Democratic Candidates Cite Need For Balance on Council

For Jim McElwee, the No. 1 goal is to get incumbent Councilman Jim Gorman reelected in November’s elections.

Of course, he and Kevin Krumaker would like to give him some support on the Galloway Township Council.

Gorman and challengers McElwee and Krumaker are the three Democrats running for three open seats in November’s election. Mayor Keith Hartman, incumbent Councilman Tony Coppola and challenger Brian Tyrrell are the three Republicans running in November.

Should the three Democrats, who held their first Meet and Greet Monday night at McGettigan’s 19^th Hole across from the Seaview, prove successful in November, the balance of the council would favor Republicans, 4-3.  If the Republicans all prove successful, they will have all seven seats on council.

Currently, the Republicans hold six of the seven seats on council, with Gorman the lone Democrat.

“He’s been outnumbered. He needs more balance,” McElwee said. “ … We have a golden opportunity. A lot of people are not satisfied, and I hope the turnout is enough to have an effect.”

“His voice gets drowned out,” Krumaker said. “It makes sense to have more balance.”

He may be drowned out, but Gorman is proud of the record the council has had with him as a member.

“I vote for what’s best for Galloway,” Gorman said. “I don’t let party affiliation get in the way. If I only get half of what I want, that’s not a reason to vote against the whole thing.”

But both McElwee and Krumaker pointed to the issue of the non-binding referendum on trash pickup presented to council last month. It was tabled by council, 6-1, with Gorman acting as the lone voice against tabling the measure.

The referendum would’ve asked if the township should partner with a private company for trash and recycling collection services.

“This is a hot-button topic,” McElwee said. “They did it for political reasons. Jim worked on this for a year, and six Republicans denied residents the chance to speak on the issue.”

“He was the right voice on the trash issue, and it should’ve been done this November,” Krumaker said.

Gorman said there have been a few decisions made by council Gorman disagreed with that may have swung in his favor with an extra vote or two.

“Like with the trash issue, I would like to see the residents decide, to give them a voice,” Gorman said.

Gorman also thinks the fire departments have not been financed properly, and he would like to see more ratables brought into the township.

This is a unified message among the Democrats, as is the message that the township needs more jobs. In its most recent grading of Galloway Township, Standard and Poor’s set the unemployment rate in Galloway at 11.8 percent.

“We could be doing more, but this council pushes it off on the state and federal government,” Krumaker said. “We need to bring in ratables. Why can Egg Harbor Township bring in businesses and they’re redoing the Shore Mall, and they’re in the same economy we’re in. Hamilton’s been up front on the NextGen project. I don’t see everyone on council working in the same direction.”

“We need to be proactive,” McElwee said of bringing in ratables. “We need to go to people and say this is what we have in Galloway Township. It’s a good thing to come here.”

As far as creating jobs, McElwee would like to see job fairs and multicultural events held in the fields next to the municipal complex.

“Bring retailers in from different businesses and hook them up with the unemployed,” McElwee said. “It all starts at home. We have to have Galloway’s interests at heart. We have to do what we can to get people employed.”

All three Democrats believe a mix of big name chain businesses and “mom and pop shops” would be good for the community, as long as some ratables can be brought into the township.

“If we build one, and we can bring in one chain, others will follow,” Gorman said.

They would all like to see the White Horse Pike developed, and see something done with the site of the Lenox building.

But Gorman is not afraid to run on the positive accomplishments of the council.

“We were able to bring police officers back and our finances have improved,” Gorman said. “We were the first into the recession, but we’ve been more proactive in the last two years, so we should be one of the first out.”

Gorman said council spending is more under control than in previous administrations, which spent money without saving.

McElwee and Krumaker each spoke of a greater need for transparency in Galloway, with McElwee pointing to the recent special hearing for Township Clerk Lisa Tilton as an example.

“They went into a backroom for seven hours,” McElwee said. “ … Residents don’t know the whole story, and they may never know the whole story.

“We all believe in open government. I think the minutes from all council meetings should be posted on the township’s website.”

And Krumaker believes video of the meetings should be uploaded and archived so that anyone may see them at any time in the future with the click of a button.

Krumaker would also like to see a neighborhood watch put in place in Galloway, and greater interaction between the schools and the township, to teach younger people about positions of leadership.

“You could have Mayor for a day, police chief for a day, fire chief for a day, just go down the list,” said Krumaker, a civics teacher at Galloway Township Middle School. “It would teach younger people about leadership.”

All of their ideas stand a better chance of being implemented with a more balanced council. For that to happen, McElwee and Krumaker have to do what Gorman convinced a heavily-right leaning population in Galloway Township to do four years ago when they voted a Democrat into office.

“I think some of the Republican residents are disillusioned with this council,” said McElwee, a Galloway resident of 15 years who plans to retire in the township. “ … We’re all blue collar workers. We don’t have businesses and we don’t have an agenda.”