Election 2023: Two Democrats Running For Shrewsbury Council

SHREWSBURY, NJ — Two Democratic candidates are hoping to add their voices to the all-Republican Borough Council in this year's election.

Alexander Howard and Russell P. Goldman, both endorsed by Monmouth County Democrats, are challenging Republican incumbents Brendan Gilmartin and James Daly, both supported by the Monmouth County Republican Organization.

The four candidates are running for the two seats on the Borough Council currently held by Gilmartin and Daly.

Patch asked candidates to respond to a questionnaire about their personal background and positions on issues.

Goldman and Howard said they would like to see more communication from the borough to residents and they say one-party government stifles transparency for residents.

Here are responses from candidates Russell P. Goldman and Alexander Howard:

Background:

Candidates were asked to provide their professional or volunteer information, government experience and personal background.

Russell Goldman, a resident of Shrewsbury for 36 years, is running for his first term on Borough Council and is a past president of the Shrewsbury Board of Education:

• Attorney, practicing law in New Jersey for 44 years; licensed in NJ, Third Circuit Court of Appeals, United States Supreme Court.
• Married with two children, both of whom attended and graduated from Shrewsbury Borough School and Red Bank Regional. Past President of Shrewsbury Board of Education.

Alexander "Max" Howard, a resident of Shrewsbury for 15 years, is running for his first term for Borough Council.

• Social worker for more than 20 years, program director of a family counseling/foster care prevention program, with clinical oversight and several roles for an intensive program for adolescents and families in Newark.
• Former board member for the Minuchin Center for the Family.
• Married with two children, both of whom attended Shrewsbury Borough School, one of whom currently attends Communications High School and the other Red Bank Regional. Avid ocean swimmer

Top issues:

Candidates were asked about the important issues in their municipality and to offer ideas on how the governing body might address them going forward. Here is the team's response:

The Council has been entirely one-party for many decades. This leads inevitably to a situation where the incumbents come to feel that they own the seats and lose sight of their obligations to the residents they are supposed to serve.

We (running mates Russell and Howard) believe communication and transparency have suffered as a result.

For example, the borough recently moved its emergency dispatch function from the local Borough Hall to the Monmouth County Communications Center, which might save money but has opened up new issues, such as the school's loss of a direct line to police dispatch and the Fire Department's and First Aid Squad's reduced abilities to communicate with other first responders. Are those issues being addressed?

Also, the borough previously mailed a borough directory to residents with information on recycling, trash collection dates, and so forth. Now that directory is only on the website.

There also should be greater opportunity for residents to be aware of issues currently under consideration, and to provide input.

Is the Borough Council planning any input into Fort Monmouth redevelopment? Are there plans for the vacant commercial properties on Newman Springs Road? Environmental cleanup?

The borough should be open and forthcoming about these and other issues.

If elected, we will seek to restore greater communication and openness between the residents and borough government.

Shrewsbury Borough Council (Full Term; vote for two):

• Alexander Howard (D) Monmouth County Democrats
• Russell P. Goldman (D) Monmouth County Democrats
• Brendan Gilmartin (R) Monmouth County Republican Organization
• James "Jim" Daly (R) Monmouth County Republican Organization