Marlboro Council Candidates: Carol Mazzola

Marlboro Patch asked for your questions, and compiled some of our own, for the six candidates running for Township Council this November in Marlboro Township.

Each candidate answered the same questions. Due to scheduling conflicts with the candidates, the questions were sent via email to Scott Metzger, Craig Marshall, Marielaina LaRosa and Bob Knight. Marlboro Patch met in person with Jeff Cantor and Carol Mazzola.

Candidates were asked to answer the questions individually, not as one ticket. Candidate responses were not edited.

Marlboro Patch will run each candidate's answers before the Nov. 5 election. 

Candidate: Carol Mazzola, Democratic Incumbent

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

Right before I moved to New Jersey 10 years ago, I’ve always been involved in community service but I never really gave any thought to politics. It was always charitable events, mostly, and I segued right into the Kiwanis Club of Marlboro. I looked for a group that I could relate to and help the community. And when I was approached four years ago to run for office, I was a little stunned because I never gave it any consideration.

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

I’d like to see a lot more in shared services. We saved a lot of money sharing electricity with the Board of Education and the schools. We should seek, even outside of Marlboro, sharing services with the county or state, wherever we can pass the savings onto our residents.

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

Reader question #4: What do you think is the most efficient means of communication between the council and the residents?

Recently, the Recreational hard copy books were discontinued from being delivered because the postage is prohibitive. But we do arrange to have bundles of them delivered to senior communities, and we utilize the Teen Advisory Committee to help seniors who don’t have computers register for the Shop Marlboro program.

#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?  

We really don’t make the decisions, Planning, Zoning and Engineering really make the decisions on that. But we can evaluate what they recommend, and then vote. I’m glad they changed their site plan, at one time there were too many houses high up on the perimeter, and the residents on contiguous property were rightfully not happy with that.

#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?

#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?

#8. Pick something you'd like to improve in the township and tell us how you would.

I think I’d chose the 25 mph speed limit, and drivers ignoring it. It affects everybody.

But everything the council has done in the last four years keeps raising the bar on the quality of life and we keep raising the bar on making really good decisions.

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

We have to bring more business in to get more ratables and keep our taxes stabilized. We don’t have that many vacancies around. There could even be a service to bring businesses together to share office space. There is so much potential, and if people just get a little creative with how they are doing business, we could really knock it out of the park in regards to keeping taxpayers very, very happy.

#10. How does your experience in your life translate to public service?

The charitable work I’ve been doing for so many years, and always being out there just to help people, even in my profession the basic thing is to help people get where they need to go.