Two Candidates File Petitions For East Windsor First Selectman

Two petitioning candidates will challenge incumbent East Windsor First Selectwoman Denise Menard in the November 8 election.

Board of  Education member Judith Rajala and Robert Slate, a member of the town’s Inland Wetlands and Conservations commissions, filed their petitions this week. Rajala filed as a petitioning candidate without party designation and Slate filed as a Republican for the four-year term.

Rajala, a Democrat, said she chose this route because she didn’t want to cause a primary which would cost the town money to have. Slate chose to petition after he failed to gain the endorsement of the Republican Town Committee’s nominating committee and caucus. The Republican Town Committee put forth no candidate for first selectman.

“When they knocked me down at the caucus, I said “You know I don’t lay down and die,’” Slate said.

Slate said he was encouraged by others earlier this year to seek the Republican nomination by residents who aren’t happy with Menard’s tenure in office. It is his first run for elective office.

Rajala said she has been thinking about running for first selectman for a while and as she sought signatures got advice from her father-in-law, former first selectman John Rajala, and another former first selectman, Robert Watts.

“In the past few years it’s become clear to me the things I want to achieve and how I would make a difference in the town,” Rajala said.

Both Slate and Rajala said they will be financing their own campaigns. Slate said the town committee can’t financially support him because he didn’t gain the organization’s endorsement. Rajala said she intends to spend no more than $1,000 on her campaign and will be knocking on doors, attending public events and using social media to contact voters.

Rajala, 47, said her 10 years on the board of education has given her experience in town government, including being a member of the board’s finance committee. She is a project and account manager for a global company.

“I bring fiscal responsibility, open communication, transparent government, teamwork philosophy and much needed technology experience that will help us work more efficiently and cooperatively while providing the people with faster and easier access to information they want and need,” Rajala said.

Slate, 63, said he is someone who likes to think outside the box and believes the town needs to work harder to bring in new businesses to alleviate the tax burden on homeowners. He worked more than 25 years for Hamilton Sundstrand as an aerospace worker.

“I feel the town needs someone who will take charge,” Slate said.