Dem’s Bacher, Jackson Push For Change

RIO GRANDE — Steve Bacher, of Court House, and Bob Jackson, of Del Haven, Democratic challengers for the two open seats on the county freeholder board this November, are seeking to bring “new leadership, new energy” to county government.
“I honestly feel by bringing government to the people, Cape May County can thrive,” said Jackson.
Bacher, in his first run at political office in the county, says what inspired him to put his name on the ballot was wanting to contribute to solving the problem of global warming, at the local level.
“My first priority would be to look at everything the county does to see how to reduce carbon emissions,” said Bacher.
Like a “business,” county government consumes energy, Bacher said. Bringing more efficiency into county operations could make a substantial impact on the region’s carbon emissions.
“That’s what motivated me to get involved in the first place.”
Bacher has criticized his Republican opponents for not taking advantage of every opportunity in capital projects to save energy and use alternative energy sources.
Although the county has a fleet of hybrid vehicles, is now seeking to study the effectiveness of wind power in a joint venture with the county MUA, and is converting methane gas at the county landfill to energy that powers the Woodbine Developmental Center and is sold back to the regional electric grid, among some accomplishments, Bacher said there is more the county can do to reduce its carbon footprint.
He cites solar power as an example, and the new gym at the Cape May County Technical School.
“He (Ralph Bakley, Sr.) should have made sure there were solar panels,” he said, rather than having a consultant look at retrofitting the gym after the fact.
Jackson brought up county employment and affordable housing as issues. He also said he wants to bring “dignity and respect” back to county workers.
Asked what he would tell a recent college graduate about coming to live in the county, he said that lack of affordable housing was a real problem.
“I hope you’re independently wealthy. We seem to be able to make a bird preserve (Ponderlodge) but not make an affordable place to live,” he said. “They let development run rampant – we have a water problem and they point the finger at the state.”
Bacher agreed that it’s not easy for a middle class family to make ends meet in the county.
“County employees, you give them an excellent health benefit and then not pay them much; families can’t afford to live here anymore,” he said.
“When you’re paying someone $20,000 it’s easy to balance the budget, but it’s not so easy to balance the budget at home,” added Jackson.
Emergency planning is also a concern to both candidates.
Regarding the annual county hurricane conference held every fall here, both candidates feel county leadership can and should do more to prepare for a catastrophic weather event.
“I heard them say at the conference, ‘We don’t need to worry about flooding that road,’” said Bacher, referring to the intersection at Route 83 on Route 47, one of the routes out of the county and inland.
The premise, according to Bacher, was that if the road were flooded, it would be because of a serious hurricane and all county residents would have been evacuated.
“That’s a ridiculous premise,” said Bacher.
County bridges are also a concern, and both candidates question why county bridges are in such poor shape or have not yet been replaced, especially, according to Bacher, the Middle Thorofare Bridge.
“Why five years (the earliest that it would be reconstructed)?” asked Bacher. “We’re waiting for the DOT to take the lead.”
Jackson said as mayor of West Cape May he made numerous trips to Trenton that resulted in the borough receiving approximately $1.2 million for borough infrastructure improvements.
“It seems like again and again the county points to the state as a scapegoat. When you add them up there seems to be a pattern of scapegoating,” said Bacher.
Jackson served as mayor of West Cape May from 2001 – 2005, he has owned a small business in West Cape May, is a lifelong county resident, and has served as a volunteer with the County Human Relations Commission and Lower Cape May Regional Board of Education. He was president of the Board of Cape Human Resources, chairman of Legal Redress for Cape May County NAACP, and has served as a Little League coach and a basketball coach. He is a National and World Masters Champion volleyball player.
From 2003 to the present, Bacher has served as executive director of Cape May’s Center for Community Arts and is on the board of directors for the South Jersey Cultural Alliance. He was Intergovernmental Relations Officer, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and has experience bringing grants to communities for needed medical and dental services, after-school programs, drug and alcohol abuse prevention, arts and other programs.
Contact Avedissian at (609) 886-8600 Ext 27 or at: savedissian@cmcherald.com.