Republican Mayoral candidate Suzanne Brennan received $5,500 in campaign donations from a PAC funded primarily by Lakewood builders and developers, according to official campaign finance reports filed on October 8th. The money was donated to “Friends of Suzanne Brennan for Mayor” by the “Ocean County Strong” PAC, which is operated by prominent Lakewood attorney Ian Goldman.
Ocean County Strong received a majority of their donations from Lakewood engineers, builders and developers, including Mizz Construction, Platinum Developers, Accurate Builders, Somerset Development, and Regency Development. These companies have built thousands of high-density housing units in Lakewood.
“Candidates who take large amounts of money from developers are not looking out for residents. They are looking out for developers.”
– John Hughes, Former Director of Ethics, Training, & Investigations at Rutgers Univ.
Howell residents are concerned that the developers are now looking for building opportunities in Howell as the remaining buildable land in Lakewood vanishes.
John Hughes, former Director of Ethics, Training, & Investigations at Rutgers University stated, “These developers give money to political campaigns because they believe it will help their business. It may not be illegal, but it doesn’t mean it’s ethical. Candidates who take large amounts of money from developers are not looking out for residents. They are looking out for developers.”
Brennan, a Republican, is challenging incumbent Mayor Theresa Berger in the election on November 3rd.
Berger, a Democrat, was first elected in 2016 running on a platform of stopping the construction of high-density residential housing.
Berger’s efforts to stop development were largely successful until 2020, when over her objections, the Republican Council members approved 821 apartment units on two separate sites. The projects were approved in 3-2 votes, with Democrats Berger and Councilman John Bonevich voting no and with Republican Council members Pamela Richmond, Thomas Russo, and Evelyn O’Donnell voting yes. Councilwoman O’Donnell is running for re-election this November and is being challenged by newcomer Andre de Garmeaux.
Democrats Berger and de Garmeaux have sought to frame the campaign mainly on the issue of overdevelopment. Their slogan in the upcoming election is “Stop the Building.” Republicans Brennan and O’Donnell campaign literature states that they will “prevent high density development by standing up to greedy developers,” but the discovery of the campaign donations from Lakewood developers has led many voters to question their sincerity.