The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
By Donna Clott.
The candidates for Somerset County Commissioner met on the evening of September 19 at the Canal Walk clubhouse for a Candidates Forum for residents, moderated by the League of Women Voters. The current County Commissioners, Shanel Robinson and Sara Sooy, joined challengers, businessmen Nick Cuozzo and Rocky Ganta, for an evening of questions and answers.
All four candidates were allowed opening and closing statements, and each had to answer questions on issues concerning Franklin Township, and Somerset County at large. The candidates debated spending, overdevelopment, public safety, warehousing, and property taxes.
Candidate Nick Cuozzo opened by asking if residents were better off than they were six years ago, when Commissioners Robinson and Sooy took office. He mentioned the increased county budget, rising property taxes, worsening public safety, and increased overdevelopment in Franklin over the course of Robinson and Sooy’s tenure.
One of the most notable exchanges of the evening came when Cuozzo criticized Robinson and Sooy for the county’s failure to close a floodgate during Tropical Storm Ida in 2021, which resulted in property damage and a lawsuit against the county by Bound Brook residents, for which county taxpayers must bear the costs. Cuozzo cited his experience as a member of his municipal planning board in Bernards Township, and the need for leadership at the county level in planning for future storms. He additionally criticized Commissioner Robinson, who is a member of the Somerset County planning board, for failing to attend meetings for the past two years.
The challengers also pressed the incumbents on a $28,000 taxpayer-funded retirement dinner for county employees that the Board of County Commissioners approved this past May under the leadership of Robinson and Sooy as an example of excessive spending that needs to be curtailed.
Cuozzo mentioned during the course of the evening that he had experience in local, county and state government, and holds a Master’s Degree in public policy, while his running mate Rocky Ganta cited a successful 30-year career as a business owner in environmental engineering.
Ganta leaned on his additional experience as a civil engineer to advocate for improvements to infrastructure in Franklin, which he argued has not been addressed by the current County Commission under Robinson and Sooy.
While all of the candidates made a good case for themselves, Nick Cuozzo and Rocky Ganta got to the heart of the issues facing Franklin and Somerset County. I believe they will bring the change we need to the Somerset County Board of County Commissioners. I plan on voting for them in November.
