Election 2023: Berkeley Democratic Slate

BERKELEY, NJ — Election Day is nearing, and Berkeley voters will head to the polls to cast their votes for a new mayor and three council seats.

Patch sent questionnaires to all candidates seeking their responses. Here are responses from the Democratic ticket: mayoral candidate Kia Phua and council candidates Mary K. Curtis, Thomas White and Frank DeMaio.

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. 7 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: Kia Phua

Age: 46

Party affiliation: Democratic

Education: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Occupation: I am currently a Train Operator for NYC Transit for the past 20 years. Also, during
that time, I was a former Vice President for the Transport Workers Union, Local 100, which represents over 42,000 members.

Family: Happily married, father of 4 children

Previous public office experience: I am an elected democratic committee member for District 35 in Berkeley Township. Similar to public office, I was a former TWU Vice President, where we advocated for the 42,000+ members in our union for better wages, benefits, and a safe workplace environment.

Why are you running for this position? I am running to make a positive change in Berkeley Township. We have a community yearning for more. More opportunities for growth for our children. More protection and services for us, our parents, and grandparents in the senior communities. More quality businesses to attract a thriving municipal economy. More transparency as to what our local government is doing for the people. We need and deserve more and it is my commitment to the people of Berkeley Township to deliver that as a fellow Berkeley Township citizen and mayor of our town.

What separates you from the other candidates?
What separates me from the others is that I am an active participant in many different organizations in the community. I am currently a Board Member and Coach for the Berkeley Girls Softball League. I coached two teams in the spring as well as currently coaching an 8U year-round travel team. Recently, I restarted Cub Scout Pack 27 and head the organization as Cubmaster here in Berkeley Township after it disbanded several years ago. In a township as large as Berkeley, our community deserves to have a youth organization like Cub Scouts available to participate in. Also, in town, I am a member of the CBW and BTES Parent-Teacher Associations. On a larger scale, I am a member of the National Organization of Women, NAACP, and the Sierra Club. I also served as a Eucharistic Minister for St. Francis Episcopal Church.

Our elected officials need to be active participants in the different organizations within our community so that we can be in touch with the people. It is not enough to simply show up for a photo opportunity.

We are answering the last few questions as a slate: What do you think is the most pressing issue in the town and how do you intend to address it?
The biggest issue our town is facing is the lack of transparency and action from our elected officials. The current administration claims to have the 2nd lowest taxes in Ocean County, which is a play on the numbers. In actuality, Berkeley Township’s 2023 municipal tax rate of 70.5 cents per $100 of assessed evaluation is 21st out of 33 municipalities in Ocean County and higher than our
neighbors in Lacey, Toms River, Manchester, and Seaside Park. Since the Amato team took office in 2012, taxes have increased by 25.59% with no major services for that increase. This manipulation of the data and lack of real clarity with the taxpayers will not be accepted on my watch.

The other major concern is the development of the Beachwood Shopping Center and the traffic in town, especially on Route 9. For the past 12 years, Mayor Amato and his team campaigned on this problem every election cycle and the Center is still an eyesore to this day and traffic is worse than ever. Like clockwork, the mayor and council are coming up with a “plan” for the center which, as history has proven to us, will fade away as soon as the election is over. 12 years is long enough and it’s a shame it’s not resolved yet. My plan to fix the traffic in town is to apply for grants from all aspects of government, from the federal, state, and county. We need to get our fair share of money from other areas of government to help support our needs. The residents of Berkeley are paying more than our fair share in property taxes and as a government, we need to look elsewhere to raise funds. With these funds, we can develop a plan to finally alleviate the traffic along Route 9.

If elected, what do you hope to accomplish?
As our next Mayor and Council members, to address the problem with transparency and action, we will provide full transparency and clarity of township activities on the township’s website. The public has a right to review and inspect these items as they see fit. Building off the theme of community input, to advance meaningful development for the Beachwood Shopping Center, we will survey the residents to see what they envision the area would become. After that, we will find the right developers to put the plan in place and hold them accountable to ensure the plan is moving along.

