Election 2024: Stafford Township Council Candidate Sergio Fossa

STAFFORD, NJ — The 2024 general election will likely be a high-turnout year with a presidential race on the ballot, along with candidates for New Jersey's U.S. House and Senate seats. But there will also be local decisions to be made in Stafford Township, with municipal elections on the ballot.

The Stafford Township Council has six seats up for election. Ahead of Election Day on Nov. 5, Patch sent questionnaires to all candidates seeking their responses. Here is the response from Republican candidate Sergio Fossa.

Editor's Note: Patch sent out emails to all candidates to the email addresses listed for their campaign provided to the office of the clerk. The responses received will be published between now and the Nov. 5 general election. These responses will be published edited only for style. Candidates who would like to participate but did not receive one (for whatever reason) can contact veronica.flesher@patch.com.

Name: Sergio Fossa
Age: 43
Town of residence: Stafford
Education: Bachelor of Music (BM) from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, Master of Divinity (MDiv) from SBTS, Master of Theology (ThM) from SBTS
Occupation: Public School Teacher and Pastor

What drove you to seek public office?
My motivation for seeking public office is the desire to conserve all the wonderful things that make Stafford great! People living here absolutely love their town, and they want their elected officials to keep it the lovely place to live that it already is and always has been. Stafford citizens want to continue their tradition of safety, service, and stability: a balanced budget, limited government, business-friendly environment, safe neighborhoods, and excellent services. Further, they do not want meddling politicians who over-regulate and saddle the citizens with excessive taxes and a bloated local government.

What sets you apart from the other candidates?
I plan to stand in the gap to represent the people of Stafford against the encroachment of Trenton. We do not want bureaucrats forcing their agenda on us: things like offshore windmills and overdevelopment. Stafford Township deserves a town council that continues to put the people of Stafford first, and that it precisely what I plan to do. As an educator, pastor, and trained public speaker, I have the ability to articulate and communicate to the public conservative values in a clear and convincing way that can build and sustain a grassroots movement of local action, a movement that can withstand and halt the encroaching threats from the ruling class.

What is the most pressing issue facing your Stafford?
To be clear, Stafford Township is run very well by our longstanding Republican administration, reflected most notably in the fact that we maintain a balanced budget, a rarity for a New Jersey municipality! We provide excellent services in areas like public works, clean parks and recreational facilities, town-wide events, and well-supported law enforcement, fire department, and emergency medical care without excessive tax and spending.

One item that needs to be addressed is the tendency of New Jersey municipalities to succumb to overcrowding. This is a threat from Trenton that looms over every town, and the job of the council is to stand up to forced development that will make our streets more congested and less safe, thin and reduce access to town services, cause an increase in property taxes while simultaneously decreasing property values, and ultimately have a deleterious impact on our overall standard of living. We did not settle down with our families in Stafford in order to carry water for Trenton bureaucrats and acquiesce to the burdensome demands and overregulation of political elites. We came because of the traditional American values that define our community, values that allow us to live safe and free and with the most opportunity afforded to our families for advancement and prosperity.

A second item that needs to be addressed is the rising cost of utilities, particularly our electrical bills with Atlantic City Electric. On the council I will work with state and local officials to keep utility companies in check and prevent price gouging. Too many of us are dealing with the disturbing and unexpected surprise of massive cost increases in our bills, often under the flimsy guise of newly installed meters or some novel so-called "green energy" scam, a situation that cannot continue for our townspeople.

How do you plan to keep taxes low while still maintaining services for Stafford?
I plan to keep taxes low while still maintaining services by seeking and gaining access to already-funded grant monies, cutting the fat out of the budget by trimming unnecessary expenditures, and promoting a business-friendly environment that increases revenue through increased market activity.

In your opinion, what is the best part of living in Stafford?
The greatest asset to Stafford Township is its extraordinary identity: to this day it remains a community of traditional American values, making it happy, safe, and prosperous for all. It is important to maintain a focus on this asset because with such values, the town will continue to flourish as a vibrant shore community. Anyone passing through can sense the patriotism of our Founder's Day celebration, the diverse and thriving small businesses, the well-kept parks and municipal buildings, and the friendly, small-town feel in our cheerful neighborhoods.

This is why Stafford is such an attractive place for people fleeing the congestion, overcrowding, high taxes, out of control spending, and mismanagement that is sadly so prevalent around New Jersey, especially up north. We want our town to remain the last, best hope of New Jersey. We will continue to set an example for other municipalities to follow so that Stafford becomes first in a legacy of restoring sanity and restraint to New Jersey's local governments and prosperity for the people!