Meet the Candidates ‘23: Debbie Walker
Meet the Candidates ‘23: Debbie Walker
The current Old Bridge Council VP faces a challenge from controversial Democrat councilwoman Jill DeCaro in her bid for mayor.
OLD BRIDGE - Seated at the gateway of Middlesex county with a newly-decided Democrat Senator Fred Thompson, Republican Mayor Owen Henry decided to challenge Thompson’s 9th District senate seat. Henry’s legacy of returning Old Bridge to republican rule is due in large part to a strong town council with President Mary Sohor at the helm.
Like Henry, Vice-President Debbie Walker, a 37-year resident, also decided to seek higher office: the Mayor’s seat. Highlighting her previous experience as the co-founder of Mayor Henry’s Clean Team, Walker has held positions on the Planning Board, Historical Society, Open Space Committee, and Board of Recreation. She has served on the town council since 2012.
At a campaign kick off held on Tuesday, August 29th, Walker and her ticket - President Sohor, Dr. Anita Greenberg-Belli, and Erik DePalma - were joined by Jack Ciattarelli and Mayor Henry. Ciattarelli stressed the urgency of building off of Mayor Henry’s work to lower taxes - a tradition now in its third year thanks to Sohor and Walker- while offering his endorsement of Walker and her team.
Walker emphasized the need to keep taxes low despite Middlesex being a Democrat stronghold, make municipal services more cost-effective and readily available, continue responsible spending, and ensure any development does not impugn the small-town aesthetic that makes up Old Bridge.
Attention then turned to her opponent, councilwoman Jill DeCaro.
A former Board of Education President and local realtor, DeCaro is not without controversy. CJN previously released video of her admitting to her own misunderstanding of municipal budgets. While on the Board of Education, DeCaro also voted to sell public land to warehouse developers (see below). Like Toms River in Ocean County, the specter of development could haunt an election rife with tax frustration at the county level, parental rights fights, and a large town electorate that is defensive of their small-town feel.
Speaking to My Central Jersey DeCaro stated her intention is to bring “a better sense of community, trust, and unity to our local government….I believe in a balance of ideas and that we can all learn from each other, if we just stop and listen."
While over 100 residents came to stop and listen to Walker and her team’s vision for the future, we’ll see whose campaign will tip the scales in the balance of ideas.
