With the November general election fast approaching, Cranbury’s Candidates Night gave three Township Committee candidates the chance to answer questions directly from voters and make a direct appeal for their vote.
Democrat Eman El-Badawi, an incumbent and the current mayor, Republican candidate Joseph Buonavolonta and Democratic candidate Robert Christoper are vying for two seats carrying three-year terms on the Township Committee.
Candidates Night was held virtual through Zoom and in person at the Cranbury Public Library on Oct. 8. The Woman’s Club of Cranbury hosted the evening tradition in partnership with the Cranbury Public Library.
The Cranbury Press has condensed the event to three questions asked by the moderator Loida Wilson and residents that evening to the candidates due to length and space.
If you were elected, what long term plan do you see Cranbury needing that you may not be able to finish but you know it is important to start?
El-Badawi: “From the inside looking out I would without a shadow of a doubt say I would like to work on flood resilience. It is an issue that will continue to plague every town in New Jersey and country as the weather continues to change and become more erratic. Flood resilience would be one of my issues I think we should tackle ongoing.
“And we need to continue to adhere I think to our master plan. That includes preservation – historic, green spaces, responsible growth. There is a lot that comes under that master plan, and we should kind of stick to that plan.”
Buonavolonta: “There are two things that have not been finished in Cranbury that should be finished. First, Liberty Way to get the trucks away from town off of Route 130 we need to finish that project. It has hit a dead end. There is no Committee, and nothing is going on about it that I like. I think you need to reopen that and finish that project.”
“Second, the lake was already cleaned out and dredged. We need to continue that across the street behind the firehouse clean it all the way down. It was never done and has not been brought up yet. All the water lays stagnant and does not keep moving. We need to clean out behind the firehouse.”
Christoper: “A lot of the projects and thoughts that I have about sort of longer-term projects will never really be finished. One of my priorities is to do more to support small businesses. I think downtown is occasionally a difficult place to run a business. I would love to say the Cranbury community could support all the businesses with just us, but I think some of the vacant storefront will show you that is not the case”
“I think we need to find a way to help promote the downtown businesses, whether that is regional publication marketing efforts or different ways to celebrate them on Cranbury Day. I think that is a project that will never end. I think we need to make sure we do what we can to ensure their success.”
Can you tell me a couple personal traits that you have that make you strong and ideal for problem solving especially at a community level?
El-Badawi: “I think when you are dealing with a community and issues it is really important to listen. I have the patience to listen and the ability to not respond until I have educated myself on how that response should take place. You have to be very conscience on how words land on people.
“I appreciate very much on what my parents gave me and that was a diversity of experience, a diversity of thought, and a diversity of education. All of those play very strongly to my tactics when I am approaching an issue or a problem.”
Buonavolonta: “Being on different committees and in different organizations and working with 57 people underneath me, I work well with people. I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty and jump in. Working well with people helps me out for a common goal. I’m happy to do it and is one of my best traits.
“Working with people from different fields I get along with a lot of people and get a lot of stuff done.”
Christoper: “I’m a calming influence. I think in my experiences on the Board of Education and going back to my Little League coaching days. I’m pretty even keeled and good in a debate in between people. I bring a sense of calm into most things.”
“I’m also a pragmatic problem solver. I say it in jest to anyone who will listen that every organization needs a vice president of common sense because common sense is not that common. I like to think and bring common sense to a lot of problems.”
A resident asked the candidates why after four years the former Cranbury Pizza building on North Main Street remains the most “disgusting dump” in the center of the town and why nothing had changed.
El-Badawi: “It was an absolute tragedy four years ago when the pizza building burnt down, and it has been a little bit unsettling in these four years that not much has changed with that building in its difficult aesthetic form. Unfortunately, the building changed ownership in the middle of these four years that further delayed the process of figuring out what to with it.
“When I was on the Development Review Commission (DRC) last year we did see an application from the current owners to create or build a restaurant of some kind. A lot of things were moving forward and then we didn’t hear much, and it turns out they were updating those plans a little bit.
“They went back to the historic society this time not the DRC and got the sort of blessings from the historic society with the new plans they had. I’m not sure where the holdup is right now but have shared residents’ complaints with some of the stakeholders. It is not a Zoning issue, it is privately owned. We have to let these owners go through the process and create what they would like to create for Cranbury.”
Buonavolonta: “With as much information as I know, I believe they are waiting for some paperwork from architects and engineers. The owner has to come up with the money, knock the building down, and some people are against them putting a bigger parking lot in or knocking the whole building down. There are a lot of issues there.”
“I completely understand what you are saying [referring to the resident who asked the question]. Another thing we don’t have a Zoning enforcer in this town. He only works two hours a day and one hour on Fridays or something like that on Saturday, which is horrible. If we had a regular guy that goes out, I’m sure they would put something up there.
“As of now I know they get extermination, regular fire inspections, they get exterminations and have tarps up. I know it looks horrible. But your hands are locked, it is the owner’s business. It is disgusting to look at.”
Christoper: “My co-candidates certainly have more of the detail from both a Zoning and Township Committee standpoint. I will say four years is a long time. I know there are things on the books on how long your grass grows and this is an eyesore in middle of town for a long time.
“I certainly do not envy the new owners. There is lots of work for them to do. I think some level of communication and understanding the meetings are recorded and whatnot, but maybe summarizing some of this and getting it out to the community. These tough decisions being made or not made should at least see the light of day.
“As engaged as the 80 or so folks on this call, the other 3,500 voters in Cranbury are not going to watch a Zoom of a Zoning meeting they may or may not be able to find. So maybe some push notification as it relates to hot button issues like the Old Cranbury Pizza would be helpful.”
