Citizens For Asbury Ticket Goes On The Record
Breakfast Fundraiser Planned For 8 a.m. to noon Oct 8 at Kula Cafe
The Citizens for Asbury Park ticket will host an 8 a.m. to noon Oct. 8 Breakfast Fundraiser at Kula Café, located at 1201 Springwood Ave. Tickets are $20.00.
Comprised of community leader Daniel Harris and school board members Stephen Williams and Kenneth Saunders Jr, the three are challenging the incumbent Asbury Together ticket for the seats up for grabs in the Nov. 8 election.
“We are all lifelong residents,” Harris said. “We have seen the changes Asbury Park is going through and we feel things should be turned around so that everyone profits from the prosperity. We want to make sure we are not left out of long term jobs and housing once these projects are finished.”
Williams, who ran unsuccessfully for a City Council seat in 2013, has served on the BOE since 2014. He said this time around he is more seasoned.
“I understood the needs of the community but I didn’t understand what went into politics,” he said. “Now I understand what politics means – people and money, that’s all politics is. At the end of the day, there is the needs of the people, the needs of the businesses, and the special agendas of people, but when you prioritize and put things into perspective, it comes down to people and money.
“In my opinion, we are the right people to have in charge of managing and dealing with people, and managing and dealing with money,” Williams said. “We understand that there is more than just one side of Asbury Park. Now, I patronize the beach, I patronize the east side, but I also live on the southwest side. I understand the needs. It’s dilapidated, disenfranchised and, for a lack of a better term, people’s wills are broken. I sense their hopes for something better and I believe we are that something better.”
For Saunders, the bottom line is that the Citizens for Asbury Ticket is comprised of three people who are not only invested but truly care about the community as a whole, he said.
“We want to see all aspects of Asbury Park do well,” Saunders said. “We want to participate in the revitalization moving forward. If we are part of the process and people are getting jobs, it would create a sense of accountability and responsibility.”
Creating a citizens police review board, competitive living wages for city residents, and a vested interest in the city’s youth and elderly are among their goals.
“People in Asbury Park are good people and they have not been listen to,” Harris said. “We are a vestige of hope for them. We understand you need investment but there is something called employment and participation. We don’t want a master plan written without our input.”
The Citizens for Asbury platform is outlined below:
Unilateral development throughout the entire city.
Increased hiring of city residents for municipal jobs.
Work with the private sector to increase employment of local residents.
Elimination of red tape for local developers.
Work with adjoining communities in the development and repair of shared corridors, bridges and walkways.
Work closely with churches in the community.
Assist willing landlords with the improvement of their properties.
Address drug and mental health issues in our community.
Work closely with the Asbury Park Board of Education in all phases.
Continue to love our children and our senior citizens.
Harris, who was the first to announce his bid, sits on the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment and holds various positions within his lifelong church, Second Baptist on Atkins Avenue. For more about Harris, click here.
Saunders, the current Board of Education vice president, was reelected to the board in the November 2015 election. He was previously appointed to the BOE in 2014 and then won a one-year term in the following election.
He is a registered nurse, who holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing and is a certified operating room nurse. Currently pursuing an advanced Maternal and Child Nursing degree from Kean University, the lifelong city resident graduated from Brookdale Community College before earning his BSN from Seton Hall in 2000.
He is a Clinical Operating Room and Sterile Processing Department Manager at CentraState Medical Center, and has served on the Association of PeriOperative Nurses organization since 2001.
Williams, an Asbury Park High School graduate and former Blue Bishop football player, holds both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Delaware State University. He remains an active member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and sits on several committees within in his chapter.
Williams, and entrepreneur, helped co-create the two year long Asbury Park Recreation Academy in 2010. The incentive based program was geared to helping the city’s youth forge a path to college, the workforce, and/or armed services. Williams also serves as a Democratic Committeeman in District 2 of Asbury Park.
In a written statement, Williams said his personal goals are to forge a great working relationship with the Asbury Park School District and local business, and outlined the following:
To create jobs that pays a competitive LIVING wage to enable the residents of Asbury Park to afford the living expenses in the city.
Work with as many of Asbury Park’s small businesses as possible to create an impenetrable infrastructure and network
Create and bring in major businesses to offset the high taxes in Asbury Park.
Forge a relationship with the Asbury Park School district to ensure the youth has everything at their disposal to achieve at high levels
Create ordinances to increase business hours in order to enable our local businesses to thrive
Use all resources available to help reduce crime throughout the city
Install different advisory and review boards to see to it that all city employees are doing their jobs in the most ethical and professional way
Work closely with all community members wanting to create most productive and safe Asbury Park possible
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