Marianne Rampulla for Raritan Township Committee

Background:

I am a life long resident of New Jersey and grew up on a small farm in Hunterdon County. I was educated in New Jersey, first attending Middlesex County College then graduating from Rutgers University. My professional experience started with nine years in research and development in the pharmaceutical industry. I went on to open a small business as a paint and wallpaper contractor, a non-traditional field for women but a successful venture nonetheless. Currently, I am an Information Technology professional working in the insurance industry. I am married and have two boys.

My community involvement started when I was a stay at home mother for a few short years. I volunteered in the schools that my boys were attending, putting my scientific background to use as a science fair judge and on a science curriculum review committee. I also delivered meals to senior citizens in Flemington through our local Meals on Wheels program.

I’ve been involved in Raritan Township government, serving on the Environmental Commission, the Zoning Board of Adjustment, the Open Space Committee and our Affordable Housing Board. I had the opportunity to briefly serve on the Raritan Township Committee when I was appointed to fill a vacant committee seat in 2006.

I ran for the same seat in 2008, coming in third in a five person race for two seats. I was fortunate to get the endorsements of both the Hunterdon and Somerset County DFA groups as well as the endorsement of NJ for Democracy and the national DFA organization. I lost to the second place candidate by 3.34% and to the first place candidate by 4.77%. To put that in perspective, John McCain beat Barack Obama in our township by 11.21% and the other up-ticket Democrats fared far worse.

I am currently the Vice President of the Raritan Township Democratic Club and serve on the Hunterdon County Democratic Party Executive Committee. In 2007 we ended the Republican lock on the municipal committee by electing a Democrat. I’d like to join that Democrat in 2009.

Goals:

I'm running for Township Committee because I believe that government has a role to play in shaping the community and some things are worth investing in. My goals are to:
• Attain fiscal responsibility through sound budgeting principals, shared services and increased use of technology. A measured and modern approach to municipal operations will improve the ability of our township to provide services without bankrupting our taxpayers.
• Attack the related problems of sprawl, traffic and high taxes by making farmland preservation and open space acquisition a priority. I’d like to find new and creative uses for the open space that the township has acquired. We need to make it accessible to the community for a variety of activities and tap its potential to be an economic draw for the area.
• Attract good paying jobs to our community. Raritan Township has many underutilized sites that are waiting for a great idea to come along. An Economic Development Committee would be the first step towards steering the future growth of the community towards high paying job opportunities for our residents, right here in Raritan Township.
• Develop a long range plan to address our state mandated obligations for affordable housing. Not only is it a legal obligation, but it also makes our community affordable for our children who would like to return to the town where they grew up to raise their own family.

Issues:

1. Restore fiscal responsibility
2. Planning for a sustainable future
3. Attracting good, green jobs to our township

Grassroots Support:

Grass roots organizing will allow my campaign to tap resources to support the campaign without the bureaucracy of a top down organization. We’ll be able to take charge and react quicker to issues that come up over the course of the campaign.

There are two main challenges that I face running this year. Campaigning in an area which is semi-rural and has scant media requires lots of door to door contact, taking the message to the voters. The close ties that a grass roots organization makes with community members will help spread my message. I’ll also be utilizing alternative media to reach new voters. DFA and the progressive community are well versed in how to exploit these new options in support of a campaign.

DFA Values:

• I fully support marriage equality.
• I believe that the cost of health care is a threat to families and our economic welfare. I prefer a single payer system but would support a mixed system of private and government insurance as long as all citizens are guaranteed coverage at an affordable premium.
• I believe we have an obligation to provide affordable housing in our community and protect the environment.
• I am Pro-Choice, support sex education that includes but is not limited to abstinence, and support government funded access to contraception and abortions.
• For my community, imposing fiscal responsibility means eliminating budgeting gimmicks and raids of municipal authority funds for general operating expenses. It means making smart investments that will save taxpayers money in the long run. And it means making tough spending decisions rather than hiding behind the results of referenda to allow our infrastructure to deteriorate.
• I support Governor Corzine’s plan to encourage merging of communities to attain savings in municipal operations.