Inform The Vote

individual agenda

Community Policing - Increase police presence throughout the community and have them establish a friendly connection to the public. By establishing a friendly, communicative relationship with residents, police can become more aware about what's going on with issues such as crime, homelessness, and road safety.

Strong Coordination with County and State Representatives - Oftentimes issues going on in the city are also related to county and state jurisdictions. By maintaining strong relationships with representatives who handle different jurisdictions, problem solving will be more efficient.

Create a Citizens Community Board - In prior terms, McQuade had been involved with boards that invited members of the city to help identify issues, suggest methods for addressing those issues, and prioritize the issue. If elected, McQuade intends to establish such a board in Millville to help constituents feel heard and engaged.

Hands-On Approach With the Community - Oftentimes governments cannot be directly involved with particular issues for legal reasons, or the government based solutions can move slowly. McQuade intends to address problems directly as a citizen when appropriate, and to ask community organizations like churches to help directly address problems.

Stances on Current Issues

The below interview comprehensively goes through current issues that incumbent Ranello and current Vice-Mayor Sooy brought up to us. That list of issues can be found here. McQuade addresses them in his own words starting at about 16:00, and we have a bullet point summary of that below the video.

Disorderliness at Parks and Public Property - Increase community policing, which will help police become more directly aware of problems.

Homeless encampments - Create zoned areas where people can stay so it's contained. Coordinate with county and state representatives to figure out where homeless people are coming from, as sometimes they are bussed in from cities like Atlantic City. Establish humane treatment programs to help get the homeless back on their feet.

Economic development pros and cons - Keep commerical development to the designated areas such as the industrial parks. Coordinate with tourism areas like Cape May to help increase economic activity. Widen the junction at route 49 and route 47 to make traffic flows more appealing.

Nabb Ave Extension and it's alleged slow-moving pace - Coordinate with state and national reps like Senator Testa and Congressman Van Drew to see why it is moving slowly.

City Salary Competitiveness - The city only has so much money to work with in it's budget, so bringing the issues of crime stats and low salaries to Trenton could help make the state more aware of the city's struggles, and thereby get the state to send more money to the city.

Road Safety and Off Road Vehicles - Police Chief Harvey had a system of using unmarked vehicles to observe and report similar problems in the past. Implementing a similar system could help address this current issue.

Water and Sewage Infrastructure in Laurel Lake - Wants to keep the current expansion methods moving forward while making sure residents have an opt-out method so they are not forced to participate.

State Mandates vs Local Needs - Wants to have some known people who can act as negotiators between the state and city. This will help ensure the city is compliant without acting against it's own interests.

Experience

Former Millville Board of Education member for 9 years
Former Millville City Commissioner for 11 months
Co-founded Center City Crime Watch
Part-time police officer for 15 years

Media

When doing research for our site, we usually google each candidates name to see what we can find, with varying results. When one google's candidate McQuade, an article regarding an arrest comes up, which makes it seem as though McQuade was arrested for being involved in a bar fight. However, as per our interview with McQuade, it seems as though a fight broke out when he arrived to pick up a friend from the bar, and McQuade, a special police officer with many certifications and recognitions in the community, went to perform a citizens arrest on someone involved in the fight. He wanted us to share documentation of his creditials and recognitions to help clarify the articles online:

Vineland Police Special Officers Certification