NORTH BRUNSWICK – Republican candidates George Callan and Sue Hucko will once again challenge the Democratic incumbents for two seats on the North Brunswick Township Council: this year, against Ralph Andrews and Amanda Guadagnino.
Ralph Andrews
Resident: For 40 years
Occupation: General manager for Patriot Energy Inc.
Certifications/licenses: USSF “D” licensed soccer coach, North Brunswick CERT member, N.J. Boater’s License/Safety Certificate, Notary Public
Community service: CERT; Jersey Knights Soccer Club board member, league contact and game day field assignor; member of the FBI Newark Division Citizens Academy Alumni Association; former Executive Board member of the North Brunswick Basketball Association
Public service: Incumbent councilman for 15 years; Planning Board chairman for six years; Council’s Planning Board liaison for 12 years; Open Space Committee member
“Property taxes are the No. 1 issue on the minds of all New Jersey residents. Locally we need to find ways to still deliver the services our residents are used to and deserve. Our mayor and council have kept our increase as low as possible while still providing services most towns have stopped providing. We need to do more. We need to look for inventive ways to cut costs. I would like to see as one initiative a study to see the feasibility of replacing our current exterior street and building lighting with solar powered lights. All interior lighting should be replaced with LED lighting. For small vehicles in our fleet we need to look to add electric vehicles with charging stations at our municipal buildings. We should do a study to see the cost efficiency of providing municipal internet service and township-wide Wi-Fi.
“This mayor and this council need to respectfully connect at the county and state level to finally bring a train station to the MainStreetNB site. They have told us they have set aside funding for this site and we now need a date certain that construction will begin. We no longer should accept ‘We are working on it’ as acceptable.
“Our town is diverse and we need to stand together. I want everyone to know that I represent all of our residents. Every resident is important to me. The message I always try to deliver is we have great township employees but we can’t help you if we don’t know you have a problem. If you need help with anything please reach to us.”
Resident: For 43 years
Community service: PTO treasurer (past president) for eight years; former Board of Education member; former board member at Brookside Swim Club; part of the newly formed North Brunswick Township Hall of Fame Committee.
Public service: Board of Education 2015 and 2016; Township Council 2017 to the present; current council president for 2019
“I am a huge advocate for our school district. We have an award-winning superintendent, who has a great relationship with the mayor and town council. The school district provides the best education for our children and it will be an exciting year with a new middle school opening in September 2020.
“We are lucky to be approaching a census year and I feel this is an incredibly important responsibility as a citizen and for our town to provide accurate information with total participation so North Brunswick gets the funding and recognition we deserve.
“The entire council and our mayor are working diligently on our Main Street train station. This is a top priority in North Brunswick and we are doing everything we can to expedite the process.”
