Age: 37
Years in Maplewood: 8
Profession: Lawyer, Associate General Counsel at New York Life Insurance Company
Past public service: Legal Director, Four Directions (Native American voting rights advocacy group)
1. Why should you be on the Township Committee?
The Maplewood Township Committee needs a fresh voice and a new generation of leadership. As someone relatively new to town and the father of a 4 year old daughter soon to be starting the SOMA school system, I am like many other young parents in this community. We’re working hard in our careers and at home, and we deserve to have a voice in how our town is governed, especially because our interests here are long-term and many Township Committee decisions will have an impact on us and our children for many years to come. I’m a strategic thinker, attentive listener, and consensus builder who will aggressively and effectively advocate for the best interests of all of Maplewood’s generations. My background as a litigator at top New York City law firms and now as counsel for a major corporation will also be valuable on the Committee, particularly when reviewing contracts and negotiating agreements.
2. What is your position on the Maplewood Village Post Office redevelopment project?
I am strongly opposed to the current proposal for the post office site. It is a bad deal for Maplewood from all angles. It provides minimal economic benefit, selling prime public land for a net price that is below market value and compounding the discount with a tax break for the developer. The size of the building is not to scale with the neighborhood, and the design will detract from the charm and character of the Village. Moreover, the Township Committee’s decree from the beginning of the process that the building be demolished without even considering the possibility of adaptive reuse of all or some of the current structure (with needed exterior improvements) was irresponsible from an environmental standpoint and inconsistent with Maplewood’s role as an environmental leader. It also precluded alternative proposals from being presented. Finally, I am concerned about the impact the current proposal will have on other local businesses, both during and after construction. Parking in the Village is already challenging, and adding additional retail stores without providing significant additional parking spaces will exacerbate the situation. Also, the proposal must be revised to allow Kings to receive deliveries, which it cannot under the current site plan.
3. What is your positon on the Post Office project PILOT tax abatement?
I am 100% against the PILOT for the post office site project. I understand that PILOTS and other tax abatements may be necessary and appropriate in some circumstances (apartment housing for seniors, group homes for disabled adults, or sites requiring extensive environmental cleanup, for example). But a PILOT is totally inappropriate for this project, which is on some of the most prime real estate in town and where the developer will be charging market rent to retail and residential tenants without providing any affordable housing. Plus the Township is paying for the demolition and cleanup costs. Tax breaks cannot be justified for this project at this location, particularly when our schools are overcrowded and underfunded while our existing residents pay among the highest property taxes in the nation. If Maplewood is going to focus on development of apartment housing and/or provide PILOTS, we should do so to build age-restricted housing to provide affordable housing options for our town’s seniors, who raised their families here and helped build this community, can stay in town.
4. What are your top three priorities for the Township and what would you do on them if elected?
A) Provide tax relief through expanded shared services. There are several areas where Maplewood could provide the same (if not superior) level of service to the community at a lower cost by combining with South Orange and other neighboring towns to share services. For example, previous studies have shown that Maplewood and South Orange could merge their fire services without diminishing services or increasing response times, ultimately saving us millions of dollars each year. Also, Maplewood spends approximately $1.2M per year on 911 dispatch; combining these services with other local communities would result in substantial savings with no decline in service level. There are many other areas where expanded shared services should be explored, including recreation and senior services.
B) Increase communication and coordination with Board of Education. I want to restore regular meetings between representatives from the Maplewood Township Committee, South Orange Board of Trustees, SOMA Board of Education, and the Superintendent to strengthen communication and be more proactive in decision-making. The towns and the schools should think strategically together to best serve the community and (most importantly) our kids. Regular communication between governing bodies is an essential ingredient to maximizing academic potential and economic efficiency. All local officials must also unite to lobby Trenton for fair and equitable education aid; currently our district is severely underfunded even under the state’s existing formula.
