Toms River Council Election 2021: Jeff Horn

Toms River NJ

31 October, 2021

2:34 PM

Description

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The 2021 election campaign culminates when voters go to the polls Nov. 2 to choose Toms River Township Council members. Each of the four ward seats are up for election. There are two candidates seeking each ward seat, which is a four-year term. Patch asked each candidate to answer questions to give voters information about who they are and their stances on various issues. We are printing their responses in full, unedited except for spelling or punctuation. Here are the answers from Jeff Horn, who is running for Ward 2. Age: 54 Town of residence: Toms River Position sought: Council, Ward 2 Party affiliation: Democratic Family: Wife - Susie; Son - Jeffrey G - age 21- Ramapo College - Junior; Margaret - age 17, TR South - Senior Education: JD - Widener University Delaware School of Law; BA - Rutgers University Occupation: Lawyer Previous elective office, if any: none Do you or anyone in your family work for the state, county or local governments? Wife - Susie teaches 8th grade Science at TR Intermediate South Why are you seeking office? Concerns over rampant overdevelopment, increasing property taxes and public safety dominate our public discourse and require real, actionable solutions. Frankly, time is not on our side. US Supreme Court Justice Frankfurter always urged young lawyers to return home and serve their communities. As a Main Street lawyer I have two jobs: take care of my family and serve our home community. Some say we are a divided people. I disagree with that sentiment and believe that through principled government service, common sense will prevail and bring the community together. I am running to get under the hood of Town Hall and fight for the people on these key issues. What do you feel is the most pressing issue facing the community, and what do you want to do about it? I have visited the doors of over 1,000 voters in Ward 2. By far, the greatest concern is managing overdevelopment and maintaining the residential nature of Toms River. The genesis of this issue spans back at least 20 years. A huge opportunity was missed. Specifically, the prudent acquisition of surplus land and open space would have gone a long way to solving the problem, in advance. We would have paid pennies on the dollar. Now, we must play catch-up. We must invest in the acquisition of open space. Every decision made by Town Hall must be made through the prism of maintaining the residential integrity of the community. Every family in town agrees on this important principle. Whether a family has been in town for 50 years or moved in three weeks ago. Every dollar spent and every council vote recorded must answer the question: How will this decision impact the residents of Toms River? What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking to serve? One specific area of disagreement is over providing our Police Department with critical equipment. My opponent has voted against grants for state-of-the-art police radios and body-worn cameras. Keeping our residents safe is local government's highest priority. Providing our law enforcement and first-responders with the optimum tools is a no-brainer and will have my full support. My training and experience as a lawyer has helped me develop the capability to have very difficult conversations without the need to attack people personally, interrupt the other side's presentation or deploy intellectually dishonest arguments. If I am fortunate enough to be elected, you can be assured that I will fight for my principles and the objectives of the residents. However, I will do so in a professional manner, avoiding the use of fraudulent narratives and personal invective. Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform. The second-most pressing issue is stabilization of property taxes. Residents are worried that property taxes go up while services go down. As an outsider, I will get under the hood of Town Hall. As a Main Street business man I know how to stretch a dollar. Toms River has an astonishing 22 departments and 11 boards. Millions of dollars in savings can be achieved by eliminating excessive layers of government by deploying technology and automation. We all hold a super-computer in our hands. Government lags behind in utilizing automation. It is a question of mindset. I will bring a beginner's and an outsider's mindset to implementing 21st-century efficiency at the local government level. What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you will be effective in office? I was honored to be nominated by Governor DiFrancesco to the Ocean County Board of Taxation. I served there for six years including service as president of the board. We adjudicated thousands of property tax appeals, serving as an overseer of the tax assessing function. Following board service, my firm and I represented thousands of taxpayers achieving tax savings in the millions of dollars. What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions? I will bring to government service my predominant trait - persistence. Alongside my law practice, I have completed marathons (26.2 miles) in all 50 states and published 5 books.