Bridgewater General Election 2023: Saad Toor

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Bridgewater's general election on Nov. 7 has two candidates running for Mayor and four other candidates running for seats on the Township Council.

Democrat Saad Toor is running for one of two, three-year open seats on the Township Council along with Marguerite Baranowski against Republican incumbents Timothy Ring and Michael Kirsh.

Additionally, Democrat Dan Hayes is running for Mayor against incumbent Republican Matthew Moench.

Are you running for office in Bridgewater? Contact Alexis Tarrazi at alexis.tarrazi@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Bridgewater Patch.

Saad Toor

Age: 32

Town of residence: Bridgewater

Position sought: Council Member

Party affiliation: Democrat

Family: Engaged!

Education:

• University of Connecticut
  • B.A. Political Science, Concentration: International Relations, Minors: History / MiddleEastern Studies*
  • M.A. Education: Curriculum and Instruction**
• Oxford University (England, United Kingdom)
  • St. Antony’s College / Oxford School of Global and Area Studies***
  • M.Sc. Modern South Asian Studies, Concentration: International Relations, History, and Politics
• Linguistics: Fluent in English, Urdu / Hindi, and Punjabi

Occupation:

• Teacher/Coach/Form Dean at The Pingry School*, Basking Ridge, NJ
• Professor of Global Studies at Sacred Heart University**, Fairfield, CT
• Former Instructor for Stanford University (BING) and Lecturer for University of Connecticut (OLLI)

Previous or current elected appointed office: N/A

Campaign website: BestforBridgewater.org

Why are you seeking election as a Councilmember in Bridgewater?

Prior to becoming a council candidate in Bridgewater this year, I ran for Township Council in 2021. I was actively engaged and involved in canvassing, campaigning, and learning about the needs of the community. Our residents expressed concerns with respect to infrastructure, the environment, safety, amongst other local issues. I saw that many residents did not feel Bridgewater municipal elected leaders were truly representing them. I also saw clearly the partisan way in which the mayor appoints seats on critical boards and committees and the way the council is lock-step with the mayor’s self-interests that, I believe, he puts above the interests of all residents.

Bridgewater deserves better! I will seek to bring balance and bipartisan cooperation to the municipal government which will cultivate a healthy discourse for the future of our township. I will provide the proper oversight over the administration so that all residents are represented. I am asking for your support of the Hayes, Toor, and a Baranowski ticket!

Manufacturing buildings or warehouse applications are becoming more common in NJ. How do you feel about proposals to bring this type of development to Bridgewater Township? And how do you propose to limit it?

We are all impacted by the empty and underutilized buildings throughout the Township. With our commercial tax base shrinking, it shifts more burden onto residents. The loss of high value employers like Sanofi and Ethicon further reduces our long-term commitment to preserving Bridgewater’s quality. The township’s fiscal health is a fiasco with the debt going from $70 Mil to over $100Mil in just four short years and our outlook from S&P Global declined from stable to negative. Yet all the current mayor and council are interested in is building more warehouses and putting up ugly giant electronic billboards! They have no vision for the future.

The Hayes administration brought us many wonderful shopping and leisure sites that so many of us use and enjoy, like Whole Foods, Trader Joes, AC Hotel, and Lifetime Fitness. My vision is to create smart development projects working with Dan Hayes for Mayor that will positively impact Bridgewater’s future while bringing more revenue to the Township. I will not sacrifice our safety, beautiful landscape, and character of Bridgewater. Bridgewater deserves more than long term contracts for monstrous and distracting electronic billboards, with dubious origins, little to do with our township’s character and ridiculously low long-term tax benefits to the community.

Having trust and transparency in the township government and police department is important to residents. Do you feel the township is doing a good job of being transparent? How would you improve this?

Both trust and transparency in our local government and policing collapsed within our community after the February 2022 Bridgewater Commons Mall incident made it to the national press. This was a bad look for our township, as it questioned whether the two officers on our force legitimately lacked the training and professional development that they needed to handle the challenges that come in this line of work. I admire our law enforcement for putting their lives on the line, as first responders, however, the responsibility of this duty and its complexities must be continuously supported by us with up-to-date training for our officers.

I witnessed the protests that took place at the Bridgewater Municipal Complex after the Mall Incident and I understood the gravity of the divide within our Township when I drove past a banner with hateful language hung along Route 22. I felt compelled to express what I was thinking during that time and I encourage you to read my words here.

The current mayor is failing every resident by his refusal to release the Attorney General’s report. This report, blocked by the mayor, is an obstacle that must be addressed to restore trust and transparency. This is not a blind spot, rather, it is an overt action that is inhibiting the much-needed recovery that our community seeks to move forward. Programs like SHIELD may be a step in the right direction, however, it falls short of providing healing to a community traumatized by the Mall Incident which the mayor continues to evade addressing.

As a council member, I will be an advocate for the mayor and council to hold several town hall style meetings to speak to the residents and hear concerns.

What other issues do you feel need to be tackled in the township?

Fiscal stability needs to be restored. Taxes have skyrocketed while debt soars to record levels. The mayor has established the town's payroll as a sanctuary for the politically connected while our council, neglecting their oversight role, rubber stamping every proposal. They failed to even question the mayor as the budget swelled to give unqualified political cronies jobs or appointments that simply are not needed. And we now see residents are waiting longer than ever for permits because the township is understaffed. Dan Hayes, Marguerite Baranowki and I will restore local government to one that works for you- the residents with a “resident first” attitude.

The current administration has demonstrated short sightedness when it comes to road maintenance by laying off several employees from the Dept. of Public Works and outsourcing snow removal. They have fancy graphics to promote their plans, but in reality, they have been far too slow in repaving and repairing Bridgewater streets. There are still too many streets that are crumbling and full of potholes, and the temporary pothole-filling material doesn’t hold up. On top of that, our debt continues to balloon to fund road projects, exemplified by yet another $8 Mil loan approved for paving in February. Let me remind you that in his Oct. 2019 Bridgewater Patch Candidate Statement, Mr. Meonch wrote that he wants a road plan that does not rely upon debt as
the main source of funding! And look where we are today? Debt increased over $30Mil!

What sets you apart from the challenging candidates?

For one, I will only be working for the people of Bridgewater, not for my own political interests and aspirations.

I will inspire a larger and more diverse group of people to be involved in local government from both political parties.

I will treat every individual, no matter what their political affiliation is, with respect and I will never lash out at residents after they speak at council meetings.

I will not interfere with our school district's affairs by inserting partisan politics into Board of Education elections or by hijacking the School Superintendent’s responsibilities concerning school safety and security. It is inappropriate to use graphics and Township Facebook posts created by the tax-payer funded Office of Constituent Relations to showcase the mayor’s overreach regarding school security. It was appalling and abhorrent to see the mayor use a mailed public notice about our sewer bills in the 2022 summer that included his attack on the school district’s security plans to advance his personal agenda.

What else would you like to share about yourself or your campaign?

I sought to get involved locally, beyond being a registered voter. Being a teacher of American History, I understand that democracy requires active civic engagement that exceeds just participating in elections by voting. Our campaign endeavors to encourage all residents to understand the issues and become involved in the democratic process. I hope to see our residents engage in discussions with family and friends as a means of making more than your one vote count in this November’s important local election for Bridgewater’s future. Learn more on our website and follow bestforbridgewater on Facebook and Instagram.