C) Bring greater transparency and accessibility to local government. There is substantial room for improvement in the way the Township communicates with residents. Much of the flawed process surrounding recent redevelopment projects can be traced to the fact that the community was not engaged (or engaged belatedly) because much of the public did not receive adequate or timely information. Maplewood is full of caring, educated, creative people who could provide helpful feedback and great ideas if given the opportunity. If elected, I plan to increase the town’s use of social media to improve communication with community members, promote awareness of issues and events, solicit input and ideas regarding decisions being made by the Township, and involve more citizens in the local government process. I will also push for Maplewood to leverage Twitter, Facebook, and/or Skype during Township Committee meetings to allow parents and other citizens that cannot regularly attend meetings in person to participate more actively in Maplewood’s civic life. In addition, I will launch a series of informational campaigns to demystify how the Township works, including clear materials explaining the tax, revaluation, and budget processes, so that citizens can better understand how local government is structured and funded. We should also have more regular town hall meetings and other informal events so that citizens can meet members of the Township Committee, get information, and express their views and ideas. Moreover, the Township Committee should hold virtual “office hours” to encourage constructive online dialogue between Maplewood’s leaders and concerned residents. Finally, I plan to establish a Standing Committee for Youth and Public Engagement (“SCYPE”) to bring more citizens, especially young people, into the local government process to “expand the circle” and leverage the diverse viewpoints of the community.
5. What would you do about our high property tax rate?
A) Expand shared services to provide tax relief while maintaining the quality of services. As explained above, Maplewood can realize significant savings without decreasing the quality of services provided by the Township through expanding shared services with South Orange and other surrounding communities. Savings from shared services with help provide property tax relief without requiring cuts to existing programs and services.
B) Limit tax breaks for developers. In a community where homeowners pay among the highest property taxes in the nation, we cannot afford to consistently offer tax abatements to developers, particularly those building on prime real estate in town and/or building retail and residential space charging market rents. Maplewood’s taxpayers should not be further burdened by being forced to subsidize profit margins for developers.
C) Responsibly increase commercial ratables to expand the tax base. We need to focus on attracting quality (not just quantity) business to Maplewood, both to make our community more vibrant and to provide additional sources of tax revenue. The Township Committee can help accomplish this by partnering with local business organizations, neighborhood associations, and the local real estate community to promote available properties and recruit entities and entrepreneurs to set up shop in Maplewood. Particularly along Springfield Avenue, where opportunities abound.
6. What services would you seek to cut and in what way to cut costs?
My primary proposed budget cuts would be in the form of savings from increased shared services. As mentioned above, there are numerous opportunities to combine services with neighboring communities to provide the same level of service we currently receive (if not better) more efficiently.
7. What services would you seek to increase and how would you pay for them?
I would like to bring animal control and kennel services back under local control by prioritizing our partnership with South Orange to use their existing facility for these services. This will allow us to discontinue our present contract with Newark AHS, about which many residents have expressed deep concerns. I would also like to explore the feasibility of increasing Public Works personnel to allow the town to better keep up with necessary maintenance. For example, many significant potholes still remain in our community’s roads after the harsh winter, parks need more regular maintenance, and many sidewalks in town are in need of repair. Finding a way to accomplish this within the current budget may be a challenge, but I think we must consider all possibilities to ensure that public property is properly maintained.
8. What should voters know about you that they may not?
- I was drawn to my career path, and truly enjoy practicing law, because I am a natural problem-solver. I love listening to the challenges facing clients, friends, and neighbors and helping them to strategize and think of creative solutions to overcome obstacles and create opportunities. This is a skill and passion that I will bring to the Township Committee to benefit Maplewood.
- I sincerely want the opportunity to serve our community and to be YOUR Committeeman. I want people around Maplewood to stop me on the street, email me, or call me with questions and opinions so that I can connect every resident to local government, and bring the views of every resident into local government.
- I have a wonderful, supportive family. My wife Alex and I met in law school, and she is now a Clinical Professor of Law at Columbia. My daughter CC is 4 years old and loves all the activities available and the friends she has made in Maplewood.
- My political philosophy is a mix of Lakota culture, Bill Bradley, and Bruce Springsteen. From the Lakota I have embraced the values of caring for our environment and our community’s elders. From Senator Bradley (and other political mentors) I learned that politics and government must be about those who are served, not those who serve. And like Bruce Springsteen I know that we live in a land of hope and dreams where no one wins unless everyone wins. (My basement is affectionately known as the “Boss Room” because its walls are covered with framed album covers from every Bruce Springsteen album ever recorded. I’ve been to more than 40 shows over the years.)
No comments:
Post a Comment