Westfield Ward 2 General Election 2025: Jason Micewicz

NEW JERSEY - The general election season is in full swing in the Garden State and Patch has asked local candidates to share their thoughts before Nov. 4.

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 general election. Contact edward.callahan@patch.com with any questions regarding coverage.

Name: Jason Micewicz

Age: 45

Town of residence: Westfield, NJ

Position sought: Ward 2 Councilman

Party affiliation: Republican

Family: Happily married for seven years with a three-year-old daughter.

Education: Monmouth University, Marketing Major

Occupation: Tech Sales Executive

Previous or current elected or appointed office: N/A

Why are you seeking office?

There is an old adage, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.”

Westfield is a great town, but it could use some improvements. I’d like us to get back to basics and focus on giving residents meaningful quality of life improvements.

We are a high-tax town in a high-tax state. It’s time that we have parks, fields, and amenities that are commensurate with the taxes that we pay.

Each year, I want the people of Westfield to feel like they’ve received a positive ROI on their hefty tax bill. I will collaborate with the Mayor, Town Council (no matter the party), and our residents to make this happen.

What's your reaction when you see businesses, etc. vacate downtown? What do you look for in new tenants?

It’s always regretful to see local small businesses leave our town. The Town Council can help our current businesses by drawing people downtown and making it easier to navigate/park. Let’s focus on more events that bring the community together and spend time downtown.

I’d like to explore the feasibility of bringing a farmers market back to Westfield. We need to ensure our farmers market is set up for success by differentiating it from neighboring towns.

We can do this by hosting it on a Saturday. I’d also like to combine our farmers market with a flea market on a periodic basis.

The location of our farmers market is also important. I’d like to see it return to the North Ave train station lot.

An event like this will bring more folks to Westfield. It will increase their dwell time downtown. This will lead to more recurring revenue to our current businesses.

Our job as Town Council should also be to attract businesses to our downtown. Our residents want local establishments with a Mom and Pop feel.

This creates character, charm, and a vibrant downtown. In my opinion, we do not need any additional fast casual restaurants.

I’ve heard from many residents that when parents want a date night, they often leave Westfield and go to surrounding towns.

We need to attract more local businesses. My vision for attracting local businesses to our downtown is the “Westfield is Open for SMALL Business” campaign.

We should incentivize small businesses to come to our town. We can work with the Downtown Westfield Corporation and the Westfield Chamber of Commerce to define what a small business in Westfield looks like.

The Town Council will work with those commissions to find as many state and local incentives/grants that we can make available to these new small businesses considering Westfield as their home. I’d like to make a variety of incentive programs available to small businesses.

Some examples are Permit fast-tracking, Interior Improvement Grants and other financial incentives.
Westfield needs to lay down the welcome mat for local small businesses.

What's your approach to overdevelopment concerns in Westfield?

In short, the overdevelopment concerns in this town are valid. I have interacted with many Westfielders during my campaign, and this is the most brought up topic. Let me be clear, the reason for residents’ overdevelopment concerns is One Westfield Place (OWP).

OWP is way too big for Westfield.

If we had focused solely on the responsible redevelopment of the Lord and Taylor site (with a competent developer), we would have had shovels in the ground long ago, but no, this turned into a monstrosity of a project that turns Westfield into Jersey City or Hoboken.

Towns that many of us left.

We chose a developer (Streetworks/Hudson Bay Company which then became Saks Global) in a no-bid/no-RFP process. Saks Global, like Streetworks/Hudson Bay Company, is also struggling financially.

They are selling off assets and properties at an alarming rate.

I can’t help but to think that if we would have done our due diligence during a formal RFP process we would have been able to uncover these financial issues. Our North and South Ave train station lots were also sold off at a below-market price and, quite frankly, having no business being a part of OWP.

I say below-market price because we did not see what the market was willing to bid on these lots. We received around $12M for the rights to develop these lots, perhaps we could have gotten $25M.

In order to jam all of the approvals, zoning variances, and financial incentives for the developer that came with OWP, the town was deemed blighted and in need of redevelopment. That’s right, Westfield, a blighted town!

My approach to preventing future overdevelopment is more transparency and community engagement. Once elected, I will insist on more community-driven planning which incorporates enhanced transparency in all major expenditures and townwide initiatives.

I want special attention paid to projects related to redevelopment, bonding, and changes to infrastructure. I would also like to implement a mandatory public review period for the previously mentioned major expenditures.

Talk to me about public safety, whether it's your idea on how to help prevent vehicles being broken into around Westfield, or some other concern, where do you see an opportunity to improve?

Public Safety is never "mission accomplished." I will ensure the Westfield Police Department (WPD) remains well-funded and well-resourced, allowing them to modernize their capabilities to effectively combat ever-changing criminal behavior.

Criminals will always change their tactics, we need to make sure that our law enforcement officers have the tools necessary to also evolve.

Vehicle thefts and home break-ins aren’t the only public safety topic that Westfielders care about.

Today, many of you are rightfully very concerned with the safety of our roads. We need to create a long-term vision for our roads.

Over the next four years, I plan to partner with the Town Council, WPD, Department of Engineering and the Department of Public Works to prioritize road safety.

This means increased enforcement within speeding hotspots, push for more local and state legislation for e-bikes, increased enforcement of local bike laws, evaluate and upgrade dangerous roads, crosswalks and intersections, and launching the process to develop a long-term strategy for transforming Westfield into a bicycle-friendly community.

What do you believe is the most important concern to address when implementing a project such as the multi-million dollar proposed improvements to Houlihan-Sid Fay Fields?

An important concern to address for this, and any improvement project, is transparency. I personally think this project is off to a good start.

We need to continue to be open and honest with timelines, disclose any potential cost-overruns and consistently update the public on progress and changes.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?
What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I’ve spent 20+ years working as an Enterprise Sales Executive for Fortune 100 tech companies such as IBM, Google and Salesforce. My experience working for the most innovative companies in the world will benefit the people of Westfield.

I will bring a visionary style to my seat on the Town Council.

Succeeding in a pressure-packed sales career in Big Tech is no easy feat. I negotiate eight-figure contracts for a living.

I thrive in big moments. I can perform under pressure.

What's a motto you live your life by?

Be authentic.

This motto allows me to pursue my passions, speak confidently while staying true to my beliefs, and spend time with people who are equally authentic.

I’ve also followed this motto as a candidate for Ward 2 Town Council. An authentic candidate is someone who is sure of themselves, the direction they want to take Westfield and how they are going to do it.

I don’t shape-shift my ideologies if someone disagrees with my direction for the town. I understand I am not going to win every vote, but I sleep well at night knowing I stay true to myself and my principles.

What does it mean to you to represent Westfield?

All residents of Westfield should feel a great sense of responsibility to carry on the incredible legacy of this town. We all need to be stewards of its history, character, and culture to preserve it for future generations.

I understand that representing the residents of Ward 2 carries even more responsibility. I promise to listen to our residents and let your ideas determine the direction of this town.

I promise to be transparent in our decision-making process. I promise to make Westfield a better town.

Please vote for Jason Micewicz in Ward 2 on November 4th.

Thank you.

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