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Dem Council Candidates Promise Fresh New Chapter For Brick
By Keith Hagarty
The four candidates running on behalf the local Democratic Party Municipal Committee ticket seeking four-year seats on the township council are Paul E. Panuska, Anthony G. D'Elia, Michael Mauro and Anthony W. Lazroe.
The council candidates on the Democratic ticket, running with incumbent Mayor Dan Kelly, each provide a unique blend of skill sets and personal experiences designed to successfully compliment the whole, according to Mauro.
"We have somebody who represents education. We have somebody who represents transportation. We have somebody who represents traffic," he said, "and then there's me, who deals with project management on an ongoing basis."
Mauro, 50, of Worth Street, is currently employed by Schering-Plough in Kenilworth as a project manager in support of their integrated technologies for the medical community. His responsibilities include supervising
staff of developers and content owners, while working with a variety of customers on their application requirements.
Mauro believes his years of experience as
project manager in the fields of integrated technology, communication and media would serve him well as an elected official.
"It's about taking projects from beginning to end, from concept through completion within cost and within a budget," said Mauro. "I think that's a nice asset to have."
Selecting four candidates with distinct abilities has been key to the Democratic campaign, said Mauro. Having candidates new to the political scene was of prime importance to the Democrats, especially in light of the federal probe of former Mayor Joseph Scarpelli, a Democrat who plead guilty earlier this year to accepting bribes.
"We wanted to have people who had nothing to do with politics on this ticket," said Mauro. "That's one of the things that we bring to this ticket. That's rarely ever done, people running who aren't politicians- none of us are. None of us have ever held public office, and we are people who are just like everybody else in Brick who want to do something good for the town."
Lazroe, 63, of Midstreams Rd., has over 20 years of executive experience in government and human services, and has been a member of the Brick Housing Authority from 2001 to 2006, serving for four years as the vice-chairman. He has also been a member of the township planning board for the last three years.
Lazroe has served as the director of the Office of Grants and Contracts at Monmouth University since 2000, and was the development coordinator for the College of Education and Human Services at Montclair State University.
Panuska, 51, of River Park Drive, is
physical education teacher and health teacher at Lake Riviera Middle School, and a member of the township board of education. Panuska is an active volunteer in the community, involved in several recreation programs at Brick schools, where he has served as head wrestling coach and assistant track coach at Lake Riviera Middle School, and as an advisor for the Brick Mat Rat program in the Brick Recreation Department. He also holds the honor of being a Life Scout of the Boy Scouts of America, and is a member of the Elks.
D'Elia, 44, of Azalea Drive, worked for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority for over 16 years and currently serves as a supervisor in the traffic operations center. D'Elia previously served in various capacities for private companies in New Jersey.
A U.S. Navy veteran, D'Elia served in the military from 1982 to 1986, attaining the rank of Petty Officer 3rd Class, with an overall evaluation of 4.0 for four years- the highest evaluation score that can be attained- before receiving an honorable discharge in 1986.
The Brick 2007 election is all about the government taking full accountability and regaining the public's trust in their elected officials, according to Mauro.
"Leadership is a result of your actions, and not just having good ideas," said Mauro. "I believe the council that's up there now has nice, good ideas, but they're just not being executed properly."
Discussions over a proposed community center at the Ocean Ice Palace on Chambers Bridge Road has been a heated topic of debate on the council. Democrats believe the GOP-majority are taking the decision out of the hands of the people, and are not willing to listen to opinions not matching their own.
"The recreation center is a great idea. I'm all for it. I think it would be great for Brick, and I think everybody needs it," said Mauro, "but they (the GOP-led council) never got the people involved in the decision making on that, and that's where I thought it was poorly executed."
One of the most notable qualities desperately on the current Republican council, according to Mauro, is a void of teamwork and mutual respect.
"High standards of integrity I think are missing there, and simply doing the right things," he said. "Respect for the individual is missing, and just how you conduct yourself … Enough name calling and criticizing. Steve Acropolis says he wants to run the town more like a business, but the things I see going on there would never happen in business, and certainly never happen on a team."
For Mauro, the voters have a choice on November 6 between either accepting the status quo with the Republicans, or joining the Democratic team and having a say in the business of the town.
"If I do not win, they're just going to lose a good, hard worker," he said. "If I do win, then they're going to have somebody willing to do the work, because there is going to be a lot of work to be done. My bottom line is I'm going to work hard to earn the people's trust everyday."
"There is work to be done," he said. "We have to work as a team whether you're blue (Democrat) or red (Republican)- maybe we should combine and become purple."
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