Two newcomers seek job of Monmouth surrogate
BY KAREN E. BOWES
Staff Writer

Beverly Bova-Scarano

Do you know what the county surrogate does? With a paid salary of $88,000, the full-time county job is vacant. On Nov. 7, voters will do the hiring.

The county surrogate has the authority to qualify executors and trustees named in wills, to appoint administrators for those who die without wills and to appoint guardians for minors and legally incompetent persons. The surrogate is the custodian of the records of such estates, wills, guardianships and adoptions, and acts as the clerk of the Superior Court, Law Division, Probate Part. This is the court that hears cases involving disputed estates or incompetency proceedings.

The surrogate also acts as the clerk of the Family Part of the Superior Court, Chancery Division, when acting in adoption matters. The surrogate also acts as the manager of a $30 million minors' fund, set up for orphaned children who inherit money and other similar cases.

Voters have their choice between two women from Middletown. Candidate Beverly Bova-Scarano, 64, is a licensed real estate agent and appraiser and a former commissioner on the Monmouth County Board of Taxation. Republican Rosemarie Peters, 63, is an attorney and currently the longest sitting member of the Middletown Township Committee. Peters is not seeking re-election to the committee this year in order to pursue the surrogate spot.

Rosemarie Peters

Peters believes her skills as an attorney will make her a highly effective surrogate.

"A legal background is a real asset because it means you can hit the ground running instead of starting from square one as far as educating yourself," she said.

Bova-Scarano doesn't believe a law degree is essential to do the job well. She said the county surrogate must be compassionate in order to be effective.

"The position of surrogate does not mandate the position be held by an attorney," Bova-Scarano said. "The current surrogate [Marie Muhler] is not an attorney."

She maintains that sensitivity is needed for the job.

"How can you legalize compassion?" Bova-Scarano asked. "People arrive at the surrogate's office at a very vulnerable time in their lives."

The surrogate must be sensitive in those moments, she said.

"The current office does that and I would certainly continue," Bova-Scarano said.

Peters agrees that the job of surrogate is a delicate one.

"It's a very serious job," Peters said. "It affects a lot of people who are very vulnerable. These are people who need protection and people to look out for their best interest."

Peters believes the surrogate's position should stand outside of politics.

"It isn't about political partisanship or political fun and games. It's too serious a job. I've approached it seriously, as a job I'm applying for," Peters said.

Peters said she will "roll out her qualifications" in order to show she is the best qualified applicant. A former president of the Monmouth County League of Women Voters, Peters has been Middletown mayor four times. Peters earned her law degree in her 50s. Prior to that, she worked in public relations and communications.

First elected to the committee in 1989, Peters has been instrumental in establishing Middletown's open space trust fund and building the new arts center located next to the train station. She listed her experience with trimming budgets and initiating a shared services program between the school board and town hall.

When it comes to saving money, Peters said, "I'm very open to trying new things." Peters named the privatization of leaf pick-up and snow removal as ways the town has saved money over the years.

"A lot of the things they're talking about now, are things Middletown has been doing all along," Peters said while discussing shared services.

Bova-Scarano pointed to her 15 years as a full-time commissioner on the Monmouth County Board of Taxation (1982-97) as the place she learned the most about the financial needs of residents. Working on the board exposed her to people of various economic standing.

"I placed myself in their shoes," Bova-Scarano said. "I saw what they needed and worked to produce what they needed."

An example of her productivity is a booklet Bova-Scarano helped create outlining helpful instructions for taxpayers to follow if they were applying to have their assessment lowered.

"The burden of proof is always on their shoulders, but that doesn't mean you couldn't show them the way," she added.

If elected, Bova-Scarano said she would improve transportation to the surrogate's office for seniors and others without transportation.

"In Asbury Park and in other urban areas, there are populations that are under-served," Bova-Scarano said. "People don't have access to transportation to the surrogate's satellite offices - there's one in Wall, and one in Ocean Township that I'm told is now open. People in Asbury Park who need those services cannot get there easily."

Bova-Scarano said she strongly supports affordable housing reform, and attends meetings of an advocate group based out of Middletown Reformed Church on Kings Highway. The group is called New Creation in Christ (NCIC) and its aim is to promote the reuse of land and buildings at Fort Monmouth for the homeless and permanent affordable housing.

Bova-Scarano is also involved in the legislative branch of the Monmouth County Association of Realtors.

"We've been working on eminent domain and affordable housing," she said, naming a few examples of the issues the group studies, adding property taxes as a top issue.

"The Realtors are also advocates of re-use of some land at Fort Monmouth to put a dent in affordable housing," Bova-Scarano said. "We are following closely eminent domain as it makes it ways through Trenton."