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MAYORAL CANDIDATES MAKE ONE LAST PITCH
Dan Kelly Makes His Case
By Keith Hagarty
It's not too often an incumbent mayor is criticized by his opponents for a lack of political experience, but for Democratic Mayor Dan Kelly, such critiques have been par for the course since he was appointed to the town's top leadership post 11 months ago.
But that hasn't dissuaded him from pushing ahead.
"Through my years of experience as a business leader, and as a volunteer to various sectors of my community, I feel that I have contributed to a better Brick Township," said Kelly. "The next logical step is to take a leadership role in moving this government in a positive direction."
Kelly has served as the mayor of Brick since January, being appointed by unanimous vote by the township council following the sudden resignation of former Mayor Joseph Scarpelli, who plead guilty to federal corruption charges.
Now, Kelly and GOP Council President Steve Acropolis are both vying to serve out the remaining two years on Scarpelli's term.
Prior to his appointment as mayor, Kelly was a member of the township planning board for 11 years, and served as chairman for the past four.
A veteran of the U.S. Army, serving from 1960- 1962, Kelly later ran his own transportation business in Brick for 11 years, where he served as both owner and president. His business involved delivery services and sales coverage for a major interstate transportation company, and provided distribution services for a major newspaper company. Kelly was also a regional sales manager for a national transportation company for 30 years, managing a sales force over several states.
Kelly and his wife, Gerri, have three sons and four grandchildren, including one set of triplets He is currently a member of the Knights of Columbus, the American Legion and the Metedeconk River Yacht Club, and has devoted 18 years as a coach and officer of the St. Dominic's Basketball League.
In Kelly's view, the biggest problem facing the township today is a lack of transparency in government. "My method of dealing with this problem to open up government by informing the public of all actions taken by the government, to give them a direct voice in the process," he said.
The government should not be opposed to letting the public have a direct say in the town's major financial decisions, Kelly contends. "When I found out that the public could have say, I pushed for the voters to make the decision at this November's election on the township council's proposed acquisition of the Ocean Ice Palace," he said. "But you won't have chance to vote on the proposed $5.4 million purchase because the council voted against public referendum."
While bringing the best recreational services to Brick's residents should continue to be of the utmost importance, Kelly questioned the Republican-led council's purchase of the Trader's Cove Marina and a vacated shopping center on Route 70.
"While the reason to buy those sites may have been good, it has become apparent that the government officials had no clear plan for those sites when they were bought," said Kelly.
I am not opposed in principle to such real estate efforts, but we as a town need to see a clear plan, including documented financial information, before we jump in to these ventures."
For most residents, traffic in Brick has been
headache for as long as they can remember. One of the
ways Kelly proposes to remedy some of those problems would be in addressing the
so-called "missing mile" of Route 70- the stretch between Chambers Bridge and
Route 88. With the cooperation of the state and county, Kelly believes upgrades
the roadway are long overdue.
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