Coffey heats up Township Committee race in U.F. Planning Board member files to run as independent BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer Jennifer Coffey UPPER FREEHOLD - A member of both the Environmental Advisory Board and the Planning Board has thrown her hat into the ring as an independent candidate in the November election for Township Committee. Jennifer Coffey, director of watershed management for the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, changed her affiliation from Democratic to independent to run in the general election for one of the two open seats on the governing body. Republican primary winners Stanley Moslowski Jr. and Lori Horsnall Mount will also run in the election, as will current Mayor Stephen Fleischacker, who chose not to run in the Republican primary but also changed his party affiliation to independent in order to run in November. According to Bertha Sumick, of the Monmouth County Board of Elections, John Nanni, who is a resident in the township's active-adult community called Four Seasons - which is part of the largest voting bloc in the township - filed Fleischacker's and Coffey's petitions to run in the board's office at 10:22 a.m. June 4, just one day prior to the primary election. Although Coffey and Fleischacker switched their respective party allegiances at the same time, Fleischacker said, "I am not running with Jen Coffey." Fleischacker made this statement before the primary election results were announced June 5. At that time, he also reiterated his support for Moslowski and his opposition to the other primary candidates' stated positions primarily concerning land use. Moslowski ran in the primary against Horsnall Mount and John Mele, a former township mayor. "I commend Jen Coffey for taking a strong stand on placing preservation above commercial land development and demonstrating her commitment to the long-term well-being of our agricultural community," Fleischacker said. "Preservation, property rights and land equity are different shades of green, not red or blue issues. "However, let me be clear," he continued. "I campaigned for Mr. Moslowski in the primary election, and I will do the same for him in the general election." Coffey said, "I am, as I have always intended, running for Township Committee based on my own merits." She added, "John Nanni was simply available and did both me and Steve a favor by dropping off the petitions." Coffey said she chose to run as an independent candidate because she believes that the most successful local policies - those that carry out the vision of a community - are best achieved when politics are set aside. "Land use is the major issue in Upper Freehold," she said. "Partisan politics only divides. As an independent candidate, I will have a better opportunity to listen to and speak with residents regardless of affiliation." Coffey said Upper Freehold is a great community because although there isn't always agreement, there is always dialogue. "Residents, farmers and business owners alike have chosen to come to Upper Freehold or stay in Upper Freehold because this is a great place to be," she said. "Upper Freehold is a haven of rural farmland in the most densely populated state in the nation." Coffey said she sees the challenge for the current administration, both elected and appointed, as implementing policies that maintain a healthy environment in which agriculture can thrive as a business and residents can have a high, rural quality of life. In addition, Coffey said that the township's Planning Board and Environmental Advisory Committee are working hard to complete the homework necessary to make smart policy choices. "The township now has a build-out analysis and will soon have an updated Natural Resources Inventory and an environmental capacity analysis that will guide policy decisions," she said. "I want to continue and build on this good work." Coffey said it is imperative that the current and next administrations forge innovative partnerships to preserve land, "particularly in light of the roadblocks that the Garden State Preservation Trust (GSPT) fund is hitting at the state level. "GSPT is broke," she added, "and future funding is far from guaranteed at this point." Coffey said she looks forward to talking to residents, landowners and business owners about their ideas for maintaining a rural, agricultural, environmentally sound Upper Freehold for this generation and its children.