Franklin candidates meet the people

The Concerned Citizens for a Better Franklin sponsored a ‘Meet the Candidates’ meeting May 2, at the Senior Citizens Building in advance of the June 4 primary.
Most candidates are Republican.
Each candidate was given a couple of minutes to state his or her platform followed by a question and answer period from the audience.
Mayoral Candidates in attendance were John Sowden and Shane Hrbek. Theirs is the only contested primary.
“I’m the guy that will represent the past but help move us forward," Sowden said., "We can be leaders again!”
He said believes the history of Franklin should be shared with others and that tourism should be promoted. To illustrate the history, he asked the crowd if they knew that Franklin had electricity before the rest of New Jersey.
Sowden grew up in Franklin and enjoyed the Cub Scouts and baseball. He said he owned a business in Franklin for many years and received great experience while working for the Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority. He said he would like to see ongoing projects around town completed, Main Street development, shared services and protect the Borough’s water supply.
Shane Hrbek said he did not know he was running for Mayor until his wife pointed it out. She told him he had that look in his eyes that showed he wanted to pursue it, like when he decided he wanted to be on the Franklin Borough Board of Education. In addition to being on the Board of Education, he is a steering committee member in the Forward Franklin Alliance.
Hrbek sent out a poll to residents to learn about the most pressing issues in the borough. He admitted,
“I love to talk, but I also listen,” he said.
From the poll he learned substance abuse issues and public safety were the top two concerns. Hrbek has been a Borough resident for 16 years and has a campaign slogan of “A Fresh Perspective.” He wants the community to feel as if their “voices will be heard, and ideas taken into consideration.”
Both Sowden and Hrbek see the need to address drug issues. Sowden said he thinks Borough Police are being proactive and cited a recent example of sentencing of a woman from Hackettstown.
“But, it is extremely difficult,” he said.
Hrbek wants residents to attend any events offered throughout the county explaining he himself had learned so much by attending an event called “Know the Signs.” He stated,
“We are 15 years behind on this issue and trying to catch up," he said.
He also said he learned much about the topic from reading a book called Dreamland.
Council Candidates included Pat Rowett, Concetto Formica, and current council member and President, Stephen Skellenger.
Pat Rowett, the only Democratic canddidate, has been a lifelong resident and would like to see the borough be more “user friendly, more responsible, stop wasteful taxpayer money, and help put an end to lawsuits.” She is an active volunteer at Catholic Charities and is “saddened” to see that so many people around the borough worry about their next meal. She would like to put an end to that. Rowett would also like to see more police patrol near the Hardyston Elementary School. She noted that this responsibility should be shared between Franklin, Hardyston and state police to prevent drugs coming into the Borough and surrounding areas.
Skellenger’s main goal is to make Franklin affordable to live in. He believes there has been “some bumps in the road, but the course we are on is good.”
He said most in attendance have his cell phone number and he is responsive. Throughout the evening he took notes on what some citizens believed were outstanding issues and assured them he would follow up. Street signage for various roads and lighting on Main Street were two issues shared as still being open issues.
Concetto Formica says he is “responsible and reasonable.”
Formica worked on the recreation committee and believes he is a “good listener.” He would like to get all committees to communicate with one another and as part of council, he can help drive that. He also believes we need to “stop sugarcoating” the effects of drugs and tell our children “to not experiment and to NOT ever touch it.” He encourages explaining the severities, “have more police pressure, and go after the people that are using or about to use so the dealers won’t have any customers."