Below are the personal statements that each of the council candidates has provided Dunellen411. Incumbents Kenneth W. Bayer (R) and Jessica Dunne (D) are running on a shared ticket. Tremayne Reid (D) and Kelly Seader (R) are running for their first political position but have been volunteering in community organizations. Statements are listed in alphabetical order.
KENNETH W. BAYER (R)
My name is Kenneth W. Bayer. I am the son of Joan and Art, a former Lieutenant with the Dunellen Police Department. My greatest pride in life has been marrying my amazing wife, Vickie, raising our two sons, Kenneth Jr. and Kyle, and building our lives together here in Dunellen. Vickie and I are now proud grandparents. It is an honor to serve as Council President of the community that raised us all – a community that I believe best embodies the spirit of volunteerism and family.
Having raised my sons in Dunellen, I have coached Little League, volunteered for Dunellen Basketball, and participated in the Cub Scouts as a scout leader. It has therefore always been my goal as a Council Member to help build a better future for all Dunellen residents and families, and this is precisely why I wish to seek an additional term.
For those who don’t know me, or only know of me through Council, I have worked as a union member since 1981 in the ceramic tile industry until 1997, when I became the owner and president of a union ceramic tile, marble, and stone installation company. My professional background in construction has provided me with a deep understanding of budget constraints, contract negations, customer service, and needing to meet payroll for my employees. This experience has served me well while serving on Council, especially as the Chair of the Finance and Administration Committee. I believe my business experience has proven vital to understanding how municipal government should operate and how budgets should be developed and implemented.
Prior to being elected to Borough Council in 2009, I served on the Dunellen Planning Board, where I continue to serve as a member. That experience has provided me with years of knowledge about Dunellen’s downtown revitalization, of which we are now beginning to fully realize. I have and will continue to sit at the table to ensure our transformational redevelopment plan is followed by developers and builders, while also making sure the Borough is protected during negotiations.
My experience on Council has also led me to negotiate contracts for the Dunellen Police Department and Department of Public Works, working to protect both the taxpayer and our borough employees. Additionally, I have served as a Council liaison to the Dunellen Fire Department, Dunellen Rescue Squad, Dunellen Planning Board, and Dunellen Recreation Department. During my tenure, I have helped provide these departments with upgraded equipment, improved parks and facilities, updated ordinances, and improved communications.
During several of these redevelopment efforts and infrastructural improvements, I have directly communicated with the Borough’s engineers and other professional services to ensure these projects were meeting deadlines and were receiving the attention they deserved.In particular, I have worked with the Mayor and Council, as well as the Parks and Recreation Department, to draft an updated Parks and Facilities Shared Service Agreement over the past year. If passed by the Council, this shared service agreement will improve the relationship between the Borough and School District by sharing the costs of capital improvements at shared parks, as well as save the Borough thousands of dollars in utility fees.
I recently worked with Mayor Cilento to enter the Borough of Dunellen into an inter-local agreement with Middlesex County for a mill and pave program, as well as a tax map pilot program. The county mill and pave program would lower costs for the Borough on road improvement projects. This would allow for more roads to be paved at a cheaper rate than what has historically been improved over the years. The tax map pilot program would be cost effective for the Borough when having to obtain free digital maps for when maps have to be updated, as well as provide additional details on commercial spaces. This will prove beneficial for the Borough as properties continue to be developed downtown.
Lastly, I have advocated for the development of a comprehensive plan for road and sewer line repairs. This would be in part related to the County’s mill and pave program, while also seeking additional NJDOT state grants for roads that do not qualify for the County program. I agree that our roads should be improved under a Complete Street Model, which would make our roadways safer for pedestrians. I also agree with Mayor Cilento’s plan to assess and repair our sewer lines prior to beginning road improvement projects. This comprehensive approach will fix our roads, improve our aging sewer lines, and make our streets safer while saving taxpayer dollars in the short and long term.
Moving forward, I propose that the Mayor and Council look to expand upon shared services, particularly in equipment, personnel, and joint purchasing in the Department of Public Works; shared information technology with another municipality or with our school district; and recreational, senior, and cultural programs with neighboring communities. These shared opportunities would lead to cost savings while expanding services for our residents.
