Mayoral Election Highlights Upcoming Year In Gloucester Township

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — It’s a new year, and 2017 brings with it a mayoral election in Gloucester Township.

Mayor David Meyer, first elected in 2009 and re-elected in 2013, is up for another four-year term this year.
It remains to be seen which Republican will challenge the Democratic incumbent this year, but there are plenty of topics to be debated. Here are a few of them.

Taxes: In 2016, Gloucester Township residents saw a municipal tax increase of about 12 percent, which drew a backlash from township residents over the summer. A recent report showed that this increase coincides with a decrease of about 11 percent in property values from pre-2010 levels.

Proposed Rehab Center: Toward the end of the year, the Gloucester Township Zoning Board approved a plan to bring a controversial rehab facility to the township, across from Camden County College. The vote was the result of a court order that came after the Zoning Board twice rejected Recovery Centers of America’s proposed 317-bed facility. Recovery Centers of America argues this is a permitted use for the site, but some residents are concerned about the impacts on safety and property values. This will eventually go before council. What impact will it have on this year’s elections?

Field of Dreams: The special baseball field for special needs players was first approved in 2012, but has been a slow-go since. The field was originally slated to be installed at Community Park on Hickstown Road in the township’s Erial section, but in October, it was revealed plans had changed and the field was to be installed at the Gloucester Township Sports Complex at Valleybrook, where a softball field was outfitted with artificial turf as part of a recent project at Community Park. Questions have persisted about the field since its groundbreaking; will those questions continue into the 2017 campaign?

Energy Aggregation Program: When announced, Gloucester Township, Winslow Township and Somerdale said the program would reduce energy costs by between 7.5 percent and 9 percent each month. Some residents later said they weren’t seeing those savings. What role will this play in the 2017 election?

In addition to Mayer, Council Members Dan Hutchison, Franklin Schmidt and Michelle Winters, all Democrats, are also up for re-election to their four-year seats.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017.