Fair Haven Borough Council Candidates: Getting to Know Democrat Sonja Trombino

With two seats for Fair Haven Borough Council up for grabs in the 2021 election, four candidates are vying, two Republicans, incumbent Betsy Koch and newcomer Tracy Cole, and two Democrats, newcomers Bob Gasperino and Sonja Trombino.

In the spirit of looking especially closely at the candidates and their views on local issues, Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect offered a detailed Q&A to each candidate that offered more of a retro twist, with a dip into the past and its effect on the present and future.

The Q&A for each will be published in the order in which answers were received. Each question and answer offers your closest look at local candidates, so here’s your opportunity to get to know them.

Here’s our chat with Fair Haven Democrat Borough Council Candidate Sonja Trombino …

Name, age, street address

I am Sonja Trombino, 53 years old and I live on Brookside Farm Road in Fair Haven.

Tell us about your educational and professional backgrounds. What about your background do you feel suits you best for a council seat? Is there something in particular you think you can bring to the dais that distinguishes you from the rest? What about your work is a little-known fact that will make you a stronger council member? Most misunderstood, or negative, aspect of your career that you think gives you an advantage as a public servant?

I have a bachelor’s degree of Science in Journalism from Southern Illinois University, and a minor in Marketing. I have certifications in Lean Six Sigma, Project Management and Product Management.

About twenty years ago, I moved to New Jersey from Chicago to work for a Financial Services firm in NYC, living in Hoboken and then Lincroft. I now work for a Biotechnology company in South Plainfield.

The Council needs a skilled candidate who will actively work for the betterment of the borough. I will utilize my professional experience to improve how the borough is run and how we engage with residents. I am the only candidate that is certified in Lean Six Sigma which is the gold standard in how to make strategic operational improvements and listen to the Voice of the Customer (in this case, Resident). Over the years, I have worked on many large-scale technology initiatives. I am the only candidate that is well versed in technology trends that can be used to modernize operations at the borough.

In addition, I am passionate about local history and I will work to ensure the character and charm of Fair Haven remains.

Where did you grow up? What about your hometown do you see in Fair Haven?

I was born in England, lived in Hong Kong as a child and became a US citizen at age 26.

Ten years ago, my husband and I moved to Fair Haven for all that the town has to offer, such as the great schools and small-town feel. We are raising our two children here.

Our daughter is a sophomore at RFH, and our son is in second grade at Sickles School. Having lived in different places around the globe, I feel so fortunate to call Fair Haven my home and to live in a community that has so much character and charm.

What was your primary impetus for running? Any specific Fair Haven issue that really lit the spark, so to speak? If an incumbent, why run for re-election? Any issue you’d like to see through to effective resolution?

A few years ago, I started to look for more information about improvements in town. For instance, I wanted to know when we would be making improvements to McCarter Pond, when the sidewalks on Fair Haven Road would be fixed, and how the town planned to improve the brush grinding operation. I started attending the Council meetings and I realized that for a small town there is a lot going on!

My highest priority will be to build a portfolio of all the upcoming borough projects, detailing any dependencies, such as grants, that are impacting deadlines. Besides providing more transparency, this will also allow our residents the opportunity to help prioritize where we spend our tax dollars and efforts.

Another focus of mine if elected is the zoning ordinance. We all share the common goal of keeping Fair Haven’s character as charming as ever.

I will also ensure that the two large construction projects (Police Department and Department of Public Works) are implemented as planned and do not go over budget; as well as the thoughtful preservation of Bi Centennial Hall.

Tell us about your involvement with the community, volunteer organizations and/or governing body boards and/or commissions. Tell us which event and/or fundraiser you feel speaks to the cause and you most and gets the most effectively accomplished.

I joined the Fair Haven Green Team to help maintain our Sustainability New Jersey Certification as well as to support environmental initiatives in town. We need to find a better way to keep our parks, ponds, streets, and river clean, and I am proud to be part of a very creative and active group of dedicated individuals.

I am also a member of the Facilities Committee and was instrumental in providing resident feedback on the new Police Department and Department of Public Works building plans.

I started helping the borough write the mayoral newsletter and other communications to ensure that the most important happenings were getting out to our residents each week. I want to see how we now improve community engagement so that residents can provide meaningful input and timely feedback on matters of public concern.

Name a local elected official, of the past or present, from the immediate Rumson-Fair Haven area who you admire most. What is it about them that inspires you? Advice or a quote from them that has stuck with you?

We are so fortunate to have so many smart and dedicated people serving in Fair Haven. When one attends any council, zoning, planning, facilities, finance, recreation, and other borough meeting, one can see the passion that all volunteers bring to Fair Haven.

I would like to recognize Chris Rodriguez who tirelessly works around the clock as the Fair Haven Council President. He is a true public servant who strives for the best for Fair Haven and our residents.

Fair Haven Borough Council members are volunteer public servants. There is no pay or health benefits involved. It is also a very time-consuming job that requires transparency and constant accessibility to the public. It’s often a thankless job. What benefit is there for you, specifically, besides the obvious serving the town in which you live?

I have over twenty years professional experience in strategy and operations. I believe we can make the borough run more efficiently, modernize operations, and develop a strategic plan that is driven by residents’ priorities.

