BARNEGAT, NJ — Election Day is Nov. 2, and voters will have their say on New Jersey's next governor. But in Barnegat, residents will also vote on local, school board and county elections.
Ahead of the 2026 election, Patch will be publishing profiles on local candidates. Here's what Democrat Township Committee candidate Marianne P. Clemente had to say.
Editor's Note: Patch sent out emails to all candidates to the email addresses listed for their campaign provided to the office of the clerk. The responses received will be published between now and the Nov.2 general election. These responses will be published edited only for style. Candidates who would like to participate but did not receive one (for whatever reason) can contact veronica.flesher@patch.com.
Name: Marianne P. Clemente
Age: 80
Education: Bernard Baruch College, City University of New York
Occupation: Retired Financial Operations Manager
Family: Single with lots of great nieces and nephews
What drove you to seek public office?
I have been involved in politics since I retired in 2002, mostly working behind the scenes. After years of seeing our local Democratic candidates lose in a Republican-majority community, I decided to throw my hat in the ring and give it a try. I am tired of one-party rule for most of the last several decades, and these past 10+ years, our Township Committee has been totally Republican and without a woman serving on the committee. I can count on one hand how many times we had a woman representing us on the Township Committee. We need to mix it up a bit (both in terms of Party and gender) to make better decisions for Barnegat.
What qualifications and experience do you have that make you a good fit for this role?
Before retiring, I spent over 30 years working in financial operations, the last 22 of those years was at a Wall Street major money center bank. I retired as a Vice President of Trust Financial Operations. Being results oriented, my skill set afforded me the opportunity to streamline and improve
operations and processes, strengthen controls to minimize risk, leverage technology to enhance operations, marshal and galvanize resources needed to execute plans, and resolve difficult situations under adverse conditions. I'm experienced in budgeting and planning, proof and control, check and wire disbursements, tax operations and compliance, outsourcing and vendor management. These skills I've acquired over the course of my career, are very translatable to any industry, government or social organization. It's these same skills that I would bring to this position of Barnegat Township Committeewoman – helping me to contribute and make the right decisions for the residents of Barnegat, and not rely totally on the Business Administrator and Township Attorney. My well-developed communication and problem-solving skills are key to succeeding in this position.
What sets you apart from other candidates?
Basically, my years of experience in business, and the fact that I am a "doer" with a drive to fix things…..and the two obvious things setting me apart from the incumbents are that I am a Democrat and a woman.
What is the most pressing issue facing Barnegat?
What I have been hearing for years, and what Cassandra and I constantly hear when we are canvassing, is that our taxes are too high, especially in this affordability crisis we find ourselves in with the current administration in OUR White House. Granted that much of that is due to the school taxes, but there is certainly more we can do to relieve some of that burden.
First, we would scrutinize our spending, making sure that our taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. One of the ways I've always operated in my business career, was to dig deep and understand what my employees did and how they did it. There is always room to maximize an outcome, and by truly understanding the process one can make recommendations for improvement.
Another issue we hear a lot, is the fact that our Recreation programs have been severely diminished and are practically non-existent. They have certainly been negatively affected when the Township Committee saw fit to fire our very qualified shared-services Recreation Director, who did as much as she could with the limited funds she received for recreational purposes. Instead, the Township saw fit to hire a former Township Committeeman in this recreational capacity, for which he has no experience other than arranging the summer outdoor concerts. He works in tandem with a part-time staff member who has been stretched beyond her limits in terms of what she's able to do in the hours she works and the funds she does (not) receive. Perhaps we can use some of a $16 million surplus we carry on our budget, to increase our recreational programs, especially for teens, families and seniors who do not live in retirement communities.
The condition of our roads and playgrounds is also a topic of discussion. We actually have unpaved roads in Barnegat, something which should be addressed immediately, along with the repairing of some of our existing town roads. Our playgrounds too, are in much need of repair, as well as upgrading – perhaps making them accessible to children with special needs.
Sorry, I couldn't just list one issue.
If elected, what will your top priority be?.
Affordability is the #1 issue, not only in Barnegat, but in the entire country.
The best way we could contribute to that task is to analyze how the township is spending taxpayer dollars. One of the things I always do when starting a new job, is to understand what my employees do and how they do it. There is always room for improvement and a chance to reduce our costs.
We should be going after grants available to us and investigate why some of the grants in our budget last year, are not in our 2026 budget. Also, every year we carry a $16 million dollar surplus in our budget. Why? This is money that could be used to increase and improve services and perhaps, lower to some extent, the taxes we pay.
What is your favorite thing about living. in Barnegat?
I love living near the water. My house is less than a mile from the Bay.
Also, one of the reasons why I bought my house in Barnegat almost 40 years ago, is the "old town" feel to it. We've lost some of that feel over the years due to extensive development, but it still remains there in our "blood."
I want to be able to retrieve some of that "old town" feel. It is at the very heart of Barnegat's being.
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