To breathe new life into our community, we would love to partner with our local school districts to build a community center in Berkeley Township. The YMCA-style community center would include a pool, ice rink, basketball court, fitness center, and turf area for all our residents and community teams to utilize. As mentioned above, we could raise funds from other areas of government with no increase in taxes for the residents of Berkeley Township to build the community center. We currently have ice hockey and swim teams in Central Regional and it is a shame that our children have to travel to use out-of-town facilities. Our local baseball, softball, and soccer teams would love to have a facility to practice in during the winter months and this would also give our families a place to go to for recreation and to build relationships with other members of the community. We would also like to start our own youth basketball league. It’s a shame that our children are forced to wear the Lacey Lions' name and logo on their uniforms because Berkeley Township does not have our own program available. We deserve better and it’s time for a change in leadership!

One issue that many are focused on is the redevelopment of the former Beachwood Mall site. What do you think is the best course of action? Answered above

Is there anything else you would like voters to know?
Our biography and plan of action are listed on our website, www.TeamPhuaForBerkeley.com. As mentioned earlier, one of the biggest problems our community faces is the lack of transparency from our current elected officials. We are currently in the middle of an election and we do not even
know what platforms our opponents are running on and what they plan to do moving forward.

Next, our slate is representative of the community we want to represent. Kia Phua is from Bayville and is in touch with many different organizations throughout the community. Mary Curtis and Thomas White are from Silver Ridge Park and Holiday City, respectively, and are here to represent the senior community of Berkeley Township. Frank DeMaio is a Gen-Z candidate from Bayville seeking to be a voice for the younger community.

We deserve more and we deserve better! Vote Team Phua for a Better Berkeley Township!

Name: Mary K Curtis

Age: 73

Party affiliation: Democratic

Education: I have a degree in Paralegal Studies and have worked in Human Resources,
Accounting, and Law.

Occupation: I am currently retired but have always strived to serve my community and
the people around me.

Family: I have a sister who lives in Pennsylvania.

Previous public office experience: For years, I have and continue to serve as a committee person for District 13 in Berkeley Township’s Silver Ridge Park West.

Why are you running for this position?
I have an inherent desire to make positive changes in Berkeley Township as a member of the town council.

What separates you from the other candidates?
I am an active member of the senior community and the only female candidate running in this election. From the last census report, females represent 53.5% of the population of Berkeley Township and we need more female representation in our local government.

Name: Thomas White

Age: 69

Party affiliation: Democratic

Occupation: I am a retired United States Postal Carrier.

Previous public office experience: I am a current elected committee member serving District 12 in Holiday City Berkeley and also a previous candidate for town council in Berkeley Township.

Why are you running for this position?
I am running to make a positive change for the people of Berkeley Township and as a resident of Holiday City – Berkeley, I also want to represent the needs of the senior community as a Council-at-Large member.

What separates you from the other candidates?
I am a proud union man serving as a member of the National Association for Letter Carriers. Additionally, I am an active member of my local NAACP and member of the Berkeley Township Democratic Club always striving to make our community better.

Name: Frank DeMaio

Age: 23

Party affiliation: Democratic

Education: Associate's degree in Health Science, Ocean County College. Current OCVTS student in a Certified Medical Assistant program.

Occupation: I am an assistant manager at Dollar General here in Bayville.

Previous public office experience: There is an opening as a committee person in my district in Berkeley Township that I am looking to be appointed to.

Why are you running for this position?
This is my first time running for public office and I would like to be a voice for the Generation Z community as a Council-at-Large member.

What separates you from the other candidates?
I became an Eagle Scout for the Boy Scouts of America in 2018 and became a member of the National Eagle Scout Association. Our candidate for mayor, Kia Phua, recently restarted Cub Scout Pack 27 in Bayville and I volunteered to be a Den Leader to assist with the Pack’s startup. I am also a member of the National Organization of Women (NOW), Ocean County Chapter. As a community leader, it is important to actively participate in groups within the community to understand the needs and wants of the people. As the only Gen-Z candidate running in the election, I can say there is a big disconnect between our elected officials and the Gen-Z community and I am here to bridge that gap and be a voice for our community.