Michael Kirsh: Bridgewater Council 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.

Republican Michael Kirsh is running for township council on the ticket with Matthew Moench and Timothy Ring against Democrats John Arcoleo, Patti Selikoff and Jeffrey J. Brookner.

Kirsh, Ring, Arcoleo, and Selikoff are all vying for the two, three-year council seats. Brookner, current Council President Moench and Libertarian candidate Gregg Mele are all running for Mayor.

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

Here is a look at who Kirsh 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.

Michael Kirsh

Describe yourself:

My name is Michael Kirsh and I am running for Township Council on a ticket with Mayoral Candidate Matthew Moench and Timothy Ring. My wife, Nicole, and I have lived in Somerset County since 2002.

Our daughter Phoebe is in 10th grade and our son Robert is in 8th grade.

Outside of politics, I have been a volunteer Manager and Coach within Bridgewater Baseball and
Softball. In 2018, I was principal driver of the highly successful fundraising raffle that allowed four 12U travel baseball teams and more than 40 kids to play at Cooperstown. I am a marketing and business development professional with a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University and Master of Business Administration from Rutgers University.

What experience do you have that would help you serve?

As part of a passion for public service I have been involved in politics and government for 25 years. Over the last 12 years living in Bridgewater I have been particularly active — currently as Vice Chairman of the Zoning Board or Adjustment and with the local Republican Party as Municipal Chairman. Prior to moving to Bridgewater, I lived in Green Brook and served on the Township Committee for three years, including one year as Deputy Mayor.

What issues would you like to address in Bridgewater?

I am running for Council to ensure Bridgewater remains desirable and affordable. Township government must always exercise sound planning, live within its means, and minimize debt. The annual budget has a direct impact on your wallet and the desirability of our community as a place to live. On Council, I will continue our proud fiscally conservative history of providing needed services in a cost-effective manner.

Bridgewater’s government will live within its means and where needed will make tough priority
decisions — just like the ones made at kitchen tables in every home in town.

Thinking along the lines of, "A proposed tax increase is only the cost of a cup of coffee each week" is nonsense because over time those seemingly small amounts add up to a lot more money out of your pocket. A look at your property tax bill for the last few years and the rates of growth among the municipal, county, and school district components clearly illustrate the dangerous impact seemingly small increases can have over time.

While a principal focus will continue to be each year’s budget, Mayor and Council should also adopt a long-range spending framework of at least three years to avoid expensive surprises and proactively plan for changes in the community. An important component of our spending over the next several years will be identification and execution of a comprehensive road repair plan, starting with a public report of current conditions within 90 days of taking office.

Bridgewater is nearly at complete build-out. A slow, traffic-choked drive on our main roads at peak times tells this challenging story in a more alarming way — the residential character of our community is under attack along with our collective quality of life. We must be exceedingly careful about the real and full impacts of any new development. Projects that look pretty on paper, promise new tax ratables, and make money for out-of-town developers but leave us with the long-term mess simply cannot happen.

Bridgewater needs a thorough and overdue update of its Master Plan to account for current conditions and anticipated future needs. Moving forward, any approvals for new development should protect us by including time limits and other reasonable restrictions, rather than being open-ended. While Bridgewater hugely values the employment opportunities and tax contributions of our vibrant commercial sector and will remain "open for business", we must require that any new project place Bridgewater first. The Mayor and Council must work collaboratively here to shape the face of Bridgewater for years to come.

The much-publicized Center of Excellence project is a disaster that should go back to the drawing board to better reflect our community’s current needs. Promised and required traffic improvements along Routes 202/206, the North-South spine of Bridgewater, remain elusive. Over the several years since planning for this project began, more questions have arisen than have been answered. The need for the proposed hotel seems to be very different now given all the other hotel projects within areas that are already zoned for this use. On Council, I will work collaboratively with the Mayor and fellow colleagues to appoint land use board members (Planning and Zoning) who strike the critical balance that complex projects require, and are never automatic, rubber stamp "yes" votes.

To improve transparency, Township Council needs to quickly identify ways to make key Council,
Planning Board, and Zoning Board documents available electronically to the public. We must also
consider appropriate monitors, projection screens, or other equipment for our public meeting room that allow audience members to see documents as they are being discussed.

Why should voters vote for you?

Among the most important traits of an effective councilperson are vision, ability to listen, sound
judgment, willingness to work toward the common good, creative problem-solving, and an
understanding of the impact today’s actions have on the future. My track record illustrates these
qualities.

Within my professional life and other activities, I subscribe to the values of the historic Athenian Oath, "We will transmit this city not only not less, but greater, better, and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us."

I am proud to be running on the Column 2 ticket with Matthew Moench and Timothy Ring, committed to preserving the residential character of our community and implementing strong, fiscally conservative budget principles. We are the right team for Bridgewater’s future.

Contact Information:
Email: kirshbwt@yahoo.com
Phone: 908-722-9240

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

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