Middletown Township Committee Race: A Voting Guide On The Issues

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — This fall, there are elections for Middletown Board of Education (three seats open) and Middletown Township Committee (two seats open). Middletown voters will also be asked whether they want to pay more in taxes to preserve open space.

Middletown Township Committee:

The Republicans are Patricia Snell, a Committeewoman running to keep her seat.

Ryan Clarke is running alongside her; he hopes to fill the seat Tony Fiore held for the past five terms. Clarke was chief of the Middletown Township Fire Department; he's been a volunteer Middletown firefighter and EMT with Lincroft First Aid since the '90s.

Both Snell and Clarke are running with the backing of the Monmouth County Republican Organization.

The Democrats are Marguerite Stocker and Brian Penschow, running with the backing of the Monmouth County Democratic Party.

Snell said that in her tenure, the Township Committee has hired more police officers. She also pointed to upgrades to the Middletown senior center, and improvements made to sports fields for children.

For the past decade, the five-person Middletown Township Committee has been under one-party Republican leadership.

"Diversity of opinion and fresh thinking are needed on the Township's governing body, which has seen little change under decades of Republican control," said Stocker in a statement.

Stocker criticized the Middletown Township Committee for what she said is a lack of transparency.

"A frequent pattern in Middletown is that residents first learn of development projects only after those projects are well into the planning stage and are moving full-steam ahead," she said. "Residents have little opportunity to meaningfully participate in the process, the way things are now. Residents are almost forced to organize, and often sue, to have a say in what's happening in their own town. And this happens over and over. Village 35, Taylor Lane and Four Ponds are just the most recent examples."

Stocker said if elected to the Township Committee, her team will only allow new development that does not add to existing traffic or flooding problems, or overburden the Middletown school system.

"The Township Committee has the authority to set reasonable expectations for developers to avoid overly dense, poorly-sited development. We can certainly do better," she said. "Local government should do what's in the best interest of residents, not developers."

Middletown's Open Space Referendum:

All the candidates support the increased open space tax increase.

Currently, Middletown homeowners pay two cents per every $100 of their quarterly tax bill to the town's open space trust fund. The ballot referendum question — supported by both the Democrats and Republicans running — seeks to raise it to three cents per every $100. The average Middletown homeowner (owning a home assessed at $447,629) currently pays around $89 a year to the town's open space fund.

If voters approve the referendum, the money will go to purchase land and historic farms in Middletown and keep it as open space. The money can also be used to make improvements to Middletown's recreation facilities.

The open space tax increase was first introduced in September by Middletown Mayor Tony Perry.

"We became acutely aware of how important open space is during COVID, when there was literally little else to do," said Snell. "To stay vigilant and be the guardians of our open space, we need to vote. We need to vote on Nov. 3 and we need to vote 'yes' and keep Middletown the great place it is."

Stocker said she and Penschow also support raising the tax levy for open space.

"It benefits the Middletown community to support the Open Space Trust Fund referendum," she said. "It's been two decades since the Trust has seen an increase. In today's competitive real estate market, it is necessary for Middletown to ensure the town is in a position to support these initiatives."

Related: Middletown Board Of Education Race: Candidates Talk On The Issues