Lifelong resident ready to get to work on council
Ex-school board member says partisan politics should have no role
BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer

Suzanne Wisniewski- Buffalino

SOUTH RIVER - The newest member of the Borough Council says that she wants to take a hard look at spending in the borough.

Suzanne Wisniewski-Buffalino was selected by the Republican Party and then appointed by the council to fill the vacancy left by Raymond Eppinger, who resigned his council seat to take on the role of mayor Jan. 1.

Buffalino said she was interested in joining the governing body in order to ensure that taxpayer money is used responsibly.

"I would really like to be able to learn where all of our money is being spent, and at some point in the future … when I am done with my tenure, I would like to leave knowing my taxes are being spent in a good way," she said.

Buffalino, who is the daughter of former Republican Councilman Robert Wisniewski, is now the fifth Republican on the six-member council. The GOP gained control of the council with its sweep at the polls in November, winning two council positions and the mayor's seat.

Buffalino owns Grannd Companies LLC, a small business that supplies historical costumes to a variety of clients, includingWalt DisneyWorld; Jamestown, Va.; Plymouth, Mass.; and the Broadway musical play "Oklahoma!" Buffalino attributed her interest in starting the business to her love of sewing and historical re-enactments.

The American melting pot is evidenced in the diversity among borough residents and groups, Buffalino said. She added that young people benefit from being exposed to the customs of people from around the world in their hometown.

"I think South River is a prime example of that," Buffalino said. "Just looking at the restaurants in downtown, the number of nationalities and cultures in our town… it's a wide variety. It's very rich."

A lifelong borough resident, Buffalino grew up on Leonardine Avenue and now resides on Morningside Avenue with her 11-year-old daughter, Victoria. She graduated from South River High School with the class of 1982 and went on to study civil and construction engineering and technology, as well as surveying technology at Temple University in Philadelphia.

As a student at Temple, she was an active member of a philanthropic fraternal organization that participated in benefit events for the Special Olympics, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and the March of Dimes.

Buffalino then became a designer, design engineer and eventually a marketing manager for Van Note-Harvey Associates, P.C., a civil engineering firm located in Princeton, from 1985-94.

Buffalino was a member of the South River Zoning Board of Adjustment from 1989-92, and volunteered for the Middlesex County Regional Chamber of Commerce from 1992-96. She also served on the South River Board of Education for six years. In 1998, she decided not to seek a third term on the school board, because she said she wanted to concentrate on the needs of her daughter, who was entering the South River school district at the time.

Buffalino said that like the Board of Education, the Borough Council members should stay away from partisan politics for the good of all residents.

As for her priorities as a councilwoman, Buffalino noted that the Economic Development Commission is looking for ways to attract businesses and corporations to the borough in order to increase the tax base, and added that redevelopment should be a constant effort to ensure that properties throughout South River, not just in the downtown area, are being used to their best potential.

"There are other areas in town where there are vacant properties," Buffalino said. "There are other areas that need to be addressed."

Buffalino decided to fill the vacant seat on the council to bring what she called "much needed change." She has been a member of the South River Republican Organization since 1997, serving as secretary and committeewoman for several years.

While she was on the school board, Buffalino said that she met Joseph Wojcik, who was a former councilman and chairman of the Republican Party at the time. Wojcik, who is now deceased, helped to get her active in the party soon after they met.

"He sort of became a mentor of mine," Buffalino said. "He was just someone who, when you meet somebody in your life that changes some things in the way you think, he was one of those instrumental people."