Gregg Mele: Bridgewater Mayoral Candidate Profile

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — There is a heated and contested race for the Bridgewater Mayor and Council this upcoming November election due to ongoing issues of development in the township.

Libertarian Gregg Mele is running for Mayor against Republican Matthew Moench and Democrat Jeffrey J. Brookner.

There are also two, three-year council seats up for grabs with Republicans Michael Kirsh and Timothy Ring running against Democrats John Arcoleo and Patti Selikoff.

The election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Here is a look at who Mele is and why he is running. Candidates were asked to answer the same questions and each candidate profile will be posted on Patch's site as it gets closer to the election.

Gregg Mele

Describe yourself:

Every aspect of my life has been spent in the pursuit of helping people from the beginning. I have passed on several opportunities for greater personal rewards, so that I could instead lift up others. That has been my reward.

I have a wonderful wife, Jenny, and our blended family consists of my two daughters and her three sons. Both daughters got married this year, so it has been a very busy year. My education includes the following degrees: BS in Computer Science and Mathematics, MS in Computer Science, MBA in Finance and Economics, JD focusing on governmental policies at the federal and local levels, and an LLM in Corporate and Securities Law. I later wrote and taught graduate courses in Law and Finance for many years.

I am an active 54-year-old, running the New York City Marathon with one of my daughters this year (I had run it one other time in my 20's, and always had the dream of running with my daughters), and also playing hockey (goalie) and drums every chance I can find.

What experience do you have that would help you serve?

After the above-referenced education, I became involved in local politics in the municipality I used to live in, New Providence. I was appointed to chair the Economic Development Committee and also to be a member of the Open Space Committee. The balance required for these two competing concerns are at the crux of one of the major issues facing Bridgewater today, so I am uniquely positioned to effect positive change in this area.

My career has also included programming, analysis, team leadership, and strategic development, in addition to the risk-aversion skills I have developed in my law practice over the last 17 years. I believe I can bring more well-rounded analysis and discussion to any issue before the municipality, so that better solutions can be arrived at.

What issues would you like to address if elected?

• a) Encouraging a more sustainable commercial tax revenue, in order to maximize our return, so residential taxes can remain low;
• b) Reducing development for unsustainable businesses and urbanization of our neighborhoods, taking whatever offsets are available to minimize governmental requirements resulting in increased tax burdens;
• c) Promoting privatization and shared services wherever possible to reduce government;
• d) Utilizing some of the cost savings above to institute property tax discounts for seniors, as exist in a number of municipalities, so that long-time residents are not forced to leave due to increasing costs;
• e) Focusing on reducing any administrative redundancy in the school system, so that it can be leaner, more efficient, and more effective, while returning more control of the classrooms to the teachers;
• f) Establishing and strictly enforcing a more competitive bidding process, particularly for road construction contracts, so that costs can be contained;
• g) Encourage more interaction and programs between the police and concerned citizens, such as neighborhood watch programs and safety seminars; and
• h) In a break with my party's policy stance, opposing marijuana legalization, as my party considers that government should stay out of what they consider victimless "crimes" (while I agree with that general statement, I just view things differently in terms of seeing that there are victims resulting from marijuana use).

Why should voters vote for you?

In line with some comments about my background above, I believe I am more equipped than either of my opponents to bring far more than just legal expertise to the table in approaching and solving problems.

As a third-party candidate, I can also bridge the gap between the parties, part of the healing that seems necessary after recent years of hostilities between the major parties that have resulted in gridlock at all levels of government. It is a chance to make history, with a candidate and party whose beliefs are the only ones that can currently bring fiscal responsibility to our municipality, while encouraging healing and unity among our citizens.

— (If you are a candidate and would like to participate in the election profile, email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com)

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