Five Questions for Bailey Brower, Jr.

As Bailey Brower Jr. enters into the last several months of his third term on the Chatham Township Committee, he remains hopeful about a fourth.

"There's still a lot of work to be done," Brower said, "and I think the people who got [things] started are the right ones to see [them] through."

Brower, a lifelong resident of Chatham Township, is an active business owner (he started the Noe Pond Club with his wife Taz) and local politician. He sits on the Planning Board, the Board of Health and serves as liaison to the Senior Center.

Chatham Township has changed a lot in Brower's lifetime, and in his time on the committee. He

When asked what he is the most proud of on his time on the committee, Brower immediately talks about the zero percent tax increase in the municipal budget this year. "I think it's outstanding ... for any community or any town in the state," he said. "And at the same time, [we've] accomplished major, major things."

Things such as the new turf field at Shunpike Field, the new firehouse on Southern Boulevard, working with the borough to construct a new field at Lum Avenue Field and establishing a road improvement program for the town.

Brower says he ran for his first term to try to change the attitude that Chatham residents had toward the town. "I ran on the basis of trying to make the town friendlier, make it more resident-accessible," he said. "While a great deal of that has been accomplished, there are still some areas that I think require a little bit of polish."

Brower hopes to continue on the path that the committee has charted, which includes indulging the public in their comments during the public hearings in meetings. "In some towns, if you talk for three minutes, that's it. You're done," he said.

"Never once has a citizen of this town not been given an opportunity to express his or her viewpoints. They've been treated fairly and politely," Brower said. "Yeah, we get some screwball requests, but the point is, if there's any meat to it, we try to implement the kernel of wisdom ... [into] the way we handle the township.

"You can't please all people, but you can go out of your way to accommodate them."

Brower is running for one of two available seats on the Chatham Township Committee in the upcoming primary election, to be held Tuesday. Jeff Furbish, Kathy Abbott and Laura Ali Nonnenmacher are the other candidates.