Meet the candidates for Sayreville mayor and where they stand on the issues
Former longtime Sayreville Mayor Kennedy O'Brien, a Republican, and Democratic challenger Bill Henry are on the ballot for mayor this year, a four-year term. Democratic incumbent Victoria Kilpatrick is not running for reelection.
Running on the Republican ticket with O’Brien are Michael Colaci and incumbent John J. Zebrowski, Sayreville’s former longtime police chief, for two three-year seats on the Borough Council.
Stanley "Stash" Synarski is running on the GOP ticket for the one-year seat vacated by Eunice Dwumfour, who was brutally gunned down outside her home on Feb. 1. Zebrowski replaced Dwumfour on the Council through the end of this year.
On the Democratic ticket, Henry is running with incumbents Mary Novak and Vincent Conti for the two three-year seats. Kenneth Scott is the Democratic candidate for the unexpired one-year term.
Kennedy O’Brien (R)
Age: 70
Years residing in town: 36
Previous government service (boards and elected office): Former mayor 2000-2019, former borough councilman 1996-1999.
Why are you running for mayor?
As many residents know, I previously served five terms as mayor and stepped down due to my wife facing some health challenges. With those now behind us, I felt called to serve again to get our town back on track. I am confident in my abilities to lead the town forward, stabilize local taxes, fight crime, control development, and put Sayreville first.
Why should people vote for you instead of your opponent?
Unfortunately, the Sayreville Democratic Party has been dominated by corrupt political bosses who have put their own self-interests above the town. I don’t have anything negative to say about my opponent, but his party just cannot be trusted to lead our town and do the right thing by taxpayers. On the other hand, my experience working with elected officials in both parties and keeping taxes down while providing important services is already proven.
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After talking to residents, what is their biggest concern?
While residents are always going to be concerned about affordability, safety, and basic functions of government, I know many people are generally worried that the town is headed down the wrong path overall. They say the special quality of life and unique character we’ve been known for is being lost. I am confident that I can restore that and get us back to where we were not too long ago.
What are the three biggest challenges facing your town and what is your approach to solving them?
Keeping taxes stable, controlling development, and cleaning up corruption … with community safety right up there, too. As I did during my previous tenure as mayor, I will ensure that government lives within its means so we don’t ask for taxpayers more than they can afford; I will hold developers accountable and work within state housing mandates to ensure our quality of life is protected; and I will weed our waste, fraud, and abuse from local government and any people who are contributing to it.
Do you have any special projects you would like to achieve in office?
I am not running for mayor to create any legacy projects for myself; I don’t need my name on any buildings. All I care about is making sure the people who call Sayreville home feel like they are getting quality services for the taxes they pay, they feel safe in their homes and neighborhoods, and we run open, honest government.
State law allows municipalities and counties to establish local ethics boards. Do you believe that Sayreville should consider creating a municipal ethics board?
I do believe it is something we should consider, but it’s something that would need the buy-in from members of Council and people in both parties. I would not want something like an ethics board to be political at all.
With large-scale redevelopment on the horizon, do you believe that the Sayreville municipal government, including the police department, can handle this?
We don’t have a choice but to make sure they can. I am glad to be running on a ticket with former Police Chief John Zebrowski and will rely on his counsel and leadership in confronting that challenge.
William 'Bill' Henry (D)
Age: 70
Years residing in town: 41
Previous government service (boards and elected office): Former member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment for eight years, chairman for two; current member of the Board of Health for eight years; current member of the Open Space Committee for eight years; councilman 2011-2013; former member of the Planning Board for one year; and former member of the Sayreville Economic Redevelopment Agency (SERA).
Volunteer activities: Coached Sayreville softball, Little League baseball, basketball, and was a Scout coordinator in town. As the former president of Frog Hollow Swim and Tennis Club, I was responsible for the design and installation of the new swimming pool. Currently a member of the Ancient Order of the Hibernians and have served as Hall Manager for the past three years.
Why are you running for mayor?
I am running for mayor of Sayreville because Sayreville needs a strong leader with ties within the community. A mayor that will work tirelessly for Sayreville's families and their futures. A mayor who will show up for them and make the real investments this town needs without losing what makes Sayreville a great place to raise a family. I believe that I can be the voice of the people and create coalitions in town to plan for our future. Sayreville is a growing community where people love to live, buy homes in their neighborhoods, and retire close to their families. As mayor, I would work with everyone to improve the overall quality of life and prepare our town for the economic growth that this region is currently experiencing. As mayor, my number one priority will be to keep our children and families safe and to ensure our residents receive the municipal services to make their everyday lives easier – all while working to keep taxes stable. At a time when the national conversation has divided our communities, Sayreville needs a mayor who is focusing on keeping Sayreville residents and their issues – like overdevelopment, lowering congestion and protecting open space – their main priority for the future of Sayreville.
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Why should people vote for you instead of your opponent?
The people of Sayreville should consider voting for me because Sayreville needs a fresh perspective in the mayor's office. My opponent is a career politician who was mayor for over 20 years already. This is no time to tum back the clock. We must move forward to ensure our families have every opportunity for a bright safe future. Republican leadership in Sayreville has been absent, ineffectual and dysfunctional. Our local Republican leaders should not be allowed to hold the levers of power in our town any longer. Republican mismanagement is what created all the problems with overdevelopment and congestion that I hear every day from residents when I knock on their door. By failing to comply with our affordable housing obligations and by failing to take advantage of Sayreville's open space fund, Republicans failed the families of Sayreville.
After talking to residents, what is their biggest concern?
I have been going door to door in Sayreville, so I can hear directly from residents, nearly every day. By far, without an inkling of doubt, their biggest concern is development. Whether it's warehouses, condos, trees coming down, or traffic, it's always development.
What are the three biggest challenges facing your town and what is your approach to solving them?
Overdevelopment. As mayor, I would immediately take stock of all the vacant lots and properties in our borough and create a new Master Plan, with the goal of protecting that land from future developments.
Traffic and Congestion. As all this development continues, we need to find short-term and long-term solutions to the traffic that will only grow. On day one, I will begin working with state and county leaders to assist our borough in traffic management. As mayor, I will be committed to limiting truck traffic, and using all the resources at our disposal to discourage traffic on our town's residential roads.
Revitalizing Main Street. My vision for the future of Sayreville includes turning Main Street into a walkable and accessible downtown. I would accomplish this by supporting our existing small businesses and incentivizing new small businesses to open locations on Main Street. Additionally, I would ensure that the roads and infrastructure off of Main Street do not continue to fall into disrepair, and are paved in a timely fashion, and create a plan for the inevitable growth and parking needs our local downtown will ultimately need.
Do you have any special projects you would like to achieve in office?
With the help of grant money, I would upgrade our parks and recreation areas. For example, I think our town should have a splash pool in one of the parks so that communities of all ages and abilities can enjoy time outside when the weather is nice.
Protect more open space in our community, by using funds from the Open Space Fund to acquire more land and protect it from future development.
State law allows municipalities and counties to establish local ethics boards. Do you believe that Sayreville should consider creating a municipal ethics board?
Yes, I am in favor of Sayreville creating a municipal ethics board.
With large-scale redevelopment on the horizon, do you believe that the Sayreville municipal government, including the police department, can handle this?
Due to all the large-scale redevelopment that Sayreville has recently gone through, I do believe we should hire more local police that can responsibly protect our families, but in the short term, I believe additional resources should be redirected to improving our roads and infrastructure versus spending it on developments.
Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com
Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Sayreville NJ mayor election candidate profiles
