By Sunayana Prabhu
SHREWSBURY – Four candidates are eyeing two open seats on the borough council this year, with Mayor Kimberly Eulner running unopposed in the upcoming Nov. 5 election.
In January 2024, Eulner took the oath of office as interim mayor for the term ending in December 2026, following the resignation of Mayor Erik Anderson, who left to join the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners. In November, voters will select a candidate to complete the remaining two years of Anderson’s term, most likely Eulner, who is running unopposed.
Shrewsbury follows a borough form of government comprised of a mayor and a six-member council, with all positions elected at-large on a partisan basis during general elections. While the mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office, council members are elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle. This year, incumbent council president Donald J. Eddy (R) and council member Daniel Levy are up for reelection. They are challenged by two Democratic candidates, David Landy and Donald Sena Jr.
The Two River Times asked spoke to the candidates to get their perspective on effective governance and the impact voting can have on the community. Answers have been lightly edited for style. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
The Two River Times (TRT): Kindly share your background. What motivates you to run for elected of fice?
Donald Eddy (R): My wife and I have lived in Shrewsbury since 1988 and raised our three children here; all of whom graduated Shrewsbury Borough School and Red Bank Regional (High) School. During that time, I have volunteered as an EMT and have been the captain, president and trustee of the Shrewsbury First Aid Squad, a Cub Scout and Boy Scout leader, rec sports coach and have had the pleasure of serving on the Shrewsbury Borough Council since 2014. By day, I work as a client services executive in the telecommunications industry. I am running for reelection to continue the significant progress that we have made in Shrewsbury over the past decade.
David Landy (D): I am a longtime resident of Shrewsbury (for) 45-plus years, a father of two grown children, a psychologist (with a) Ph.D. and management consultant. Over the years, I’ve worked with a variety of people and groups to help solve personal and community problems. I have good listening and interpersonal skills. For the past several decades the borough council has had representation from only one political party. This can lead to limited points of view. I believe the council would benefit from more balanced representation and new perspectives.
Daniel Levy (R): I am a lifelong Monmouth County resident, husband, father and attorney by trade. I want to continue to serve on council to keep Shrewsbury the special place that it is for my young family and all residents. For more than a decade, volunteering as an EMT provided me an opportunity for me to give back to the community and serve others in need. Serving as a member of borough council, also a volunteer position, affords me the opportunity to continue to use my skillset and experience to help the community and keep Shrewsbury going on the right track.
Donald Sena Jr. (D): I was born and raised in New Jersey and, after living in several cities in my 20s and early 30s, I chose to return to New Jersey to raise my own family. I am married with two boys, ages 18 and 14. I have been an executive in the content, journalism and technical space for a few decades; I worked at Microsoft Corporation for over 20 years in a variety of capacities. I currently run my own successful consulting and publishing small business. I am a big believer in volunteer work and have spent many years coaching for Shrewsbury recreation and, for the last four years, I was the president of the Junior Bucs Youth Wrestling Program, serving Shrewsbury, Red Bank and Little Silver. I have chosen to run for borough council because I believe I can bring fresh perspectives and new ideas to our great town. The Borough of Shrewsbury has had 100% Republican rule on the council and as mayor for decades. This town needs diversification of views and fresh perspectives on all matters. For the last decade or so, there’s been a ton of “groupthink” on all issues with differing and valuable perspectives never getting serious consideration.
TRT: What do you think are the most pressing issues in the borough where you would like to see a change?
Eddy: Shrewsbury is an awesome place to live and raise a family, so I don’t think that there needs to be an overhaul of anything. The Council has accomplished a tremendous amount since I began serving and the town is on the right track. We have made infrastructure improvements every year on a rolling basis and will continue to do so. Continued development of a sense of community through programs recently rolled out by the Council including park improvement, community events like Concerts in the park, good communication with our residents and an enhancement of the Shrewsbury brand to reflect that sense of community are programs that I plan to continue to support while in office.
Landy: Traffic on Broad Street, which at times is dangerous and bifurcates our community. We need to work with our neighboring towns and county and state representatives to improve roads, safety and traffic flow in anticipation of Netflix and retail development at the Fort. For example, this would involve addressing the abandoned oil change building and seeing if the county or state would help buy it in order to make a right turn lane to reduce backup on 35.
