Election 2024: Stafford Township Council Candidate Owen LaRocca
STAFFORD, NJ — The 2024 general election will likely be a high-turnout year with a presidential race on the ballot, along with candidates for New Jersey's U.S. House and Senate seats. But there will also be local decisions to be made in Stafford Township, with municipal elections on the ballot.The Stafford Township Council has six seats up for election. Ahead of Election Day on Nov. 5, Patch sent questionnaires to all candidates seeking their responses. Here is the response from Republican candidate Owen LaRocca.Editor's Note: Patch sent out emails to all candidates to the email addresses listed for their campaign provided to the office of the clerk. The responses received will be published between now and the Nov. 5 general election. These responses will be published edited only for style. Candidates who would like to participate but did not receive one (for whatever reason) can contact [email protected]: Owen LaRoccaAge: 24Town of Residence: Stafford TownshipEducation:• Southern Regional High School Graduate• Graduated Cum Laude from Ocean County College with an A.S. in Public Service.• Graduated Cum Laude from Stockton University with a B.S. in Business Studies,concentration in Management.• Certified Municipal Registrar (CMR) certificate from Rutgers UniversityOccupation: Deputy Municipal Clerk and Deputy Municipal RegistrarWhat drove you to seek public office?:I am driven to seek public office for fiscal responsibility. As inflation decays all of our hard-earned dollars and prices skyrocket across our State, New Jersey has become one of the most expensive places to call home in our nation. I am a third-generation resident of this area, and I am blessed to have called Stafford Township home my entire life. I want to serve on the Council to ensure that I can raise a fourth generation of my family here, and that this Township remains the incredible community for the next generation of my family that it always has been for me. I also believe that Governments should be held to the essential fact that your money is YOURS. I believe you and you alone are the best decision maker when it comes to your money. Your money belongs in your own pocket, and I am running for Council to ensure that it stays there!What sets you apart from the other candidates?:Community involvement and government experience are two things that set me apart from other candidates. Since 2015 I have been engaged in Stafford Township doing volunteer work at Southern Ocean Medical Center, as well as for the Township itself performing music at ceremonies. In 2020 during the height of the pandemic I participated in IBM’s World Community Grid, fielding donations from Stafford Residents to help contribute to medical research, and in 2022 I began serving on the Stafford Township Planning Board, helping to guide our township development. Additionally, I have been employed at both the County and Municipal level of government, giving me experience that I want to utilize to keep our township the incredible place it always has been.What is the most pressing issue facing Stafford?:The most pressing issue facing Stafford is that of rising costs, which have been occurring throughout the entirety of our State and Country. Through this campaign I have had the opportunity to speak to so many of my fellow neighbors in this town, and the matter of rising costs ranks by far the top concern that I have heard from residents, and as a resident myself, it is also my biggest concern too. On a municipal level, the most effective thing a local elected official can do to ensure cost savings for residents is to lower taxes, and prevent future tax increases. The best decision maker for how your money is spent is you, and as a candidate for office, it is my mission to ensure that taxes remain as low as possible, so that the people’s money can be in their own hands, and they can use it for their own needs. While local government cannot control the rate of inflation that has swept our nation the past four years, a local government can do everything in its power to protect your money and ensure that your money remains in your own pocket, and that is exactly what I want to do as an elected official.How do you plan to keep taxes low while still maintaining services for Stafford?:One reason that Stafford stands out amongst other towns in the practice of performing services in-house, to allow for cost savings and long-term stability for the residents. While other towns need to hire outside companies and participate in costly agreements to pick up their garbage, to plow their roads during the snow, or to provide emergency medical services, Stafford Township is able to do all of these tasks in-house, which has resulted in both phenomenal savings for the residents and a better quality of service at the same time. This practice of not having to rely on third-party entities for our essential services should be continued, to ensure that these savings can be passed on to the residents, and ensure our taxes remain low while services remain at a high quality level.In your opinion, what is the best part of living in Stafford?:Aside from the people who make up this incredible community, The greatest thing about living in Stafford Township from a municipal point of view is our infrastructure, and it is crucial that we maintain a focus on this asset in order to preserve our community. From our roads to our water and sewer infrastructure, we see the benefits today of careful planning and foresight that was implemented decades ago. The facts are facts: that it is cheaper and more cost effective to maintain our infrastructure while it is working, compared to replacing it entirely due to neglect. We need to ensure that every dollar goes as far as it possibly can, so that these savings can then be passed on to the residents. Neglecting our infrastructure today would be a short-term gain for a long-term loss. It is not good enough to have our taxes be low for just one year, we need to ensure that our tax rate will remain low for the next 20 years and beyond, and through continued maintenance on our infrastructure, it will save us millions of dollars in the long term, sustaining a lower tax rate for decades to come.The article Election 2024: Stafford Township Council Candidate Owen LaRocca appeared first on Barnegat-Manahawkin, NJ Patch.
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