GOP: It’s time for ‘different direction’
Rhodes, O’Neill seek seats on No. Bruns. council
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

“I want our schools to be the best.” — Claude Rhodes Jr.

Tom O’Neill and Claude Rhodes Jr. want to be the new kids on the block.

Trying to break North Brunswick’s Democratic stronghold on the Township Council, the Republican candidates are campaigning to replace council Vice President Bob Davis and Councilman Bob Corbin during the Nov. 8 election.

O’Neill, 34, and Rhodes, 41, say they want to provide tax relief to residents, and bring honesty and integrity to the council.

“I’ve been living here for four years and [have seen] a 25 percent tax increase,” O’Neill said.

“We’re not politicians. We never ran for office before. Our drive for councilmen comes from the heart.” — Tom O’Neill

They blame the Democratic administration in the township, county and state for increasing taxes on a consistent basis, saying the greater the control by the party, the higher taxes increase.

“I was doing four different jobs just to keep our heads above the water,” Rhodes said. “We need to stop and go in a different direction.”

O’Neill said the tax plan the Republicans have in mind does not necessitate cutting township employees, but instead will work on getting the township’s fair share of tax dollars back from the state to support the school budget. Currently, the candidates say that North Brunswick receives less state aid than other school districts.

Maintaining a quality school system is a priority for the Republicans as well.

“I want our schools to be the best,” said Rhodes, who was formerly a substitute teacher in the township and currently is a computer teacher at St. Francis Cathedral in Metuchen.

They are upset that a new racetrack for the North Brunswick Township High School was left out of the budget, while large amounts of state school funding goes toward outside Abbott School districts like New Brunswick.

“There is a big disparity going on. We certainly think we need to be taking advantage of what we’re not,” O’Neill said.

Development issues are also a key factor in establishing a productive township.

“We have to bring in ratables, good ratables. ... With [Johnson & Johnson] leaving, and now Permacel, we have to attract businesses and keep businesses here in town,” O’Neill said.

The Republicans said their organization was instrumental in suggesting the formation of a committee to explore the transit village situation in the township in March 2004. They suggested including the Renaissance, Governor’s Pointe and Hidden Lake developments as the high-density requirement of a transit village.

“Based on this administration’s experience, I’d like to go into the process with an open mind, but Claude and I have to guard this township from development,” O’Neill said.

Yet they do believe senior citizens face a serious problem in not being able to afford the prices of the planned adult community to be built on the Pulda property on Route 130, stating that other sectors of the population are struggling with the increased cost of living, such as young couples, single moms and the disabled.

“It’s not what we do here and now, it’s what we leave for our kids. That’s where the real quality of life begins, with lowering taxes,” O’Neill said.

“That’s just a shame, a beautiful property like that should have a beautiful park by a lake ... Why? Because they want to build,” said Rhodes, who is an opponent of more high-density housing in the township and an advocate for more open space.

“I’m tired of seeing people growing up and moving out of here. Why should children grow up and leave our state because they can’t afford a house? They can’t afford to stay here. I don’t want to see my kids somewhere else. I love my family and I want to see my girls,” Rhodes added.

The candidates support a community watch program in the Deerbrook Village community, which has reportedly dealt with vandalism from neighborhood youth. They applaud the efforts of Davis and other members of the council and police department in working to protect the safety of the neighborhood, but say the effort must be kept up for the long term.

In relation, they proposed improving the relationship between township police and children, suggesting trading cards with the officers’ names and a “safe number” to increase the reporting of potential problems, and to have officers “adopt” sections of town.

Another idea they support, mentioned by a resident, is to create a police substation in the southern portion of town. They suggested that the new fire and rescue squad building in the new section of Renaissance could possibly house such a substation.

Another area of concern is the illegal renting situation in the Berdine’s Corner section of town. Although they commend the township’s recent hire of code enforcement officers, they believe a stricter level of enforcement and ordinances is needed.

“It falls under quality of life. We want to enforce those codes so we can improve the quality of life. As council members we won’t forget the people in that part of town,” O’Neill said. As an employee of Verizon, O’Neill also sees the improvements needed in the Georgetown Apartments section of town.

Overall, the Republicans are hoping to restore a balance to the council and implement ideas they feel have been neglected for some time.

“We’re not politicians, and I’m proud of that. I’m a dad and a resident of North Brunswick. I want to help our kids and make this a better town for our residents,” Rhodes said.

“We’re not politicians. We never ran for office before. Our drive to run for councilman comes from the heart,” O’Neill said.