Sole Republican running against two Democrats
Jamesburg candidates discuss issues facing boro as election nears
BY SETH MANDEL
Staff Writer

JAMESBURG –– Though Adam Bushman is the sole Republican candidate for Borough Council this year, there is plenty he is looking to get done.

Bushman, a borough resident of 16 years, finished two consecutive terms on the council in 2000, and is vying for a return to the governing body against incumbent Democrats Otto Kostbar and Carlos Morales.

Bushman said he would like to improve residents’ quality of life, which he feels has taken a hit due to all the warehouse construction in the area. He said he would like to encourage the construction of professional office buildings instead.

“The beautiful thing about professional office buildings is — sure, you’ll have some traffic during the weekdays, but the good thing about that traffic is it wouldn’t be just transient traffic,” Bushman said. “You’d have people coming to work within the communities, you’d have people going out to lunch and spending money within the communities, running errands within the communities.”

That, he said, would boost local economies while minimizing truck traffic.

Kostbar, who is running for his third full term, said commercial ratables, such as office buildings would also help ease the property-tax burden on residents while attracting other businesses to the local business district.

“We want to make this a town that’s good for business,” Kostbar said. “I think we’ve done that. Some of the businesses are spreading here in town, and the conversion of some residential units into businesses is helping a great deal with the ratables.”

Kostbar, now in his second term as council president and police commissioner, said the borough’s business district took a big hit when the area was flooded in the wake of the July 17 heavy rainstorm, and he would like to encourage business owners to work in downtown Jamesburg.

“The area is expanding, it’s growing, there’s a lot of demand for new businesses,” Kostbar said. “Not only does it increase ratables, but businesses also give convenience to your citizens.”

Morales, a 16-year resident of the town, said property tax relief is not only something local residents need, but something they deserve.

He said the state has mandated educational programs without properly funding them, and the borough is not receiving its fair share of those funds.

“You guys are mandating all these other things, how about mandating some type of property-tax relief?” Morales said.

Morales is running for his second consecutive term. He has been a volunteer firefighter and first aid responder in town, and was president of the local chapter of the International Firefighters Union.

He said he would like to bring more age-restricted housing developments or apartments into town, possibly by encouraging landlords to convert their buildings into senior housing.

This, Morales said, would provide some property-tax relief by limiting the number of school-age children in the borough, and give landlords short-term tax exemption.

“It’ll benefit the landlords, and it’ll also benefit the kids and the schools,” Morales said, adding that the buildings would likely be easier for their owners to maintain.

Morales also said that because of the recent flooding in the borough and the rough hurricane season the coast has experienced, public safety and flood prevention should be a priority.

Bushman said that flood prevention methods should be devised through an area-wide dialogue between all the affected municipalities.

He said Jamesburg, Monroe and South Brunswick, among others, should work together to improve regional planning and coordination.

“And make sure that our plans, goals and desires are in mesh with what Monroe Township’s are, in mesh with what South Brunswick’s are, and even at a regional level; that it complements all four municipalities in such a way that it improves the quality of life for the residents,” Bushman said.

Bushman said that when the application for a Costco warehouse came before the Monroe Township Planning Board, he led the opposition to its approval.

After taking the matter to court, the two towns settled the dispute, but Bushman, who lives on Gatzmer Avenue, said the warehouse, unfortunately, has caused the damage that borough officials had perceived it would.

“I’m trying to put together a number of people that have been damaged by flood waters recently, because it’s our belief that the majority of the flood waters that damaged Helmetta, and even most of where I live, came directly from the Costco warehouse facility,” Bushman said.

He said that he would like to petition the county, or even the state, to set up an arbitration body that would address the flaws in local towns’ plans that would negatively affect contiguous municipalities.

Kostbar said that public safety should be addressed on a more local level as well.

He said the town has been able to expand the police force without raising taxes, and that has made a significant dent in local crime.

“We’ve had a tremendous improvement in the crime rate, it’s been plummeting constantly, and I’d like to continue to work on that with the police department,” Kostbar said.

He said the town has received equipment grants for the purchase of cameras, computers and other safety tools that will update the borough’s technological condition.

“It’s just great — all the information that’s at your fingertips,” Kostbar said.

Kostbar, who has been the attorney for the Zoning Board, the county SPCA and the Monroe Board of Fire Commissioners, said he has experience in long-range planning that he will continue to apply to local government strategies.

He said while he opposes the current proposal for renewed rail service in the area, known as the Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex line, or MOM line, he would like to bring more public transportation to the borough.

Kostbar said he has joined Councilwoman Barbara Carpenter in the effort to bring a park-and-ride facility to town.

“You need to have long-range goals, you have to plan,” Kostbar said. “This is where we want to be down the road.”

He added that he would like the borough to continue to signalize busy intersections and make traffic, and pedestrian travel, safer.

“Wherever we can, we’re trying to make an effort to get pedestrian crossings here in town, so pedestrians can cross easier,” Kostbar said.

Aside from property taxes, Morales said he would like to improve the borough’s overall financial position as well.

He said the town has incurred debt from past bonds, and some of those must be paid in the near future.

“What I’d like to do is provide for the future of Jamesburg by preserving the historical value of Jamesburg, and then also not allowing my children, if they grow up in town, to have all this debt,” Morales said. “Let them start off fresh.”

Morales said the more effectively the borough can relieve its debt, the easier it will be for the next generation of borough residents to progress.

“Just keep striving on and revitalizing Jamesburg,” Morales said.

Bushman said he would also look into obtaining Council on Affordable Housing funds from Monroe, which currently sends its affordable housing funds to New Brunswick.

Bushman’s running mate, Mario Apuzzo, dropped out of the race last month, citing personal reasons. Bushman said Apuzzo plans to remain involved in the community, and will help out with the campaign, but is unable to run for office.

Apuzzo’s departure left the Republican Party with little opportunity to replace him. Bushman said he hopes voters will still look at each candidate individually, and how that candidate has worked for the community.

“The way I’ve always looked at Jamesburg, the only reason I think I’m in the Republican Party is because that was the first party that approached me to run,” Bushman said. “Had it been the Democratic Party, I possibly could have been running for them. So I don’t think party politics per se, at least from my point of view, really plays that much into the election.”