FRANCOIS AND RUDY CALL SOMERSET COUNTY FREEHOLDERS' RECORD ON SPRAWL A NEW JERSEY LEADING FAILURE

Democratic candidates for Somerset County Freeholder Kimberly Francois and Nathan Rudy today called the "Smart Growth" record of the Somerset County Freeholders during their 23 years of one-party rule a failure. United States Census Bureau and Workforce NJ records show that between 1980 and today Somerset County has grown by 53 percent, faster than every other county with the exception of Ocean.

Contact: Nathan Rudy, 908-347-0496
Kimberly Francois, 732-829-8258
Elia Pelios, 908-218-0330

Somerville, NJ -- SEPTEMBER 3, 2002 -- Democratic candidates for Somerset County Freeholder Kimberly Francois and Nathan Rudy today called the "Smart Growth" record of the Somerset County Freeholders during their 23 years of one-party rule a failure.

United States Census Bureau and Workforce NJ records show that between 1980 and today Somerset County has grown by 53 percent, faster than every other county with the exception of Ocean. During the past two decades of one-party rule on the Freeholder Board, Somerset County's population has grown from approximately 200,000 people to almost 310,000.

"What is most amazing is that the Republican Freeholders are actually proud of their record," said North Plainfield Councilman Nathan Rudy. "They have overseen more than twenty years of unprecedented and state-leading sprawl, and have the guts to proclaim their record a success."

New Jersey Future, the state's largest smart-growth advocacy group, named Somerset "New Jersey's fastest growing County" from 1990 to 1999, noting that Somerset's 20 percent growth during that decade outpaced the other 20 counties.

"They put up a good front on sprawl, but the truth is that they have the worst record in the state," said former two-term Mayor of Franklin Kimberly Francois. "Every year or two they come up with a new logo, name and marketing strategy for their plan, and yet sprawl keeps taking over our County."

Somerset County's property tax payers fund 19 full-time planners - almost one for every town - and a Planning Board whose role is to manage Smart Growth. With the worst sprawl in the state through the 1990s, tax payers should question the value they receive from the County.

Apologists for this record say it means that people want to live here, but if the record is allowed to continue that will certainly change. If taxes keep rising, traffic gets worse and County priorities continue to miss the mark Somerset County will lose its reputation as a desirable place to live.

Somerset County's neighbors grew at much slower rates, proving that it is possible to manage sprawl. Since 1980, Hunterdon County grew 44 percent, Middlesex County just 30 percent, Morris County 17 percent and Union County actually reduced its population by 238 people. Since 1980, the State of New Jersey's population grew a total of 17 percent.

While the state and neighboring counties have been managing their growth, Somerset County's sprawl has resulted in population density that grew from 665 people per square mile in 1980 to almost 1,000 people per square mile in 2002.

According to the Smart Growth Gateway, an online resource for those interested in implementing "Smart Growth Strategies," Somerset County is one of only six New Jersey counties that gave up one in every 10 available acres to sprawl from 1986 to 1995.

"As a result of the Freeholder's failure to plan for the future, property taxes for schools are choking taxpayers out of their homes," said Francois. "And the lack of adequate regional transportation planning from the County means traffic jams are a daily part of every Somerset County driver's day."

"There's been an awful lot of Growth going on under the two decade, one-party rule of our Freeholders, but there sure hasn't been a lot of Smart," said Rudy. "If we allow another 20 years of unchecked control, the people of Somerset County will pay the price with more density, higher taxes and more hours stuck in traffic."

The property tax payers of Somerset County have to pick up the tab for this horrible record. The people of Somerset County get to pay for Freeholder mismanagement with out-of-control school costs for thousands of additional children, traffic jams at all hours of the day on roads large and small, skyrocketing county and local taxes, and a loss of Somerset County's reputation as a quiet and restful county.

Published reports said Freeholder Director Peter Palmer sought to defend the unanimous vote by the Freeholders to grant themselves a fourth consecutive raise in June this year by comparing his own salary to that of Freeholders in nine other Counties. The reports did not note Palmer making any comparisons as to the effectiveness the other Freeholder Boards in managing sprawl or other important governing issues.

"It's time for a change, to return the two-party system of checks and balances to Somerset County," said Francois. "Nathan and I are running for Freeholder to bring our years of experience in successful bi-partisan governing to the County level."

In two terms on the North Plainfield Borough Council, Nathan led the charge to re-invigorate the Environmental Commission and create the Downtown Revitalization Project, and was recently elected to the North Plainfield Business Association Board of Directors. Nathan is also a dedicated volunteer, working with the Optimist Club, United Way, Friends of Vermeule and as the chair of the North Plainfield Street Fair for three years. He is committed to promoting redevelopment in densely populated communities, preserving open space and reducing congestion throughout Somerset County. More information is available on his web site at http://www.rudyforfreeholder.org .

As Franklin's Mayor, Kimberly worked closely with all parts of the community, finding innovative ways to fund programs to keep property taxes down. Kimberly is an advocate for better schools and won numerous awards from community groups for her dedication to young people. Under Kimberly's leadership, Franklin Township opened its new senior/community center used by the golden generation during the day and serving children during the evening. More information is available at http://www.francoisforfreeholder .

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Web site and data references:

Smart Growth Gateway: http://www.smartgrowthgateway.org/
NJ Future: http://www.njfuture.com
US Census: http://www.census.gov/
Workforce NJ: http://www.wnjpin.net/