Morris Township Committee Election 2021: Joseph Calvanelli, Jr.

MORRIS TOWNSHIP, NJ — It won't be long until Morris Township elects members to its Township Committee. Patch has asked local candidates to share their thoughts before the Nov. 2 General Election.

Patch sent out emails to all candidates to the email addresses listed for their campaign provided to the office of the clerk. The responses received will get published between now and Election Day.

Here is the response from Morris Township Committee candidate Joseph (Joe) Calvanelli, Jr.

Name: Joseph (Joe) Calvanelli, Jr.
Age (as of Election Day): 65
Party Affiliation: Republican
Family: Eileen (wife); Graduate of University of Delaware (B.A.); Rutgers University (M.A); Currently employed by Atlantic Health System (Morristown Memorial Hospital)
Peter (age 30): Graduate of Dartmouth College
Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? No
Education: Joe attended Villanova University and has a BS in Marketing and Management from Rider College (1978) and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University (1985).

Occupation: Joe Calvanelli has over 45 years of experience in market research, beginning his career in this exciting industry as a full-time college student in 1975 -- while working on what became known as “The Coke-Pepsi Taste Test War”.

Joe's company, OpinionAmerica Group, provides a full array of consulting services; related to survey research and primary “one-on-one” data collection,. His research experience covers consumer and business-to-business efforts -- customer satisfaction, new product and concept development, financial services, travel and leisure, automotive safety, political polling, social and public policy, legal claims, agriculture and chemical, energy, pharmaceutical and medical survey research, market share measurement, and research in many other vertical Industry segments -- on topics that require survey research & data analysis. He and his team of researchers, most of whom have worked with him for decades, have served a diverse array of clients and have conducted thousands of market research projects throughout the United States and internationally.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: Morris Township Committee (2007)
Campaign website: None (see MTRC website)

Why are you seeking elective office?

Do Morris Township voters want balance? Do they want democrats in total control as they have now? Or, do they want to put Republicans back in control given the past record of fiscal success – and the fiscal uncertainty ahead?

Morris Township has one of the best law enforcement departments in the State of New Jersey; cited as a TOP 10 accredited police department statewide. That is not by accident. Decades of Republican leadership, making your safety & security a TOP PRIORITY, is why Morris Township’s men and women in Blue are, by far, the best trained and most widely respected.

Elected democrats nationwide are actively “DEFUNDING” Police; “REIMAGINING"" & "ATTACKING” law enforcement professionals; “DISMANTLING” & “DISTANCING” themselves from effective public safety initiatives. Democrats now control Morris Township. Where will this eventually lead us under that type of continued control locally?

Under the leadership of Morris County Sheriff Gannon and Morris Township Chief DiCarlo, our local police and law enforcement professionals are committed to keeping all residents safe and secure. They are well-trained and highly prepared -- in all aspects of public safety & security. As mentioned, for decades, Republican leadership on our Township Committee, made certain that our police, our law enforcement professionals, and our first responders -- had the tools and training they needed; so they were prepared for anything – a prime example; assuring school safety & security. The introduction of Class Three Special Law Enforcement Officers (SLEO) in Morris Township schools – was an initiative lead by Republicans.

Communities “controlled” by democrats, eventually implode financially, drive-up taxes on residents that force many to relocate. I don't want Trenton politics here in Morris Township.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

"Pay to Play" -- a cancer that can destroy local municipal governments; and the negative impact "PILOT" programs have on Morris Township voters.

What will I do about it? STOP the first; expose the latter.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

i will speak up against "Pay to Play"; I will fight for Morris Township residents when it comes to the impact that PILOT has had on Morris Township's share of the regional school taxes.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency).

Failure to speak out against "Pay to Play" and the impact that "Trenton" mind-set has on local taxpayers; and their failure to speak candidly about the negative impact that PILOT programs have on Morris Township. Their recent raising of local municipal taxes hurts all taxpayers.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I will bring decades of small business experience to the township committee. Having lived in Morris Township for nearly my entire adult life -- 4 decades (since 1983) -- and bought my first home here as a young married man in my mid-20's --I can relate to those voters who are just starting out; and having raised my family here and enjoyed the cultural and recreational activities, I can relate to the challenges young families face as they raise their children; and now, as an "empty nester" and hoping to be able to afford and remain in the township that I love, I can related to those voters who are now in a similar position.

As a young man, growing up in central New Jersey, with parents who were very active in local community activities and politics -- it was not uncommon for Republican and Democrat leaders to frequently gather around our dining room table to solve the challenges of the day. Imagine that? That is how I am wired. How refreshing that would be?.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Joe has been a small business owner for decades -- having weathered many recessions, technological innovations and industry changes, and economic storms along the way. And emerged even stronger. That is not an accident. As that old saying goes; "That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger". Joe literally has the "grey hair" to prove it. Joe is a fiscal conservative.

Joe is also a Founding Partner & former Co-Director of the Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMindTM Poll -- an opinion research center that to this day continues to conduct polling and survey research on politics, social policy, pop culture, consumer and economic trends.

He has served as adjunct professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University where he taught courses on marketing for non-profits, political polling, and market research. In addition, he has been a guest lecturer at Penn State and University of Maryland.

Joe has been active for over three decades in many community activities and volunteer associations. He served as President of the Morristown Area American Little League for three years; was actively involved with First Night Morris County for eight years, serving as Chairman of the Board for the 2000 and 2001 celebrations; and was a Trustee of the Morris Museum for ten years, where he served as Chair of the Theater Committee. Moreover, he was a member of the United States Olympic Committee’s New Jersey Steering Committee (a fund-raising arm to assist New Jersey’s Olympic athletes) and the American Marketing Association (AMA), where he served as President of the NJ Chapter for two years. Joe has also has been active in Morris Township, serving on the Morris Township Board of Adjustment and Open Space Committee.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

"Listen closely to what they say; listen more closely to what they don't say".

That advice given to me by my retired dad before he passed away -- prior to me going into a business deal meeting. The same guy who, when i was a child, used to say "clean your damn room; your mother is not your maid".

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

He was born in Brooklyn, New York; raised in central New Jersey (South Brunswick); and has resided in Morris Township for nearly 40 years.

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