Manasquan Candidates Debate Issues

Candidates for November's general election in Manasquan gathered at the Manasquan Woman's Club on Saturday to answer questions and debate borough issues during the Manasquan Beach Improvement Association's Breakfast with the Candidates.

The annual event gives voters a chance to hear candidates sound off on a number of issues of local importance. Each candidate was given two minutes to introduce themselves, then MBIA vice-president John O'Grady read a series of questions emailed in by local residents. Each candidate was allowed a chance to answer each question, again with a two minute time limit. At the end, each candidate had an additional two minutes for closing remarks.

One one side, Republican candidates for council Richard Norris and Pamela Lewis, both political newcomers, joined current councilwoman and Republican mayoral candidate Patricia Connolly. On the other, Democrats Mike Mangan and Joe Bossone, both former councilmen seeking a return to the governing body, joined incumbent mayor George Dempsey, who is seeking reelection.

The focus of the two-hour open forum veered more towards specific issues in town, rather than towards overall policy questions.

The first issue raised by O'Grady was the conduct of members of the governing body during council meetings, which some residents feel has grown hostile in recent months.

"If you say 'no' why should you be accused of creating a hostile environment?" Connolly said.

The question seemed inevitably tied to recent discussion over the fate of the Eastmond Pavilion at the beachfront. Dempsey noted his own willingness to cooperate across party lines and pointed to the current council's five-to-one vote in favor of the project.

"You see a lot of bickering about issues because there's frankly an unwillingness to be cooperative," Mangan said, noting that of the Eastmond Pavilion, "one candidate for mayor has made it a political issue."

"I think the party politics really has no business being in town," Bossone said. "Republican, Democrat, that really means nothing to me in a small town like this."

Both Norris and Lewis expressed a desire for cooperation.

"This is a small town, everyone should have the same goals in mind which is the benefit of the public," Norris said.

On the issue of the beachfront headquarters building, Connolly maintained the bold opposition to the project that she has had in recent council meetings.

"You better believe I will bicker about the spending of 1.6 million dollars," she said. "No bid contracts? I'm totally against them." 

Dempsey defied Connolly's notion that the project was fast-tracked by the governing body's Democratic majority, noting that in March Connolly voted yes on a resolution to hire project architect Chris Rice.

Dempsey noted that the $1.6 million cost was a bond anticipatory note and does not reflect the actual cost of the structure. He also noted that the cost of the building would be drawn from the beach utility and would not be raised through the borough's general fund or by property taxes.

We always bond for more than we need and then cancel it," he said. "If you run short then you have to do a whole new ordinance at more expense."

Dempsey also pointed to reports by the borough's joint insurance fund representative and by an independent contractor, who both recommend demolition and reconstruction of the aging structure.

Mangan defended the practice of bonding for more than is needed.

"We've done it on every major improvement project the borough has ever done," he said.

Mangan also took issue with Republican candidates using housing prices as a basis of comparison for the relative cost of the beach headquarters project calling it "incredibly irresponsible."

"When a government does a project it is inherently more expensive than a private person," Mangan said. "The price of houses is not a fair comparison for a government project with a commercial application."

On the subject of the Glimmer Glass Bridge, Dempsey and Connolly again disagreed.

Dempsey pointed out that the bridge's weight limit has steadily been lowered over the years. While it could once handle 10 tons, the rating is now just three tons.

"That's the lowest they can rate a bridge. After that they open the bridge and go home," Dempsey said. "I haven't been over that bridge in three years. I'm scared to death of it."

Dempsey also noted that "the whole bridge is not an antique" and that only two wheels near the top of the drawbridge mechanism are original.

"This bridge has wonderful historic character," Connolly said. "It is not unsafe."

All candidates were careful to note that the decision on whether to rehabilitate or replace the bridge was not theirs, but the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders. The bridge is currently unusable by garbage trucks and by emergency vehicles such as fire trucks.

On the subject of improvements to the Squan Plaza area along Abe Voorhees Drive, candidates from both parties supported the project.

Dempsey explained that he has sought grant funding through three applications, which he hopes will help to offset the cost to the borough.

"When I drive through it I feel as though I'm driving through a war zone," Connolly said. "If elected it will be one of my top priorities."

While he supported the improvement, Mangan was critical of Connolly in light of her opposition to the beach pavilion replacement.

"This here, we're talking about actual tax dollars," Mangan said. "Here I see an idealogical inconsistency in the opposition."

Though Mangan noted, "it's kind of a manufactured issue. The council is moving on it and it's going to be done next year either way."

The candidates also discussed whether or not the beach should pay for water use.

"I was one of the first people to discover the beach doesn't pay for water," Connolly said, noting that the borough tax collector estimates that the beach uses approximately $2,500 per quarter worth of water.

"There's only X amount of dollars that we can send uptown legally," Dempsey said of the beach utility, noting that those funds are already used to pay for a number of beach-related expenses in the borough's general fund including administrative costs, police salaries and equipment. "I feel that paying for the water is not a necessary thing."