One school of thought on candidates for government service suggests that people with prior experience in local government and/or local politics are best qualified.
Another suggests that people with business experience are uniquely suited to make government run more efficiently.
On November 7, voters in Hillside will be able to choose a candidate for town council, from the 4th Ward, who can fairly claim to represent both approaches.
David Feuerstein, a 13-year resident of Hillside, has served on the Zoning Board in town for the last six years and has been involved in the Hillside Democratic Party for 10 years; in July of this year, he was elected vice chairman of the local Democratic Party.
In his work on the Zoning Board, Feuerstein studied and approved a few high profile projects such as a new Cubesmart location, the takeover and clean-up of a U-Haul facility, the site approval of a new Urgent Care Center, and the expansion of the Elizabeth Yeshiva, Be’er Yitzchok, to a new location in town.
Feuerstein is also a successful insurance broker. He worked for Brown and Brown Metro, one of the top 10 national brokers, for 12 years and was a top producer for the firm before leaving amicably to start his own successful firm two years ago.
Feuerstein has considerable experience working with commercial businesses and with public entities such as townships, municipalities and boards of education. He has assisted the Borough of Roselle Park, Roselle, the Roselle Board of Education, Hillside Township and the Hillside Board of Education in obtaining reliable insurance coverage at reasonable costs. In his overall work with Hillside, he was able to save a staggering $3M for the taxpayers by negotiating with unions as well as multiple presentations to the administration and various departments.
Feuerstein takes pride in his ability to listen to people representing different viewpoints on an issue and to find ways for people to work together towards mutually beneficial outcomes. As an example of this talent, he shared with The Jewish Link his work to have the township install a crosswalk on Salem Ave, by the Bruriah High School for Girls, a project that was stalled for years due to “politics.”
“Together with Rabbi Shapiro, the executive vice president of the JEC, the safety concerns were laid out for the mayor and her team,” Feuerstein said. “Life safety should never be political and the project was approved and completed shortly thereafter.”
Feuerstein’s keen skills as a listener who engages well with others is evident in his work as a volunteer chaplain. He received training from the New Jersey and New York State Chaplain Group, Inc and strives to be a community resource. He provides support through phone calls to active and retired military, police and fire department officers and is furthering his chaplain work in the prison system.
A dedicated family man, Feuerstein and his wife Aliza, a physical therapist, have five children between the ages of 2 and 14, who attend the Jewish Educational Center school system. They are members of Adath Israel Congregation on North Ave., where Aliza serves as a member of the shul’s board of directors and Sisterhood. Feuerstein has served on the board of directors of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest for six years and also participates in their young leadership group.
On his campaign website (https://councilmandavid.com), Feuerstein identifies three top issues:
- Stabilizing taxes, stating “Raising taxes is not a sustainable solution.”
- Bringing new and creative solutions to solve old problems, like making the town “developer-friendly” and improving the belabored approval process.
- Good government. He asserts “lack of accountability and transparency have been the bottle-neck of almost every council meeting. We have been at a standstill for the past six years. It’s time for someone with the energy and interest in moving the town forward, quickly and efficiently. Political differences have held us back for too long and we need someone who is up to the challenge of bridging the council members as well as the administration. The work has already begun.”
He cites as his goals to bring developers to invest in the town and capital projects, including the town pool which has been a major point of contention between the mayor and the residents, to make an impact on ratables and improve the aesthetics of the town which have long been neglected; to streamline the approval and administrative processes which will in turn lead to overall revenue for the town to reinvest, to improve coordination between the township and the county, to tap into underutilized services; and to reduce overspending in the township budget.
For more information on David Feuerstein and his candidacy for the 4th Ward position on the Town Council of Hillside, please visit his website or send him email at [email protected]
