Point Pleasant Mayoral Election 2022: William Borowsky

POINT PLEASANT, NJ — When voters go to the polls in Point Pleasant on Nov. 8, they will be asked to choose the town's mayor.

There are two people seeking the four-year mayoral term, Robert Sabosik and William "Bill" Borowsky.

Patch asked each candidate to answer questions to give voters information about who they are and their stances on various issues. We are printing their responses in full, unedited except for spelling or punctuation.

Here are the answers for William "Bill" Borowsky, who is 58.

Party affiliation: Independent

Tell voters about your family: Proud father of two amazing children, Taylor and William, and one beautiful granddaughter, Madison.

Tell voters about your education: Graduate, Point Pleasant Beach High School Class of 1981

What is your occupation? Small Business Owner, Nature’s Reward Farm Market

Previous elective office, if any: Borough of Point Pleasant Councilman 2012-present, Borough of Point Pleasant Council President 2018

Do you or anyone in your family work for the state, county or local governments? No.

Why are you seeking office?

Having served as a councilman for the past 10 years I believe I have the knowledge and the experience to lead this town as mayor. There are some issues that I feel can be improved upon in town and would like an opportunity to address them as your next mayor. We need more transparency and better communication with our residents. We need to stop the over-development of properties in town. We need to address and upgrade a couple of our recreational properties. There needs to be better financial accountability and transparency. These things will all be addressed if I am elected mayor.

What do you feel is the most pressing issue facing Point Pleasant, and what do you want to do about it?

The most pressing issue facing Point Pleasant is the one nobody wants to talk about — our town's aging sewer infrastructure. This project is going to take years and millions of dollars to upgrade. I will work closely with the superintendent of Public Works, our engineers, and state officials to get as many state grants as possible so the financial impact is minimal on our residents.

Point Pleasant is facing some of the same issues every town faces – attracting businesses, keeping the tax rate and ratable base stable. What do you think Point Pleasant can do to make things attractive to businesses?

Bridge Avenue is a vibrant, thriving business district that can be improved upon. We need to do more to support and work with our small businesses in an effort to help them compete with the large chains and big box stores. As a retail owner on Bridge Avenue, I know how hard it is to remain competitive and succeed, especially in these tough economic times. We need to work closely with our Chamber of Commerce to plan more community events to promote and highlight our local businesses. We need to find a way to lure in shoppers from other towns. Maybe something as simple as once a month our businesses all agree upon a percentage discount at our stores to encourage shoppers from other towns and communities to see what Point Pleasant has to offer. As our local businesses continue to flourish it will make Point Pleasant more attractive to those wanting to open a business here.

The state continues to push for shared services and mergers of small municipalities to eliminate duplication of services and potentially ease the pressure on taxpayers. Do you think Point Pleasant should weigh such a move?

Absolutely — Point Pleasant has shared services with neighboring towns and I would continue to encourage it moving forward. I think it’s a great way to save taxpayers money and will explore any opportunities in the future.

If you could change one thing about Point Pleasant right now, what would it be?

As Council liaison to Recreation my answer involves our town's recreation properties. I will renovate our current recreation center building and surrounding property. That would include the tennis courts, playground area and basketball court. We do not need a new $15 million recreation center — the town cannot afford it in these tough economic times. I will also upgrade the Arnold Avenue property into a finished park complete with 2 acres of new sod for all youth sports teams to practice and play on. Also, a walking path, playground equipment, park benches and pickleball courts. Our current mayor had eight years to address these two properties and did nothing despite my constant urging. Now that it’s campaign season he brings them up in an effort to get your vote. If elected mayor I will address these two projects in year one of my administration.