Dems, GOP announce candidates for council Field of four will seek seats currently held by Grobelny, Zach BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer There will be no incumbents in this year's race for two Sayreville Borough Council seats. With councilmen Dennis Grobelny and Rory Zach choosing not to seek re-election, the Sayreville Democratic Organization has nominated Lisa Buchanan Eicher and Jorge "George" Gonzalez to seek the three-year terms. The pair will face a Republican ticket that includes one retiring Sayreville police officer and one who is retired. Detective Kenneth Kelly, who is retiring this month after 31 years with the police department, will run alongside Ronald Green, a retired police lieutenant with the same department. The Republican Party selected the two at its April 3 meeting. The Democratic Party said Grobelny, currently council president, would have been its unanimous choice to represent the party, but he decided not to seek another term because of personal reasons and family obligations. Zach had announced earlier this year that he would not seek another term. State Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski, chairman of the borough's Democratic Party, expressed confidence in the party's candidates. The party chose between Eicher, Gonzalez and Planning Board member Thomas Tighe. "We were very fortunate to have had three well-qualified candidates compete for the party nomination," Wisniewski said. "I amconfident that the committee chose well in selectingMrs. Lisa Buchanan Eicher and Mr. George Gonzalez." Gonzalez is currently the Democratic committeeman for District 30 in Sayreville. He is also a member of the borough's Board of Health, a trustee of the Sayreville Housing Seniors Corp., commissioner and vice chairman of the Sayreville Housing Authority, and he is a part-time member of the Morgan First Aid Squad. Wisniewski noted that Gonzalez, who owns a local medical-supply business with his wife, Rosario, has organizational and financial-management skills. Eicher, he said, "knows the true value of building a strong community through her dedication to youth and recreational programs in the borough." Eicher, a lifelong Sayreville resident, is the granddaughter of the late former Councilman Kenneth W. Buchanan. She serves as the Democratic committeewoman for District 27 and is an executive board member for the Sayreville Athletic Association and the Samsel Upper Elementary School PTO. Eicher is also a member of the Recreational Advisory Board and a volunteer coach for youth athletics. She has also served as a member of the Youth Guidance Council and the Sayreville Recycling Commission. As for the Republicans, Kelly is a Vietnam veteran who is active in local veterans' groups and the Knights of Columbus. He has been in leadership roles in other civic groups for several years, according to a press release from the Republican Party. "I want to use my experience in the community to make Sayreville a better place," Kelly said. Kelly raised concerns about the legal expenses of Borough Attorney Brian Hak, whose bills have been the subject of debate between the Democrats, who appointed Hak, and the Republicans, including Mayor Kennedy O'Brien. Kelly also said that there is a significant need for infrastructure improvements in town. "I would like the opportunity to work with Mayor O'Brien and his team to solve these problems," Kelly said. Green, who has run previously, is a member of the borough Planning Board and the Environmental Commission.He said his focus will be on property taxes and attracting new businesses to the borough. "If elected, I will work with the mayor and council to control taxes and attract new commercial and industrial ratables to the borough," Green said.