On October 25, the Belvidere Rotary Club hosted a Meet the Candidates event at the American Legion building on Greenwich Street. A healthy crowd of Belvidere residents came to learn more about the four candidates running for Belvidere Town Council this year: in alphabetical order by last name, John Johnson, Glen Matlock, Don Mitchell, and Morris Scott.
According to several residents, this is the first truly competitive race for town council in some time. The event came about after polarizing online conversation led to a desire for a calmer, more structured discussion of the candidates’ policies.
Former Belvidere mayor Joe Kennedy delivered opening and closing remarks. Belvidere resident Jacki Lash Idler presented the candidates with prepared questions. The candidates had two minutes to answer each question, with a rotating order of answerers.
In his opening remarks, Kennedy emphasized that the event was not meant to be a debate, but to be a platform for each candidate to introduce himself and his views without interruption.
“And before we begin, it’s important to think there is one common goal amongst all our candidates, and that is to serve all the residents of the town of Belvidere here,” he said.
“This is a great, great small forum to really see neighbors communicating with neighbors, and hopefully bring unity back to Belvidere.”
Questions and Answers
Idler asked the candidates a total of 11 questions. Before the event, the candidates had been asked to submit suggestions for questions. Three of the four candidates responded, and these responses were used to create the final list of questions.
Candidates spoke their views on encouraging businesses to move to Belvidere, responding to resident concerns regardless of affiliation, managing finances in a town with a low tax base, handling safety issues, and setting short- and long-term priorities should they win a seat on town council.
The candidates touched on several common themes. Taxes came up multiple times, with the two current town council members, Mitchell and Matlock, pointing out that the largest portion of residential tax bills goes to funding the Belvidere school district. Although the town itself has commonly raised taxes by 2% from year to year, Mitchell emphasized that this represents “less than 1% of your tax bill.”
Several questions touched on the restrictions that a councilperson might face given Belvidere’s small size: abandoned and unmaintained properties, sidewalks in disrepair, and the challenge of supporting small businesses in a town with a limited tax base. Johnson mentioned that the town has $13 million of nontaxable property, making it a challenge for Belvidere to raise funds for high-cost maintenance tasks.
The question of development brought out candidate differences. Johnson emphasized responsible development; in a question about potential challenges in the future, Scott mentioned overdevelopment; and Mitchell focused on the little available land for new development. He also acknowledged the logistical difficulties of rehabilitating abandoned properties, as they are privately owned and sometimes in the middle of complex transfer processes after incidents such as the owner’s death.
One question about cultivating community engagement also led to varied answers. Scott highlighted the role of Facebook. He has seen the platform’s success in engaging community members when streaming high school sports live, sometimes getting 4,000 viewers per game, and as the admin of the Facebook group Growing Up in Belvidere. That group has seen extensive conversation that can grow heated.
Matlock’s answer took the directly opposite tactic. He expressed a dislike of Facebook and a preference for in-person, face-to-face conversations. Meanwhile, in their answers, Johnson and Mitchell both focused on engaging existing community groups, including the Lions Club and volunteer organizations.
All four candidates affirmed a desire to keep Belvidere affordable for families and residents.
Differentiating the Candidates
The two current town council members, Mitchell and Matlock, frequently used examples from their current terms. Their answers expressed a desire to continue the current council’s work.
Each mentioned financial difficulties that had affected the town before they were elected to town council. Previously, according to their descriptions, Belvidere had been caught in a cycle of borrowing money and using tax anticipation notes to run the town’s everyday financial operations. The borrowing cycle depleted Belvidere’s sewer and general funds and cost the town upwards of $30,000 each year in debt service costs.
Mitchell was elected to town council in 2019, Matlock in 2020. Before and during their time on town council, Belvidere has worked to pay down its debts, restore its funds, and grow greater financial stability.
Belvidere’s yearly budgets support this description. The Government Finance Officers Association recommends that in a healthy municipal budget, a town’s general fund surplus should contain about 16.5% of its yearly expenditures. In 2012, this means that Belvidere should have aimed for a general fund surplus of about $500,000. The actual general fund surplus that year: $36,500, not even a tenth of what Belvidere needed.
That number has grown over the years. In 2025, Belvidere’s general fund surplus stands at $402,000—not quite ideal, but certainly healthier.
Mitchell’s most common theme was the need to listen to multiple sides of every issue. “The challenge is to use common sense, do what’s right for everyone in town, and not just one particular group,” he said. “That’s what we should do. It starts with having a conversation… and trying to find common ground.”
Matlock gave the tersest answers. His most common theme was taxes and the need to keep them stable. This is the reason he works three jobs, he said: to pay his taxes and keep his house.
Matlock also brought up twice that he had not originally intended to run this year. “The reason I did is because I didn’t like to see what was going on,” he said, in oblique reference to the unusually heated recent debates in the community. “I wasn’t going to run. But you know what? I’m not going to let this town down.”
Scott’s answers focused on his lifelong residence in Belvidere and his long history of service positions. His current and past titles include local business owner, past chair of the Pequest River Municipal Utilities Authority, past chair of the History Preservation Commission, Board of Education member for 12 years, Boy Scout Merit Badge counselor, and coach.
Scott also served on the Town Council previously, winning a seat in 2005 and 2008. He ran again but lost the primary elections in 2011 and 2013.
Scott was unable to reply for comment.
Johnson emphasized the need to cultivate a culture of civic engagement. He is the newest resident in the race, having lived in Belvidere for four years, and the only candidate with no town council experience. He asserted that this is no reflection on his commitment to the town, as he and his wife have brought their family and built their business here.
“I’m not bound by ‘that’s how we’ve always done it,’” Johnson wrote later via email. “I can look at our town with clear eyes and ask, ‘What could Belvidere become?’ I see the potential here… And because I chose this place rather than simply being born here, I have a particular appreciation for what makes it special.”
Election Day on Tuesday Nov. 4
After the Q&A concluded, the candidates each delivered a closing statement.
Kennedy delivered the final remarks. He encouraged residents to do their homework on the candidates. He also noted that the town has had an influx of new residents over the past five to ten years and that it would be up to longtime residents as well as the candidates to show them what Belvidere is about.
“You will never find a better group of residents in this town, Belvedere, that steps up, irregardless of your opinions,” he said. “That’s the culture you want to maintain in this town here. It’s an awesome community.”
Election Day is this Tuesday, Nov. 4. Belvidere voters can cast their ballots at the Good Will Fire Company at 689 Water St between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Chip O'Chang is an educator, fiction writer, and lifelong resident of New Jersey. He has also written for My Life Publications and NJ Indy. He lives in the NJ Skylands with his partner, two cats, and and a bearded dragon.
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
