Jackson election pits mayor against council members
JACKSON - The municipal election in Jackson consists of two slates, but it's not as simple as defining one as the "incumbents" and the other as "newcomers."
Mayor Michael Reina, seeking reelection to his fifth term, is at the top of the "Moving Jackson Forward" ticket. He's opposed by Council President Martin Flemming III, a longtime planning board member, at the top of the "Homegrown Leadership Working for Jackson" ticket.
Running alongside Reina is Scott Sargent, 58, a school board member who works as senior groundskeeper for the public works department, and Jennifer Kuhn, 43, a realtor and small business owner.
On Flemming's ticket is Councilman Andrew Kern, 54, who owns an energy management consulting firm and is seeking reelection, and Councilwoman Samara O'Neill, a 42-year-old real estate brokerage owner appointed to the council in September after serving on the zoning board.
Each seat comes with a four-year term.
Jackson elections are nonpartisan, but slates often become the de facto candidates for local Democrats or Republicans, with endorsements by the local clubs. This year, both slates are Republican-backed. The Jackson Republican Club's screening committee recommended endorsing the Flemming-Kern-O'Neill ticket, but members voted the motion down. Many instead called for a Reina-Kuhn-Sargent endorsement but the club's bylaws don't allow such a motion to come from the floor.
As a result, there was no official endorsement by the Republican club.
The Asbury Park Press interviewed each of the mayoral and council candidates by phone. Their responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.
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What about your experience, qualifications or record qualifies you for election?
FLEMMING: "This council works as a team and we've made good decisions. We started acquiring land after we raised the open space tax in the town by a penny, which residents overwhelmingly approved. We've protected a few hundred acres, and that's phenomenal."
REINA: "In my 14 years as mayor, the township has gone in a positive direction. The town is the safest it's ever been and the police department is the largest it's ever been. Financially, we're extremely stable -- even though we're concerned with the nation's economy -- and now we have ratables coming into town that will finally stabilize taxes."
KERN: "I'm proud of the ordinances we've passed. When we had bulk pick-up in the past, only code enforcement officers could issue a violation. Now, police officers can write those violations and there are way more of them around town. That's a huge quality-of-life issue we were able to address."
KUHN: "Opening up four businesses in two years, you learn how to spend your money and utilize it -- you don't rob Peter to pay Paul. I have a comprehensive education in real estate and finance, and I'm very educated in land use and zoning, which is definitely going to help. It's not common knowledge, even to a realtor."
O'NEILL: "There's been a lot of changes in Jackson over the last couple of years, and I think it's time for somebody who's different. As a layman, I sat on the zoning board and was able to identify and see there's a lot of things that are backwards. People get upset, but ultimately our hands are tied based on laws and what you're allowed to do. Education is key to processing information."
SARGENT: “I’ve been on the school board for 10 years and I’ve been on the negotiating committee. So I’ve seen every single contract that’s come across our table, so I know where the bulk of our tax dollars are going. We’ve been able to stabilize taxes for the most part, but it’s a difficult task.”
What's the top issue facing Jackson, and how do you hope to address it?
FLEMMING: "We have to redo the master plan. That's our biggest protection and the best way to try and control development. It's not about warehousing. That's market-driven, and the pendulum always swings back and forth. But we can address things like the size of houses on small properties. Nobody minds small properties, but a house should be relative to the size of the property. It's tough to put a 5,000-square-foot house on a 9,000-square-foot lot. And it becomes a safety issue when you have multiple two-and-a-half story houses so close to each other. That will ease the public's perception on what they consider overcrowding."
REINA: "Priority one is always taxes. You can't stop development: If you have land and it's approved to be developed, it's getting developed. Our plan is to leverage the tax dollars from open space so you can buy 10 times the amount of land and spread it out. Increasing taxes by promising more police officers when you're living in one of the safest towns is a waste of taxpayer dollars. I'd rather put more money in our sports and athletic fields, recreation areas and senior improvements."
KERN: "The problem is communication. We believe more people need to be involved to make a better decision. We need to get these groups together and work with them, but the mayor doesn't do any of that stuff. Just like we created the board for Rova Farms and got great ideas out of it, there are other people who will volunteer to be on some of these boards and do a great job, but nobody follows up."
KUHN: "We need to fight back against the overdevelopment with smart growth to keep Jackson the best place to live. That starts with protecting open space in the most effective way possible. When I asked the council to consider bonding for open space purchase to maximize the funding and reserve even more acreage, the response I got was 'thank you.'"
O'NEILL: "Overdevelopment is a concern for a lot of residents here in Jackson, just in terms of the pace it's going, where it's going and how it's going. I want to see Jackson protected We're trying to do what we can legally by buying and preserving more open space."
SARGENT: “Through my job, I know pretty much every street, cul de sac, open space and green space in the township. I know the lay of the land, so I’ll have good ideas to help the township when it comes to preserving open space. Bonding is probably the way to go – you don’t just purchase a piece of property and slap some cash on the table. There’s a process, and bonding seems to be that process.”
If elected, how will you address the property tax burden faced by Jackson residents?
FLEMMING: "As long as we keep increasing ratables, we can keep the tax rate stable. We just have to make sure we're putting office buildings in our commercial zones and warehousing in our light industrial zones. Age-restricted housing is more than welcome, too. In our minor revision to the master plan, we increased the places they can go in town, hoping to draw more in. They draw a lot of professionals but don't add to the school burden."
REINA: "We've held the line on taxes. I think we're going to continue to hold the line on taxes, with Adventure Crossing and a lot of other commercial entities coming into Jackson -- not just warehouses. We have a very healthy surplus because we saw the turn in the economy, and we know the township needs to get a break."
KERN: "The solar array at the Legler property was sitting in limbo when I came on in 2019. Now, it’s built up and paying us the lease on that property, $200,000 to $300,000 per year. I worked with our engineers and attorneys on a second request for proposals for a solar system land lease. It will cost the taxpayers zero dollars and we're going to get $400,000 to $800,000 for 20 years. It's just so vital to follow up and enforce these things."
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KUHN: "The current council is going to spend $1.8 million to preserve 11.3 acres, when instead they can put 5% or 10% down and use the rest of the money to preserve even more acreage. Bonding to purchase open space would allow us to preserve 10 times the amount of open space without raising taxes."
O'NEILL: "There are already provisions put in place by Jackson taxpayers to preserve open space, we have about a million-plus in the reserve and we're capitalizing on that. The problem we've had is that (properties) have been flying off the shelves, and (under state law) you can't purchase a property over appraisal. But that money is designed and provisions are in place."
SARGENT: “Negotiating contracts are a big thing when it comes to taxes. With all the people moving into town, we have to increase the amount of people we have working and purchase equipment, which is going to cause the budget to go up. But with a quality contract, we shouldn’t have to impact the taxpayers since all those new people are paying taxes, too.”
Mike Davis has spent the last decade covering New Jersey local news, marijuana legalization, transportation and a little bit of everything else. He's won a couple of awards that make his parents very proud. Contact him at mdavis@gannettnj.com or @byMikeDavis on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Jackson NJ: Mayor Reina faces council members in 2022 midterm election
