Vahalla to make a primary challenge for mayor Will face party-endorsed Dacey for Democratic nod for mayor BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer METUCHEN - Longtime Councilman Thomas Vahalla announced recently that he would vie for the Democratic Party mayoral seat in the Democratic primary in June against Councilman Timothy Dacey, who was given the party's endorsement in March to run for mayor in November. Vahalla, who put his name in seeking the party's endorsement after learning that Mayor Edmund O'Brien opted not to seek a fourth term as mayor this year due to personal reasons, said he put a lot of thought and weighed the decision heavily to run for mayor after he did not win the Democratic Party's endorsement at the Democratic Committee meeting on March 12. "I talked it over with my family and close friends," said Vahalla, who announced his candidacy on April 14 in the parking lot of the Megumi Restaurant on Center Street. "After the committee meeting, I received numerous phone calls from people who said I should run, and I think I made a good decision." Dacey, who has been a councilman since he won the council seat in 2005, received the party's endorsement only a week after O'Brien announced that he would not seek a fourth term as mayor. Incumbent Councilman Alan Grossman and newcomer Beatrice Moskowitz will run for the two three-year council seats that are to be contested in the fall. The Republicans have a full slate for November with Steven Shapiro, who ran for a council seat last year, running for the four-year mayoral term and newcomers William Waldron and Christopher Morrison seeking the two three-year council terms. Originally, three council members, Dacey, Richard Dyas, and Vahalla, were seeking the Democratic Party's endorsement. The 25-member committee screened all three candidates before giving the endorsement to Dacey. Dacey said that he was excited to be the party's choice for mayor. "I've got a good team, and I look forward to running with them," Dacey said. Vahalla, a 33-year resident of the borough with 14 years on the council, said knowing the borough and the different issues around the neighborhood are key for him. "I believe the next mayor in Metuchen must know and understand this community, history, and people in order to make not only the tough choices, but the right ones as well," he said. Vahalla said he would like to see a more open government. "We need to have a better dialogue with the public," he said. "There's not a lot of public input, and we need to work on that because public input makes better and more acceptable solutions." Vahalla said he would continue the borough's fiscal responsibility. "As a member of the council, we have run a tight ship; however, there needs to be spending involved to save money," he said. "For example, during my second term as a liaison to the senior citizens commission, calls were coming in from residents who said they could not read the fliers and newsletters that were going out to residents because the commission was using an old machine. I asked [Borough Administrator] Bill Boerth how much was the machine costing taxpayers' money, and he said close to a tax point. That's when we decided to purchase a high-powered Xerox machine, which is not only used by the senior citizens commission, but has been used by the Recreation Department, and we have run off the recycling calendars. We have spent some costs, but in the long run, it reduced the costs." Vahalla said residents have come to him with issues on traffic and speeding. "Police enforcement is key," he said. "We have to make sure the officers run radar on the roads that are used as thoroughfares such as Woodbridge Avenue." In his 14-year tenure on the council, Vahalla has served as liaison to both the Youth Services Board and the Senior Citizens Commission. "It has given me invaluable insight into the needs of all generations of Metuchen," he said. "I understand and respect our community's historic past and will be actively engaged in protecting Metuchen's future.