Every week, The Sun will ask candidates in the Nov. 4 election for council seats to respond to questions pertinent to local issues. This week’s questions:
1.) Why are you running for council?
2.) If elected, what would be your top priority?
Carol Murphy
Occupation: Public policy director
Political Affiliation: Democrat
Clubs/Organizations you belong to: Madison Who’s Who of Professionals, member; Manchester Who’s Who of Executives and Professionals, member; National Association for Female Executives, member
Why are you running for town council?
Mt. Laurel is a great place to live, and I’m passionate about making our township even better. It starts with smart reforms that would make local government more effective and efficient. That is why I’m proposing reforms to heighten transparency, engage our neighborhoods and restore fiscal responsibility to our government.
If elected, what would be your top priority?
My top priority would be a long-term financial plan to protect taxpayers. In the past three years, the council spent $15 million from the budget surplus instead of finding cost-saving alternatives. Together, we can make Mt. Laurel more efficient, transparent and establish a new fiscally responsibly path for our future.
Dennis Riley
Occupation: Vice president of an investment management company, providing financial advice to job creators and investors.
Political Affiliation: Republican
Clubs/Organizations: Member and chairman of the planning board; PTA member; serve on the Board of Directors of Nutritional Development for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia; volunteer at Our Lady of Good Counsel
Why are you running for town council?
With more than 30 years of experience in finance, I have the real-world experience necessary to balance a budget and promote efficiencies to save money. I will utilize the skills that I have developed during my career to make Mt. Laurel an even better place to live, work and raise a family.
If elected, what would be your top priority?
As a father, making Mt. Laurel more affordable for young families and generations to come is my top priority. I will bring residents and community leaders together to implement a long-term strategy to provide property tax relief, develop shared services to save money and enhance our local services and infrastructure.
Dan Rosenberg
Occupation: Attorney
Political Affiliation: Democrat
Clubs/Organizations you belong to: AJ Butz Foundation, Inc., Trustee; Burlington County Bar Association; Camden County Bar Association; New Jersey State Bar Association; Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers — New Jersey; “The Animal Camp” Running Club
Why are you running for town council?
Mt. Laurel is a great place to live. I’m running for council to help make the township even better. Government works best when it is open, transparent and efficient. With simple reforms, we can implement best practices to restore accountability and fiscal responsibility to improve our local government.
If elected, what would be your top priority?
My top priority would be a sensible financial plan to protect taxpayers by incorporating shared services and independent audits to reverse course of a council that in the past three years spent $15 million of our budget surplus. Together, we can put the township back on a responsible fiscal path.
Rich Van Noord
Occupation: I am currently a senior sales executive for Benecard Services, providing cost-saving solutions to lower health-care costs for businesses and government.
Political Affiliation: Republican
Clubs/Organizations: I serve as a member of the Mt. Laurel Planning Board and devoted years to coaching youth basketball. I currently raise money for scholar- ships for deserving college-bound students.
Why are you running for town council?
I want to make sure local government’s focus is a more affordable and prosperous future. My background as a newscaster, educator, small business owner and sales executive gives me the necessary experience to provide quality services to our community at the lowest cost to taxpayers.
If elected, what would be your top priority?
I will promote innovative solutions to do more with less money from taxpayers. I will develop a long-range financial plan where residents will help set our priorities and foster more collaboration with the county, neighboring towns and our schools to provide tax relief.
