News
Republican Challenges Democratic Incumbent For Open Committee Seat In Middletown
By Ryan Fennell
MIDDLETOWN - Incumbent Committeeman Patrick Short (D) and challenger Steve Massell (R) are competing for one open seat on the Township Committee.
Short, 55, is seeking his second term on the committee. He is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel with 22 years of active duty service.
Short received a B.S. in applied sciences and engineering from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. Short has also earned three masters degrees and has taught economics at the college level. Short moved to Middletown in 1998 after retiring from the Army and has been married for 25 years and has two teenage children. He is a certified project and program manager in consulting and integration.
When Short first took office, it was the first time in 18 years that a Democrat was elected to the Township Committee.
According to Short, bipartisanship plays an important role in local politics.
"With one-party rule you get a mentality and a behavior that there's no checks and balances regardless of whether you have all Republicans or all Democrats and that's what I saw," Short said. "I think I've been very strong in the area of providing checks and balances that hadn't been there. Before, decisions were made behind closed doors, and now we're getting discussions and have seen a significant difference of transparency in government."
Short said that he fought for two and a half years to get township resolutions and ordinances posted on the township Web site for public review prior to committee meetings.
"I've always said when I get my package on Friday night, everything that's in there the public should be able to see, within reason," Short said. "Now, they can. It's a truly significant step forward."
Short became interested in seeking public office after receiving recognition from the State of New Jersey for community service.
"I thought if I kept that mentality I could use that and help more people," said Short. "I view it as a large community, and we're all involved in most of the problems we all face. I thought I would keep that same philosophy and try to move forward in that direction. It's kept me grounded in that respect."
Short views governing the township like running a business and that many of the financial problems that arise are due to project mismanagement.
"I look at it from a business sense because that's much of what I do. I'm a certified project manager who manages multi-million dollar programs and you don't start projects unless you have a business plan," Short said.
Short said that the current committee is not currently properly equipped to address the issues that face the township.
"You don't hire a landscaper to do the plumbing work in your house," Short said. "There's got to be some qualifications that you put in there to fix that problem. If you look at the makeup of the board, we're not resourced properly to fix that problem. If the general public wants us to be more ceremonial, walking in parades and giving out awards, we can do that. We're resourced properly."
"If the general populous wants us to fix their problem then they have got to resource properly and get skills and qualifications to actually fix the problem," Short continued. "What helps that discipline is putting together a strategic plan, a financial committee, and dynamics of good cost control and spending control. I can't get a third vote right now to see along those business lines."
"In short, Middletown residents are a major shareholder in this company. They need a better return on their tax dollars. I have proven that I have provided solutions to their problems. I am committed to this cause," Short said.
Short also claims that he is the only elected official in the State of New Jersey who does not take a salary, does not take health benefits, and refuses to enroll in the state pension system.
Massell, 40, is a residential realtor in Middletown and currently serves on the Middletown Planning Board. Massell is married and is the father of four children.
Massell was born and raised in Middletown and attended Lincroft Grammar School and wrestled at Middletown South High School. Massell received a B.A. from Curry College in Massachusetts. Massell has lived in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and briefly in Europe, but when he and his wife found out they were going to be parents they decided that the only place they wanted to raise them was in Middletown.
"You don't realize what a great town it is until you leave," Massell said. "It's not until life becomes important, and you realize one of the greatest places to live is the place you grew up in. It's not until you raise kids that you realize what a great place it is and that it can just go away."
Massell has not held public office in the past but recently decided he wanted to get involved as his twin daughters were entering into the school system. Massell volunteered to become a member of the planning board and was appointed to the board in January 2009.
"I enjoyed it. I felt like I was making a difference," said Massell. "The more I would go to meetings, I would get more involved. I wanted to take it to the next step. That's why I expressed an interest in wanting to run (for the committee seat)."
Having been born and raised in Middletown and returning after living elsewhere, Massell is concerned that the township is at risk of losing the quality of life he enjoyed in the township as a child.
"I grew up in this town and it was a great place to grow up as a kid," said Massell. "I'm concerned that the quality of life that I had is slipping away in Middletown."
Massell sees the Council on Affordable Housing's (COAH) mandate to create more affordable housing units in town as a direct threat to the quality of life he enjoyed growing up.
"That's one thing that really concerns me. I think it's one (issue) that most dramatically effects the quality of life we have in Middletown," said Massell. "Being on the planning board I started to see how the town is being overdeveloped. We're already filled to capacity, and we're being mandated to put 1,500 plus new homes, 25 percent for low-income housing, and I think our schools are maxed out and the traffic congestion, which is already horrible, it's going to multiply it." According to Massell, he "knows every inch of Middletown" being a residential real estate broker in town.
"We have more affordable housing in Middletown than almost anywhere. It's one of the most affordable places to live, and we're being mandated to create subsidized housing," Massell said.
Massell said that he is in favor of reinstating Regional Contribution Agreements (RCA).
"That's something we need to bring back," Massell said. "I'm supportive of gutting COAH and reinstating RCAs. I'm running to fight (these mandates) in any way I can."
Massell also believes the township is currently under-utilizing inter-local agreements as a means to generate revenue.
"We are the fifteenth largest town in New Jersey. We have so many services in Middletown. Why are we not looking all over Monmouth County for (shared services)?"
"My taxes are outrageous. I've been going door to door since May and the first thing people say is taxes," said Massell. "If there are things we can do at the local level (to lower taxes) we have to look into them."
