Livingston Council Election Profiles: Councilman And Former Mayor Shawn R. Klein

LIVINGSTON, NJ — What are the most important issues in Livingston? What should happen with affordable housing? How much does one's political party influence local issues? Livingston's seven Township Council candidates recently participated in a debate.

They also have answered questions from the press, including from Patch.

Patch will be posting their candidate profiles and Q&A's in the next few weeks, in the order in which they were received. Watch for more before the Nov. 8 election.

Three Democrats, three Republicans, and one independent are vying for three seats on the five-member Township Council.

• Note that you can (and should!) submit letters, photos, events, and releases to be posted on Patch by following these instructions.
  
• Find out when and how to cast your ballot on the town's website here.

Below are candidate Shawn Klein's answers.

NAME: Shawn R. Klein
CAMPAIGN WEBSITE (if applicable):
AGE:49
EDUCATION: undergraduate – University of Pennsylvania; MD from Rutgers
FAMILY INFORMATION AND WHERE FAMILY MEMBERS ARE
ATTENDING SCHOOL (be as specific or non-specific as you want)
OCCUPATION: Ophthalmologist
OTHER SOURCES OF INCOME: stocks, investments
DOES ANYONE IN YOUR FAMILY WORK IN GOVT OR POLITICS? WHERE? No
VOLUNTEER WORK, COMMUNITY POSITIONS: Past mayor for two terms, and
current councilman; previously served on Zoning Board, 20/20 Committee, Complete
Streets

Questions about your thoughts and stances in the race:

1. What is the best thing about Livingston, and what are some things you believe should
be improved?
When you talk to people around town, one thing you hear them consistently say is that
they know that Livingston is the town that people come back to. People grow up here,
they might leave for further education, and then when the time comes to raise their own
family, they return. Why is that? Because when you at what Livingston offers – great
neighborhoods, wonderful school and terrific community spirit – the choice is easy. I
was born here, graduated from Livingston High School, and am now raising my two
sons with my wife here in town. My parents still live here, as does my sister and her
family. Many of my closest friends growing up are here as well.
At a ribbon cutting for a new boxing work-out storefront last week, the owner looked at
me and said “Livingston is different from where I grew up. People are proud to be from
here.” I could not agree more.
Livingston has long been a home of good government and I am proud to have helped
continue that tradition. There will always be challenges – whether it is maintaining
Livingston’s leafy character, helping to accommodate the school district, or keeping
taxes under control - as part of the council, I will continue to work hard to meet them.
2. What makes you uniquely qualified to serve in this position?
Experience matters. With Rudy Fernandez leaving the council, a significant part of our
institutional memory, we will need people in place who know our history so that we can
govern well into the future. Government can be smart and efficient and that is my
guiding principle. I also bring an emphasis on protecting our environment and
Livingston’s green, leafy character. I am very proud of our energy aggregation programs
I spear-headed which have saved residents close to $1million dollars and made
Livingston one of the greenest energy users in the country.
3. With which political party are you registered? How much do you think political party,
and national politics, should matter in the local race?

There are many local issues where party affiliation is less crucial. We all want to see
excellent public safety. That is why this has been the number one budget item on every
annual budget I have voted for. We all want to see local business thrive. That is why
while on the council we bent over backwards to support businesses suffering during
COVID with $125,000 in grants given to local retail and restaurants and zoning laws
were curtailed to allow as much outdoor dining and shopping as possible. It is also why I
have strongly sought to have smart development with areas of density near our
downtown so that people with will shop and eat locally and they will not have to get in
their cars creating traffic and pollution to do it.
But I am a proud Democrat. Democratic values help me understanding that government
can be a tool to solve our problems. Democratic values emphasize that diversity is our
source of strength and the environment should be protected.
In the past, when there are national issues, we have added Livingston’s important voice
to speak out for abortion access and gun control and against anti-BDS initiatives. If I
am re-elected, we will continue to use that voice into the future.
4. How do you think Livingston should provide affordable housing, and what sort of
development would you like to see in town in the future?
All municipalities in New Jersey have an affordable housing mandate. The number of units
is determined by negotiations between the appointed representative for the state, Fair
Share Housing Center, and each municipality.
Affordable housing is a moral good for towns; often community stalwarts like teachers and
firefighters live in such accommodations. But the current court-dictated process heavily
favors developers and takes control of development away from the local community.
I want smart development which means having housing density in downtown areas where
people can walk to restaurants and shops. This energizes our local economy, keeps extra
traffic off roads and creates a warm atmosphere with neighbors greeting each other. If
housing is centered downtown, it also helps us preserve our green, leafy neighborhoods.
This is what I have fought for.
In order to review our recent round of Fair Share negotiations, a few weeks ago the council
had an independent expert come to a public meeting so that we can be best prepared for
the future. We wanted constructive criticism but we were surprised and pleased when he
said Livingston had done as well as possible, among the best results in the state, on our
last round of negotiations. This speaks to the talents of our town manager and planner and
is reassuring to hear. If I am re-elected this Council, we will continue to fight for the control
of development in our town so that we can make sure Livingston stays the place we all
know and love.
5. Just to have a more offbeat question: If you could donate just one book to the
Livingston library, which book would you donate, and why?
The book I would donate would be Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. Sapiens is a
nonfiction account of the history of humanity and a study of its possible future. There is
an emphasis on the biological underpinnings that we all share. Besides being utterly
fascinating, Harari has a knack for making the reader reflect on the fact that we are all in
this together. You realize that we all have so much more in common than what divides
us and that if we are to all have future, we better be working together.