Improving communication between citizens and council, e.g., make it known how to volunteer for committees, publicize council meetings and agendas, go back to live stream of meetings.
Cleaning up Parker Creek.
Levy: First and foremost, to keep taxes down. I think the borough has done a great job in passing budgets that keep Shrewsbury a great place to live by maintaining the services provided to our residents without increasing spending significantly. We need to continue to do our part to keep municipal spending in check since most of the property taxes are imposed by other taxing authorities or are fixed external costs. I would also like to continue to improve upon our safe routes to school. It is a wonderful sight to see so many of our SBS students walking and riding their bikes to school, but we must remain vigilant in making sure that our kids – and all residents – have the ability to travel safely throughout the borough.
Sena Jr.: Aside from the “groupthink” mentioned above, some of the pressing issues where I would like to see council get involved is with communicating with our neighboring towns about the Fort redevelopment and its environmental impact on the area. Local outreach to express concerns over the traffic and environmental issues are something I would like to see addressed. Netflix development isn’t in Shrewsbury, but the effect of its development has a huge effect on our quality of life. Historically, there’s a fish die-off issue in Parkers Creek. Do the developers know about this? Are they planning on doing something about it? The lighting along the promenade is very bright and the homes and wildlife on the other side of the creek in Shrewsbury are being affected by it. How can we work together with other municipal governments to address these issues?
There’s an abandoned Jiffy Lube on the corner of Broad Street and White Road. I propose to work with state, county and local officials to possibly see if there is a way to use that land to add a right turn lane to Broad to alleviate the traffic buildup into Red Bank from the train and lights. Traffic will only get worse throughout Shrewsbury as the Fort is developed.
TRT: What would you like to shield from budget cuts in the borough?
Eddy: The Shrewsbury Borough Council budget only includes the municipal portion of your property tax bill. To that end, most of the budgeting is focused on delivering services our residents value, such as a police department for safety and security, Department of Public Works that supports our parks, leaf and brush collection, building and grounds, and community event programs. I will work to ensure we deliver those core services to the best of our ability and continue to right-size the budget to deliver extortionary value for each tax dollar.
Landy: My running mate and I agree that police, fire and EMT funding should not be cut and protected in the budget. They are the backbone of a safe and thriving community.
Levy: Our police department does an amazing job of keeping all residents within the borough safe. This issue is particularly important to me as a husband and father. I believe that the council rightfully supports our amazing police and I intend to continue to invest in public safety if reelected.
Sena Jr.: Cuts to police, fire and EMT departments should be off the table, especially with the increase in break-ins across the borough. My running mate and I would like to look for additional places to share services and make sure that the borough properly explores the ability to acquire the property next to Manson Park to increase open space.
TRT: What do you like about living in Shrewsbury?
Eddy: Having lived and volunteered in the borough for quite some time, I find it big enough to deliver value-added services that are unique to Shrewsbury (weekly bulk pick-up, continuous brush collection) while still providing the feel of a small, connected community. Like me, I see new residents planting roots in town who value these services, and the small town feel that Shrewsbury has.
Landy: I am grateful to be living in Shrewsbury. It is beautiful, safe and convenient to shopping and culture (theater and library). It is easily accessible to county parks, the Jersey Shore and NYC. The Shrewsbury Borough School and local high school are very good. It is surrounded by other lovely and diverse communities.
Levy: Shrewsbury’s close-knit community feel makes it special. My wife and I are raising our daughter in Shrewsbury, along with so many other young families for this reason. Shrewsbury’s community spirit has increased over the past year with the introduction of the Memorial Day picnic, concert series and art show, all of which bring us together. It gives me a sense of pride to respond to someone’s question asking where I live (by) saying ‘Shrewsbury Borough.’
Sena Jr.: I love the people of this town first and foremost – there is so much caring and concern for our neighbors and not all towns experience that. Also, I love the K-8 school and believe we should do everything in our power to preserve the Shrewsbury Borough School. Both of my kids graduated from SBS and I want to ensure the school thrives in the future, even if I don’t have kids that attend now.
The article originally appeared in the October 17 – October 23, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
