Council control at stake in Marlboro election
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

Jeff Cantor

MARLBORO — Six residents are seeking three seats on the Marlboro Township Council in the Nov. 3 election. If the three Republican candidates sweep the election, the GOP will wrest control of the council away from the Democrats.

If at least one Democrat is elected, the council will remain in control of the Democrats.

The township administration is under the direction of Mayor Jonathan Hornik, who is a Democrat. The mayor's position is not on the ballot this year.

Seeking the three four-year terms on the Township Council are Democrats Jeff Cantor, Lynn Franco and Scott Metzger, and Republicans Selika Josiah Gore, Carol Mazzola and Jack Zatz.

Cantor is the only incumbent seeking reelection. Council members Steve Rosenthal and Rosa Tragni will end their terms in December.

The candidates were asked about their background and why they decided to run for a seat on Marlboro's governing body.

Cantor, who works in the pharmaceutical field, is seeking re-election in November. Cantor, a lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Army Reserves, is currently stationed in Afghanistan. He lives in Marlboro with his wife and two daughters and serves as a volunteer emergency medical technician.

Lynn Franco

Cantor has served as the council's liaison to several committees, including Open Space, Senior Advisory and the Veterans and Volunteers Committee.

The candidate was unable to respond to questions from a reporter due to his position overseas. The Marlboro Democratic Party provided information about the councilman's accomplishments and his goals for the future.

Cantor reactivated the Senior Advisory Committee after many years of dormancy and started Marlboro's Veterans and Volunteers Committee.

The Democrats said he has helped to secure hundreds of thousands of dollars for Marlboro to preserve open space, prevent farmland from being developed, renovate a senior center and make needed improvements to recreation fields.

The Democrats said Cantor will continue to focus on the needs of the community and the preservation of open space. As an experienced councilman, he plans on continuing to practice fiscal responsibility in the township budget process. He is also planning on working on the energy master plan, which will make Marlboro a sustainable and affordable community, according to the Democrats.

Scott Metzger

Lynn Franco has lived in Marlboro for 18 years with her husband and two children. For 15 years, Franco worked as the chief administrative officer of a pension actuarial firm. She currently consults part-time for the family business.

Franco has served as the Marlboro Municipal Swim Club Advisory Board chair since 2006. She is also an officer and trustee of the Marlboro Educational Foundation, served as the representative from the Asher Holmes School for the Marlboro K-8 School District's redistricting committee and has been an active member of parentteacher organizations at Asher Holmes, the Marlboro Elementary School and the Marlboro Middle School. Franco is also a member of the Marlboro Kiwanis Club.

Scott Metzger moved to Marlboro in 1969 and is a lifelong resident except for his time away during college, graduate school and medical training. Metzger resides in Marlboro with his wife and four children. He is a physician who specializes in pain management. He has been involved with the town's soccer and basketball programs, as well as serving on the Advisory Board of Jewish Family and Children Services.

Jack Zatz

Carol Mazzola and her husband moved to Marlboro a little more than six years ago. She is the mother of four children and has three grandchildren with another grandchild expected next May. Mazzola has operated The Maxxum Media Companies, an advertising and public relations firm, for more than 26 years. She is also a Realtor Associate with Keller Williams Realty West Monmouth.

Mazzola is the President-elect of the Kiwanis Club of Marlboro. She volunteers for the American Cancer Society and its Relay for Life.

Selika Josiah Gore has lived in Marlboro since 1993. She and her husband are raising their two sons and served as guardians to her niece, a graduate of Marlboro High School. Josiah Gore is a 1992 graduate of Hofstra University School of Law in private practice. She taught continuing legal education at Fordham University and piloted a summer-internship program for law students in New York City.

Selika Josiah-Gore

Josiah Gore's community involvement includes serving as the vice president of the Marlboro Memorial Middle School PTA, a trustee of the Marlboro Educational Foundation, and assisting in the Marlboro Pop Warner Scholarship Fund.

Jack Zatz moved to Marlboro 20 years ago. He is currently employed with Alcatel- Lucent where he is a Director of Managed Network Operations Solutions. Zatz also recently graduated from Rutgers School of Law.

In Marlboro, Zatz has been a member of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment. After only a few months on the zoning board, he redrafted the zoning board's bylaws and also drafted two changes to Marlboro's land use ordinances. Zatz currently serves as a commissioner on the Marlboro Township Municipal Utilities Authority and serves on the Monmouth County Republican Committee.

The candidates were asked a series of questions concerning their candidacy. This week's article will focus on their decision to run for council.

Carol Mazzola

Why did you decide to run for the Marlboro Township Council? What makes you want to get involved?

Franco: Marlboro is the place where my husband and I chose to raise our children. I have always been very involved and my deep concern for our community drives me to help make changes for the better. This opportunity is a natural next step in my town involvment. As my daughter pointed out, "Mom, you are at meetings every night anyway. Why not take it to the next step?"

Metzger: Growing up, I was the son of a Marlboro councilman. I was also a member of that era's version of the Teen Advisory Committee. Community involvement was instilled in me as a child and continues with me today.

Politically, I have been very involved in the medical arena, awarded with the American Medical Association Achievement Award for outstanding leadership. During the past 18 months I have watched as the current administration has opened itself up to the public. Seeing this transformation, after years of being shut out, has inspired me to run for public office.

Josiah Gore: I decided to run for the Marlboro Township Council because I was concerned with many of the choices the current administration was making. I decided to run for council because I believe in the future of Marlboro and would like to see a continued improvement in the quality of life for our residents.

I have been involved in all aspects of town life involving education, sports and local social groups. That coupled with my educational background and professional skills puts me in the unique position to see and speak for the residents of Marlboro no matter who you are or where you have come from.

Mazzola: I decided to run for a seat on the Marlboro Township Council because I did not like the direction that I see our township heading. We moved to Marlboro specifically because of the quality of life here. While our children are grown, the excellent schools here in Marlboro also influenced our decision. In recent years our real estate taxes have increased dramatically, while I have seen a decline in services offered by the township.

A good example of this are the furloughs imposed on the municipal employees. It is curious this contract (for Marlboro's blue collar employees) that expired in December 2007 was settled four weeks before the election. This agreement is not a good deal for either the union members or Marlboro.

The problem is that it factors in mandatory unpaid furlough days that union members must take - three unpaid days before the end of 2009, and 15 unpaid days in 2010. The agreement further states that there will be no layoffs through the end of December 2010. This agreement will result in increased budget costs in 2010 while maintaining decreased township services.

Zatz: I decided to run for the Township Council because I have lived in Marlboro for 20 years and have seen many desirable improvements in our town while at the same time, I am troubled by some of the directions and changes that our town administration has made.

Our escalating property taxes are making Marlboro unaffordable for many longtime residents. Programs like the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing are obsolete and must be dramatically revised or completely dismantled or else they will have a devastating effect in Marlboro.

I am running for council because I have a wealth of experience and new ideas and can bring positive changes to Marlboro to make it more affordable, while maintaining a great quality of life for its citizens.

Furthermore, I strongly believe that the town is better served by a "checks and balances" mayor and council team that are not all from the same political party. History has proven that.

Part 2 of this article will be published in the Oct. 28 issue of the News Transcript.