My service to this township spans 4 decades, including 8 years on the Zoning Board (3 as chair) which provided me with a broad knowledge of Franklin and an opportunity to listen to residents and learn what the community believes is and isn't acceptable.

I have served on the Environmental Commission, Planning Board, and the Open Space Advisory Committee, educating me in good planning and the constraints of state law, and allowing me to make developments more environmentally friendly. Unfortunately many major planning changes over this period have come from the Council, despite my recommendations.

The worst example of this was in 2005 when the Council insisted on including the Jack Morris plan for 642 apartments between Bennetts Lane and Veronica Avenue to meet COAH requirements, despite a Planning Board vote against it. This led me to put the people before politics and join Phil Kramer, Roz Sherman, Jim Vassanella, Mike Orsini and others in the successful campaign to remove the Democratic municipal chairman and the councilwoman who had 'carried the ball' for Morris. This allowed me as Chairman of the Planning Board to lead the Board in the removal of the project.

In the past when I was asked to run for Council, I refused, feeling that my duties at Rutgers would not allow me the time to be a good councilman. Now retired, I have the time. Observing the Council in action, I feel that I can do a better job finding and adopting imaginative solutions to township problems. At present the township's obligations are projected to continue to increase faster than its revenues, and stern measures will have to be taken to bring the budget into balance. We need to increase tax revenues without asking homeowners to pay more.


I pledge to keep township government as open as possible, and to explain to residents why the Council does what it does. I will examine every dollar in the township budget, and try to save money with as little impact as possible on township services. I will seek to minimize further large scale development in Franklin, and maximize preserved open space. I will work to get the Council to adopt Planning Board recommendations with all deliberate speed (rather than forcing Council mandates on planning.)