Brick woman to face Vicari in freeholder race BY DANIELLE MEDINA Correspondent Stacy Lubrecht BRICK TOWNSHIP - A township resident who locally organized Barack Obama's campaign is mounting her own bid for a seat on the Ocean County Board of Freeholders Stacy Lubrecht, 38, recently announced that she will challenge long-time Republican Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari for his seat, although she pointed out that she is not running against him. "I'm running for something," Lubrecht, a Democrat, said. "I'm running to make Ocean County more affordable so that my kids can stay here and senior citizens can retire here. Affordability is my personal issue." Lubrecht, a mother of four children enrolled in township schools, said that she's been canvassing the county, listening to what residents have to say. "It's tough out there for families, for senior citizens and for professionals, and I understand that," Lubrecht said. "I struggle just like everyone else. I don't have a house on the water. I have four kids, a mortgage and a job." Lubrecht said that she's had senior citizens tell her that they don't take their prescriptions at full strength, because they can't afford the co-payment. And she said she's heard stories of people having to choose whether to purchase groceries or fill up their gas tanks. "People want a change," she said. "They want representatives in government who understand that they feel squeezed. They want the government to do more with less, just like families do." Lubrecht said she would also like to see freeholder meetings televised and held at more convenient times, so that residents can attend. The freeholders meet at 4 p.m. Wednesdays in the county administration building on Hooper Avenue in Toms River. Lubrecht said her platform will continue to evolve by listening to what people have to say at fundraisers, senior centers and coffee klatches. "I'm not going into this based on preconceived ideas," she said. "I'm not talking. I'm listening to what people want." And she believes being a "real person" who hasn't spent a "life in politics" will help her in November. "This isn't about recycling politicians into other offices," she said. "This is a year people want real change on the local, county, state and federal levels." Lubrecht became interested in politics in 2005, when she started community organizing for the Democratic Party. Most recently, she chaired the Obama campaign in Ocean County. Lubrecht, who has lived in Brick since 1999, is the director of Resources for Human Development, a nonprofit, mental health agency. She is also involved in the Brick Municipal Alliance Committee, the Mothers Center of the Jersey Shore and is vice president of the Elks Ladies Auxiliary. She has a bachelor's degree in sociology from Arizona State University and a master's degree in counseling from the University of Phoenix.