Eatontown Mayor And Councilwoman Are Dating. It's A Conflict Of Interest, Say Some

EATONTOWN, NJ — The mayor of Eatontown, Anthony Talerico, is involved in a long-term romantic relationship with a Councilwoman in that town, Candace Faust.

The two have been dating for more than a year now, and they live together. Both are asking voters to re-elect them this fall; Talerico seeks a third term as the town's mayor and Faust seeks to be re-elected to a second term on the town council.

As mayor, Talerico introduces his agenda and he needs a majority vote of the six-person town Council to pass town laws and his initiatives. In council meetings, Faust has never recused herself when asked to vote on the mayor's agenda. Is their relationship a conflict of interest or, at the very least, could it be perceived to be?

One Eatontown resident said she thinks so.

"It throws off the system of checks and balances for sure," said Christine Caruso. "There are inherent conflicts of interest with a girlfriend and boyfriend serving in government together. He runs the agenda. Is there favoritism with his ordinances? There's definitely an appearance of favoritism and honestly, it undermines the public trust."

Also, for the first time in a long time, the town of Eatontown has millions of dollars it must decide what to do with. Netflix plans to open its East Coast movie studios just down the road, and Talerico negotiated a deal where Netflix will pay Eatontown $47 million in a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) plan.

Last year, Talerico asked the Council (and his girlfriend) to approve that $47 million PILOT deal with Netflix. The Council did. But not without controversy: Councilwoman Maria Grazia Escalante, now running for mayor, said the process was rushed, and that residents were not informed enough about the deal or how the millions will be spent.

Talerico and Faust are both Democrats, and they are challenged by the Republican slate of Escalante, Kevin Gonzalez, who's been on the council before and seeks to get back on, and Ali Mehdaoui, a political newcomer in town. They declined to comment for this article.

Caruso publicly said on Eatontown Facebook pages that she's voting for Escalante. She also brought up other concerns:

"The mayor has appointed (Faust) to town committees and boards. Even if he appointed her before they started dating, did he show favoritism? How many better qualified people were overlooked?" she asked. "Another issue is access to information. I know Maria has had to file OPRA requests from town hall to get information about things. Is Candace privy to information more so than other Council members? Has Candace had access to information that other Council people had to file OPRA requests for?"

Not all Eatontown residents agree with Caruso.

This Patch reporter strolled around town this week and asked residents what they thought. Resident Natalie Bova, out hanging fall decorations in front of her large, well-maintained home on High Street, said she knows both Talerico and Faust, she knows they're dating and she has "no problem with it."

"I know them both personally, and they're good people," she said. "They work hard for this town."

Her husband, Wes Kimmet, came home while she was being interviewed.

"Both of them together do a lot of good," he said. "Any questions you have, (Anthony) answers them. He's up at two o'clock in the morning answering residents' questions on Facebook. He's really done a lot for this town."

"Why would that bother any reasonable person?" a woman who lives on Carolyn Court, just off Buttonwood Avenue, asked. She did not want to give her name. "I'm a registered Republican actually and it doesn't bother me at all. They've done a lot of good for this town."

Patch asked Faust and Talerico to respond: Could their relationship be an ethical conflict? Faust responded, in part:

"I am proud to have dedicated the past ten years of my life to serving the borough of Eatontown. From serving on boards and committees to introducing new arts and recreation programming and securing more than $1 million in grant funding with no local match required, I have worked year after year to deliver meaningful results for our community. My record reflects my commitment to Eatontown and its residents."

And Talerico said: "During nearly twenty years of volunteer and elected service to the borough, I have been a part of or worked with nearly every Eatontown board, committee and commission and have developed strong partnerships with the county, state and federal governments across party lines. My administration has secured over $7 million in grants and positioned Eatontown for a successful future ... I am proud of my service to the community and look forward to the opportunity to continue working with the residents."

"When you have two people on a governing body that are in a committed relationship, I don't know how someone could say that isn't a conflict of interest," said Caruso. "I know I couldn't do it myself without feeling like there was a conflict."

The election will Nov. 3, and early voting starts Saturday.