Meet The Moorestown Council Candidates: Nicole Gillespie

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Moorestown voters head to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 6, to determine the makeup of its local government for the next few years. There are two, four-year seats on the five-member Moorestown Council that are up for grabs. Both seats currently belong to Republicans. There will also be a new mayor come January, as incumbent Mayor Stacey Jordan has opted not to run for re-election.

Patch asked each candidate to complete a questionnaire outlining biographical information, their platform and their stands on a handful of issues. This week, Patch will run profiles of all the candidates for council in alphabetical order, and alternating between the Republicans and the Democrats.

Profiles are presented here in the same format as the questionnaires given to the candidates. There were no further instructions, and none of the responses has been edited (beyond basic proofreading and formatting). Readers can make their own judgments on how the candidates did or didn't answer the questions.

Up next: Democratic candidate Nicole Gillespie.

Why are you running for Moorestown Council?

I am running for Council because I care about Moorestown. We are facing complex issues that need to be dealt with professionally and openly, including the safety of our drinking water, our obligation to include affordable housing in the community and the need for responsible economic development. Our residents and business owners, regardless of party affiliation, are tired of being shut out of important decisions that impact their well-being and the long-term viability of our town. Residents and businesses deserve transparency on these issues, and to have a say in how their tax dollars are being used. I believe the only way we will make progress is by bringing the community together, treating residents and business owners with respect, and giving everyone an opportunity to be heard. I am running for Council because I care deeply about Moorestown, and believe we can and must do better.

What do you feel are the most pressing issues currently facing Moorestown?

Overwhelmingly I hear that Moorestown residents are frustrated by lack of transparency on the part of our current council. Poor communication has led to unnecessary and damaging divisions in our community and has hindered progress on nearly every issue — water contamination, affordable housing, development of our land and parks, and working with our business community. Furthermore, our current financial situation is troubling. This year, Moorestown slashed our reserves in order to balance the budget, while increasing spending. We are nearly $60 million in debt, and much more is on the horizon as we tackle major infrastructure projects with no clear plan for how to pay for them. Finally, residents and business owners alike are frustrated by the neglect of our main business corridors and the increasing number of empty commercial spaces that erode the vitality of our town and weaken our tax base.

What are some positive things you believe the current council is doing?

Our current council recently lowered municipal taxes, which will provide approximately a $20 tax cut to the average Moorestown household. Like anyone, I will appreciate seeing my tax bill decrease, and I strongly support holding the line on taxes. However, it’s fiscally irresponsible to do so the way our Council did it, by slashing reserves to balance the budget while at the same time increasing spending. So while Council may have given us a small tax break this year, it’s at best a temporary reprieve rather than a way to sustainably lower taxes in a way that will make a meaningful, long-term difference for residents.

What changes would you make to what the current council is doing?

First and foremost, Moorestown residents deserve a Town Council that will be proactive and respectful about engaging residents in decision-making and creating a shared vision for our town. If I and Brian Donnelly are elected, we pledge to bring civility back to our local government, treat all residents and business owners with respect, and seek input before decisions are made. We have a tremendous pool of talent in Moorestown, and we will work tirelessly to bring people together to move the town forward instead of creating partisan divides, hamstringing the township committees or undermining volunteer groups.

Second, Moorestown residents deserve much more careful stewardship of our tax dollars. Council has not sought competitive bids for township professionals in over 5 years. I would like to see us commit to seeking bids on township contracts every two years, to ensure residents are getting the best value for their tax dollars. Our elected leaders should also be seeking out sustainable sources of revenue for the town, beyond just taxing residents and business owners. Furthermore, our leaders should be fighting to protect residents from having to bear the financial burden of others’ mistakes. For example, treating our contaminated water sources have cost residents millions of dollars just for temporary filters and replacement water purchased at a premium, and we will be spending millions more for a permanent fix. If we are elected, Brian and I will relentlessly pursue cost recovery from the polluters responsible for contaminating our water.

Finally, we commit to working with the business community to attract new businesses, help existing businesses thrive, revitalize our business districts and ensure our community will be vibrant and thriving for generations to come.

What do you bring to council that no one else can bring, i.e. strengths, experience, etc.?

My time in the military instilled in me a strong commitment to service and an ability to bring all kinds of people together to solve problems. Moorestown residents deserve these qualities in their elected officials. As the CEO of a foundation with a $6 million annual budget, one of my primary responsibilities is to be a conscientious steward of other people’s hard-earned money, and I believe Moorestown taxpayers deserve the same. Finally, my background in science and engineering gives me the ability to understand and seek appropriate solutions for some of Moorestown’s more complex issues such as our contaminated drinking water, faulty water treatment plants and failing storm sewers.

What is your political background? What offices have you run for/held in the past?

This is my first time running for office. Although I have been involved in various non-profit and grassroots volunteer efforts for years, I became heavily involved in local politics leading up to the 2016 presidential election, at which time I officially affiliated as a Democrat. While I remain concerned about what is happening nationally, I believe that all politics truly are local and that strong local government can have powerful, meaningful and direct positive impacts on people’s everyday lives.

Personal Background
I live in the Colonial Ridge neighborhood of Moorestown, and am the CEO of the Knowles Teacher Initiative on North Church Street, a non-profit dedicated to improving math and science education in the United States. I am a proud member of the Moorestown Business Association and the Moorestown Rotary Club, and am co-chair of this year’s Rotary Club Pancake Breakfast. I graduated from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and served as an active duty naval officer in cryptology for five years. After returning to civilian life, I earned a MS in physics from the University of Washington and a PhD in science education from the University of California, Berkeley. As a career educator, it’s important to me that I live in a town like Moorestown that supports excellent schools. I also volunteer with Contact of Burlington County as an advocate for persons impacted by sexual assault, and on the finance committee of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Cherry Hill.

The attached image of Nicole Gillespie was provided