Election 2023: Carolyn Dempsey For Chatham Borough Council

CHATHAM, NJ — Election Day is nearing, and Chatham voters will soon head to the polls to cast their votes for three seats on the local borough council.

Patch sent questionnaires to all candidates, seeking their responses. Here is the response from candidate Carolyn Dempsey.

Editor's Note: Patch emailed all candidates at the email addresses listed for their campaigns in the clerk's office. The responses will be revealed between now and the general election on Nov. 7. These comments will be published with just minor stylistic changes. Candidates who wish to participate but did not receive an invitation should email vianella.burns@patch.com.

Name: Carolyn Dempsey

Age: 54

Town of residence: Chatham Borough

Party affiliation: Democratic

Family: My husband, our three children and I have lived in Chatham for 22 years. All our children were educated in the SDOC; one is in high school and two are in college.

Education: BA in Russian/Soviet Studies, Minor in Spanish, from the College of William and Mary.

Occupation: Music and Spanish Teacher

Previous or current elected appointed office: Currently serving in my second term on the Chatham Borough Council.

Why are you seeking elective office?

I’m proud of the accomplishments and culture of our current Borough Council and I hope to build on that as mayor. I’m excited to continue working on many of the projects I started in the borough, to see them through to completion.

If elected, what do you hope to accomplish while serving on the council?

I have been very busy as a member of the Chatham Borough Council over the past five years. When our current mayor decided not to seek re-election, my fellow council members and our Democratic Committee urged me to run. At first I was hesitant, but now I am embracing the challenge and the opportunity to be the head of the executive branch of our local government. If elected, I will be the first female Democratic mayor ever elected in the history of Chatham Borough.

There are many challenges as well as exciting new prospects in Chatham. Many towns in NJ are faced with the issue of how to balance development while maintaining a sense of community and “small town feel”, and providing enough affordable housing. Chatham falls into this category. We have a new round of affordable housing obligations coming up in 2025 which are mandated by law. Plus, we have to remember that property owners have rights and can build what they choose within existing zoning.

We are currently working with our planners to envision something that could be a benefit to Chatham, have amenities available to all residents, have the required (and needed) affordable housing, while not being too large in scale, should a developer choose to build on their property. A tough balance to strike. We hope to soon bring the public into this process to help with potential visions, especially along River Road. We cannot completely stop development, but we can manage it.

Our town is in danger of becoming too pricey for millennials and young families to afford, and too expensive for retirees to stay. I strongly believe that diversity of all types (age, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, economic, professions, etc.) is essential to create a lively and healthy community. Making sure we have inclusive housing that is affordable to all residents, not only the very wealthiest, and managing the size and scale, will be a main goal of mine as Mayor.

Working with developers might also help with another goal: reclaiming our riverfront for our residents and the continuation of our riverside trail. We completed phase one early in my tenure on Council, and I would like to continue with phases two and three, which will require working with commercial property owners along the Passaic and involve environmental clean up. I currently serve on the Board of the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge; the GSWA has an interest in cleaning up the Passaic River, so I hope to combine their non-profit interests with our priorities in Chatham.

Much of what I worked on and accomplished in my years on Council I will want to continue as mayor, such as continuing to improve our parks and public amenities, and celebrate with community events.

We just had the Grand Opening of The Stanley Center, and I want to make sure to see it lives up to its potential of being a thriving focal point in our town for culture and events. I have been the liaison to our Public Arts Council and we recently unveiled two new murals in Chatham which celebrate Chatham’s history and future. I want to help the PAC continue to be active and beautify our town. As a Council member I ushered in the creation of a new “parklette” just off our Main Street.

I would like to follow through on an idea sparked by Mayor Kobylarz to name this new area after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and I am working with art teachers in our school district to lead students in creating a sculpture for the park which embodies the principles of Dr. King. I know I will continue to work with the Chatham Community Food Distribution to help our most vulnerable neighbors, and to promote and create local events which benefit our residents and Chatham businesses.

