Election Day Is Here: Info. On Woodbridge Mayor's Race

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Sue Boros has her work cut out for her. She's trying to unseat John McCormac, who will be seeking his fifth uninterrupted term as Woodbridge mayor. McCormac, 61, is a Democrat. Boros, 55, is a Republican. The election is next Tuesday, Nov. 5 and voters will be asked to choose one.

Where can I find election results?
Right here on Patch! Check back at 8 p.m. for real-time election results. You can also have them delivered straight to your inbox by subscribing to the Patch newsletter. You can also "like" the Woodbridge Patch on Facebook to see results in your Facebook feed.

Where do I vote?
Your polling place is included on a sample ballot mailed out to all registered voters. If you're still not sure, or you misplaced that sample ballot, you can look up your polling location on the New Jersey Division of Election's website.

When can I vote?
Election Day 2019 is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For Boros, the main issues she's running on are: Over-development all over Woodbridge, coupled with what she says is the Township giving away too many backroom PILOT deals (payment in lieu of taxes), as well as a lack of transparency from Town Hall. Plus, she just feels like some new blood is badly needed in Woodbridge government.

"I have no problem with John McCormac as a person; he's a very nice man," she told Patch in an interview about why she's running. "But I learned this spring that no one would be running against him. Here is a man who will get another four years in office 'just because.' I'd rather fight and lose than sit back and have him run unchallenged."

Boros has lived in the Fords section of Woodbridge for the past 19 years; she ran unsuccessfully for council-at-large in 2011. This year, she is running on a Republican slate with four other Republican council candidates, none of whom have been elected to the Council before.

Boros says Woodbridge has become overbuilt, too dense

"The current administration is trying to convert Woodbridge into a city, and the traffic that's resulted has been unreal," said Boros. "Every door I've knocked on, people complain about the traffic and how long it takes them to drive half a mile down Main Street."

It's no secret Woodbridge is in the midst of a development boom: Under McCormac's watch, apartment projects have gone up that include Station Village at Avenel, The Grande at MetroPark as well as several hundred more apartment units planned at the old Hess solar fields site.

A developer called Prism Capital Partners is also about to convert a five-acre lot at the corner of Rahway Avenue and Green Street into 232 apartments and 12,000 square feet of retail space. This is the site of the former Lucas Chevrolet dealership.

"The town says, 'Oh, don't worry, they'll all be commuters who take the train.' But most Woodbridge residents I know have to drive to the train station," she said. "It's a three mile drive to Woodbridge station; a three-mile drive to MetroPark. So that's much more traffic being put on our roads."

All the development has made flooding worse in town, she added.

"The water table in Avenel is only 18 inches, yet they built Station Village. The people who live back there are incensed. Their yards started flooding after construction started," she said. "Now there is nowhere for the water to go."

"I'm not seeing tomorrow being thought of," she continued. "I'm not seeing anyone say, 'Yes, we realize there is going to be a strain on our roads, our emergency services, our schools. Here's our ten-year plan to prepare for that.'"

Mayor McCormac countered that flooding has not gotten worse by Station Village, and a retention area is being built at the end of the property (Station Village is still under construction).

"I had 12 meetings with residents out there before the project was built," said McCormac. "There have not been major problems because if there were people would tell me or come to Council meetings. She is making up issues."

Too many PILOT deals, she says

PILOTS (payment in lieu of taxes) are controversial deals in New Jersey, where a developer pays the town directly for a fixed number of years as an incentive to build in a distressed or “blighted” area. The developer pays a PILOT instead of paying taxes. What's most controversial about PILOTS is the money goes directly to the Township; it does not go to public schools, the county or town services the way traditional taxes do.

"He (McCormac) is doing all these deals by giving away PILOTs," she said. "That means we are not collecting taxes for our fire department; we are not collecting school taxes."

"Is anybody looking down the road? We have all these new residents coming into our town. We're going to have a need for wider roads, more emergency services and bigger schools to accommodate all the kids. What about in 15 years when the PILOT runs out and the school and municipal taxes are not being paid?"

When the PILOT expires, usually in 30 years, the developer reverts to paying traditional taxes.

McCormac countered that PILOTs have actually resulted in millions of dollars coming into the town's coffers, and the money been used for school improvements and elsewhere.

Under his administration, Woodbridge has given out 25 PILOT deals.

"She doesn't understand how PILOTs work," he said. "We get slightly less money under a PILOT, but basically the same amount of money flows into the town. If anything, we actually have more freedom because there are less restrictions on how PILOT money can be used."

For example, Woodbridge spent $40 million on district-wide athletic facility improvements, and PILOT money went to help pay down the debt Woodbridge incurred when it built brand-new Ross Street school, as well as Woodbridge Middle and Oak Tree Road school.

"All these things happened because we had the freedom to invest money from development projects," said McCormac. "If the projects didn't come to town we would have had to pay that with regular tax dollars and we never could have afforded it."

"I don't know why anybody would be against safer schools and newer schools," he added. "Because that is how we invest the money from these development projects."

Boros said the first thing she would do as mayor is try to slow down the Woodbridge building boom.

"I would reevaluate all these projects. I would have a town hall meeting and ask residents, 'What do you think we should do with this empty lot? What would you want to see there?"

"They are trying to make our Township a city," she added. "And we like being suburban. Absolutely not."

McCormac defends Woodbridge's development boom

McCormac acknowledged that Woodbridge has been under a redevelopment boom under his watch. It is intentional and planned for, he said, and a sign of progress in the traditionally blue-collar community.

"New development, such as all the new warehouses, bring thousands of jobs to the town, while bringing thousands of dollars in taxes in," he said. "Also, we're cleaning up all the old brownfield sites."

He also said the town is planning for all the increased traffic, such as taking trucks off Main Street and Green Street, and adding more lanes and left-hand turn lanes. Future development in downtown Woodbridge will be walking distance to the train station. Woodbridge will also be adding more parking downtown and near the train stain in the future, he said.

Also, The Grand at MetroPark pays for the shuttle to the train for their residents.

"We have the best public services around and it's made Woodbridge the best town around," he said. "She's grasping at straws."

An overall lack of transparency, Boros says

"The Township just doesn't open the books," said Boros. "You have to file an OPRA request to get all these developer deals. They are not just made available to residents. And then once you read them, you think. Wow. This is what they are doing behind closed doors. That's what we all truly believe is happening."

Boros, who is running with the support of the Middlesex Republican Party, mostly wants a different point of view represented in Township government.

"I think it really comes down to single-power rule. For 12 solid years there has not been a Republican on the Woodbridge Council or in the mayor's chair. We need a dissenting voice. Someone to say, 'Well, excuse me, but I talked to the folks who live in that area and they're not happy with this. How are we going to resolve this?' That's really all I want."

Boros worked for the Newark Board of Education in telecommunications and now works for Kean University doing their telecommnictons. She said the work has given her expeirence working with large public budgets, such as $8 million budgets she worked on at the Newark school board.

The election is Tuesday. Don't forget to vote! Related: NJ Election Day 2019: Can Big Statehouse Races Help Gov. Murphy?