'Continued Good Government' Team Announces Council Candidacies

Three Manchester residents — including a current councilmember and the Planning Board chairperson — have announced that they will seek election to the this November. 

Samuel Fusaro, a former council member who rejoined the body by appointment after , will seek to retain his seat. Also announcing their candidacies in a statement under the "Continued Good Government" banner, Fusaro is joined by Jim Vaccaro, the township's Planning Board chairman, and Charles Frattini, a Leisure Village West resident. 

Fusaro, who lives in Holly Oaks and previously served on the council from 1990 to 2006, is finishing out Vanderziel's term, which expires in 2012. Current council members Warren Reiter, who has served since 2008, and Frederick Trutkoff, a member since 2004, . 

Vaccaro, a retired manager for the United States Treasury Department and currently self-employed forensic accountant, lives in Renaissance. 

"I see a great future in this town with the increase of business opportunities such as the Walmart, Quick Chek and other ratables which provide needed services as well as commercial property taxes," Vaccaro said in the statement. 

If Vaccaro were to win a seat on the Township Council, he would give up his spot on the Planning Board, according to the clerk's office. The board would then select a new chairperson when it reorganizes in January. The Township Council appoints one of its members to represent the governing body on the Planning Board; that spot is currently held by Trutkoff.

Frattini, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and VFW member, is a retired photojournalist and was once chairperson of the first Catholic-Jewish Dialogue Committee in the United States. 

"Now I would like to serve the entire community and I intend to be an active member of the council and work hard to see that all of the township residents, from those with young families to senior citizens, are listened to and served," said Frattini, who has lived in the township for 15, in the statement. 

A retired U.S. Army project director, Fusaro continues to work as a consultant to the military. Transparency and nonpartisanship have been goals of the Continued Good Government team since its beginning in 1990, according to Fusaro. 

"I am committed to preserve our quality of life and the Good Government goals of integrity and service which has made Manchester Township one of the best places to live in Ocean County and New Jersey," Fusaro said in the statement. 

Though residents from many municipalities throughout the state — including Lakehurst— voted in primary elections earlier in June, that process is unnecessary in Manchester since the government has operated without political affiliations since 1990 following a corruption scandal.

Manchester residents voted last November . With that change, the New Jersey Division of Elections states that Sept. 4 is the deadline for nonpartisan candidates to file to be voted on in the November general election. The terms of Manchester's elected officials set to expire in July 2012 were extended six months, through December, to accommodate the election date change.

Petitions for candidacy are now available at the clerk's office for those interested in running. Clerk Sabina Skibo said that she will verify the signatures submitted by each prospective candidate and will have the determination of candidacy completed by Saturday, Sept. 8.