UPDATED: Hightstown Council Will Choose New Member from These Three Candidates

The Hightstown Borough Council members must choose one of three people put forward by the municipal Democratic committee to replace former Councilman Dimitri Musing.

The following are questionnaires completed for Patch by each of the three candidates—Gail Doran, Eugene Sarafin and Mike Vanderbeck. They are presented as submitted, edited only for grammar and style.

Name: Gail Doran

Age: [No response]

Profession:

• High School science teacher in Monmouth County (current position)
• Optical fiber systems development with Corning Incorporated
• Opto-electronics researcher with Bell Labs

How long have you lived in the borough?

Hightstown resident for four years (previously lived in Monmouth County). We chose Hightstown for the small town character, old houses, big trees and numerous parks.

What kind of experience do you have in local government and volunteering?

Regular attendance at council meetings for over three-and-a-half years.

What issues would you hope to tackle in the few months between your appointment and the time the new councilperson takes the seat after the November election?

Short term issues are:

• the 2011 budget  
• establishing police department accountability to the council 
• an indemnification ordinance for volunteers and elected officials
• code enforcement
• master plan re-evaluation

In the longer term, the sustainability of Hightstown.

Are you interested in running for the seat in that election?

It's early in the process to answer that question, but as a rule I like to finish what I've started.

Name: Eugene E. Sarafin

Age: 75

Profession: Citizen

How long have you lived in the borough?

46 years.

What kind of experience do you have in local government and volunteering?

• Former Board member Better Beginnings, 1970-1973
• Former School Board Member, 1968-1979
• Former Zoning Board of Adjustment Board Member, 1968-1972
• Former president of the Hightstown Human Relations Council, 1970 -1973
• President of Hightstown Library Association, aka Friends of the Hightstown Memorial Library
• Former Borough Council Member, 2002-2003 (serving expired term)
• Certified EMT Member and officer in Hightstown First Aid Squad
• Member of the 1968  Hightstown/East Windsor consolidation study team
• 2002 Member of the East Windsor School System building  design and site selection committee
• Water Sewer Committee member in 2002
• Attended Council meetings for the past 46 years and offered opinions and advice
• Have been a corporate executive for 30 years.
• Served in the [United States Marine Corps] during the Korean War.

What issues would you hope to tackle in the few months between your appointment and the time the new councilperson takes the seat after the November election?

• Police Deprtment Management!
• Water/Sewer rate structure!
• Code enforcement!
• Governance!
• Corrections of inequities!
• Sidewalk construction where no sidewalks exist.
• Consolidation of services that can be done economically and practically.

Are you interested in running for the seat in that election?

[My] running for office in Hightstown began in 1970, running for mayor as I did in 1994. I don't run for office anymore or want to. It is a young person's game. We seniors should serve when needed but let those who have a greater longevity in Hightstown then serve in public office. I think East Windsor's geriatric council is an abomination. I have always offered the prescient comment, the only good senior citizen is a dead one, and today have been proven correct through the Congressional Republican budget for 2012.

Name: Mike Vanderbeck

Age: 58

Profession: Semi-retired/manager

How long have you lived in the borough?

Moved to Hightstown in 1985.

What kind of experience do you have in local government and volunteering?

• Hightstown Memorial Library Board
• Councilman 1999-2003
• Council President 2001 and 2002
• Downtown Revitalization Project Coordination Committee
• NJ DOT liaison for Downtown Revitalization
• Ward Street Bridge Renovation Committee
• Trustee, CAPPS
• Fountain at the Point Committee
• Economic Development Committee
• Hightstown Main Street Committee
• Downtown Hightstown

What issues would you hope to tackle in the few months between your appointment and the time the new councilperson takes the seat after the November election?

• Institute governance policies
• Shared services/Consolidation
• Master Plan
• Code enforcement

Are you interested in running for the seat in that election?

 Undecided as of now.

This article was updated at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday to reflect updated information from Gail Doran, and to include a picture of her.