Meet Mark Bishop, Republican Running For Aberdeen Mayor

ABERDEEN, NJ — Nov. 4 will be the election for a new Aberdeen mayor and two Council seats, and in-person early voting starts Oct. 25.

The Democratic slate is current Aberdeen Councilman Greg Cannon, running for mayor, and Councilwoman Margaret Montone and Pedro Mirabal for Council. The Republican slate is Mark Bishop, Lauren Ramos and Michael LaCorte.

Patch asked all the candidates a set of questions, and all six got back to us. We will be publishing the candidate profiles in the order they were received.

Your name, age and office you are running for.

Mark Bishop, 35, mayor

What is your occupation?

I am a small-business owner. I started BCR Carpentry LLC/Kitchens by BCR back in August of 2017 with my business partner Joseph Cifuentes. It was just the two of us, really being self employed for quite a while. We’ve since built this company into a real small business, providing jobs for families across the state.

How long have you lived in Aberdeen and what part of town do you live in?

I have lived in the area my whole life, growing up in Old Bridge, and living in the Cliffwood beach section of Old Bridge during Hurricane Sandy. I purchased my home, as a first-time homeowner in the Cliffwood Beach section of Aberdeen in 2020.

Have you ever run for elected office before? Please list all races and their outcomes, and how long you held that elected office.

I have not ran for office, or held an elected position before.

What are your specific accomplishments and skills that would make you a good mayor or town Council member?

I was one of five children, in a two-bedroom apartment, with a single mother who was struggling to keep food on the table for all of us. In my later teen years and early 20s I found myself homeless and living in motels. So I understand the struggles our residents face with rising costs, and the fear of losing their homes, because I have been there myself. I understand how difficult it is for parents, who are struggling to make ends meet, and keep their jobs, to get stuck in school traffic dropping off their children, because our schools can’t afford to provide busing for all students. But I also understand how to dig us out of the hole that we’re in, because, against all of the odds, I have done that for myself as well.

I now own a home, am married with two kids and own/manage a very successful seven-figure business. We were able to transition from self employed to successful small-business owners by finding ways to reduce costs through negotiating with our vendors, bringing services in house when it was profitable, and outsourcing when we would realize a cost savings while enhancing the services we offer. We also had to get creative with driving additional revenues, that lead to an increase in profitability, without an increase in costs. I have learned along the way the importance of making sure your teams are properly outfitted to do their jobs efficiently, how micromanagement can bog down success and morale, and how to recognize where leverage exists in order to favorably negotiate high-value contracts.

It’s also worth mentioning that my business specializes in new construction multifamily projects. This gives me eight years of experience seeing how municipalities differ in the way they negotiate these projects, hold developers accountable (or not), and the difference in municipalities that put developers first vs. residents.

I think Aberdeen can use my expertise not only reviewing our budgets, and negotiating developer agreements, but also in focusing on soliciting more than one or two bidders for our roadwork projects Where we are paying more than double neighboring towns, which I attribute to a lack of a competitive process. If we can increase bidders, we can reduce our costs there, and in turn get more roads done per year, without spending any additional money.

Please give some examples of how you think the current Aberdeen Council has failed the public, or not represented them well.

Transparency - Excessive use of executive sessions and closed door meetings

Failure to livestream meetings that would increase public trust and accessibility. I have provided them, personally, for a year, and will continue to do so until Aberdeen does the right thing.

Not reviewing our budgets carefully- At the April 3 budget meeting I asked about a $3,000,000 line item, and no one on the council knew what I was referring to. That's concerning.

Poor planning - Development and PILOT programs have not only been excessive, but poorly negotiated. Driving up tax bills and stripping schools of much-needed funding and services.

Allowing the Council/BOE relationship to degrade

Community exclusion - Many residents feel their opinions are left unheard by our current council, and that controversial issues get “hidden” from the public. We need to do a better job at including the community when making decisions that shape our town.

Do you have any specific criticism of former longtime Mayor Fred Tagliarini?

I always got along with Fred. We didn’t always agree on things, but he would always answer the phone, and listen. I felt he was a voice of reason at the meetings, and even when the council was clearly leaning in one direction, if enough residents showed up with an opposing view, he would table the vote. Even when it left some of his colleagues and council members visibly frustrated.

That is the kind of leadership that has inspired me. It’s not about doing what you want, it’s about representing the community that voted you in. It was not until Mayor Fred Tagliarini announced he was stepping down, and in the following meetings, the residents and organizations that came out and all but asked, “With Fred leaving, who will we be able to turn to?” that I knew I could be that person. After a lengthy conversation with Fred, and fully understanding the commitment that I was making, I announced my candidacy.

Why should voters vote for you instead of the current Council members?

We need change. We need leaders with the time, energy, desire, and know how to tackle the issues that Aberdeen faces. We need leaders who understand the struggles of our residents, and relate to them. Leaders who listen to the residents. Leaders who will prove to residents, day after day, that they made the right decision in the voting booth. And we need to start voting out some of the longtime council members who feel entitled to their seats, have gotten complacent and got us into the mess we’re in today.

What's your favorite part about living in Aberdeen?

The people. The proximity to the water, and the marina is what drew us in. The community that came together, to defeat the Township on unfair zoning practices, that helped us donate over 1000lbs of food to our local food pantry in just 10 days, and the community that constantly goes to bat for me, is why we stay.

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