Three in race for 2 seats on Englishtown council
BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

ENGLISHTOWN - Two seats on the Borough Council will be up for grabs in the Nov. 7 election. Councilwoman Anne Palmieri is not seeking re-election.

The three candidates for the two seats are Republican incumbent Rudy Rucker, who is seeking his ninth three-year term; Republican Lori Cooke; and independent candidate Janet Leonardis.

Democrat Jane Gallagher withdrew from the race in late September.

Cooke, 36, is married to an Englishtown police officer. She said if she is elected she will abstain from any deliberations or votes that would affect the police department with regard to contract negotiations or personnel issues.

Cooke said she grew up "just over the Englishtown border in Manalapan" and returned to Englishtown four years ago after living out of state for a time.

She said between growing up in the area and being a present member of the borough's Economic Development Committee she is familiar with Englishtown and wants to work to revitalize the downtown area.

Cooke is also a member of the Battleground Historical Society.

She said she would work with representatives of other towns in learning how to acquire grants to underwrite needed projects in Englishtown.

As an example, Cooke referred to the Village Inn and its historical significance, and the possibility that Englishtown could be included in the "Road to Monmouth" tour, a prospect that she believes could mean an influx of tourist money that could help to work toward the downtown revitalization.

She said she would work to get more businesses to remain in the downtown area. Cooke said her plan would be to attract clean ratables that people would want to walk downtown to shop at.

Although Cooke said she has no prior experience as an appointed volunteer to any borough board or committee, she said she thinks it is important for voters to know she has regularly attended council meetings for the past two years.

Leonardis has lived in Englishtown for 26 years and has previously served on the Borough Council. Three years ago she was appointed to finish out the last year of an unexpired term. She is a member of the Unified Planning and Zoning Board.

Leonardis, 52, said she is running for office in order to address the issue of the rising municipal tax rate in Englishtown.

She said although council members cannot control rising school taxes, something can be done about the municipal rate such as developing shared services agreements with neighboring municipalities.

"The majority of the current council refuses to even look at how to alleviate the tax problem through shared services. Without this information it is impossible to make a decision on what to do. The people are owed the information and an explanation," she said.

Rucker, 58, heads the borough's streets and road department which, he proudly notes, developed under his guidance from a one-man, one-truck operation to its present strength of four men and four trucks.

Of his work on the council, Rucker, who is a carpenter, said, "It's just like running any other business. You try to give people the best service for the least cost."

Rucker referred to the acquisition and refurbishing of the present Borough Hall as one of the proudest achievements of his tenure as a councilman, along with being instrumental in securing funding for and overseeing the construction of what he called a "real Department of Public Works garage."