Mike Locatell Not Running For Re-Election In Moorestown

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Moorestown Councilman Mike Locatell announced this week that he will not run for re-election. The announcement came less than a week after Lisa Petriello announced she wouldn’t run for re-election, meaning that two new council members will be elected this fall.

Locatell was elected in 2016 to a four-year term along with his running mate, Victoria Napolitano. In his statement, he said he is stepping away after one term because he feels he has met the goals he set for himself when he decided to run for council back in 2016.

“I am proud to have been the point person for Town Council on cleaning Moorestown’s water supply over the last four years, attending countless meetings, analyzing plans, and working with our Township staff, professionals, and contractors to ensure that our water not only met but exceeded all state and federal drinking water standards,” Locatell said. “Later this spring, Town Council will cut the ribbon on our new water treatment facilities on North Church Street and Hartford Road. The Church Street plant is one of a kind, setting a new standard for water treatment for the state of New Jersey. This moment will bring to fruition projects which I proudly supported along with Councilwoman Napolitano and former Councilmembers Stacey Jordan and Manny Delgado. The residents asked for clean water — I am proud to say that we delivered, earning praise from Erin Brockovich along the way. I am hopeful that my Council colleagues will join me before my term ends to now go after the polluters who contaminated our water in the first place.”

Napolitano has not yet announced her decision whether she will run for re-election in the fall. Three seats are up in the November general elections. Earlier this week, the Moorestown Democrats announced who their three candidates would be in November elections. Republicans have also been interviewing potential candidates.

“Affordable housing was in the heat of litigation when I started on Council, as Moorestown was facing lawsuits from five developers and the Fair Share Housing Center. If successful, these outside interests would have built 1600+ units with potentially thousands more market rate units if the developer lawsuits succeeded. With former Councilman Manny Deglado leading the process, Council ended up settling the multiple litigators and saving Moorestown taxpayers millions of dollars as we reduced the potential impact to our schools and infrastructure from having to build thousands of new market and affordable units to a total of 337 affordable units with less than 700 total new units for the round three obligation,” Locatell said. “Even before being elected, I saw a need to help streamline our community development office. My proposal to Council was implemented to launch a new streamlined digital process for permitting and plan review, making Moorestown an easier place to do business. I spent months working with our staff on this project, travelling to other towns across the state to see what worked and what didn’t work for other municipalities as we searched for the right software. I look forward to this new software coming online later this year. Once fully implemented, it will offer our residents and businesses a public portal that will deliver more access and capabilities for a better experience when navigating the permitting and inspection process.

“I’m proud to have served as liaison to the Economic Development Advisory Committee with Chair Jack Twomey, Vice Chair Vinny Napolitano, and all the members who brought our town’s first food truck event to Main Street, drawing thousands to the heart of our community. We addressed a number of concerns brought forward by the Moorestown Business Association, including replacement of parking meters on Main Street, trimming street trees, and working with our Community Development Office to clear the red tape and open up the outside patio area across from Mauritzio’s Bistro.

“I am proud to have served two years as the Council Liaison to the Planning Board, along with serving on the Low and Moderate Income Housing Committee, the Moorestown Environmental Advisory Committee, and the Recreation Advisory Committee. I’m thankful for all the citizen volunteers of the boards and committees who work so hard for our community.

“There are, of course, a number of things - particularly in the last 15 months - that I believe Council can and should do better. I remain disappointed that the current majority has stalled the Lenola redevelopment project. This project was designed and ready to move forward, but after changing the planner 15 months ago, we have still yet to see a plan and the $1M grant we secured in 2016 may now be in jeopardy.” See related: Federal Aid Approved For Moorestown’s Lenola Project

“The long-awaited plan to build new softball fields for our town’s young girls was derailed, though Victoria and I remain committed to getting the girls their first and only dedicated softball field and I’m hopeful my counterparts on Council will do the right thing by funding the field,” Locatell said. See related: County To Help Moorestown With Softball Field Upgrades

“After cutting taxes twice when in the majority, I’m proud to have stood with my friend and colleague Victoria Napolitano against last year’s unnecessary tax hike passed by the new members in control of Town Council, and feel vindicated in that decision now that we can confirm that the surplus remains intact and far beyond the levels needed to maintain our bond rating,” Locatell said. See related: Moorestown Council Adopts Budget With Tax Increase

“I ran to fight for all Moorestown residents regardless of how they register to vote. I ran to solve problems, to cut taxes, and to lead in an honest and authentic way and to always put Moorestown First,” Locatell said. “I feel I have accomplished what I set out to do four years ago, and while I won’t be on the ballot this November, I will be actively assisting in any way I can to elect a new Council majority in November, one that is willing to put partisanship aside for the good of Moorestown.

“I will be forever grateful to my incredible family - my wife Lynn, and my daughters, Kira and Melaina, and my son, Michael – Thank You for supporting me over the last four years, I know you had sacrifice time spent with me as I worked to keep this town a great place to live, work, and retire.

“I extend heartfelt appreciation to my campaign volunteers, the Moorestown Republican Municipal Committee, the Moorestown Republican Club, and everyone who cast a ballot in my name four years ago for the faith they had in me. From the bottom of my heart, I thank every resident for allowing me to serve the community I love and will always look back on this time with fondness.”