Fair Haven celebrated its centennial in 2012. The borough is 109 years old and known for its old hometown charm. What aspect of the old Fair Haven of 25 to 109 years ago that you know or have heard of that would you like to see make a comeback if you had your way? For example … Types of businesses? More population diversity, culturally and across income brackets? Waterborne travel on the river? Bungalows? A players’ club and artistic hub, as with the old Shrewsbury Yacht Club? Use your imagination and intertwine the best of the past with the present and future of the borough in an imaginary plan.

I would like to see how we celebrate our fascinating history in Fair Haven. Restoring Bi Centennial Hall is just the beginning. It would be great to capture our history somewhere and make it available for residents and our children to learn more about where they live.

Residents have complained lately and for the past several years that there is too much bulldozing of older, smaller homes to make way for new development of residences that often end up, in the minds of some, squeezed onto a lot, overwhelming neighborhoods and stripping them of the borough’s noted quaint charm. Obviously, present planning and zoning allows for the floor area ratio to reach those limits. These planning and zoning concerns are in the process of being addressed via the borough’s development and land use ordinances on the books. What would you like to see happen with respect to changes? Do you think there is too much over-building, despite the market trends for bigger homes for bigger families?

I have heard from residents that houses are getting too high, too close to the sidewalk, too close to existing homes and that there is too much subdividing. In addition, there seems to be two set of rules – one for homeowners and another for builders. We need to strike the right balance in allowing homes to be updated and renovated while keeping the borough’s charm and character.

River time is a time-honored tradition for any Fair Haven-raised kid and their parents. In the past, kids snuck onto access points at Hance Road, Grange Avenue, and, of course, the dock and River Rats. There was always a “catch me if you can” mentality when hanging out down by the river, as the residents who lived there usually discouraged access, shooing them away from what they considered their back yards. Winifred Robards encouraged open access from her property to the river. There is now the passive Robards Williams Park at the foot of DeNormandie. The other access points, in the process of becoming pocket parks, are much smaller. Do you think the property at the end of Fair Haven Road by the dock should become a larger park if funding is available via the state’s DEP Blue Acres, Green Acres programs and/or the private Monmouth Conservation Foundation? Why or why not? These funding avenues have usually supported the purchases of riverfront property for public use.

There are so many more answers that are needed before this decision can be made. For instance, I would like to know how the park will be used, impact to residents such as parking, and how much the grant will cover. It’s a very expensive piece of property. I think more information is needed before we can determine whether this initiative should be supported.

Fair Haven has lost a lot of its senior population, some of whom have been in the borough their entire lives. It has become unaffordable for seniors on a fixed income when it used to be affordable for the middle-aged empty nesters to senior population. If you won the lottery and became a billionaire, what would you do, personally, to help your senior neighbors live their lives out in Fair Haven?

We need to look at how we can support seniors in Fair Haven. There are longer term actions the borough needs to plan for, including how we can accommodate new senior housing and support existing seniors staying in their homes. There are shorter term options that the borough should put into place. I would like to see that we bring back senior recreational events and look to offer financial incentives to help our seniors who are on a tight budget.

The new facilities plan is one that has been rehashed for some time. How do you feel about the newest plan? It calls for demolition of the present police station, which is an old segregated school, building, also once a kindergarten to many past the segregation years. Officials have said it is beyond saving, despite the history. What would you like to see on the site, incorporated into the new plan, to memorialize its history in some way?

The plans for the new Fair Haven Police Department have been approved and construction will begin soon. The Council and the Facilities Committee have done a good job engaging with the public on the plans by having multiple sessions to obtain feedback and suggestions early on. A few months ago, I met with a local historian who talked through the significance of the building. I shared my ideas with the former mayor of how we can memorize the historical significance by having a plaque at the police department site and capture the history with any artifacts and pictures at Bi Centennial Hall.

Transparency and effective communication have become key issues in borough governing. If elected, what specific ideas do you have to enhance both, keeping residents informed, engaged and involved?

It all starts with having a strategic plan that is periodically reviewed and updated with the public’s input. This will also allow our residents the opportunity to help prioritize where we spend our tax dollars and efforts.

In addition, I plan to leverage my experience in Organizational Change Management and Communications to implement improvements such as using improved meeting technologies so more people can attend meetings remotely and participate; communicate decisions and promote meetings agendas earlier and through Facebook meeting events so more people are aware, and have a place on the borough website where residents can find all of the borough projects to learn more about them and know who to contact for more information.

Fair Haven is not nearly as affordable as it was 25 to 50 years ago, but people made decisions to move there over the years based on the modest, cozy and inclusive atmosphere. In fact, it was just named the happiest town in Monmouth County. Most are happy with their decision. The present plan is just a formality that could take years or never come to fruition. It is presented to show good faith in meeting the state’s affordable housing mandate. Do you think there should be more affordable housing, including the building of smaller homes and apartments for more diverse segments of the population, as these are the elements that drew people to the borough? We know what the plan calls for. What would you, personally, like to see satisfy the need, besides sending them to another town?

The council is reintroducing the Land Use committee that will start to tackle this very complicated issue. There will need to be further conversations about the Master Plan as well.

Is there any other issue you deem critical in the borough that you would like to see addressed? Explain and take the opportunity to add anything else you would like to emphasize about your candidacy.

My highest priority will be to build a portfolio of all the upcoming borough projects, detailing any dependencies, such as grants, that are impacting deadlines.

Besides providing more transparency, this will also allow our residents the opportunity to help prioritize where we spend our tax dollars and efforts. Another focus of mine if elected is the zoning ordinance. We all share the common goal of keeping Fair Haven’s character as charming as ever.