Six vie for county freeholder seats

The following candidates are running for three seats on the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES

Stephen J. "Pete" Dalina Age: 77

Residence: Fords, Woodbridge

Occupation: Retired bar and restaurant owner

Position: Freeholder since 1990; deputy director since 1994; chairman of the Department of Parks and Recreation

Listed accomplishments: Increasing the county park system from 4,500 acres to 6,670 acres; dedication of the John A. Phillips Open Space Preserve in Old Bridge; created a waterfront park in Sayreville; establishment of the Roosevelt Care Center in Edison

Other political positions: Woodbridge Planning Board member in the 1960s; Woodbridge councilman for 12 years

Community involvement: Chief of the Fords Fire Company for 27 years; former president of the fire company; St. Joseph's High School Fathers' Club president for 12 years; president of the Fords baseball league; member and vice president of the Fords Lions Club

Campaign issues: Preserving natural resources; keeping Middlesex County green; potential new hospital facility in Old Bridge with 185 beds; keeping traffic moving; limiting saturation of land from housing developments

Blanquita B. Valenti Age: 73 Residence: New Brunswick

Occupation: Retired educator

Position: Freeholder for three years; chairman, Department of Human Services; chairman, Department on Aging

Community involvement: New Brunswick City Council member since 1990; co-founder of the Puerto Rican Action Board of New Brunswick; member of the Visiting Nurse Association of New Jersey; representative for Middlesex County to the New Jersey Association of Counties; trustee for the New Brunswick Sister Cities Association; trustee of the Saint Peter's University Hospital board for nine years; board of trustees for the Middlesex County College for 13 years; member New Brunswick Planning Board; member Human Relations Commission of New Brunswick

Listed accomplishments: Started Housing First program to combat homelessness in the county; counseling senior citizens on Medicare changes; volunteer for Meals on Wheels, which supplies meals to 4,000 senior citizens throughout the county; provided translation services in Spanish, Russian, Polish and Gujarati; constructing a level playing field at the Roosevelt Park in Edison for children with disabilities

Campaign issues: Limiting tax increases; combating homelessness; acquiring funding for children and family services and prevention of juvenile delinquency; gang prevention through middle school programs; working with the Council for Children's Services to help incarcerated juveniles readapt to life after their rehabilitation; working with the Middlesex County Commission for Persons with Disabilities to aid visually impaired, hearing-impaired, wheelchair-bound or mentally ill residents; organizing seminars for abused children; funding the augmentation of law enforcement agencies in order to combat drugs and guns

Christopher D. Rafano Age: 46

Residence: South River

Occupation: Attorney; former municipal prosecutor; former Planning Board attorney in South Plainfield

Political positions: Freeholder since 1998; chairman of the Department of Law and Public Safety since 1998; recently appointed by Gov. Jon Corzine to serve on a commission for teen driving safety; South River councilman 1993-98; council president in South River 1997

Community involvement: South River Little League board of directors; member of the South River Historical and Preservation Society

Listed accomplishments: Securing Homeland Security grants; training and equipping first responders; integrating county and municipal law enforcement agencies; improving efficiency at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center, including video visitations and video arraignments; maintaining a state-ofthe art fire academy; increasing educational opportunities with the county vocational and technical schools; implementing the Tech 2000 program, which placed a computer in every county classroom; providing municipalities with grant money for improved recreation and open space

Campaign issues: Stabilizing the county tax rate; continuing the county's bond rating through financial stability and good budgeting; continuing the second lowest per-capita cost of county government in New Jersey; continuing the preservation of open space and improvements to recreational facilities; increasing green technology with hybrid vehicles and alternative fuel; constructing a 180-bed extended-care facility in Old Bridge; continuing services and quality of life at an affordable cost to residents

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES

Geoffrey Champion Age: 48

Residence: South Plainfield

Occupation: Over six years in financial management; over 20 years in sales; former functional manager with MetLife in Piscataway; currently a mortgage salesperson with a national banking company

Community involvement: Buddy Ball coach in Edison; member of the Parents Organization of the J.P. Stevens High School band in Edison in the late 1990s; campaign volunteer for the South Plainfield Republican Organization; candidate for South Plainfield Borough Council in 2002; candidate for Freeholder in 2006

Campaign issues: Creating an ethicsdriven approach to county government; ending pay-to-play-influenced no-bid contracts; eliminating dual office holding and dual pension plans; going to a zerobased budgeting process; abolishing acceptance of funds from developers; creating safer roadways; keeping money designated for certain projects within those budgets and not used for miscellaneous projects; updating evacuation routes out of the county in case of a flood or emergency; correcting the mismanagement of taxpayer money; ensuring proper pickup of recyclable items

Daniel S. Kerwin Residence: Old Bridge

Occupation: Groundskeeper

Community involvement: Director of the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers; The Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh; New Jersey Education Association; past president of the Jamesburg Civic Association; Central Jersey Rail Coalition; former member of the Milltown Revitalization Committee; former member of the South Brunswick Shuttle Bus Task Force

Campaign issues: Carrying over surplus for use the following year for the same purposes, instead of reassigning money to unrelated projects; reinforcing passenger rail lines; expanding county bus routes; improving roadways, since the Department of Transportation lists Middlesex County as the second-worst county for automobile accidents, injuries and fatalities, with a combined total of 30,000 in 2006 alone; developing new parking areas or park-and-rides; creating green pathways to reduce vehicular traffic; seeking cooperation from neighboring counties; creating employment opportunities through a better business environment

John A. Rucki

Residence: Sayreville

Occupation: Over 30 years of experience in the private sector management positions of chemical manufacturing, environmental management and remediation, health and safety management and Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulatory management

Affiliations: Member and past chairman of the Sayreville Zoning Board of Adjustment since 2001; member and president of a Morris County municipality council for eight years; Board of Health chairman in Morris County for two years; member of the Multi-Family Dwelling Advisory Committee in Morris County for two years; former member of the Solid Waste Advisory Council in Morris County

Community involvement: Former trustee of the Colony Club Homeowners Association in Sayreville; former trustee and president of the Main Street Homeowners Association in Sayreville; trustee of the New Jersey Citizens for Immigration Control in Carlstadt

Campaign issues: Focusing on a zerobased budgeting process; ensuring taxpayer return on investments; evaluating the effectiveness of county programs; restoring ethics to county government; banning dual office holding for elected officials who hold a county job, thereby eliminating double pension plans; improving prevention programs through the Department of Homeland Security, such as enabling county officers to work with federal law enforcement agents to remove criminal illegal aliens from the streets.