Candidates want new face on City Council
Redevelopment, eminent domain, taxes: issues in L.B. municipal election
BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

Ralph DeFillipo

LONG BRANCH - Former City Council candidate Ralph DeFillipo is seeking the open seat on council in the November municipal election and says the seat already rightfully belongs to him.

DeFillipo along with Brian Unger, Michael P. Sirianni and Vincent Maccioli will be challenging Councilwoman Jackeline Biddle for the open council seat in the Nov. 7 election.

Biddle was appointed in August to fill the seat vacated by former Councilman John "Fazz" Zambrano, who resigned on July 20 after pleading guilty to extortion.

DeFillipo, who ran on the New Wave Team for council in the May municipal election, was the next highest vote-getter in the election where Mayor Adam Schneider and the Schneider Team were elected back into office.

"It is my seat," said DeFillipo in an interview last week. "I came in sixth place in the election. [Zambrano] should have never taken office.

"I should have been appointed [in August] for the seat, but I wanted to be elected by the people," he added.

Michael P. Sirianni

Although he has no experience holding municipal office, DeFillipo, of Sherman Court, said he has experience in serving people and is familiar with the issues surrounding the city.

"I like to help people," he said. "I am not in this for self-gain. I was brought up poor and saw a lot of people that were in need and I wanted to help."

DeFillipo has lived in Long Branch for 42 years and retired as a city police

officer in 1992 after serving in the department for 21 years.

"This is the people's town and I want to let them have a say in it," he said. "I want to be the people's voice."

One of the biggest issues facing Long Branch is the use of eminent domain, according to DeFillipo, who said that he supports eminent domain, but only when it is being used for a public use, such as a school, a road or a park.

"But that is not what is happening [in Long Branch]," he said. "[The city administration] is taking homes from people and it is an abuse."

Vincent Maccioli

DeFillipo added that taxes are another issue that needs to be addressed and said that he will find a way to stabilize or even lower taxes.

"What can we do about taxes in this town?" he asked before answering, "I will have to find someone that knows the subject better than I do.

"I don't want to see the taxes keep going up and I don't want to hear it is impossible to lower them," he said. "I want to talk with the people in this town and bring their ideas [to the table]."

A campaign kick-off for DeFillipo is scheduled to be held Friday at Cindy's Cafe on Brighton Avenue at 7 p.m.

"The people that vote for me, I will help them," he said. "And those who don't vote for me, I will help them too. There will be no separation."

Candidate Sirianni said Monday that it may be his first time running for municipal office, but he would like to see a new perspective in the city's government.

"I interviewed with the council for the position [of the open council seat in August after Zambrano resigned], but they did not pick me," Sirianni said. "They picked a good choice, but not a great choice. I would have been a great choice."

A lifelong resident of Long Branch and current resident of Hoey Street, Sirianni said he has been watching the economic growth of the city and does not like what he is seeing.

"I just think where [the current administration] is going with the development of the city is just not Long Branch," he said.

Sirianni, a principal/director at the Culinary Education Center of Monmouth County in Asbury Park, served as a member of the Long Branch Board of Education from 1987 to 1990 and was president of the board from 1989 to 1990.

When asked about eminent domain, Sirianni said the first thing he would like to see is the establishment of a clear definition of eminent domain.

"It needs to be redefined," he said. "Whether the state comes up with new guidelines or the city itself, it has to be done. We need to know what types of housing to use it for and what kinds of public utilities, transportation, parks, military uses, etc., that it can be used for."

He added that what the city is doing now is an abuse of eminent domain.

"Condos are not the answer," Sirianni said. "Just because someone lives on the oceanfront doesn't mean we should be able to take their homes.

"There are some businesses here that stuck with Long Branch through the rough times and now something good is happening and they can't be a part of it," he said.

Sirianni said he is a business person, born into a family that owned a restaurant in Long Branch for 53 years, and added that he wants to bring that experience to the city. On taxes, Sirianni said he doesn't know the solution to lowering them, but said he wants to work with the residents of the city to find one.

"When I was the school board president, I did work on the school budget," he said.

"I want to ask questions," he continued. "I want to know the needs of the city and find them out by maybe just sitting down with a resident over coffee and listening.

"I don't have all the answers. I do know that [the city administration] needs to communicate more with the public," he said.

Sirianni said he will be hosting a Meet the Candidates Night sometime in October.

Candidate Vincent Maccioli said he has been contacted by several city residents to run for council and said he is ready to give it a shot.

"There is a need for fresh blood in there," he said last week. "Fresh blood is always good for new ideas.

"I've been around the city of Long Branch all of my life and I have ideas that might benefit Long Branch," he said.

Maccioli, Liberty Street, retired as captain of the Long Branch Police Department in 1988 after serving the city for 34 years.

He said he is running on a "good government" platform.

"The thing is to serve the people," he