Press

ROXBURY, NJ - Four candidates, three At-Large and one Ward, announced this week that they are running for seats on the Roxbury Town Council this November.

Corine Borrero, Brian Considine and Jen Cooper have filed to run for the three At Large seats while Keith Griffin is running in the special election for Ward 1.  Their campaign, Roxbury Democrats for Council, officially kicked off after the NJ primary.

Corine Borrero, an At Large candidate, was recently re-elected as the Roxbury Township Democratic Committee chair. Working with her church, she has organized and contributed to numerous outreach projects. Corine regularly attends council, planning, and zoning board meetings and is committed to bringing her voice to a leadership role by serving on Town Council.

“I will do the work and ask questions, get input from all in Roxbury Township while seeking answers that will work today and fall in line with our goals for the future,” Borrero says.  “I was raised to value discussion and diversity of thought. My family believes that everyone benefits when problems are thoroughly discussed before arriving at an answer. We believe that the best answers are win-win. There is a lack of issue discussion in the current Town Council, largely because the current Council does not reflect the demographics of the township it seeks to serve. Unfortunately, the same can be said of most of our Town committees, commissions, and boards.”

Corine Borrero and her husband live in Succasunna.  They have 2 adult children, both Roxbury High School graduates, and 2 children in elementary school.  She is the office manager at a non-profit, responsible for many areas of that business, including budgeting and project management.

Brian Considine, a 2019 Ward candidate for Town Council and currently running in the At Large race, is a financial analyst at Novartis, tracking budgets in excess of $100M looking at productivity and efficiency.  He attends town council meetings, as well as planning board meetings, to have a better understanding of our local government planning.  His interest and skills in problem determination and problem solving are invaluable.

Considine’s professional experience reflects his concerns with how things are going.  “I believe that Roxbury’s best days are ahead of it.  I also believe the time has come for leadership that embraces challenges rather than doing the bare minimum.  Our town needs to look beyond the way we’ve been doing things for so long.  There are solutions and options we ought to look closely at and tap into. Roxbury is more than one upgraded strip mall.  I also want to work with the many people and parts of town that are currently ignored or short changed.”

Jen Cooper is a candidate in the At Large race.  She and her family live in Succasunna. Jen is involved with the Roxbury Public Library’s Common Grounds planning team, started a diversity committee with her children’s school’s PTA and was a volunteer coach for Roxbury Soccer.

Cooper grew up in a family-owned business in Sussex County and, after college, transitioned into international and multi-state corporations.  She is in her 13^th year with a global energy company, currently serving as a Director.  She has an extensive skill set in utilities management, contracting/procurement, process engineering, and organization design.

Jen and her husband moved to Roxbury from Brooklyn to raise their two young mixed-race boys, one of whom is a special-needs child.  Jen Cooper continues to recognize the importance of being an advocate and active part of the changes that she wants to see in the world.  She says that she and her husband chose to live in Roxbury because of the potential they saw here.  “I believe we can’t change things by doing the same things we’ve done before, with the same local leadership we have had for over 20 years. I want to bring representation of working mothers and diverse families into our local government,” Jen explains.

Keith Griffin, recently re-elected as the Roxbury Township Democratic Committee vice-chair, lives in Landing with his wife and their 2 young daughters.  They enjoy hiking in Hopatcong State Park, kayaking on the Musconetcong Lake, and supporting local businesses.  Their life in Landing has made Griffin keenly aware of the many issues that Ward 1 regularly faces.  These concerns were also brought to his attention by fellow residents during his run in the 2019 Ward race and from the economic effects brought on by the pandemic.

“Ward 1 is a dynamic community with limitless potential. We have lagged behind the other wards in business development and infrastructure, despite being a prime location with two beautiful lakes. Our lakefront properties were heavily impacted by the tax assessment with little in return. We need leadership that will demand Ward 1 has an equal seat at the table. We need leadership that drives opportunity and looks ahead, instead of accepting what has been. We need leadership that will help set a bold agenda for all wards, so that everyone in Roxbury can prosper. If we do this, while listening to all members of the community, we can build a better Ward 1 and a better Roxbury.”

Griffin has worked in technology consulting and implementation for almost a decade.  His professional experience includes working with a number of Fortune 100 companies, focusing on infrastructure, banking, and healthcare systems.  He has a degree in Biology and an M.B.A. in Business Administration, giving him a broad background in business management, science, and technology.

More information about the candidates and their campaign can be found at  www.voteroxbury.com