Marlboro Council Candidates: Craig Marshall

Candidate: Craig Marshall, Republican

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

Watching the increased level of apathy among our residents because they are either unaware of what really goes on “behind the scenes” or just have blind faith that our current administration must know what is right for us provides me with much of my motivation for running for elected office. I also believe in having options in life and I have always stressed this to my children. I would like them to have the option of living in Marlboro to raise their families but with the current trend in rising taxes, a deteriorating infrastructure resulting from poor planning by the approval of additional housing complexes and cronyism still in play, I fear that my children may not have Marlboro as a place to raise their families.

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

One of my ideas would be to do whatever possible to eliminate full-time benefits packages to part time employees. The cost of these benefits is staggering. I would also fight to reduce wasteful spending by not voting for any proposed increase in expenses unless they are revenue neutral. I would champion the use of local professional firms and vendors that offer competitive pricing and fees and have these vendor agreements reviewed annually to be certain that we are receiving continued competitive pricing. We need to incorporate better and more use of shared services on a county and state-wide basis and not limit ourselves to simply sharing electricity with our own schools.

I would strongly suggest that we look into signing on to the Governors tool kit that provides many cost saving opportunities and not rely on one time revenue schemes such as the restructuring of a water authority which provided additional funds to our town coffers and left us with the need to borrow additional funds to now invest in maintenance and upkeep so that we can serve our residents.

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

While there is a great need for volunteers to serve on our local boards and committees, there is also a need to solicit for those individuals who are qualified to serve. I do not believe in allowing members who are not qualified to serve or who may have certain personal or political biases to the current administration be appointed.

Our local boards and committees are for the purpose of serving all of our residents and not just those who pay homage to those in positions of power or making decisions. Anyone appointed to a local board or committee should be held to the strictest of professional and social conduct and not be excused for demonstrating wanton behavior towards our residents for any reason as currently exists.

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

While the most efficient means of communication is face to face at town council meetings, the reality of that is not feasible for many people to attend them given work schedules and family obligations. From a cost efficiency standpoint, I suggest looking into a live feed to each of the town council meetings and other local board and committee meetings so that residents can either watch live or record them for later viewing. I would also suggest the use of social media where possible to allow for the submission of questions and/or concerns and timely responses. Any social media used should be township based and not the personal page of any elected official as is currently the case with Facebook.

#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?  

While legally bound to build on a specific piece of property is obligatory, I caution the issuance of any variances that would result in harming or reducing the quality of life of residents living in close proximity to these developments. I would also require an accurate analysis of the impact to our schools and other infrastructure to be certain that the additional building would not impede surrounding areas such as traffic, fire/EMT access, utility services and possible road construction and repair. Whenever possible, I would require that the builder provide for any additional funding for these services in order to reduce the taxpayers burden.

#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?

While Marlboro is seeing big business come back to the township, which is a great accomplishment, there are others that are leaving or left. We need to have a clear understanding as to the reasons we lose business and reduce the number of vacancies that currently exists.

Providing a vehicle for the use of shared services with some of the utility companies, financial services firms to provide low interest loans or start-up capital, phone and technology services and advertising/marketing expertise would be value added services to any business who considers making Marlboro their new home. I would seek out the assistance of our county elected officials to discuss the availability of shared services on a much broader scale than simply sharing electricity with our local school board.

Further, I would request a cost benefit analysis to be presented to potential businesses and our residents as to the true efficacy of the Shop Marlboro Program. While the intent on the surface seems to be beneficial, I would like to see a transparent disclosure of the expenses associated with this program. Further, I would like to see a program in place for many of our residents to have an opportunity to save tax dollars but may not be able to afford shopping or dining out in Marlboro in order to realize such savings.

#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 am confident that Chief Hall and our phenomenal police department are doing their best to patrol and monitor the activity at The Marlboro Motor Lodge, it is apparent to me that the owners of this property must accept accountability for the actions involving their property. I am also confident that whatever means allowable under the law to minimize the disruptive behavior are being properly enforced. Perhaps there is a way to use funds in our affordable housing trust to purchase this property and provide affordable housing to those in need. This would help to reduce any obligation to provide affordable housing and may thwart any attempts to have these funds revoked by the state.

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

I would like to see a more cohesive attempt from our local governing body to do what is best for Marlboro and not make decisions based upon current or past relationships. For example, if the PILOT Program is such a great idea, why not do it for all developers who want to build in Marlboro? I do not believe that this program is beneficial as it drastically reduces the taxes collected that would otherwise be collected under a more traditional tax structure. I would not vote for this type of program because it has a negative impact on our schools and other infrastructure due to the reduced amount of taxes being collected by the developer.

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

The category of “other” should be more easily presented with a summary breakdown as it represents a significant amount of our budget. It would be beneficial to conduct a benchmark analysis for this section and other key performance indicators that compare us to other towns of similar size and population. For example, legal fees and engineering fees seem to be much higher than surrounding towns.

I would like to know that we have enough police, fire safety/EMT personnel to serve our residents. Instead of this administration blaming previous administrations for current spending decisions, any significant discrepancies should be explained that may include special circumstances for large variances as identified by these benchmark results.

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

My professional background includes financial and management consulting with Ernst & Young and KPMG, 2 of the largest global accounting and consulting firms. In 2007, I started my own small business, Christopher Drummond Beauty. With limited resources, I had to rely on my previous experience in budgeting, vendor management, and domestic and international business development that resulted in elevating my management skills enabling me to successfully survive during our current economic crisis. 

My skill sets will add to the Town Council by helping to reduce wasteful spending by not voting for any proposed increase in expenses unless they are revenue neutral. I champion the use of local professional firms and vendors that offer competitive pricing and fees. I will not vote for one time revenue schemes that do not offer our residents greater value of services at a reduced cost. I will treat Marlboro as my own business using my knowledge and experience to work with the Economic Development Committee to bring other business to Marlboro and develop real solutions, programs and assistance to those businesses without gimmicky schemes, building on local synergies between local businesses and national Fortune 500 companies.


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