Issues

Since I was sworn-in in January 2010, I am proud of the work I have done as a member of the Westfield Town Council. Some of my accomplishments are:

Keeping Westfield Great

In the September 2011 issue of New Jersey Monthly magazine, Westfield was named the “Best Medium-Sized Town in New Jersey” (population of 30,000 69,999), and #12 overall in their “Top Towns” list. I continue to work hard to make Westfield the best town in New Jersey.

Controlling Municipal Spending

I continue to ensure that Westfield’s government is run efficiently and effectively without the loss of essential services to our residents. As an example of this approach, during my three years as a member of the Westfield Memorial Library Board of Trustees, our Board returned approximately $366,000 in surplus funds to assist the Town’s finances. In addition, I supported a government hiring freeze to reduce the burden on the Westfield taxpayers. I continue to look for creative ways to control property taxes.

Communication

Since 2005, I have volunteered with Mayor Andy Skibitsky at his weekly Saturday morning office hours and I have met with hundreds of residents to hear their thoughts for improving our town. I continue to offer weekly office hours, and I encourage you to contact me with your ideas by email or via Twitter @KeithLoughlin.

Environmental

I support environmentally responsible initiatives, and I am working for Westfield to attain Sustainable Jersey certification so that our town will qualify for additional state grants to save money and improve our environment. As a member of the Westfield Memorial Library Board of Trustees, I helped bring solar panels to the Westfield Library to reduce our energy costs.

High School Parking

As Vice Chair of the Public Safety and Parking Committee, I am working to improve traffic and pedestrian safety surrounding the high school. Our Council has designated the entire high school parking grid to be reviewed by our town’s traffic safety professionals, and we are partnering with the Board of Education to bring about a permanent solution for residents and students. I will not rest until we solve this long-standing problem.

Partnering with our State Officials

As Policy Director to Assemblyman Jon Bramnick, I have strong relationships with elected officials throughout our State. When the Westfield Armory proposed to construct a 150 foot tall cell tower on the grounds of the Rahway Avenue complex, I immediately reached out to Senator Tom Kean, Assemblyman Jon Bramnick and Assemblywoman Nancy Muñoz for help in defeating this proposal. Together, we successfully stopped construction of the Armory Cell Tower and preserved the quality of life and property values of the neighborhood.

Road Paving

As a member of the Public Works Committee, I continue to explore ways to increase the number of roads paved each year while reducing costs to our residents, including sharing paving resources with Union County and surrounding towns. In addition, our downtown was recently paved through shared service agreements, a hallmark of my campaign platform.