Raritan Mayor Primary Candidate: Zachary Bray

RARITAN, NJ — Zachary Bray is a Republican running for mayor in the Raritan Borough primary election being held on Tuesday, June 4.

Bray and Democrat Pablo Orozco are both vying for the mayoral seat while Republicans Paul Giraldi and Nicolas Carra and Democrats Ngutor "Justice" Ifan and Dianne Bautista are vying for the two open borough council seats.

All six candidates are vying for their party's nomination on June 4 and then will move on to the general election on Nov. 5 for the lone sheriff spot.

Zachary Bray

Description:

My name is Zachary Bray and I am running for mayor of Raritan Borough. I am 28 years old (29 in July). I am a fourth generation resident of Raritan. My great grandparents came here from Italy in
the early 1900’s. They built the house I live in today. My family has been here for more than 100 years — Raritan is in my blood, it is a part of me. It has given my family so much for over a century, and I am excited for a new opportunity to give back to a community that I love very much.

What experience do you have that would help you serve?

I have been serving on the borough council for the last four years. During my time on council, I am proud to have been a part of many accomplishments. We have kept the tax rate flat for residents during my entire time on council while addressing the many needs of our citizens. We have been proactive in seeking out property that has been abandoned and/or in disrepair, and enforcing proper abatement, including a couple of properties by Raritan Avenue, several main street buildings and most notably Block 81 which will bing a "transit village" to Raritan, aimed at taking advantage of the train station. Block 81 will generate roughly six times the revenue of the previous property tax collections the site had to offer, which will allow us as a borough to re-invest in other community needs, and alleviating the burden on the taxpayer.

During my time on council, I have made every decision with the best interest of Raritan in mind, rather than putting my personal agenda ahead of what was best for our citizens, no matter how
unpopular it may have made me among my colleagues. I stood up in support of our incredible public library when there were discussions on potentially closing it down. I spoke out against raises for the council and mayor (I, in fact don’t even take the current salary that comes along with being a councilperson) when there was a proposal to more than double these salaries. I lead the charge for our Board of Health and Registrar when there was discussion of cutting their autonomy and cutting our contract with Somerset County.

My track record on council proves that I take my responsibilities to Raritan and its citizens seriously. I, unlike understand that I serve the interests of Raritan and the people, not the other way around. For these reasons I believe I have more than enough experience to serve as mayor.

What issues would you like to address in Raritan?

Raritan is on the rise, and while we have many issues to address I believe that real change is on its way. My main concern that I have put the utmost effort into is the revitalization of our downtown and business district. As of January of this year, I successfully revived the Economic Development Committee along with several extremely dedicated citizens. Our mission is to support current
businesses, cultivate a relationship between business owners, and put plans in place to attract new businesses to our town. The potential of our main street and surrounding areas are tremendous, considering that we have a train station and the river hugging the downtown area. The revitalization of a main street is a very long and tedious process. I intend to have a heavy hand in this process.

Issues that face us in this process include parking, property maintenance issues and successfully attracting businesses to town. I have already begun looking at ordinances that can be put in place to address several property maintenance concerns. The borough needs to do a better job at holding "absentee landlords" accountable for the condition of their properties. Furthermore, the borough
needs to be proactive in strategically buying property that goes up for sale with the thought of parking in mind. If both of these issues can be successfully done, I believe that Raritan will become the destination for business owners, especially with an influx of residents and commuters via NJ transit, as well as walkers and bikers taking advantage of routes near the river that travel between Somerville and Duke Farms.

A second main issue that Raritan faces is traffic/safety concerns. On the traffic end, with the growth in population, alongside Raritan being a main thoroughfare for commuters across the greater area, we need to do more to address concerns from neighborhoods who’s one time quiet streets have become speedways. We have already begun this process with the addition of speed humps on several roads, with plans for more to come in the future. Our wonderful police department has begun to increase their presence to catch offenders. With the addition of an officer (without raising taxes) we will be able to be at "full shift" allocating even more opportunities for
our police officers to catch speeders.

Alongside the county, our planning board, our engineer and planner and our citizens, we have begun to look at ways to make Raritan safer for walkers and bikers. Once again, we need to do a better job at taking advantage of the huge opportunity our train station and riverfront provide.

A final issue would be what to do with the old Washington School property. We have an extraordinary police and fire department, but their current buildings are outdated and out of room to house each department property. The Washington school property needs to be seriously considered as a place to potentially upgrade our police and fire departments. An eventual development of this property also needs to take recreation into account. Raritan Borough currently has no proper indoor facility to run recreation programs for our children. We also could completely revamp the outdoor space up at this facility to include more than just baseball/softball fields. An addition of a running/walking track, outdoor workout equipment, soccer fields, etc. are just some ideas.

Why should voters vote for you?

I think I’ve illustrated above why voters should vote for me. I live breathe and bleed Raritan, through and through. This town is in my DNA. Throughout my experience on council the last four years, I have put the concerns of residents ahead of any personal gain — something I will continue to do as mayor. I don’t like to think of myself as a politician — my sole purpose in this endeavor is to further my ability to have a positive impact on a community that has given my family (and so many others) a wonderful life.

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

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