Three Republican Party nominees are making the case for their candidacy as they attempt to flip three seats on the all-Democrat East Windsor Township Council in the Nov. 7 general election.
Republican Party candidates PJ Hummel, Anna Lustenberg and Steven Uccio hope to unseat the Democratic Party incumbents on Township Council. There are four seats up for grabs, but only three Republican nominees.
The term is for four years.
Lustenberg is a former township councilwoman who served one term from 1994 to 1997. She has lived in East Windsor Township since 1986.
During her tenure on Township Council, Lustenberg said she voted to make the Route 133 Bypass a reality. The day after it opened, traffic jams on Route 571/Princeton-Hightstown Road vanished, she said.
“I have truly enjoyed working toward a better East Windsor Township. However, empty stores, an increasing crime rate and too many warehouses in the township are the reasons I am running for Township Council,” she said.
“To resolve those issues, on day one I would meet with the police chief to better understand the East Windsor Police Department’s constraints. As a regular attendee of the Neighborhood Crime Watch meetings, crime issues such as catalytic converter thefts are a challenge to solve,” she said.
Lustenberg said she would make more effective use of the Nixle alert system to keep residents informed. She said she would petition the state legislature to reconsider changes to the cashless bail system.
East Windsor Township’s municipal website also needs to be updated and made more informative and user-friendly, she said.
Lustenberg made the case for voters to choose her and her running mates over the incumbent Township Council members, because “simply enough, one political party does not have all of the answers.”
“Bipartisan debate and discussion would achieve better results for our families. Currently, there is no debate or even discussion on Township Council,” she said.
Lustenberg said she would be a good choice for Township Council because of her prior service on it. She also has a background in government relations and grant writing. She was the director of external affairs for Verizon.
Also, Lustenberg said she has strong connections to the New Jersey Conference of Mayors, the New Jersey Association of Counties and the New Jersey State League of Municipalities.
“Vote for me, and you will get the bipartisan representation taxpayers deserve,” Lustenberg said.
Uccio has lived in East Windsor Township for more than 10 years, and has no plans to move with his family.
“For that reason, I want to be sure this town is the best it can be. For that to happen, I need to be involved in the town as much as possible, and that’s why I should be on Township Council,” Uccio said.
One of the most important issues facing the township is the lack of maintenance of municipal facilities, he said. The playgrounds have been neglected, and some of the signs in the township are worn and need to be replaced.
The East Windsor Police Department headquarters has had septic issues and was literally flooded with feces, he said, adding “it was an embarrassment for the township.”
“I can’t promise I’ll wave a magic wand around and fix everything. That’s silly, but I think we need to reevaluate how we are spending our limited resources. This is taxpayer money and it is entrusted to Township Council,” Uccio said.
“It is important to allocate the money as effectively as possible. If we take too long to fix something, it might cost more when we actually get around to fixing it,” he said.
The township’s website needs to be updated, he said. It is not as intuitive or user-friendly as it could be.
Also, East Windsor Township municipal government had a serious cyber attack last year, in which residents’ names and email addresses were stolen, Uccio said. People – including himself – received fake emails from the township, he said.
“I have to question whether or not the people we currently have in place were the best ones to have dealt with the cyber attack and prevent it from happening again,” Uccio said.
Uccio said the communication from East Windsor Township municipal government is one-sided and relies on email blasts. There is no back-and-forth communication or dialogue. It is not communicating with its residents as well as it could.
“We are not on Facebook or Twitter. We are not posting meetings on You Tube. It is time for fresh leadership with fresh ideas,” Uccio said.
Hummel, who is the third Republican Party candidate on the Nov. 7 ballot, could not be reached for comment before press time.
