Maplewood Township Committee Candidate Profile: Deb Engel

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — New Jersey's Primary Election Day is June 7. Locally, two Democratic candidates are facing off to be the lone Democratic nominee for an open seat on the five-member Maplewood Township Committee.

Patch sent out questionnaires to local candidates who were running in contested primary elections. Below are candidate Deb Engel's answers. Patch will also publish Kurt Kiley's answers this week.

The local Democratic Committee has endorsed both Engel and Kiley. The voters will choose one on June 7, and that person will run against any other candidate in November.

Voters in Maplewood can also cast a ballot in New Jersey's 11th Congressional District race this year.

Double-check important election dates and get state information on how to vote in June via the New Jersey Voter Information Portal here.

Deb Engel's Answers

Name Deborah Engel

Campaign website https://votedeborahengel.com

City or town of residence Maplewood, NJ

Office sought Maplewood Township Committee

Party affiliation Democrat

Education I received a BSBA, Management, from Washington University in St. Louis

Occupation I am currently a small business owner and a freelance writer and marketing specialist. I have 15 years experience in marketing and communications with a speciality in the kids & family space. I have started two local businesses: Work and Play in South Orange, which opened in 2015 and closed during (and due to) the pandemic, and Maplewood's General Store Cooperative, a co-retail space I co-founded and which opened its physical storefront in 2019 after two years of successful retail pop-ups.

Family I am married with three daughters who attend SOMSD schools and are 11 (6th grade), 10 (4th grade), and 8 (3rd grade).

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? N/A

Age I will turn 45 in November, a few days prior to Election Day.

Previous public office, appointive or elective N/A

Why are you seeking this office? I am running for Township Committee because I want to make Maplewood a better place for residents of all ages. I want to improve resources and amenities for our families with young children and for our seniors. I want to improve government processes and communication. I want to listen to the needs of our community, and I want to actually make tangible changes like creating and improving health and wellness programs and resources, improving public safety, supporting our small businesses, and improving township communications. I believe that my background in economic development and communications will add value as the township embarks on a new Master Plan and streamlines its community outreach. I am someone who works well with others and believes in listening, learning, and finding ways to collaborate and compromise so that all parties feel seen and heard. I have the passion, energy, experience, and drive to lead and serve the residents of Maplewood. I love our community, I believe in our community, and I want all people to feel included in our community.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ___, and this is what I intend to do about it. The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is our country’s mental health crisis, and here’s what I intend to do about it. I’d like to create municipality programming to help make supports and evaluations more accessible and affordable by seeking out low cost or no cost nonprofit partnerships, creating a peer-to-peer network and centralized database with resources/information, offering behavioral health first aid training so our community members can recognize residents in need, and ensuring our health department has the supports and resources it needs. If we are able to provide physical health checks like blood sugar tests and providing flu shots, we can provide mental health checks too. The effects of the pandemic are widespread resulting in isolation for all ages, from our young children who need opportunities for socialization and social-emotional learning to our seniors who need safe programming and connection to the sandwich generation who are supporting all age groups and balancing their own mental health needs, too. All our residents need kind and compassionate local government leaders who will listen without judgment and who will bring our community together.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post? While my opponent and I have each contributed our volunteer time to Maplewood, the main differences between us has to do with our lived experiences and how those experiences reflect in our priorities. I am first and foremost a working parent who faces the need to carefully budget and make ends meet in one of the most expensive areas of our country. I believe that the best government is one that is representative of all people, and I feel strongly that families with young children, a large demographic in our town, should have a voice in town government. Residents on a budget should have a voice. Families struggling to work out of the home and support the mental health needs of themselves and their children should have a voice. Second, I am an entrepreneur and small business owner who has shown time and again that when I set out to do something, it gets done. I will be a voice for businesses in our town. And I will be a collaborative and compassionate community-builder who works hard to better our community. I don't just talk. I make things happen. I am also a lifelong Democrat who is committed 100% to everything Democrats stand for. I have been working to create a digital marketing infrastructure and a volunteer list to help the Maplewood Democrats engage with our local community, and I will continue to work in my local capacity to support the ideals of my party.

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community? N/A

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign? My priorities are to focus on four areas: health and wellness, public safety, the master plan, and communication. I’d like to expand health services to make mental health care accessible and affordable for all, improve our fields and running/walking paths, preserve green space for community use, provide swim lessons and access to the community pool, and create additional, affordable childcare and camp options, which can also be revenue generating. I plan to prioritize on-going traffic calming and lighting to keep pedestrians safe, improve stormwater management, build a strategy to prevent crimes of opportunity, provide regular programs on gun safety and substance use disorders, and allocate resources to help households experiencing domestic violence. The upcoming master plan process allows us to enhance affordable housing to ensure aging in place and continued socio-economic diversity, strategize smart economic development to bring in new revenue while ensuring that residents in the developing areas are part of the conversations, address critical infrastructure to combat environmental concerns, and recruit new businesses while supporting existing ones. I’d like to improve township communication, including during emergencies. While I applaud the new centralized website created this year as a central source for township information, we also need to meet our residents where they are by activating Maplewood Township Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok accounts and by providing written communications to our seniors as well as communications in multiple languages. Most importantly, I will listen to Maplewoodians to make sure your concerns are heard.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job? I am a two-time start-up founder opening innovative businesses and building community in Maplewood and our sister town, South Orange. I know how to handle a budget from running businesses and nonprofit organizations. I served on the board of South Orange Downtown (formerly known as SOVCA) for nearly five years and spent 3.5 years on the executive team, including serving as Chair of the Board. In this position, I had a front row seat to the Master Plan process and worked with government leaders, property owners, small business owners, and residents to create policies and programs with input and support from all stakeholders. At the start of the pandemic, I jumped to action and became a small business advocate lobbying our representatives in federal and state government for small business relief, and educating our business owners on the PPP, SBA and NJEDA grant programs and application processes. This year, I serve on the Neighborhood Preservation Program Grant steering committee, serving as project lead for the beautification and activation of Yale Corner, an urban park on Springfield Avenue. I also have 15 years of professional marketing and communications experience.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you? I'll be honest, putting yourself out there, especially in a campaign like this, is intimidating. I get nervous talking in front of large crowds. The best advice someone gave me was to just be myself. I wish I could sit down and have a cup of coffee with every single voter in Maplewood. I want to hear your concerns and I want to talk about ideas. These past couple of years have not been easy for any of us. I get that. It hasn't been easy for my family, for my mental health, for my daughters doing virtual school, for any of us missing out on travel and social opportunities. I want to be a partner with my neighbors and my community members and I want you to know that you are not alone. So when my friend told me to be myself, for me, that means being real, being honest, being accessible and above all, being authentic.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions? I want voters to know that if I am elected, I pledge to be an independent thinker and a voice of optimism and positive change for our community. I pledge to listen and not only consider, but seek out, all points of view. More importantly, I pledge to be a leader who is both compassionate and decisive. As a small business owner who has had to shutter a business during the pandemic (Work and Play), I know first hand how to make hard decisions and how to pivot resources. I have proven to be resilient. As we emerge from the pandemic, I will be a leader who examines all available information while balancing the needs of our community. There are so many things we can do together to improve our town, and I look forward to tackling the issues I detailed above. I also want voters to know that my door will always be open and that if we have not met yet, I really look forward to meeting you. Thank you for reading my views and please vote on June 7. For more information on my background and my campaign, please visit VoteDeborahEngel.com.

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