Meet the Candidates: Samuel Garro

On Nov. 8, residents will have the opportunity to go to the polls to vote for four members of Gloucester Township Council. Gloucester Township Patch will share information and some of the thoughts of the nine candidates seeking four Council seats throughout the week of Oct. 9.

Name: Samuel Garro

Political Party: Republican

Years of residency in Gloucester Twp.: 15

Job: Senior Manager of State Filing, Product Development and Regulatory Compliance at OneBeacon Insurance. I have been with this company for 20 years.

Education: Law Degree, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

Family: Married 20 years to Laurie Garro, with two daughters both attending Timber Creek High School

Why are you running for Gloucester Township Council?

I have always wanted to get involved in the town. Having been an assistant softball coach and a member of my church's choir, I wanted to do more because I felt this town has great potential and I want to help it reach that potential. We need new ideas, new energy and new direction, and I want to help bring those ideas, energy, and direction to Council.

Have you ever held a public elected office?

I was an elected Town Meeting Representative for the 9th precinct in Plymouth, MA, for three years.

Why do you feel you are qualified to serve as a member of the Gloucester Township Council?

In addition to having a law degree, I was an elected Town Meeting Representative in Plymouth, MA, where I also served on the Recycling Committee and the By-Law Review Committee. Plymouth is similar in size and population to Gloucester Township. Town Meeting Representatives are responsible for approving the local budget which included the school budget as well as approving other local matters such as zoning changes. The budget debates gave me an appreciation of the need to make sure every tax dollar is spent effectively.  

What is the biggest issue facing Gloucester Township as we approach the end of 2011? How do you feel the issue should be addressed by Council?

While meeting our residents during the campaign, it was clear that two issues concern them: property taxes and economic development leading to the creation of jobs. Council can address the property tax issue by making sure that every dollar we spend as a town is spent efficiently, effectively and wisely. The most important expenditure for the budget is public safety. After that are the necessities such as trash pickup. Once we get beyond those items, every other expenditure should be scrutinized as to whether it is a necessary expenditure for the town. Council should create a Citizens Advisory Committee on the budget to seek input how our tax dollars can be best spent.  

As for economic development, it is crucial that we not only create new business opportunities in town but also help sustain and grow our existing businesses. Driving through any section of town will show closed businesses which means not only lost revenue to the town but job loss as well. To promote existing businesses, Council could initiate a "Support Our Local Businesses" program to encourage our citizens to buy locally. This could include posting daily coupons on the town's website from various participating businesses. Council could also work with the local Chamber of Commerce on other ways to support local business growth. It is important that during these difficult economic times we do all we can to keep our commerce dollars spent locally.

To encourage new business into coming here, Council could charge the town with creating an on-point town employee who would work with the business community to assist new businesses with permits and other support both at the local and state level so getting through the bureaucratic hurdles to opening a business is easy and painless. And, to support local job growth, Council could provide for any tax abatements, an extra incentive to hire Gloucester Township residents.

What do you feel is Gloucester Township's biggest asset at this time? How would you exploit that asset to the township's benefit?

I see two major assets: the diversity and potential of our workforce and our geographic location. We are in close proximity to major highways and a short drive to Philadelphia. Our location could be tapped as a selling point for economic development. Packaging our geographic location with our diverse pool of potential workers and a possible tax incentive for hiring our residents would be a very attractive package to offer a business seeking to develop or expand here.

How do you plan to balance spending and revenue in tough economic times?

Banning pay to play would provide us with a greater number of potential businesses seeking to do business with the town which should lead to less expensive contracts for doing town work. In addition, we need to view the expenditure of every dollar against the necessity of its expense. During this campaign, we have seen a number of homes for sale or under foreclosure which only reinforces that we must control property taxes so our residents can continue to stay in the town. And we must avoid any budgetary gimmicks in place of real long term solutions.

Do you feel the current Council is effective? Why or why not? Where do you think the governing body could improve?

I don't believe the current Council is effective. During our campaign we were surprised at the small number of residents who knew the names of any of our current members of Council. In addition, some areas of the town felt that they were being neglected by local government. This shows a gap between the residents and Council. Council needs to get closer to our residents. One way to do this is to have each member of Council responsible for an area of the town. This would provide those residents with one member dedicated to their needs and become their liaison with Council. Another way is to have Council work more closely with local development and civic associations that exist in various developments throughout town. These groups are working hard to beautify their areas and bring their residents closer together. Council should encourage the work of these groups by working hand-in-hand with them on clean-up days, block parties and other activities.

Editor's Notes: This is the second of nine profiles on candidates for Gloucester Township Council. Glen Bianchini's profile ran Monday morning. The following is the schedule of publication for the remaining seven candidates: independent candidate Darren Gladden (6 a.m.) and Republican candidate Ted Liddell (noon) on Tuesday; Democrat incumbent Orlando Mercado (6 a.m.) and Republican candidate Linda Musser (noon) on Wednesday; Democrat candidates Sam Siler (6 a.m.) and Tracey Trotto (noon) on Thursday; and Republican candidate Erica Weissmann (6 a.m.) on Friday.

Aside from minor formatting changes, the responses each candidate provided to the above questions appear here unaltered.