Then there are the practical necessities of a small town that I will attend to such as making sure we have the funds and processes in place to procure a new fire truck for our CBVFD, supporting our CBPD as they prepare to hire new officers and SLEO’s for our schools, and working with our Borough Water Utility to make sure we have ample supplies for current and future needs while trying to stave off the need to dig a costly second well. Opportunities (and much work!) abound in the near future for Chatham and I’m grateful for the strong support of my fellow council members and the talented departments of the borough administration.

My fellow candidates for Borough Council and myself are running unopposed. As we go into the November election completely unchallenged, it is the first time in Chatham’s history that Republicans or Independents have not put up candidates for local office.

I believe our current lack of opposition candidates can be attributed to the hard work we’ve put in on campaigns over the past six years, and the hard work and accomplishments we’ve shown while in office. We have not rested on our recent success, but have continued to knock doors, show up at events, send mailings, display signs and reach out to residents in every way possible. We are committed to being not only the representatives, but the delegates for all our fellow Chatham residents.

What do you think is the most pressing issue facing residents right now and what do you intend to do about it?

Development and meeting our affordable housing obligations—see previous answer

Residents have expressed increased worries about overdevelopment in the borough in recent years; how would you solve this?

See previous answer

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence that you can handle this job?

When I first ran for office on the Chatham Borough Council I had several goals: focusing on town-wide activities to bring a sense of community as well as invigorate our downtown, improvement of our parks and recreation amenities, and to make our town a more welcoming community, all while maintaining the fiscal health of the borough.

Some accomplishments in my first five years in office include:

• * Collaborating with our Community Services Department to create the first ever summer concert series which brings hundreds of residents and visitors into our downtown for each performance throughout the season.
• * Overseeing the refurbishment of Garden Park, including resurfacing the town’s tennis courts, creation of two modern basketball courts, a new walking path around the park and canopied resting area. I also helped with the completion of the first phase of our Passaic riverside trail and accompanying historic kiosks.
• * Co-creator of the Chatham Community Food Distribution. In order to address local food insecurity, we created the food distribution in the early days of the pandemic. Once a week, through donations and volunteers, we distribute fresh produce, milk, eggs, bread and personal care items to any families who are in need. We are still in operation and serve 50-60 families weekly.
• * Overseeing the donation of the former Stanley Congregational Church to the Borough, and co-heading it’s transition to The Stanley Center, offering performance, rehearsal and exhibit space for the arts, community meeting rooms, and is an excellent venue for all types of events.
• * Reintroducing the “Flag Award” on our Historic Preservation Commission which recognizes the restoration efforts of a business or home. Assisting with the updating and digitizing of design guidelines for architects, contractors and property owners in the historic district.
• * Establishing the first ever Borough Hall open house for residents, and Local Government Day for our elementary students, now both annual events. Helped establish regular office hours for the mayor and council, which had never been done.
• * Assisting with the first ever Diversity Celebration in 2021. Musicians, dancers, poets, speakers and local leaders and clergy come together for an evening to celebrate the wide ranging cultures and traditions of the Chathams and Madison.

These are just some of what I’ve been able to bring to Chatham while in office, the town where we have raised our children and that I have grown to love. While we have a wonderful community, I believe that we always need to look for ways to improve life for our residents and to be prepared for the future.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I grew up in Nebraska, went to college in Virginia, met my husband in New York City, and settled with our family in Chatham. That’s a lot of wonderful places I’ve been blessed to experience, but Chatham is where we call home.

We are are grateful that our children received a wonderful public education through the School District of the Chathams that has prepared them for college and beyond. Our oldest will be graduating from college soon and has a job offer in New York City. He is excited to move back to Chatham and start his “adult life” commuting into the city, much like his dad and many fellow residents. My husband and I often talk about what we want to do once our kids are completely “grown and flown”.

There are many places we have loved visiting, but we keep coming back to how lucky we are to live in NJ: we have access to great medical care, major airports, the culture and excitement of New York City, plus we live in a state that cares about public education and the safety and rights of its citizens. Best of all, we have a wonderful hometown in Chatham, with its own benefits and amenities, as our anchor.

I want everyone to feel as welcome in Chatham as we have felt, and as mayor, bring Chatham into the future while honoring our past.