Marlboro Council Candidates: Marielaina LaRosa

Candidate: Marielaina LaRosa, Republican

Reader question #1: What are your motivations for running for elected office?

As a mother I want to make sure that Marlboro remains a family oriented community with that focuses on the needs of residents first above everything else. Every project and expenditure should have a benefit for every family in Marlboro and not just special interests or the few.

Reader question #2: What are your new ideas for Marlboro Township?

I would like to see the Marlboro psychiatric hospital property become more than just a park with trails. I would like to see this property become a partnership between the municipality and private enterprise. We should allow retail operations on the property to drive new ratables while giving Marlboro residents new recreational facilities funded by retail leasing revenue.

Reader question #3:What kinds of people are you looking for to be appointed to local boards and committees?

I would like to see more women appointed to boards and committees. The township should actively solicit and encourage women to volunteer for these posts.
Reader question #4: What do you think is the most efficient means of communication between the council and the residents?

I would like the council to meet with women in this town in a social setting like Marlboro Mornings. I would also like to find a better way of informing residents of township services that are geared for children and family.
#5. What are some of your ideas to make the best of a bad situation, such as the Northpointe Development, which the township is legally bound to build. What ideas would you have to improve that area and cushion the blow?  

Although we are legally required to build Northpointe, I would like to see provisions for the funding of improved infrastructure where necessary. Regardless of the population settling into this or any building of other developments, there will be the need to increase or improve existing roads, schools and emergency services. This burden should be at the very least shared by the developer if not completely absorbed by them.

#6. Marlboro is seeing big business come back to the township, what are some of your ideas to make Marlboro Township business friendly to everyone from the local mom and pop shops to big box stores?

As a woman I think the township EDC committee should establish a special program to educate single, divorced, and widowed women on how to establish a new business and provide support services to those businesses in the crucial first years.
#7. The Marlboro Motor Lodge has become a scene for crime and drug related activities, what are your ideas to clean that area up? How can the township get involved?

While I believe that MPD does a great job of policing our town, we need more cooperation between private business and MPD. Just like it is done on the state level we should be doing it in Marlboro "See Something Say Something."
#8. Pick something you'd like to improve in the township and tell us how you would.

I would like to see more affordable programs geared towards our senior community. Having had the pleasure of meeting many members of our senior communities, there is an overall concern and fear that they will not be able to afford to continue living in Marlboro due to an ability to balance living on a fixed income with rising taxes. I would like to work closely with a senior advisory group in order to discuss the needs of our senior population and help to fulfill those needs.

#9. What areas of the township budget would you like to improve, and how?

I would like to see more transparency with the presentation of our town budget. For example, I would like for our residents to be able to better understand how the current administration spent the entire surplus left to them by the previous administration, raised taxes, borrowed money for various uses and is now claims that there is a $5 million surplus. Residents need to have a better understanding as to how our budget is at or below the 2007 levels, but we are paying more taxes each year with reduced operating hours of township services.
#10. How does your experience in your life translate to public service?

My experience is as a wife for over 20 years and a mother of two children living in the township. I am also an associate at a major retail label and have been recognized many times for my marketing and sales work. I am a “people person”and above all else, I am able to listen to the concerns of citizens with patience and respect. No matter whom they are or what their political affiliation, my mentality is that "the customer is to be valued and their issue resolved in the best way possible." These skills are readily transferable to meeting the needs and interests of all residents of the township. 

We need a balanced local government with appropriate checks and balances. A new set of eyes and ears is needed to ensure that there are no detrimental zoning decisions, that open space is preserved, to curtail budget overruns and fee increases while stemming out of control housing developments that are overburdening our schools and already dilapidated roadway infrastructure. With my background and experience, I can solve these issues by listening to residents and applying feasible solutions.



Candidate articles will be published throughout the week of Oct. 21, and will be linked below as they become available.

Council Candidate: Carol Mazzola
Council Candidate: Craig Marshall
Council Candidate: Jeff Cantor
Council Candidate: Marielaina LaRosa
Council Candidate: Scott Metzger
Council Candidate: Bob Knight