Republicans vie for slot on November ballot

Callan, 49, was born and raised in North Brunswick. He is a sales agent for Keller Williams West Monmouth Real Estate.

He served on the North Brunswick Board of Education from 2010-14.

He said he has supported local, regional, national and international charities.

“My father sacrificed his life serving with the U.S. Army in Vietnam, so I am particularly interested in helping combat veterans return home and find liberty and justice alive and well,” he said.

Callan is seeking municipal office as North Brunswick faces challenges ahead.

“Government service will become more expensive as the debt service costs continue to consume greater amounts of the budget. There will be difficult decisions to make and I pledge to engage residents and represent their concerns with my best efforts,” he said.

He said he is asking Democratic party voters to “take a chance” on voting for a local candidate “who happens to be a Republican.”

“The Township Council has been a Democrat system for too long. History shows that one party rule is never how the best decisions are developed. For the sake of fairness and equal representation, I am asking all voters to elect Republicans to serve as council members. We love North Brunswick and we are here to help,” Callan said.

Lichwa, 81, has been a resident since 1972  after he had resided in South Brunswick and New Brunswick. He retired from a local telephone company in 1992, where he received training for various positions.

He has spent the past 41 years as a volunteer, committee member and trustee of the board of a New Brunswick-based organization that assists with alcohol and drug addiction. He was president of RUS (Recovery-Unity-Service) Service Corp. and previously served as a coach and president with the Little League organization in South Brunswick and was a Webelos den leader for Boy Scouts.

 

Because of his involvement in addiction recovery programs, he said he would use his position on the council to save local teenagers and young adults.

“We need politicians to get out of the way and let people in who really care about what happens to our kids,” he said.

He also said that taxpayer money needs to be accounted for. He said career politicians tend to get small payoffs, veterans lack proper healthcare and too much money is allocated to programs that don’t work.

“We have so much money thrown away that it can be used so much better,” he said. “We’re losing our country and we don’t realize it.”

Pais, 29, has lived in town for one year and is a legislative aide/attorney in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. She currently works for New Jersey’s 16th legislative district serving as liaison between constituents and state departments to solve a variety of matters.

Previously, she worked for the YWCA Legal Center representing victims of domestic violence. She also volunteered for The Pursuit of Justice, a purse auction benefiting victims of domestic violence.

“I am running for Township Council because I feel that all should commit to civic duty. I am well suited to represent the community as a whole due to my strong background in negotiating and solving matters,” she said. “I believe that North Brunswick is very vibrant in its diversity and is economically flourishing with businesses both small and large.”

If elected, Pais said she will bridge the gap between people regardless of their party affiliations, in order to accomplish what is necessary.

“I look forward to working hand-in-hand with the community to address their concerns and develop an effective plan,” she said.

She also believes the Republican party has much to offer.

“It is evident that younger individuals are taking an interest in politics and it is beneficial to have young adults have active roles in government. “I believe I can challenge the Democrats in November by demonstrating that with my background the Republican party can be just as diverse, progressive and forward thinking.”