You have my word, and I intend to live up to it.
For more information on my campaign, please follow me on Facebook at: United for Dunellen: Bayer & Dunne for Borough Council.
JESSICA DUNNE (D)
When I was a little girl, my parents instilled in me a strong sense of social justice — to do what’s right, even if it’s unpopular or uncool. To speak up for those without a voice. With Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s passing last month, I was reminded of one of her more powerful quotes — ” To make life a little better for people less fortunate than you, that’s what I think a meaningful life is. One lives not just for oneself but for one’s community.” These are the reasons why I first ran for Dunellen Borough Council in 2017 and why I continue to serve all the residents of Dunellen.
When I was sworn in on January 1, 2018, I was the first woman on the Council in years. I’m happy to say that in that time, we have elected three more women on the Council and are now a majority-female Council for the first time in our history. My campaign in 2017 highlighted the need for improvement in our parks — and I think we’ve all seen those improvements come to fruition over the past three years! I also bring important perspectives to the Council as a scientist, athlete, and committed resident of the Dunellen community. The importance of having a scientist on the Council has been highlighted in a way none of us could have ever imagined in 2020. With a background in infectious disease and immunology, my knowledge and ability to parse through scientific knowledge to guide policy and decision-making has never been needed more. And we are not done with this pandemic. With our scientific knowledge on the virus changing on a daily basis, our decisions about what we do as a community so, too, must change. While we have taken guidance from the County & State level, in March, we implemented local measures that may have saved more lives locally. I’ve worked closely with the Mayor on our messaging, to be as accurate and complete as possible.
For twelve years, I worked at a non-profit and in June of this year, started working at Janssen Research & Development. My scientific training has trained me to think outside the box and find solutions, to take measured risks to achieve our goals. My experience managing large budgets led me to be a member of the Finance Committee, and that experience is never more important than now, while the Borough is managing personal situations with a need to provide important services to our community.
We are more in tune now to the need to improve the community while attempting to provide savings to families strapped in today’s economy.
As a previous commuter, I walked to the train for nearly 12 years and I run 15-20 miles on the streets of Dunellen on a weekly basis. In January of this year, along with Mayor Cilento, I attended a Complete Streets training session. In the fall of this year, we will begin to discuss implementation of this model to Dunellen. Some improvements are already underway, but I will work to create a plan for the entire Borough. See http://njbikeped.org/complete-streets-2/ for more info on the Complete Streets program.
As Chair of the DPW Committee for the past two years, I have worked hard at streamlining organizational efficiencies. We recently hired a part-time manager and assistant to take on the administrative duties and to free up the time for our small crew to provide services to the Borough. We now have a process in place for reporting potholes and other issues in the Borough.
One issue I pushed for in 2017 was transparency in government. I advocated for the establishment of the Social Media Committee to create a new website, which was published last year and just this summer, we received Council approval for a Facebook and YouTube channel. I’ve worked with the Mayor on multiple communications fronts, ranging from issues of COVID to DPW to more sensitive subjects, like social justice.
Finally, over the summer, I’ve been working with members of the Community to establish a Committee on Diversity & Inclusion. One of my guiding principles is that all members of the community should be treated with respect.
I have three school-aged children and my entire family is active in the community. My husband, Chris Washburn, started and runs the popular Dunellen Flag Rugby program and our family is active in St. John’s Catholic Church. We purchased our home in 2005 and can’t imagine leaving Dunellen. We’ve grown to love and care for this town, but we also understand the daily struggle families have in today’s world and I will work hard to represent all people in Dunellen.
For more information on my campaign, please follow me on Facebook at: United for Dunellen: Bayer & Dunne for Borough Council.
TREMAYNE REID (D)
For those who don’t know me, my name is Tremayne Reid, and I’m running as a Democratic candidate for council. My family and I moved to Dunellen four years ago. We were looking for a more intimate neighborhood, quiet streets and a close-knit community. Dunellen was all of those things, with the potential to be so much more.
