Toms River Council Candidate 2023: Michele Williams

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Tuesday is Primary Election Day, and Toms River voters have several choices for the Democratic nominees for the Township Council.

Patch sent a questionnaire to all four candidates seeking their responses. Here are the replies from Michele Williams. They are unedited except for typographical errors and punctuation.

Name: Michele Williams

Age: 74 years young

Family: I’ve been married to my husband Kevin for 41 years and we have two children. Allison, living in Manalapan wih her husband, Michael and our grandchildren, Ethan and Mackenzie. Kevin resides in Cranford, with his wife Natalie and our granddaughter Charlotte, joyously anticipating the birth of their second child in July. After many summers spent in Shelter Cove, our family permanently moved to Toms River in 1989 from Jersey City. My husband, Kevin, is a retired West New York Police sergeant where he also served as PBA president for many years. He recently retired as a permanent part-time investigator for the Ocean County Health Department. I retired in June 2017 from my position as principal of St. Joseph Grade School after 14 years. I am currently serving my second year on the Toms River Regional Schools Board.

Education: BA, Elementary Education, Jersey City State College; MA, Educational Leadership, Administration and Supervision, Seton Hall University; MA, Theological, Liturgical & Pastoral Studies, LaSalle University; NJ Teacher Certification, all subjects, K-8; NJ Certification, Principal and Supervisor

Occupation: Retired Principal, St. Joseph Grade School, Toms River, 2003-2017

Previous elected office, if any: I am currently a Toms River Schools board member in my 6th year, second term, having been elected in 2017 and again in 2020. My term expires December 31, 2023. As a member I have participated to the fullest in my board responsibilities as chair of the insurance committees, and as member 0f the personnel and curriculum committees. I also represented our board at the county and state level as delegate. Additionally, I have achieved the designation as being a New Jersey Schools Board Association Certified Board Member.

Does anyone in your family work for the school district or in politics?

No one in my family, including myself, works for state, county, or local governments or is involved in politics. Therefore, as with the school board, I have and will continue to be free to vote on all matters.

Why are you seeking a seat?

I believe I have the educational background, leadership, supervisory, administrative experiences, and skills required to move our township forward. I have lived a life of service beginning in my high school years at St. Dominic Academy, Jersey City, tutoring children in the projects. I still have that desire and passion to serve, determined to build capacity, problem solve, and foster communication & trust in our township. We deserve leadership that is responsive to the needs of our community and strategic in its planning. I bring these skills to the table. In the 2024-2025 school year Toms River Regional Schools will face a fiscal cliff in our schools budget. With 6 years living this concern I will bring an urgency to the council that no other candidate can. We need leadership that is creative thinks outside of the box, can bring people together and get things done as we did in the passing of the Schools Referendum in 2019.

As principal, I had to develop a budget and live within it. My community included 50+ teachers and support staff whom I hired and supervised, my parents and my students! brought many innovations to St. Joseph Grade School, demonstrating my ability to be fiscally sound yet prepare for the future. I had no local tax dollars to accomplish this, only tuition, parish support, and creative alternate sources of revenue! I include a few of these innovations to demonstrate attention to infrastructure as well as education.

• Air-conditioned 2 school buildings & installed ceiling fans in all classrooms
• Keyless entries on all exit doors
• Master Key project
• Computerize phone system
• Complete wireless connectivity
• Smartboards in all classrooms
• BYO-I pad program in grades 6-8
• All teachers issued I pad and laptop
• I pad carts throughout the school
• Creation of a fully equipped Stem Lab
• Performing Arts Curriculum, Grade 6: Dance, Grade 7: Declamation/Speech, Grade 8: Drama
• Social Emotional Learning imbedded into the weekly curriculum
• Full time School counselor

Making downtown Toms River a vibrant place similar to what exists in Red Bank has been discussed for years. What would you propose to achieve that?

Downtown Toms River, The Business Improvement District was established in 2002 to begin this process to promote and implement the economic revitalization of the Downtown Toms River. Twenty years later progress has been made with the Downtown Shops @ 53 Main and the many events and activities that bring our community together throughout the year. I would love to see the expansion of the Shops @ Main much like one I visited in Kansas City, MO called Made in Kansas City. It houses many artists of all mediums, clothing, Art, jewelry, food, etc., as the title suggests, all made in Kansas City. It is a must stop for all tourists.

In addition, small shops, antiques, boutiques, eateries keeping with the historic look of downtown and entertainment events would draw people to the area. We can begin by incentivizing merchants to this location with permit discounts in the building of their shops.

What we don’t need is the construction of the two 10-story apartment towers at the corner of Main and Washington.

Toms River has been on the short end of a number of issues with the State of New Jersey in the last few years, from beach replenishment to school funding. How would you break through the political divide to address it?

Beach Replenishment: All steps to mitigate beach erosion are costly. There is no way around that. We must follow science and prepare for the future, beginning with leadership in all our beachfront towns coming together to mitigate losses, sharing expert ideas with communities so that their voices are part of the solution. Provide more than ample funding in the yearly budget for sand replacement. Knowing what the future holds we must consider new zoning setbacks for beachfront properties, and purchase beachfront properties with open space funds when available to open the shorelines to more vegetation and wildlife.

School Funding: Stop the finger-pointing!!! This just continues the problem without resolution.
Government speaks to government. The township council and mayor’s responsibility is to be in direct communication with our state senators and assemblymen who represent our township consistently and report on progress every council meeting, not just during an election year! Strong communities support strong public schools because public schools create strong communities!!!

Homelessness is affecting every community in Ocean County as the cost of rentals skyrockets and availability decreases. How would you address that to assist the Toms River residents?

I believe I began to address this several years ago by becoming involved in various organizations that serve the homeless in Toms River. My involvement has provided opportunities for service and has informed me of the complex issues that has brought us to the homeless numbers that exist today in Toms River.

In 2020 I joined the board of Ocean’s Harbor House, a nonprofit organization that provides shelter, support, and services for youth with 2 locations in Toms River. Though I am no longer a board member I support their mission wherever possible. In 2021 I became a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity in Toms River. I assist in reviewing applications for those who seek affordable home ownership. I continue to serve in this capacity. Our township leadership can identify irregular properties that can be suitable for this purpose and purchase. In 2021 I became aware of the Toms River Housing & Homeless Coalition, whose mission is to provide for the needs of the homeless from basic hygiene items to food, clothing, and long-term stable housing. I became a member of the board in 2022 and am amazed at the progress we have achieved in the community. Through outreach we provide avenues for those seeking shelter to connect with various agencies who can do just that. We continue to make progress and expand our connectivity with nonprofits and county services.

Affordable Housing, of course, is the goal to eliminate homelessness. But we must address the needs of all those living in their cars, motels, and in the woods first. Just recently it was made known that the county commissioners may be favorable to the creation of an Ocean County Homeless Trust Fund. We are the only county without such a fund.