Election 2023: Englishtown Republican Primary For Mayor, Council

ENGLISHTOWN, NJ — In this .6-square-mile borough, the upcoming Republican primary election sees a challenge to a longtime mayor and a councilperson.

Mayor Thomas Reynolds is being challenged by Councilman Daniel Francisco for the mayor's post.

Councilwoman Cecilia "Cindy" Robilotti is being challenged by the team of William Sabin Sr. and Louis E. Sarti Jr. There are two full terms to be filled on the Borough Council. Current Councilman Eric Mann is not seeking re-election.

There are no candidates who filed to run as a Democrat, so the Republican primary will - apart from any potential write-in votes in November - determine the leadership of the borough.

Development of the borough's downtown, the ordinance to allow cannabis retail stores and finding creative ways to address budget limits in a borough of this size are the issues before the candidates.

Here, candidates present their views, either in an interview or in a written response, as requested:

Republican Primary for Mayor:

Thomas Reynolds: Reynolds has been mayor for 24 years and he says that longevity gives him "a unique perspective." He was previously a council member also served on the Board of Education.

He said he had a 20-year career as a school business administrator and another 20 in the financial community. And he says stretching a limited borough budget to meet increasing costs is a challenge to the Borough Council.

He said the borough has zero-based budgeting and explores some shared services to hold costs in line. "But the town is built out," he noted.

But he said despite the constraints of the operating budget, the capital budget can be used for the downtown improvements.

Regarding cannabis businesses in town, Reynolds vetoed an ordinance that repealed the borough's ban on cannabis businesses in the borough. But the veto was overridden by a majority of the council (4-2), including Francisco.

Daniel Francisco: Francisco has served on the Englishtown Borough Council since October 2019 as a member of the Republican party, but is calling for change.

"Myself and a few of my colleagues have engaged in great strides to attract interest to the borough, and that effort is going to be abundantly visible in the near future. It’s been 23 years with the same leadership in town, and although I respect Mayor Reynolds, we need a new vision to project the value proposition of investing in our amazing community," he said.

He said he has seen the "steady decline of business and community interaction. There has been a lack of progress in growing relationships, as well as failing to attract capital to our small borough."

Francisco is a husband and father, and grew up in the area since the age of 2. He said he has a career in the energy industry.

"Being the son of immigrant parents (from Portugal), getting granular on discussions about liberty is a deep passion of mine. With the Revolutionary roots of Englishtown, I think our humble borough could become a fantastic space for (business) enterprise and community building in the future."

Republican Primary for Borough Council:

Here are comments from the three Republicans running for two Borough Council seats:

Cecilia "Cindy" Robilotti: Robilotti is seeking re-election and has served on the council about 15 years. She has said in the past she is "not going to make empty promises or unrealistic ideas. I have the best interests of our town and residents at heart. I am a resident also, so every decision I make impacts my family and I."

She acknowledges the financial challenges for a small borough, especially as inflation affects salaries, healthcare and other operating costs in the borough. "We can't pay the same as other towns," she notes.

The development of the downtown business district is a concern for her as for other candidates. She said the new parking lot at Borough Hall can help with encouraging patrons to walk to businesses. She also said the council received two donated planter boxes for the downtown to beautify the area and make seasonal planting easier, and council hopes to get more boxes. This was a project of the Community Development Committee, she said.

She said she is not opposed outright to cannabis businesses in the town, but said she would have preferred waiting longer to see how operating businesses performed elsewhere before permitting it in the borough. She did not vote for the ordinance repealing the borough's ban on cannabis businesses in town, but she did vote yes on the follow-up ordinance regulating cannabis businesses and licensing.

Robilotti has lived in town for 25 years with her husband and daughter.

She has said in the past that "council members are business owners, accountants, healthcare and former board of education individuals. We have used our knowledge and combined experiences to better our town for our residents."

William Sabin Sr.: Sabin recently served as a Borough Council member for several months to fill an unexpired term. He said he did not expect to be paid for the role, and he donated his salary back to the town, earmarked for the Recreation Committee to assist in events for residents.

He remarked on what he called the "decline" of the downtown: "Businesses have been seeming to steadily move out of town with the buildings often remaining vacant." "Those running with me feel strongly that Englishtown is more than a 'cut-through' town, and we are willing to do the work to make it a place for local families to work and play once again," he said, referring to the mayoral challenger Francisco and running mate Sarti.

He says he also would like to see more communication with residents by the council - broadcasting meetings, for example, or making more use of emails or texting to respond to residents. "The connection and communication between council and both the residents and the businesses in town needs vast improvements." He said he and his wife provide live coverage of meetings on his Facebook Englishtown Residents group page.

He volunteered with the Battleground Historical Society, which runs the Village Inn. "This year, I was honored to be appointed by the members of Council as Borough Historian for Englishtown," he said.

Sabin, an auto body technician, has lived in Englishtown with his wife and sons since 2011 and prior to that lived in the Englishtown section of Marlboro from the early 2000s. "I'm just a regular blue collar guy who wants to see his town come back alive and thrive once again and I'm more than willing and able to put in the hard work to make it happen."

Louis E. Sarti Jr.: Sarti is chief of the Englishtown Fire Department and previously served an unexpired term and then a full term and on the Borough Council. He and his running mate Sabin support downtown business development for the future, while maintaining the borough's historic legacy.

He has served on the Englishtown Fire Department for 30 years, the last 10 years as a chief. He has has lived in the borough for over 25 years. He is a retired law enforcement officer, and now works as a security supervisor for Rutgers University.

"We need to find creative ways to develop the downtown," he says.

He added that he has experience in finding grants for the fire department, so he would focus on grants as an alternate means of funding.

"I want to keep the historic feel of the town, but I want people to park in town and enjoy shopping or having something to eat," he said.

He also wants to upgrade Sanford Park.

"If there is a way to keep our own identity, I want to work hard and help with that," Sarti said.

Here are the candidates as they will be listed on the election ballot:

Mayor: Full term, vote for one:

• Thomas Reynolds (R) Monmouth County Republican Organization
• Daniel Francisco (R) Monmouth County Republican Organization
• No Petition Filed (D)

Borough Council: Full term, vote for two:

• Cecilia "Cindy" Robilotti (R) Monmouth County Republican Organization
• William Sabin, Sr. (R) Monmouth County Republican Organization
• Louis E. Sarti, Jr. (R) Monmouth County Republican Organization
• No Petition Filed (D)
• No Petition Filed (D)