Take Five: Cranford Committee Candidate Mary O'Connor

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 Mary O'Connor. Her responses to the questions are below and unedited.

1. Why are you running for office?

To put it simply, I love Cranford. It became my home when my parents moved here in 1965, and it took over my heart when I moved back to raise my daughter in 1992. I came back to Cranford as a single mom, wanting to raise my daughter in a community where people looked out for each other and said hello when they passed on the street. Sounds simple, but I’ve lived all over the United States and the Cranford spirit is a rare gift.

Three years ago, I ran for re-election to the Township Committee to continue the incredible progress that had been made under Republican leadership. There was an aggressive road repair program, flood projects were in DEP review and moving forward, and our failing infrastructure was being addressed.
Over the past three years, the road project has diminished to following the path of the utility companies, Phase 2B, funded in 2016 is just now under construction and Orchard Brook has all but been forgotten. The funding for a major drainage and repaving project on South Union Avenue was almost lost due to a failure to file paperwork.

We need to get back to a getting the job done for Cranford residents. My experience and dedication to Cranford are proven and the residents of Cranford can count on me to always do the best for them. It’s time to get back Cranford back on track.

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

The high-density housing agenda of Trenton is the single most important issue facing our community because it impacts every facet of our day to day lives in Cranford. Affordable housing is a community and moral responsibility, but the current mechanism is flawed. To provide forty-five affordable units, three hundred need to be built. Court mandated high density housing does not consider the impact on infrastructure, education, traffic or public safety. Flooding is not considered relevant and that simply makes no sense in our town where flooding has devastated families and neighborhoods.
There must be a better way.
The Cranford Township Committee should form a coalition with the governing bodies of other suburban towns and take a united stand against these flawed mandates. We need to support current legislation in Trenton that places a moratorium on high density residential development, considers state and regional contributions and revamps an outdated policy for affordable housing. That means taking a stand against the failed policies of Trenton Democrats. Phil Siliato and I are ready and willing to take that stand.
Affordable housing is important. It provides a start for young families and easier retirement for senior residents. It offers housing opportunities and a place in the community. But, it needs to be a fair solution for everyone, including people who have lived in and supported their communities for years.

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

It has truly been a privilege to serve the residents of Cranford for the past six years. I have worked hard to represent the needs of everyone in our community and am proud of my record as a Township Commissioner. When I first campaigned in 2013, the state of the roads was a major concern and when elected, I made repairing our roads a priority. In two and a half years, almost twenty miles of Cranford’s worst roads were paved.

Flooding is one of Cranford’s biggest challenges, and it will only take one hurricane to remind us of how badly our town was devastated by Irene. I traveled to Washington with a bi-partisan commission to fight for federal funding for regional flood control, and to Trenton to advocate for local flood projects 2B and Orchard Brook.

I worked with the Police department on pedestrian safety initiatives on Brookside Place, Centennial Avenue and the active pedestrian crossing light at the NJ Transit trestle. Working with our legislative team to bring an equitable share of peak midtown direct service to our Cranford commuters is a key priority.

Running for Township Committee is a commitment. It is an eight-month job interview. You can say anything you want on social media but when you’re standing on someone’s doorstep, talking face to face, people know if you’re the real deal. Finding out what is important to Cranford residents is the only way you will know what to fight for as a Township Commissioner.

As a Township Commissioner, I get to look out and see who is in the room with us. My running mate, Phil Siliato is the only candidate who has been attending Township Committee workshop and official meetings. We have been knocking on doors since June and listening to the concerns of Cranford residents. That commitment is a direct indication of what you can expect from candidates when they become elected officials. It is what makes us the right candidates to vote for.

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

Two things have occurred in the past three years that have shown me how important communication is and how divisive it can be when communication fails.
The first was a disastrous plan put forward to condemn buildings along North Avenue to pave the way for redevelopment. The problem was, no one considered the opinion of the business owners who were operating successful businesses on North Avenue.

The second was the plastic bag ordinance. While I believe in the intent of the ordinance, the people most affected, our small business owners, were not part of the process and their input was not considered in developing transition timelines and restrictions.
In both cases, communication failed. We can do better. While there are great communication tools available such as social media, web pages and TV35, we’ve forgotten how important it is to gather people together in a room to work things out. The best plan is to consider what your objective is and find a way to meet it. Sometimes that may be social media and other times you need to reach out and make sure you just have the conversation.

5. What inspires you?

The people who live in this town inspire me. Time and time again I have seen the people of this community come together and support each other. During times of town wide crisis, such as Hurricane Irene, it was amazing to see how we pulled together and took care of each other. I have seen the outpouring of support for families in need, regardless of the circumstance. Cranford stands together. It is what makes this community solid in the good times and makes us resilient in the hard times. We are Cranford and there is no town like ours.
Cranford First!

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