Brick Mayoral Election 2023: Lisa Crate

BRICK, NJ — Election Day 2023 is near, and Brick Township voters will be going to the polls to cast their ballots for candidates at the local, county and state levels.

In Brick, there are two candidates seeking the four-year term as mayor.

Patch sent a questionnaire to both candidates seeking their responses. Here are the replies from Lisa Crate. They are unedited except for typographical errors and punctuation.

Your Name: Lisa Crate

Age (as of Election Day): 52

Party Affiliation: Democratic

Campaign Website: CrateTeam2023.com

Family: Husband Will and two children, William (18) and Colleen (17), who attend or graduated from the Brick Public Schools.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? This includes any relatives who work in the government you're running for. No.

Education: Bachelor's and master's degrees in education from Georgian Court University

Occupation: Teacher with over 30 years of experience.

Previous or current elected or appointed office: I was elected to Council in 2015 and re-elected in 2019.

Why are you seeking elective office?

Brick is a great place to live, and I want to keep it that way. We’ve made a lot of progress in the
last 10 years under Mayor Ducey, and I want to continue the progress. We have kept taxes
stable, improved public services, and restored our hometown pride.

I first ran for Council at the suggestion of then-Mayor John Ducey. Since then, it has been my
honor to work for the people of Brick. I’m running for re-election because I believe my team and
I are most qualified to keep Brick moving in the right direction.

Our opponents have a record of raising taxes, threatening to lay off police officers, nepotism,
and neglecting critical public services. We can’t go back. Our team, if re-elected, is committed to
fiscal responsibility, stopping overdevelopment, building our sense of community and continuing
to support our police force. With your help, we can continue to make Brick Better.

Crime has been a concern for months across New Jersey. What do you think should be
done at the local level in Brick Township to ease residents’ concerns?

There has been a rash of crime, particularly vehicle break-ins, up and down the Jersey Shore,
especially in Ocean and Monmouth County. Police Chief Forrester has met with the State Police,
the County Prosecutor’s office and neighboring towns to coordinate a unified response to deter
and catch these criminals. I have met with Chief Forrester, and at his recommendation, we have
increased patrols in problem areas. This is possible because we have increased the size of the
police force. With the latest hire of 5 new officers, we now have the largest force ever, with 146
full-time officers. We fully fund our police force.

In addition, we have active Neighborhood Watch groups throughout Brick. These groups work
closely with the police to report suspicious behavior and look out for their neighbors. Neighbors
helping neighbors, with the strong support of our professional and well-trained police force, are
an important part of keeping Brick safe.

The township has refurbished its parks and expanded recreation programs for all ages
over the last 10 years. What programs or facilities would you like to see brought to Brick
Township?

I am particularly interested in programs that build our sense of community. Our new community
dinner, The Longest Table, was a big success- over 100 Brick residents came together to meet
their neighbors, get to know each other and strengthen our community.

People persistently complain about property taxes. What do you believe Brick can do at
the township level to mitigate the effects of state-mandated increases in the school
district property tax levy? If you would make cuts, what township programs would you
cut?

As Mayor, I testified about the devastating impact of the school aid cuts on both our students
and taxpayers, and successfully lobbied for a restoration of over $2 million of the cuts. I will
continue to advocate for Brick to receive its fair share of state funding.

On the municipal side, we have stabilized township taxes by eliminating nepotism, getting rid of
overpriced no-bid contracts, eliminating patronage jobs, and reducing debt. We are mitigating
the impact of the state aid cuts on our schools through shared services. We provide trash and
recycling services, police protection at school opening and dismissal, school resource officers
throughout the day at the high school and use of township fields for school teams. The township
rebuilt the tennis courts used by the high schools, constructed playgrounds at Midstreams and
Drum Point schools, installed the synthetic turf field at Veterans Memorial Middle School and is
constructing a new playground for Osbornville School.