Election 2022: John Bonevich, Howell Township Council

HOWELL, NJ — Democrat John Bonevich is one of six candidates seeking three full-term seats on the Howell Township Council in the Nov. 8 general election.

In these profiles, candidates provide voters with background about themselves and their positions on the issues, as they see them. Patch will publish individual profiles leading to the election.

Bonevich is an incumbent, seeking a second term on the council. He says he is opposed to mega-warehouse development and supports keeping emergency dispatch services locally based. He says the master plan needs to be revisited to preserve Howell's rural quality.

Read more from candidate John Bonevich:

Name: John Bonevich

Age: 48

Town of residence: Living in Howell for 28 years

Position sought: Re-election to Township Council

Party affiliation: Democratic

Family: Married for 18 years and currently have three children, all in the Howell Township public school system

Education: Graduate of Xavier High School, New York, NY; achieved 126 credits toward a Bachelor of Science Degree, Biology, Monmouth University, West Long Branch

Occupation: Owner of three local businesses, Your Target Marketing, Bon Solid Promotions & Snap Media. Branding and director of marketing for D’Jais Bar and Grill and Ocean Health Initiatives

Name the top issues currently facing your town and how you plan to address them:

• Stop the mega-warehouses.

We need to stop the plan for mega warehouses. My opponents support the building of hundreds of acres of warehouse, with over 300 loading docks. This will destroy our rural character. These warehouses will be open 24/7, and 18 wheelers will be traveling our roads, snarling traffic and increasing our costs for road maintenance.

• Keep 911 and emergency dispatch local

Right now, when you dial 911, you reach a dispatcher in Howell, who knows our town. Our opponents want to outsource this to the county. Other towns who’ve tried this did not save the money they were promised, and response times were slower.

• Stop overdevelopment

We need to finally revise the master plan and be proactive in stopping future unwanted development. We need a master plan that focuses on controlling development and maintaining our rural character. My Republican opponents say they are against development, but look at what the Republicans have done. They backed the dump. They are bringing in mega-warehouses. And they approved zoning for thousands of high-density apartments. We can limit development with well thought out zoning ordinances, but the Republicans on Council refuse to change the zoning.

Goals:

I want to stop overdevelopment, keep our local emergency dispatch, and stop the mega-warehouse.

Experience:

I’ve served on Council for four years with Mayor Theresa Berger. The entire time, the Republicans have dominated the government. Despite their opposition, the mayor and I have been able to make a difference. The dormitory project on Ford Road was stopped when we purchased the property for open space. The mayor and I have stopped the dump project, at least for now.

I have been a voice for the people of Howell, working to preserve our neighborhoods and quality of life. Next term, I hope to serve with fellow Democrats Denise King and Randy Bishop on Council. With their help, we can reach our goals.

Candidates for Howell Township Council:

Full terms - Vote for three

• Fred Gasior (Republican)
• Susan Fischer (Republican)
• Ian Nadel (Republican)
• John "Bon" Bonevich (Democrat)
• J. Randy Bishop (Democrat)
• Denise King (Democrat)

Candidates who have not received their request for profile information from Patch should check their spam folders or can contact Pat McDaniel at patricia.mcdaniel@patch.com for another email of our candidate questions.