Here’s Who Filed For Hazlet Township Committee In 2021

HAZLET, NJ - Two seats are up for grabs on the Hazlet Township Committee this year, and five candidates have filed for a seat.

Incumbent committee members James "Skip" McKay and Mayor Tara Corcoran-Clark are seeking re-election, while newcomers Carrie Virgilio, David Personette and Scott Feirstein are seeking to unseat them.

McKay began his first term on the committee in 2019, serving on the Land Use Board prior to his election. He continues to serve as an active member of the Hazlet First Aid and Rescue Squad. He is currently CEO of commercial lending business Cumberland River Financial Group. The longtime Hazlet resident graduated from Rutgers College and Rutgers Graduate School of Business, going on to serve in the U.S. Navy’s Underwater Demolition Team No. 21 and SEAL Team 2. He still mentors young men seeking to become Navy SEALs. McKay currently serves on the Hazlet Board of Education, Environmental Commission & Green Team and Recreation Advisory Committee. He is also the liaison to the Hazlet Fire Department, Hazlet First Aid and Hazlet Office of Emergency Management.

Corcoran-Clark joined the five-member committee in 2019. Prior to her tenure on the township committee, she served on the legal team of Residents Against Giant Electric (RAGE), a grassroots organization that defeated a power line project. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from St. John’s University and has worked in public accounting and in private industry as a CPA and CMA. She later earned a Masters Degree in Elementary Education from Monmouth University and has worked as an educator in the East Brunswick Public School system for over two decades.

Corcoran-Clark currently serves on the Land Use Board, Economic Development Committee, Library Commission, Environmental Commission & Green Team, Finance & Central Purchasing Committee, Recreation Advisory Committee and Swim Club Committee. She is the liaison to the Hazlet PTO and Hazlet Township Police Department. You can read her mayoral profile on Patch here.

Virgilio is a clinical data coordinator with 15 years of project management experience, according to LinkedIn. She graduated from Rutgers University - Newark with a Bachelors Degree in Political Science and History. She is also a Sunday school teacher at Holmdel Community United Church of Christ, according to her profile.

Five-year Hazlet resident Personette, who is running alongside Virgilio, has been a school teacher in Brooklyn for nearly 20 years. He is a mentor to college students through the OneGoal transition program and assists high school students with SAT standardized test practice. He is also partnered with NX Academy, a service to aid and motivate students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A native New Yorker, Personette graduated SUNY Oneonta 2001 and earned his Masters in Education at Touro in 2003. He also served as a union representative for the United Federation Teachers Delegate to the Assembly for John Dewey High School in Bensonhurst. You can read his campaign profile here.

Feirstein is a Republican running under the "For A Better Hazlet" ticket. The 33-year resident of Hazlet is a security monitor at the domestic violence nonprofit 180 Turning Lives Around and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Law/Justice from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University). He is a retired police officer with 27 years of service under his belt, having served with the South Belmar Police Department for two years and the Marlboro Township Police Department for over 24 years.

Watch Hazlet Patch for more election coverage.

Are you running for local office in 2021? Contact Nicole Rosenthal at nicole.rosenthal@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate profile and submitting campaign announcements to Patch.

Thank you for reading! Have a news tip, correction or comment? Email nicole.rosenthal@patch.com. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter here.