Rowland Wilhelm, incumbent Republican. (Click to enlarge)
Fair Haven voters will go to the polls Tuesday to elect two members of the borough council, each for a three-year term. redbankgreen reached out to the four candidates on the ballot — Jonathan Peters, Christopher Rodriguez, Shervyn von Hoerl and Rowland Wilhelm— with a questionnaire, and all four responded. Below are Wilhelm’s answers.
Here’s the ballot: fair-haven-ballot-2016. Polling stations for districts 1, 2 and 5 are at the Knights of Columbus, 200 Fair Haven Road; districts 3, 4 and 6 are at the Community Center on Fisk Street.
Name: Rowland Wilhelm
Age: 51
Address: 53 Linden Drive, Fair Haven, NJ 07704
Where did you grow up? Tenafly, NJ
How long have you been a resident of Fair Haven? 10+ years
Where did you go to high school? Tenafly High School
Did you graduate from college? If so, which school, with what degree? Rutgers College, BA Economics & Spanish
Have your served in the military? If so, which branch and when? Yes, United States Navy. 1983-1989
What do you do for a living? (Job title, employer, brief description of your responsibilities): Director of Sales & Marketing, Reaves Asset Management. I am responsible for all of the firm’s sales and marketing efforts
Please tell us a little bit about your community involvement efforts, if any: Fair Haven Borough Councilperson since 2010. Current Police Commissioner, Former Fire Commissioner. Former volunteer fireman at Rutgers University. Founding member of the Jersey Shore Youth Rugby Association.
Party affiliation: Republican
How important is party affiliation to you? What does it mean to you to be a member of your party? I believe that both of the major parties are seriously flawed on the national level and both have lost touch with the average person. If I take a national perspective to my affiliation I’d have to say I am a Republican with serious Libertarian viewpoints especially on social issues. However, I am a true Fair Haven Republican as I am very proud of our leaders (Party Chair Rich Magovern and Mayor Ben Lucarelli) and what our team (council and committee) has accomplished since I have been a resident.
Who do you plan to vote for in the presidential election and why? I believe that who I will be voting in the presidential election has no bearing on the race in Fair Haven. In the end, governance in Fair Haven is about taxes, safety and the quality of life for all borough residents (regardless of political affiliations) and not about social viewpoints and national partisan politics.
Do you have a role model in public life? Who and why? Thatcher and Reagan. Both believed in free markets, both had decent moral compasses and both did what they said they would do and typically didn’t speak out of both sides of their mouths as many of today’s leaders do.
Why are you running for Fair Haven council? I am seeking another term to continue with some of the current initiatives but primarily to ensure we get started on restoring McCarter Pond.
What if any specific initiatives can voters expect from you if you are elected? Continue in the effort that I started to restore McCarter Pond to its original state (it is fast becoming a meadow)
Work to gain grants to repair/improve our storm drain infrastructure thereby aiding the health of the Navesink River.
Continue to supply/improve existing town services while maintaining our hard won credit rating
If there’s anything you’d like to add, please do so here: In the end, both of the teams running have very similar platforms. I’d ask you, the voter, to consider just one thing; who would you like working on these ideas? Fresh faces, or the team with the experience to get it done. I’d appreciate your vote just one more time. Please let me finish what I started. Thank you
Rowland Wilhelm
