FH Borough Council Challenger Dorothy Neceda

Editor's note: Questionnaires were completed before Hurricane Sandy made landfall.

New to the Fair Haven Borough Council race, Democrat Dorothy Neceda is seeking to unseat one of the two Republican incumbents whose three-year seats are up for grabs this election.

She is one of four candidates vying for the two seats, including her running mate Susan O'Brien and the two Republican incumbents, Eric Jaeger and Robert Marchese.

Learn more from Dorothy Neceda by reading her answers to the following Patch questionnaire:

Name: Dorothy Neceda

Age: 54

Address: 43 Gillespie Ave.

Occupation: client executive with NorthgateArinso

How many years have you lived in Fair Haven? 13 years

• Please list your community affiliations, volunteer work, special interests, accomplishments while on council (special): Fair Haven Historic Preservation Commission, Fair Haven Democratic Municipal Committeewoman, District 5

• What do you feel makes you uniquely qualified for council?

I am running this year because I believe that Fair Haven must work for all of its citizens, and that having a variety of voices and diversity on the Council will ensure our leaders make the best decisions for all Fair Haven residents.  

Fair Haven has significant decisions coming up which will impact our future and the future of this town. Let's make sure that there is ample debate about these decisions, the kind of town we want, how we spend our hard-earned tax dollars, and how our government works.

• What change would you most like to affect on council in your next term and how do you propose to accomplish it?

Immediate key issues include the tree ordinance, open space, the street-scape, preserving the historic character of the town, shared services. 

The over-arching issue is:  Are we adhering to the wishes of the community and the tenets of the Master Plan, or to those of a select group of individuals?  

The decisions that the council makes regarding issues impacting the character of this town require debate, not rubber stamping. A council which is balanced will guarantee better decisions for our future.

Taxes will continue to be an issue — how do we spend our tax dollars, eliminate wasteful duplication in local government, continue to explore shared services.  These are all important matters to focus on, and I believe in continuing the hard work necessary to develop more efficient government and services.  

We need renewed focus on the Fair Haven business community to ensure that we're attracting and retaining a good base of businesses along River Road in Fair Haven. 

How do I propose to address these issues? 

All of these issues must be addressed with transparency and full debate. 

The choice facing Fair Haven voters in this election is:   do we want a council that reflects the diversity of the community, or one that reflects the agenda of one political party? 

No one argues with the value of debate when making important decisions — today's council faces little or no debate. 

Each resident of this town should demand greater visibility around the decisions their council makes.  We can do this partially through sustained community outreach and much stronger communications.

• Holding the line on taxes, preserving open space and protecting the diversity that has earned Fair Haven the distinctive reputation for being a quaint, down-to-earth town are all issues of paramount concern. How will you address these things?

For the long term, the role of the council will be to ensure our policies and ordinances adhere to the objectives of the master plan, which warns against the impact of intensification of development and the resulting loss of community character. 

The current ordinances require review and revision so that they reflect the realities and needs of the today’s community. Additionally, we need to maintain the services our town enjoys, and even enhance them. 

We also need to continue to champion the critical contributions that our community volunteers make, such as those in the Fair Haven Fire Department.   And finally, we need more innovative ideas focused on the business community, and we need to maintain, improve and grow our open, natural spaces.