Manville Mayor Primary Candidate: Richard Onderko

MANVILLE, NJ — Richard M. Onderko is one of two candidates running for mayor in the Manville primary election being held on Tuesday, June 4.

Republican Onderko and Democrat Philip E. Petrone are both vying for the mayoral seat.

Additionally, Suzanne Maeder and Ted Petrock III are both vying for the Republican ticket while Roberta G. Walters and Ronald Skirkanish are both vying for the Democratic ticket on the council. There are two council seats currently up for grabs.

All six candidates are vying for their party's nomination on June 4 and then will move on to the general election on Nov. 5.

Richard M. Onderko

Description:

I am the current incumbent Mayor of Manville, Richard M. Onderko. I am a proud, lifelong resident of Manville. I have a master’s degree from Rider University in Business Administration and had a successful 33 year career in the private sector beginning my career with Bell Laboratories. I am currently retired and therefore have the ability to devote more time to help Manville as Mayor. I was previously elected as a two-term councilman and served as Council President in 2015.

What experience do you have that would help you serve?

My private sector work experience and education in information technology and corporate finance has allowed me to focus on helping the town of Manville get its financial house in order and solving problems for the betterment of our residents. Stabilizing property taxes and helping keep Manville affordable are priority number one.

By analyzing operations of this Borough looking for cost savings, we successfully leveraged shared services with Hillsborough and Montgomery Townships to save Manville tax payer’s significant tax dollars. I fought for and successfully won $9.7 million more in school aid as I testified before Senate President Sweeney’s Select Committee on School Funding Fairness to address our severely underfunded district and the challenges Manville faces, I will continue the fight for more municipal state aid to offset the loss of revenue from future Blue Acres flood buyouts. That fight has already begun.

What issues would you like to address in Manville?

Having experienced flooding first hand, I know that we must transform our hardest hit flood plains back to their natural state. Making Manville more storm-resilient and putting public safety first is part of the transformation already underway.

I am working diligently to see our Main Street revitalized starting with the "road diet", reducing four lanes to two, to improve pedestrian safety and traffic flow. In addition, a new, revised redevelopment plan for the Rustic Mall will soon be adopted to finally get shovels in the ground. A rehabilitation zone will be designated for areas along our main street to give business property owners tax incentives to improve their buildings. Progress in our town’s center is long overdue and will be a top priority using all options available.

Why should voters vote for you?

I ran for office on restoring the trust, telling the truth and providing transparency to the office of Mayor. I believe I have delivered. Our own monthly local newspaper, Manville’s News, and the improvement to our borough’s website and social media keep everyone informed of the important work that is on-going.

I would like to be given the opportunity to continue the transformation that is underway and continue to lead by example. I have no special interests other than doing what’s right for the taxpayers of this borough. Paying down prior town debts, increasing budget surpluses every year and fighting for more State aid is something I am passionate about since Manville has very serious flooding problems that need to be resolved.

I have donated my entire council salary back to the town every year since 2010 by actively participating in the Manville High School Scholarship Fund. I really enjoy helping others as Mayor and I hope the voters of Manville will give me another four years to do so. Trust, truth, transparency and transformation, it is the clear path to progress in Manville!

As a direct result, our community spirit is very strong. Many positive events and accomplishments have taken place the last three years, such as bringing "Wreaths Across America" to Manville to honor our veterans, achieving bronze level certification with Sustainable Jersey, holding our third annual Arbor Day celebration and our second annual National Night Out celebration with our police force. With my own personal financial support of the Manville Arts Council, an independent 501c3 organization, #ManvilleRocks as the arts help unite everyone in our community! We live in a tight knit, walkable community and I am proud to say I am from Manville while serving all the residents of my hometown.

— (If you are a candidate and would like to participate in the profile, email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com)

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