In our time here, neighbors have become friends and my daughter has grown to love “her library,” and made numerous friends at the parks around town. My wife and I have served on various volunteer committees and actively participated in town-wide initiatives.
Like many of the residents in town, I value what Dunellen has to offer, but I see opportunity to make this great town even better. I’m running for council because I want safer, more walkable streets in our neighborhoods. While I can appreciate that many large-scale initiatives like paving and sewer improvements often get tied up in bureaucracy and red tape, I believe there are some more attainable things we can do with our local resources in the meantime. Things like ensuring all of our streets have visible speed limit signs and pedestrian areas are continuously maintained.
If you’ve seen the recent communication from Mayor Cilento, you know that the intersection of Walnut and South Madison, leading to Faber School, is slated to receive flashing pedestrian crossing signs. As a resident, I’ve been very outspoken about the need for improvements at this intersection and am thrilled to see progress being made. As a councilperson, I want to have a seat at the table to help directly impact initiatives like this.
I’m running because I believe frequent, credible communication and transparency are critical to driving community engagement. I see the Facebook conversations that happen on the numerous accounts in town. People have good ideas and I share some of those same views. People also have some valid grievances and I too, share some of those concerns. Posting on social media is one thing but I want to take the next step to help bring change, by offering my time and skills.
I’m not a politician, and I’ve never held an elected office before. Like many of you, I’m a concerned citizen, a family man, and a small business owner who wants to help Dunellen succeed as a safe, affordable place to live and raise children in. I want to bring new perspectives and ideas to council, to represent the new families moving to town and honor the legacy of those who came before us.
I believe the role of a council person is to represent the people, all people. No matter how many or how few years you’ve lived in Dunellen, whether or not you have children, and no matter what side of town you live on. I believe that connecting people, place and purpose are the core principles of a thriving community. I know things won’t change overnight, but at least I can say I tried.
My service and experience have earned me endorsements from: Middlesex County Democratic Organization, Young Democrats of Middlesex, Sigma Community Enrichment Initiative
Vote Tremayne Reid. Column A. A New Voice for our Future.
To find out more about me and why I’m running for Dunellen Borough council, visit: tlreid4dunellencouncil.com or facebook.com/tlreid4dunellencouncil
KELLY SEADER (R)
Hello, my name is Kelly Seader and I am proud to be a candidate for the Dunellen Borough Council. I have lived in Dunellen for the last 29 years, and am a proud product of the Dunellen school system. Being the daughter of former Mayor Robert J. Seader, I spent most of my life growing up watching what it was like to be a true leader, making decisions with integrity, and to give back to the town you love.
I work for the Dunellen Board of Education and also am the Boys Varsity Tennis coach. I spend my spring seasons teaching and coaching the Dunellen boys how to build character, respect others and to always give their best effort.
I spend my summers (the last 16 summers) in Columbia Park running the Dunellen Recreation Summer camp program. I look forward to each summer because I get to spend it with the funniest, most creative and loving kids, Dunellen kids.
I have volunteered in this town since I was 13 years old, mostly within the recreation department. I have volunteered yearly at senior citizen luncheons, baseball opening day parades, the Easter egg hunt as the Easter bunny, the Memorial Day parade, National Night out, the Halloween Parade, the Christmas tree lighting, and my family and I are the creators and directors of the Dunellen Haunted Trail, which has raised $116,000 to help refurbish the Maurer Mansion, a historical town mansion. A successful event in town in which people travel all over to attend. It has been my honor and pleasure to serve at all of these events.
The reason I am running in this year’s election is simple: to protect the residents. I would like to be your representative on the Dunellen Borough Council to be an advocate for the everyday citizens of our town. I plan to take on projects that would help enhance and beautify our town such as the hometown heroes project which would honor our veterans!
I was originally asked once in March to run, after much soul searching I thought who better to serve Dunellen then someone who knows the daily operations of our town and who would have the resident’s and borough’s best interest.
I love and care about this town. I want to see it continue to move forwards, making it one of the greatest places to live! It would be an honor to let me serve you on the Borough Council.
Any further questions please contact me: facebook.com/kseaderfordunellencouncil