Dems pick college official as replacement
Anthony Lazroe to step in for Fred Underwood on ticket
BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer

BRICK TOWNSHIP - Democratic candidate Anthony Lazroe wants residents to know he takes his quest for a seat on the Township Council very seriously.

"I want to make it very clear I'm not just a fill-in," he said. "I'm not just a line on a piece of paper."

The local Democratic Municipal Committee tapped Lazroe late last week to replace the ailing Fred Underwood in the race for one of the four seats on the Township Council.

Underwood, who served two terms on the Township Council, withdrew from the race recently after he learned he had prostate cancer.

"I feel great," Underwood said. "Unless I was told, I wouldn't even know I was sick."

Lazroe, 63, just started a new job as director of the Office of Grants and Contracts at Monmouth University, West Long Branch, a week ago. Prior to that, he was the development coordinator within the College of Education and Human Services at Montclair State University. He served as Brick's director of community services from 1984 to 1992.

Lazroe has never held public office, but he was a Township Council candidate for several months back in 2005. When former Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli said he would not seek a fourth term, Councilwoman Kathy Russell was nominated for mayor, and Lazroe was one of four nominated for a Township Council seat. But Scarpelli then changed his mind, so Russell stepped aside in order to allow let him run for re-election. Lazroe then withdrew so that Russell could run for a council seat again.

"Kathy didn't ask me to step down," he said. "I said, 'No, you run, I'll step down.' "

Lazroe said he hopes to restore civility to Township Council meetings.

"We have one of the most divisive governing bodies I've ever seen," he said. "The lack of civility, the lack of respect. There are some very divisive people."

Lazroe also said he is disappointed by the GOP's efforts to tie Mayor Daniel J. Kelly and the other Democratic council candidates to Scarpelli.

"The only one responsible for Joe Scarpelli's actions is Joe Scarpelli," he said. "It has nothing to do with us. Comparing Dan Kelly to him, it's like comparing white and black and saying they are the same thing."

Scarpelli resigned last December for "personal reasons." But he pleaded guilty in federal court in January to taking bribes from an unnamed developer. His sentencing has been postponed twice. The GOP-dominated council selected Kelly to serve as mayor until November, when an election will be held.

Underwood, who served two terms on the council, did not seek re-election in 2005.

"I chose not to run at that time because of family situations," he said. "I did not want to incur the aggravation and grief that would come our way. I was really unhappy with some of the things that were going on."

Underwood had another reason for not running in 2005, "When you are an office holder, you do get a perk - your ego," he said. "I said, 'I like this too much, maybe I'd better back off,' " he recalled. "So I didn't run."

He isn't ruling out another run for township office sometime in the future.

"Who knows what tomorrow holds," he said. "I'll still be around. Tomorrow's another day."

And he plans to stay on as Planning Board chairman once he recovers from the surgery he will have this week at Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark. Underwood expects to take at least two weeks off before resuming his duties.

"Kevin Aiello will run the meeting for me in my absence," he said.

"Our prayers go to Fred while he has his operation," Kelly said. "We hope Fred is going to beat this. Hopefully, he's got it early enough."

Underwood had been diligent about having a PSA test for prostate cancer each year. But this July, his number increased dramatically, he said.

He was advised to see a urologist, who wanted a biopsy right away. The biopsy confirmed the diagnosis.

He decided to go ahead with the surgery to remove the gland, rather than with a less-invasive procedure.

"If my appendix was bad, I'd take it out, so I'll take this out too," he said. "It appears to be contained. That's why I chose this route."

Mayor Daniel J. Kelly and Republican Township Council President Stephen J. Acropolis are vying for the remaining two years of Scarpelli's term. Both parties put up a full slate of candidates for the four four-year seats on the council. The position pays $8,000 a year for council members and $9,000 a year for council president.

Republican incumbents Ruthanne Scaturro, Anthony Matthews and Michael Thulen are all seeking second terms. They will face Democrats Lazroe, Paul Panuska, Anthony D'Elia and Michael Mauro.