Take Five: Cranford Committee Candidate Brian Andrews

CRANFORD, NJ - There are seats opening up on the Cranford Township Committee and Patch caught up with the candidates ahead of the general election this November.

Questionnaires were sent out out to all candidates registered with the County Clerk's Office in the 2019 general election using the email addresses they went on file with. The responses will be posted on the site by those who submitted in the order in which they were received. They will also be included in an election preview wrap.

This Take Five features Brian Andrews. His responses to the questions are below and unedited.

1. Why are you running for office?

Cranford is an amazing community to raise a family, open a business, or visit for our events, stores, and restaurants. I grew up in New Jersey, and when my wife and I came back to start a family we knew Cranford was the right town for us. Now as a parent in town, I am running for Township Committee to build on our successes and make Cranford even better for all our families. After spending years serving on community boards and volunteering with organizations like the Jaycees and Cranford Fund for Educational Excellence, the Township Committee would be another opportunity to have an impact on the issues we care about like pedestrian safety, improving our downtown, enhancing transportation options, and stopping developments that don’t make sense for Cranford.

2. What is the biggest challenge you see facing your community and how will you address it?

Cranford’s greatest challenges are in many ways tied to our success. Families and millennials are looking to move to Cranford for its downtown, walkability, community spirit, and mass transit access. This in turn is driving pressure for more housing, taxing our roadways, and making it harder to afford retirement in town.

The challenge for the Township Committee is twofold: Continuing to make improvements for our residents while adapting and fighting against developments that don’t make sense for Cranford. In particular, we should:

• Expand community-oriented features which benefit all of us. There have been great innovations the last few years like Porchfest and the Scarecrow stroll, and we can build on those successes. We should also review our parks and downtown public spaces to maximize the benefits. We have heard great ideas to improve our recreation offerings, like shaded playgrounds with safer turf, a splashpad, and community programs that can accommodate the diversity of family schedules, including two working parents.
• Take meaningful steps to make it safer and easier to walk and bike in town. We have heard concerns about speeding on Cranford streets and the need for additional steps to elevate pedestrian safety. Leading the Pedestrian Safety Committee, we have conducted safety audits and urged steps like a crosswalk connecting Nomahegan Park and Dreyer’s Farm, but more can be done.
• Stand up to outside big interests which could negatively impact our town. We have heard many concerns about issues like high density housing in our neighborhoods, high-voltage power lines along residential streets, and the proposed UCC cell tower. The Township Committee must be the champion and voice of Cranford residents.
• Tackle long-term challenges our town faces. Large developments going up in neighboring towns will increase traffic and further tax roads. We need to get ahead of it and plan for the future, including a structured, multiyear plan to address road maintenance. As a river community, we need local, regional, and national-level solutions to tackle flooding and provide businesses and homeowners with greater security.

3. What makes you the right person to vote for as opposed to the other candidate(s)?

I would bring a fresh perspective to the Township Committee and a record of serving our community. If elected, I would be the youngest member of the committee and have the youngest children, providing a different vantage point to town discussions from children safety to town investments.

I would also bring substantial experience in public policy. I earned a master’s degree from Princeton focused on public policy and then went on to serve the U.S. government in Washington DC at the State Department, Pentagon, and White House. I understand how to set policy objectives, motivate organizations to achieve them, and build broader coalitions necessary for large goals, like securing direct train service to New York.

Finally, I am a partner at a management consulting firm. This private sector experience will help me to review town operations and identify efficiencies to address taxpayer concerns, such as greater use of shared services.

4. What will you do to facilitate communication with the community?

Communicating with the community is critical to being an effective public servant and prioritizing resident concerns. As we have on the campaign, we would make use of platforms like Facebook and media outlets to inform the public of important issues and understand their views. Mayor Giblin has been particularly effective communicating town issues through social media and we would want to follow this lead.

As one example on increasing dialogue with the public, we propose establishing an online mechanism for Cranford residents to register concerns about speeding and pedestrian safety. This would be used to determine deployment of our proposed mobile radar speed signs to urge drivers to slow down and collect data to develop longer-term solutions for our streets.

5. What inspires you?

I am inspired by the Cranford residents who devote hours out of their busy schedules to build our Cranford community. Volunteers are the driving force of what makes Cranford so great. Big events like the Rubber Ducky Race or Scarecrow Stroll would not be possible without large numbers of volunteers. Additionally, every day in town neighbors coach sports teams, lead student groups like the Girl and Boy Scouts, volunteer to serve on town boards, participate in civic and church groups, and pitch in with a meal or childcare for someone in need. Their example is one of the reasons I am running for Township Committee to continue to improve our community.

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