CLAYTON Two candidates are running for mayor and four candidates are vying for two open council seats in the borough this year. The Times asked each one for biographical information and for his or her priorities for the township if elected.

Incumbent Democrat Steven Carr has been serving as the borough's mayor since August, when former Mayor Melissa Hoffman resigned. He has been a Clayton resident for 36 years and has served as a member of the Clayton Volunteer Crime Watch and as an associate member of the Clayton F.O.P. Lodge #130. He has been married to wife Carol for 31 years and has two children, Steve and Nick.

Incumbent Democrat Kim Robinson has been a resident of the borough for 45 years and has been employed by Deluxe Corporation for 25 years. She has been married to husband Rob for 27 years and is mother to April, Trish and Robbie and grandmother to Jayda.

And incumbent Democrat Franklin Brown is a police lieutenant with 18 years of law enforcement experience and has volunteered with the Gloucester County Safe Schools Committee, the Gloucester County Tolerance Project, the Glassboro Police Athletic League and was a past member of the Delsea Regional High School Board of Education.

Carr, Robinson and Brown chose to address the issues together, and named taxes, public water supply and youth programs as three of their main priorities.

They said that, as council members, they realize their responsibility to maintain a stable municipal tax rate and they think that two strategies Ð commercial/economic growth and shared services Ð will prove effective. They plan to work with other key officials and communicators to promote growth in the borough and will seek to identify opportunities to share services and resources with other municipalities, the county and the school district to maximize efficiency and implement cost-saving measures.

They said that some of the borough's sources of public water supply have rising sodium levels that have exceeded standards set by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and they are working to rehabilitate problem wells and working with the NJDEP and surrounding municipalities to meet water supply needs.

Finally, they said there have been many improvements to youth athletic fields and facilities in the past few years, and they intend to continue the trend with the development of programs designed to build leadership and character as well as promote health and wellness.

Republican Jeff Radio is running for mayor. The assistant vice president or Sun National Bank lives in town with wife Nancy and volunteers as an active community and business advocate, the president of the Cedar Green Cemetery Association, the secretary of the historic advisory/preservation committee, the editor of the Clayton historic preservation newsletter, a committee member of the Friends of Clayton Public Schools and the district growth planning committee.

Radio thinks the three biggest issues in Clayton are the water supply, the downtown business district and open space.

"Our high sodium content is forcing Clayton to strategically replace its well pumps," said Radio. "Though this is a necessity due to their age and pumping capacity, our current mayor and council are still looking into the option of signing an agreement with NJ American Water."

Radio said he doesn't support this option.

"I would aggressively work with the DEP to look at every reasonable option possible to avoid signing an agreement with a water company that pulls their supply from the Delaware River, where Philadelphia allows their sewerage overflow to go."

Radio feels that the current administration has walked away from the $1 million Downtown Beautification Project.

"It was put into place with new decorative sidewalks, trees, lamp poles and benches and paid for through federal and county grants, as well as local tax dollars," said Radio. "Their focus is to build business on South Broad Street; a residential street that connects with Franklinville. I am for providing incentives, a hand-holding process, and for revising town ordinances to help stimulate our downtown. We need to replace our empty store fronts with viable businesses and market our downtown as other towns have. Obviously, the more ratables we have the better we can control our residential taxes from increasing."

Radio also said that one-third of the borough's overall acreage is encompassed by parks and lakes and that the current administration has "refused" to perform an environmental impact study that would enable the town to possibly limit future development, such as Berks Walk and a second phase of Rustic Village.

"The time is now to protect our open space and limit future development that may negatively impact our town's resources."

Republican Nancy Krimm is retired and currently volunteers with the blind, elderly and disabled, is a back-up driver for Serve-a-Tray for seniors, is a member of the National Rifle and Air Force associations, served on the Cedar Green Cemetery Association board of trustees and served on the Clayton Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

She said her focus will be on taxes, crime watch and Clayton as a town of generations.

"It is essential that Clayton stabilize its taxes by paying more attention to its downtown business district," said Krimm. "Clayton must not forget about the need to attract ratables to offset tax increases that have occurred year after year. Our seniors are being taxed out of their homes because our town has ignored the potential of our downtown. Our neighboring towns are growing their business districts significantly, while we are still looking at vacant properties. We need to provide incentives and revise our town's ordinances to transition our bland downtown into a viable and prosperous one."

Krimm is also in favor of building relationships throughout the community to stimulate interest in protecting its streets.

"I believe that it takes a village and not one person to care and volunteer their efforts to deter crime in our community," said Krimm. "We need ÔTown Watch' signs throughout our town that show our locals and out-of-towners that we are watching them and we will not put up with criminal mischief within our community."

Krimm said that council needs to work to transition Clayton from a "bedroom community" to a business community.

"Being a lifetime resident of Clayton I had the opportunity to see our residents live, shop, work and play within our own community," said Krimm. "We need to conquer the stagnant growth of Clayton's Corporate Business Center and bring in new opportunities for our residents, so we can again be self sustainable."

Republican candidate Raymond "Pat" Simkins is an industrial equipment technician who lives in town with his wife, Susan. They have three children: Patrick, 30; Heather, 25, and Haley, 11. Simkins has served on the Planned Communities committee, is a member of the National Marrow Donor Program and is president of the Clayton Republican Club.

"'I intend to implement an aggressive marketing strategy aimed at aiding our struggling business community and attracting new businesses to our business district, thereby helping to keep property taxes in check," said Simkins. "I would also reintroduce the anti-nepotism ordinance to prevent any further abuse of power by our elected official and limit any further large scale residential development which would negatively effect our already overburdened school system and infrastructure."