LITTLE SILVER: MIHLON Q&A

Dane Mihlon. (Click to enlarge.)

Two three-year terms on the Little Silver Borough Council are up for grabs in the November 7 election. On the ballot are four candidates: incumbent Republican Dane Mihlon; his running mate, Michael Holzapfel; and Democrats Christopher Healy and Matthew Cohen,

Here are Mihlon’s written responses to questions posed to all four candidates recently by redbankgreen.

Name: Dane S. Mihlon

Age: 55

Address: 186 Queens Drive South

How long have you been a resident of Little Silver? 35 years

Where did you grow up? Little Silver

Where did you go to high school? Red Bank Regional

Did you graduate from college? If so, which school, with what degree? Attended Monmouth College and University of Maryland

Have your served in the military? If so, which branch and when? No

What do you do for a living? Insurance Broker specializing in the health care market since 1999.

Please tell us a little bit about your community involvement efforts, if any.

Little Silver councilman elected in 2011 and 2014. I have served as council president, borough council finance chairman, borough council personnel chairman. Have served on fire/ems committee, traffic and safety liason. I have been a volunteer fireman in Little Silver since 1981. I have served as a four term president, vice-president, trustee and corresponding secretary of the fire company.

Party affiliation: Republican

How important is party affiliation to you? What does it mean to you to be a member of your party?

Party affiliation is always important and should always be respected. It is part of our democracy in the United States.

Do you have a role model in public life? Who and why?

Ronald Reagan. His leadership skills are something I have always admired. He surrounded himself with qualified and competent people. He followed their good advice and did not micromanage them. I try to do the same thing in life.

Why are you running for Little Silver council?

My reasons are simple: give back to the community you love. Many of the goals that I set out to do when first elected I have accomplished in the last six years. I am proud of the successes that Little Silver has accomplished and am proud to have been a part of them. I have projects that I am continuing to work on and would like to continue. Some of them have to do with our continuing budget work, traffic and safety, recreation and of course our municipal services.

What are the most pressing issues facing the town, and how do you plan to address them?

Taxes are usually at the top of everyone’s list. I will continue to work towards helping reduce costs through my expertise, particularly insurance. I have been very successful on behalf of the town helping redesign our health insurance benefits which have resulted in great savings for the borough of Little Silver. These savings will continue for a long time. There has been much concern for traffic issues too – residents have been concerned with increased traffic in neighborhoods (much can be attributed to traffic apps on phones), speeding and pedestrian safety. I believe there is much that can still be done to address these ever-changing concerns. We, as a borough, have not received the amount of state grants that I believe we should to address some of these concerns. I plan on addressing these issues to the county and state to increase aid to the borough.

What if any specific initiatives can voters expect from you if you are elected?

Addressing our need for increased pedestrian safety in the form of sidewalk improvement and road improvement.

The new cell tower at borough hall quickly became a hot issue earlier this year. Was that that because of faulty leadership?

No I do not believe so.

What should the council do to address the continuing concerns raised about the tower?

We should continue to monitor tower output. We should continue to look for alternatives in the future to existing tower structures.

If there’s anything you’d like to add, please do so here:

I would like to thank the borough residents who have placed their trust in me for the last six years. Those of you who know me know how hard I have worked on your behalf. I will continue to do so for you. Thank you all for taking the time to read this.

John Burton of the Two River Times will moderate a candidates tonight (Wednesday, October 24) from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the Markham Place School.

The Little Silver ballot can be found here. And below are the locations of polling places by district.