Get To Know Sparta Township Council Candidate Bill Greenlaw – Hopatcong, NJ Patch

Editor’s Note: Patch sent out questionnaires to every candidate who filed a petition of candidacy by the deadline. We sent them to the email addresses registered as the official campaign emails at the County Clerk’s Office. We will run the responses in the order they were received with no edits. Those candidates who did not receive a questionnaire should double check their spam folders, or contact russ.crespolini@patch.com for a form.

Name: Bill Greenlaw

Age (as of Election Day) 61

Position Sought Township Council

Party Affiliation NA Family I have three adult children that I raised as a single parent from the time the oldest was in 2nd grade.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? No Education Bachelor of Science, Chemical Engineering Occupation Over 35 years in the process industry (chemicals, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, food, fragrances)

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office Former School Board Director and School Board President, Delaware Valley School DIstrict. Current Trustee and former President, Lake Mohawk Country Club (a home owner associotion of 2,700 properties.)

Why are you seeking elective office? I have a passion for “building community” which means improving community engagement, improving governmental transparency, serving the diverse interests of all parts of the community. I have the interpersonal and intellectual ability to bring out the facts and openly discuss them, resulting in the best decisions possible.

The single most pressing issue facing our community is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it. Transparency. This is what I will do: 1) Improve Sparta’s website 2) Stream all meetings with video feeds. 3) ensure that the important work of the council, such as adopting the budget is done in an open manner and providing information so that citizens can ask good questions.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post? Transparency and listening to the citizens of Sparta. We have continuously heard from business owners in Sparta and citizens that productive criticism of the township is rejected.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency) Lack of transparency: 1) Meeting agendas: interpretive statements in plain English that provide an overview of resolutions, and the reasons that the resolutions may be positive for Sparta would help citizens engage the council before they make a decision. 2) Each proposed budget should be accompanied with a presentation that describes where the revenues come from and the expenditures go. The presentation should also provide a three-year graphs for the departmental spending.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform We need more attention to making sure that Sparta has sensible development while being environmentally responsible. Increasing tax ratables is desirable, but only if the costs are less than the incremental taxes projected, and the environment is not negatively affected. We should not rush to look like Essex County just to pursue ratables. Most Spartans live here because it far from the suburban sprawl to the east. We need to preserve why people choose Sparta to live!

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job? I have served on two local boards and know how to 1) listen to our constituents, 2) build a consensus while respecting the perspectives of my peers 3) learn from my peers by actively deliberating difficult decisions.

The best advice ever shared with me was: A friend related a quote from Abraham Lincoln: “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” We all need to listen well, and work to listen even better.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I work for you!