Freeholder Candidates Face Off on the Issues in Debate

All seven candidates for the three open freeholder positions were in attendance for the debate, which took the format of a question and answer session. Hilda Jaffe of the Montclair Area League moderated the event and three local journalists asked the questions. 

Four term incumbents Alexander Mirabella and Deborah Scanlon are joined by attorney Mohamed Jalloh on the Democratic ticket, with Garwood Councilman Anthony Sytko and attorney Nicole Cole seeking seats as Republicans. Plainfield resident Hope Thompson and Scotch Plains resident Karen Gielen are running on an independent slate.

The topics of discussion ranged from deferred pension plans and affordable housing to the unpopular closure of Muhlenberg Hospital and, of course, taxes. Following four-minute opening statements, each candidate could respond to any question for up to one minute.

The largest points of contention were the debate over the role of the county in the hospital closing, and issues related to spending within the county’s means.

A question about county taxes and the creation of the county budget served as a main point of contention between the two major party tickets,.

Mirabella said, “[Increasing taxes] is not a unique situation for Union County. All 21 counties [in New Jersey] have increased their municipal taxes this year… these are extraordinary times and we’re trying to find some ways to help offset [the increased taxation].”

Mirabella, the freeholder board's current chairman, said the county had layoffs this year and implemented a new program that had employees pay part of their benefits to help curb spending. The incumbent also proposed finding new sources of revenue for the county. One potential source – leasing or selling the Union County Resource Recovery Facility in Rahway – was supported by Democrats but made Republicans wary due to a possible conflict of interest from the Democratic Party donor who operates the site and would make money on the deal. 

The Republican ticket has proposed conducting an independent county audit as a starting off point for the county budget discussions.

“I think Union County should be trying to do more with less," Cole said. "I would come in and try to challenge my counterparts to come up with different ideas that cut the inefficiencies that litter the county budget.”

“We already have a budget of over $400 million. If we can’t make do with that, we’re clearly doing something wrong,” Sytko said.

The closing of Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center in Plainfield brought about the most passionate portion of the debate, with charges flying over the county's role in the closing of the hospital and pictures being painted of mothers having babies in cabs and on New Jersey Transit trains.

Independent candidates, Thompson and Gielen, had the most to say on the topic, which is at the heart of their campaign platform. Gielen is a retired Muhlenberg nurse.

“We definitely need an acute care facility… and transportation to get there. As it is now with the closing of Muhlenberg, it’s a $60 one-way cab ride to JFK [Medical Center in Edison],” Thompson said. “We’re hearing horror stories of $1200 to $1700 ambulance rides to Somerset and wherever else they are taking [sick patients].”

Gielen expressed concern that the area not only have an acute care facility, but also offer obstetrical services to accommodate women who go into labor and cannot get to any other hospital on time.  

The Democrats noted the county government has no control over the closing of hospitals.

“In regards to the Muhlenberg issue, the county freeholders have no say over the hospitals and their openings and closings. … That being said, we lobbied very hard to keep Muhlenberg hospital open," Scanlon said.

The only non-incumbent Democrat running for freeholder, Jalloh, commended the current freeholders for keeping Runnels Specialized Hospital open and publicly controlled.

“It seems to me that private hospitals are more about dollars and cents, and when dollars cease to make sense, they private hospitals go away and leave our communities,” Jalloh said.

The candidates also discussed deferred pension payments for county officials, which Democrats support but Republicans oppose, and the continuing of Union County’s MusicFest event, which both parties supported, but with the Republicans advocating a smaller budget for the event. Both major parties supported investing in solar energy panels for schools – with differences about how to pay for the panels. 

A question about the hiring of a private management firm to run the county's golf operations brought Democratic support, with the ticket saying it would allow for a better experience for county golfers. The Republican ticket criticized the decision, citing the transformation of Oak Ridge Golf Course in Clark into a county park.

When asked how the debate went, all of the candidates felt confident.

“I think it went well,” Mirabella said. “There are a lot of issues and in an hour you can only touch on so many things, but I felt like you could see the teamwork among [the Democratic candidates] and the plan we had.”

Sytko said, “You did see an absolutely clear distinction between my plan and my opponents’. … We offer real responses to the problem. It’s not more government. It’s not more programs. It’s not more taxes. It’s making due with what we have.”

Sytko was also critical of what he felt was the current freeholders decision to set this year’s budget without fully taking into account the financial crisis. “If you knew we were facing a serious problem, you don’t attack it the same way. The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. And by that logic the freeholders are absolutely certifiable.”

“I thought they were a little mean,” Scanlon said of her Republican opponents. “That’s my perspective; I’m not a mean person. I kind of smooth things over and make them as nice as they can. I thought that [Sytko] seemed a little upset and little angry.”

“I think that they did ok,” Mirabella said when asked to critique his opponents’ performance. “They care about Union County, you can see that. They want to try to help … But I really didn’t see where they offered any new ideas or a new plan. They are just against things, and that’s no way to run an office … you have to be for something.”

The elections for freeholders take place on November 3.