NORTHFIELD — Ward II Councilman Greg Dewees once again is challenging City Councilman Frank Perri for the at-large seat in the election Nov. 2.
It’s a purely political move by the Republican that if successful would increase the majority party’s hold on power. There currently are four Republicans and three Democrats on the seven-member board. Mayor Erland Chau also is a member of the GOP.
A win by Dewees would eliminate one of the Democrats and allow the Republicans to appoint someone to fill Dewees’ ward seat when he moved to the at-large position, thus increasing the majority to 5-2.
Democrat Councilwoman Barbara Madden also is facing a challenge from Republican Carolyn Bucci that could tip the balance further toward the GOP, leaving just Councilman Paul Utts as the lone Democrat, a role Perri long played.
Dewees, who won re-election to a three-year term in 2019, has nothing to lose since he would keep his Ward II seat if he loses the at-large race.
Perri, 65, has owned and operated Perri Auto Service on Shore Road for the past 45 years. He and his wife, Lynn, have two children and two grandchildren.
Perri has been involved in city government for three decades. He first was elected in 1990 and then served three terms as mayor beginning in 1996. He took two years off from 2008 to 2010 and has been back since then, serving on the Public Works and Senior Citizen committees. He also is a member of the Planning Board.
Perri studied auto mechanics at the Atlantic County Vocational School and was a tech with Ford Motor Co. for many years.
He said he wants to continue serving to give back to his community by being a part of the policy- and decision-making process, noting he has never missed a meeting in 28 years.
“I enjoy being involved in the inner workings of the city,” Perri said. “My experience has shown I am a good negotiator and able to get the job done.”
Perri has been an advocate of allowing cannabis businesses to operate in the city. “It is a revenue source that will create commerce and economic windfall revenue,” Perri said.
Northfield has only in the past couple of years managed to adopt a budget without raising the tax rate but had struggled for years to do so as property values declined and taxpayers appealed their assessments.
Perri said he would “continue to assist businesses and help them to continue on in this difficult time,” as well as seek out shared services and interlocal agreements to reduce costs.
Dewees, 64, a surveying department unit supervisor for the Atlantic County Department of Engineering, Division of Planning, also has been involved in with City Council for many years. He and his wife, Jacque, have two children. They moved to the city in 1991.
Dewees first was elected to City Council in 2010 and has served continuously since that time. He was City Council president in 2017-18 and has chaired the Buildings and Grounds, Public Works, and Birch Grove Park committees every year.
“I bring with me many years of experience as a full-time public servant. This is a unique attribute not shared by any other member of City Council, past or present,” he said. “I understand the challenges of government and understand the complicated legal framework that governs the decisions elected officials must make.”
Dewees believes his experience and drive to make positive change are assets to the community.
“Because I understand what it means to serve, I take my role as an elected official very seriously — I am here to serve the taxpayers, to make their lives better,” he said.
Dewees said he puts a lot of thought into the votes he casts on City Council.
“I am an effective decision maker because I ensure that all sides of an issue are considered before formulating my own position,” he said. “I am not a reactionary person: I listen, then decide.”
The truth of that statement was borne out during the debate over cannabis businesses. Dewees voted for introduction of an ordinance that would allow certain classes of license holders to operate along part of Tilton Road. Then, a month later, he voted for introduction of an ordinance to prohibit the practice.
Introducing both ordinances was a procedural move that allowed the city to cast a final vote on either ordinance ahead of the state deadline for doing so.
When it came time for the final vote, Dewees abstained, forcing Mayor Erland Chau to cast the tie-breaker, which was for prohibition.
Asked whether he supports cannabis business, he equivocated. “This is such a difficult question. Yes, 70 percent of voters statewide, and in Northfield, voted to decriminalize marijuana, but no one was asked when they voted if they wanted it sold in their back yard,” he said.
Dewees said he thinks it’s important to bring more businesses to Northfield.
“We need revenue. Northfield does not have an expense problem; in fact we are lean. Through restructuring, effective planning and sharing services, we have had little to no increase in the local purpose tax in the past several years,” he said.
Dewees said many residents don’t realize that City Council controls only about 37 cents of every tax dollar collected.
“The other 63 cents, yes, we collect it and residents make their check payable to the city of Northfield, but that money is forwarded on to the local and regional schools, and to the county for the operation of their entities. A thriving business community brings revenue and that is what I see as a main goal,” he said. “I think we can make changes to some of our local laws to make that easier. I look forward to working with our land use board to ease some of the restrictions we have on signs for our businesses.”
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff