Newest Bernards Twp. Committeewoman Says Voters Chose Fiscal Conservatives

Appointed as a member of the Bernards Township Committee last August, Bernards Township Committeewoman Carol Bianchi had the advantage of already being in office over the two other candidates, Democrat David Ferdinand and Independent Bill Connors.

In Tuesday's election, Bianchi received 5,120 votes unofficially, compared with 1,633 votes for Ferdinand and 505 for Connors. 

Bianchi, who also has a recognized and public history on the Bernards Township Planning Board and as one of the primary citizen activists who successfully called for a halt of potentially toxic fill being brought into the Millington Quarry earlier this decade, had another big plus in her favor.

"The voters across the state chose fiscally conservative and collaborative leadership. It is needed in government at every level," Bianchi wrote on Wednesday, when asked what she felt had resonated with local voters.

Bernards Township voters decisively threw their support behind Republicans at every level of the ballot on Tuesday.

Despite some criticism of the state's — and Republican Governor Chris Christie's — handling of school funding in previous years, including a big cut in aid the first year he was governor — Bernards Township voters cast 5,999 votes for him, compared with 1,657 for Democrat Barbara Buono.

Township voters also returned the Republican team of 21st district representatives, including State Sen. Tom Kean Jr., Nancy Munoz and Jon Bramnick to office. At the Somerset County level, a majority of township voters contributed to the re-election Republican Freeholder Patricia Walsh and Sheriff Frank Provenzano.

During the campaign and at a candidates' forum at the end of October, Bianchi aligned herself with the the current Republican Township Committee's financial record. She pointed to the township's record including keeping the municipal tax rate steady over several years, the municipality's triple A bond rating from Standard & Poor's and also the township's retirement of all municipal debt as of two years ago.

Bianchi said on Wednesday she said she felt she reached voters because, "I knocked on [as] many doors and attended many community events as I have throughout my 13 years in Bernards Township." 

She added the feedback she have received from voters in Bernards Township is that, "They trust me, they know I always have the best interest of the residents at heart, and that I will work hard to achieve results by working with the community."

Bianchi said the goals that she believes residents trust her to achieve include maintaining financial stability; community outreach and including the community in government; and her ability to resolve issues from traffic to parking and field availability "by working with the community and others to find the best solutions."

Bianchi had been appointed by the all-GOP Township Committee in late August to fill the last few months of the term vacated by Township Committeeman Scott Spitzer, who moved out of state. Spitzer also was a Republican, and her name was submitted by the Republican municipal committee as a potential replacement for Spitzer during the rest of his term.

She was elected to a three-year term that will begin on Jan. 1, 2014.