entire life. He was raised here, and lives here with his wife.
This will be Lund’s fourth time running as a Republican for the Woodbridge town council.
“I receive one of every three votes every time I run and I run every time on breaking up one-party rule, overdevelopment, over-taxing, uncovering fraud, waste and abuse,” said Lund. “If I sound a bit cynical, it’s because I am.
McCormac gets his Council teams and Board of Education teams elected with the majority of Woodbridge voters sitting home on Election Day,” continued Lund. “I suppose those folks are a bit cynical too. But, hopefully, maybe this (most recent) round of hyper-development, traffic, crime, etc. will excite enough people to begin to shift the balance of power ever so slightly.
Woodbridge’s Third Ward Council seat (Port Reading/Avenel): Democrat Cory Spillar seeks re-election; challenged by Republican John Masculin
Spillar, 47, has lived in Woodbridge his entire life and all his children graduated from Woodbridge public schools. Since 2003, he has worked as the Fire Official with Avenel Fire Prevention Bureau. He is also a retired Middlesex County correctional officer. He has been a volunteer with the Avenel Fire Company for 28 years, serving all rolls including Chief of Department in 2006 and Fire Company President from 2007-2013.
He also gives fire safety talks to children in Woodbridge schools and is known by schoolchildren as “Fireman Cory.”
If re-elected, this will be his third term on the town Council.
I am running for re-election so I can continue to provide the residents of Woodbridge Township all the great services and programs the Township has to offer,” he said. Should a resident encounter an issue or problem and needs my assistance, this is why I was put in office, and I take that responsibility very seriously.
There is no greater feeling to have an event such as the renaming of Eric Le Grand ‘Believe’ Park, in Avenel, and have Eric and his family thanking you for making it happen, in front of several hundred of our neighbors. Or to be able to watch special-needs children enjoying themselves at the new handicapped-accessible new Cypress Park in Port Reading,” he continued. “We have a great mayor, administration and council. It’s very important for not only myself, but for all of my Councilmates to make sure the residents of Woodbridge have the best quality of life they can. We try to offer so many broad services and programs for our residents so they enjoy their hometown.
But Republican Masculin paints a very different picture of life in Woodbridge today.
“I don’t like what’s going on; the town wasn’t made to be like this,” he said.
Masculin is a familiar name to those who pay attention to Woodbridge politics: In 2020, he ran for Middlesex County Freeholder (now County Commissioner) as a Republican and received 136,000 votes, a record among GOP candidates. (Middlesex County is a Democratic stronghold of New Jersey.)
This year is his first attempt running for Woodbridge Council.
Now 56, Masculin has lived in Port Reading for the past 29 years. He has a long career history working in environmental clean-up and environmental consulting. He can often be seen taking his Siberian Husky for walks around Port Reading/Avenel.
We all live in this town because we like homes, trees, grass, raising our families in open areas where we can BBQ, parks and not living on top of each other,” he said. “Cory Spillar with the Council is forcing us into an unhealthy city life. Tons of traffic, people living and crowding your lifestyle.”
I work throughout the five boroughs of New York and Philadelphia and I can’t get out of there fast enough to get home,” he continued. “And there are many people in my neighborhood who moved out of those areas in New York City to Port Reading and Avenel — which are now unfairly being subjected to the city lifestyle, again.”
“What the (current administration) is doing is taking people who have been living in a town and flipping them into a city. Tons of traffic, pollution, garbage, overpopulation, culture shock, constant loud noise and dangerous areas,” he said. “Which will eventually lead to crime, street beggars, riots, looting like NYC, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore and Minneapolis. If anyone watches the videos on TV throughout 2020, this is what clearly will happen in Woodbridge.”
Masculin also pointed to some specific issues that he said are failures of the current administration: “Take the mobile home park in Avenel. They were flooded in Ida and were sitting on contaminated waste. Those people still did not have electricity or running water as of last Friday,” he said. “The second issue is they want to build a school on the General Dynamics site on Rahway Avenue.”
Masculin said the site is contaminated “but they are looking to build a school and additional apartments on that property. You could put a lot of people’s health at risk if it’s not properly cleaned,” he said. “Third, this administration wants to build a power plant in Woodbridge. There is already one in Sewaren and Keasbey and they want to build a third one in Keasbey. It’s kind of strange because the entire Council is all Democrats and Democrats usually vote for clean energy, but then they turn around and say we need a third power plant.”
Masculin said it was his obligation to “inform the people of Woodbridge Township, especially those who reside in the Avenel and Port Reading areas, what is going on around them.”
Masculin said his goals are:
“There is no perfect answer to anything,” he said. “I am NOT promising any miracles. I will speak from the heart and be very passionate as a council member.”
Fourth Ward Council seat (Iselin): Democrat Viru Patel (incumbent). No Republican challenger filed. Patel did not return Patch’s multiple requests to tell us why voters should re-elect him.
Woodbridge’s Fifth Ward Council seat (Colonia): Democrat Debbie Meehan seeks re-election and she is challenged by Republican Rocco Genova
Meehan, who has three children, is the owner and publisher of Colonia Corner community newspaper. She has lived in Colonia for 29 years. She is seeking a third term this year.
“As the Fifth Ward Councilwoman, I am extremely involved in the Colonia community as it is where I live and have raised my family. Because of my newspaper, I have gotten to know the people of the Colonia community very well. I work with veterans; work closely with the Woodbridge Township PTOs, members of our senior community and (with) families who have a special need of community assistance.”
My passion is to help the people that live in the Colonia community – residents that are my family, my friends, my neighbors and all of the businesses that keep Colonia thriving. I have served as a voice of the community through the pages of the Corner Newspaper for twenty years and am extremely proud to be the ‘official’ voice of Colonia,” she said. It is my desire, and promise, to watch over and protect the town that I truly care about.
“One of the most important things I can do as the 5th Ward Councilwoman is to strengthen and beautify the community. There is need for improvement in our downtown and to re-occupy our vacant stores with great community ‘Buy Local’ friendly businesses. I will continue to advocate and work to improve the business climate and economic opportunity for the small businesses currently located in Colonia and for those businesses seeking to locate in our downtown business district on Inman Avenue.
The Woodbridge town clerk had no contact information on file for Genova.
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