Mayoral hopeful pledges to be hands-on official
BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer

Independent mayoral candidate Kevin Rossi

WOODBRIDGE - Independent mayoral candidate Kevin Rossi's long-term goal for the township is to support the labor environment and involve more citizens in local government.

"My goal is to establish a viable third party based on the support of labor, the preservation of the environment, and the concept of citizen politicians," said Rossi. "It's important to take care of our own people. We need to enforce fair labor practices and a real living wage for township employees and all the workers in Woodbridge."

Rossi, 33, is a political newcomer. He is running for the late Mayor Frank G. Pelzman's unexpired term, which ends Dec. 31, 2007. Pelzman, 71, died suddenly of acute melanoma on June 29 at his Avenel home.

"This was a good time for me to run," said Rossi. "Woodbridge needs a change."

The next mayor will replace state Sen. Joseph Vitale, who has served as interim mayor since August and will serve until Nov. 14.

Rossi pledged to form a fuel and energy committee to develop alternatives to benefit the environment and budget.

"As mayor, I will head this personally," he said. "We need to change any diesel-using engines into biodiesel. It is cleaner to use in the school buses and firetrucks. We need to cut the ethanol."

Rossi would like to see more green rooftops on high-rise buildings.

"The soil will collect more carbon dioxide," he said. "This will help the environment on a global level. I would also like to see more solar panels used on the schools and the buildings. It's pretty affordable in the long run. Whatever is saved by the use of biodiesel and solar panels, the money will be put toward the budget."

Rossi also wants to start a "Mayor's Manners" campaign to ensure safer and friendlier roads and bring in revenue. He would start by enforcing the ban on cell phone use while driving.

"I believe if we are more stringent on the cell phone laws, it would bring in a good $5,000 a day," he said. "We need to be more stringent on the 25 miles per hour road signs. People come down my street [Freeman Street] close to 40 miles per hour. Another law we need to be more stringent in is drivers stopping for pedestrians at crosswalks. This will bring in $1,000 a day.

Rossi would also like to see an ordinance in place to enforce loud mufflers and loud motorcycles.

"And lastly, our police officers need to walk the beat more," he said. "It ensures and makes the streets safer."

Rossi also thinks the police, fire and public works departments need to be more diverse.

"I don't think our departments mimic the entire population of Woodbridge," said Rossi. "We need to see what we can do to diversify the recruitment in the departments."

He has also pledged to become a volunteer member of the police, fire and emergency management departments to "ride along" on calls in order to learn ground-level issues, concerns and needs.

"This will let our departments know that I support them," said Rossi. "For example, I can be the garbage man for one day while the employee gets to take the day off, with pay of course. Other than it being a nice gesture, it lets me learn and understand what they do for the township."

Rossi also wants to use the Internet for online township meetings to discuss issues and concerns.

"Not everyone can make it to the meetings," said Rossi. "This use of Internet technology will bring more participation to the meetings through a chat room. Residents can express their concerns online from home or on the job. This will keep residents updated and put in place government accountability."

The off-track wagering facility, which has been an on-going issue for the past few months, is slated to be built in Fords by next summer.

"The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority should have bent to the will of the people," said Rossi. "A task force should be formed to make sure no violations are being made."

Rossi is a lifelong Woodbridge resident. He resides on Freeman Street in Woodbridge with his fiancee, Kristin Fedor.

He graduated from Woodbridge High School in 1991. He received his bachelor's degree in history from Duke University in North Carolina in 1995. He has been a proofreader, editor, and electronics project manager for LexisNexis Martindale-Hubble since 1998.