Westfield Ward 2 General Election 2023: Erika Vargas-Garrison

WESTFIELD, NJ — Westfield's general election on Nov. 7 has eight candidates running for four open seats representing each ward in Town.

Democrat Erika J. Vargas Garrison is running for the one, four-year seat representing Ward 2 against Republican Michael Armento.

Other candidates include Democrat Emily L. Root and Republican Todd B. Saunders for Ward 1; Democrat Dawn Alicia Nichol-Manning and Republican Michal D. Domogala for Ward 3; and Republican David Kiefer and Democrat Scott A. Katz for Ward 4.

Are you running for office in Westfield? Contact Alexis Tarrazi at alexis.tarrazi@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Westfield Patch.

Erika Vargas-Garrison

Age: 48

Town of residence: Westfield, NJ

Position sought: Town Council Ward 2

Party affiliation: Democrat

Family: I am married to Robert Garrison, a former Westfield BOE member. We have a daughter, Maya, an 8th grader at Roosevelt Intermediate School and three dogs: Bella, Max and Ozzy.

Education: Political Science, B.A. – Rutgers University

Occupation: Manager, NJ Turnpike Authority

Previous or current elected appointed office: N/A

Campaign website: VargasGarrisonforWestfield.com

Why are you seeking election for Town Council?

I’ve called Westfield home for over 18 years. I love our community and want to see it prosper now and for future generations. I have been a public servant my entire career; shaping the future of our community is of utmost importance to me. As Councilwoman, I will focus my attention on infrastructure, transportation, and economic issues that are integral to the success of our town.

Development in Westfield including the Westfield One Project and has become a hot topic in town. How do you feel about development in Town?

After decades of little compliance with a court-ordered affordable housing mandate, the previous administration finally negotiated a settlement with the Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC) in 2017. Many of the projects approved earlier are only now coming to fruition, hence the uptick in new development we’re seeing now.

While Westfield, like other towns with similar mandates, must comply with their obligations, our current council has used this as an opportunity to revitalize our downtown. The current council has worked tirelessly with the town’s largest landowner, the Hudson Bay Company, encouraging them to partner with us and invest in our success. Their subsidiary company, Streetworks, has helped communities similar to ours re-invigorate their towns, attracting other investors and businesses.

Streetworks has a robust record of dynamically transforming every town they have collaborated with. They restructure the landscape to unite residents and foster local businesses without losing the integrity of the town’s original character. My family loves the quaint, old-fashioned atmosphere and we have no intention of losing it. Streetworks is acutely aware of the residents’ desire to maintain the character of Westfield’s downtown. Working in collaboration with our council will ensure that they stay true to continuing our small-town vibe.

At every step, this administration has proactively mitigated quality of life concerns by ensuring all projects are of the highest quality and meet all criteria related to aesthetics, sustainability, parking and traffic. Additionally, funds from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund will help support vital projects such as the Veteran’s Housing proposed at the American Legion site.

They have also ensured that the town is indemnified financially, so that residents do not have to worry that they will bear the burden of responsibility for the project. I fully support this much needed revitalization.

The Edison Fields Bond Ordinance has been added to the ballot to go up for public vote. What do you think of the project and the use of turf over natural grass?

I fully support the project. For too long, our students have had to commute to other towns, often late at night, to practice. The majority of the time, those fields are turf and yet there has never been concern regarding the safety of on turf at Ponderosa in Scotch Plains or at Wardlaw-Hartridge. Sid-Fey/Houlihan has been home turf for our youth for decades, and there was no outrage when Kehler was re-surfaced with turf. It is disingenuous to claim opposition to turf fields now.

Grass fields would be great but aren’t practical. They are expensive to maintain and are useless in poor weather. Grass fields can only sustain a limited number of hours of use; our needs far exceed the recommended use of a grass field. Our current council has negotiated to ensure a drainage system that actually is better than the currently problematic run-off that leads to local flooding currently.

Our athletes and marching band have long endured poor field quality on the patchy surface behind Tamaques. Our boosters, athletic director, band parent association and youth sports teams are united in support of the field. There have been no issues clearly attributable to turf at Kehler or Sid-Fey/Houlihan. We need a bold, large-scale improvement to meet the needs of our children now and in the future.

There have been discussions about crime in town regarding car and home burglaries. Are you happy with how the town and police are handling this? How would you improve this?

First and foremost, I empathize with anyone who has been burglarized - I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Fortunately, under Chief Battiloro’s leadership, we have transformed policing. The WPD department has attained professional accreditation for patrol and dispatch; now the Westfield Police Department is one of the best trained and professional law enforcement agencies in the state. It is one of only five departments in NJ to achieve this accreditation, and as a result we have less violent crime in our town than ten years ago.

From day one, the current administration has provided the WPD with all the resources needed to protect our community. The department’s funding is fully restored, and staffing levels are the highest in town history. A one-million dollar slush fund for unused military equipment was repurposed to provide funding for state-of-the-art technology such as license plate readers; these are having a direct impact on the reduction of crime in Westfield.

As a mom to a 14-year-old daughter, I can attest that our beautiful community is not a dangerous place to live. The reality is that there is no community immune to crime. But I am proud and grateful for our outstanding police force who work tirelessly to protect us and keep our community safe.

What other issues do you feel need to be tackled in the township?

We have come so far in the last six years in terms of paving, reduction in violent crime and attracting local businesses to our downtown. We now enjoy activities that unite our community like AddamsFest and our annual clean-up of areas like Brightwood. I’d love to see even more activities that engage and strengthen our community.

What sets you apart from the challenging candidate?

In 20 years of public service experience I have been part of the executive leadership team at the NJ Turnpike Authority. I negotiate large scale operating and capital infrastructure deals resulting in millions of dollars of private sector investment. The deals are complex and require collaboration towards a common goal. I have experience with major construction projects and intergovernmental shared-services agreements. I bring all this to bear to ensure that taxpayer monies are managed with smart fiscal policy.

What else would you like to share about yourself or your campaign?

I’ve been raised to value hard work and persistence. I am passionate about Westfield and am grateful for the opportunity to raise Maya in this community with excellent schools and wonderful neighbors. My family instilled in me a responsibility to give back. I can best do that by serving as your representative to council for Ward 2.