As Election Day draws near, political clubs on campus are increasingly volunteering to support their preferred candidates.

On Saturday, members of the Rowan University College Republicans volunteered at the campaign headquarters of the Washington Township NJ GOP, where one mayoral and two council candidates meet. The students helped by creating a Facebook page and knocking on doors in the community.

“I’m glad the Rowan Republicans are out here supporting the Washington Township Republicans,” said Christian Springer, the club’s vice president and a radio/television/film major. “[The Republican council candidates] are the ones working toward a more prosperous Washington Township.”

Matteo Iadonisi, junior radio/television/film and journalism dual major and treasurer of the College Republicans, believes voters should be more concerned with local-level elections than about the presidential election.

Iadonisi is a resident of Washington Township who has been affiliated with the township GOP for many years and helped them campaign in past elections.

“These are the issues that matter to your community,” he said. “This is what determines whether or not businesses get taxed out of business. This is what determines how many taxes you pay.”

The candidates for the GOP ticket are: Joseph J. Micucci Jr., 51, for mayor, who is a retired police officer and is a part-time bus driver for the Washington Township school district; Joseph J. Perry, 57, for council, who is a retired UPS manager and is currently a part-time bus driver for the Washington Township school district; Dana Pasqualone, 27, for council, who is a recruitment business partner in operations.

The GOP candidates reached out to the Rowan club because they are seeking support from local college students.

Micucci is running for mayor because he wants to change the “waste and corruption” in Washington Township.

“Especially with a police department that has a $9 million budget. You’re talking out of a $38 million budget of the Township, a third of it is the police department,” he said.

“We walked to probably about 12,000 homes in the last month and a half, meeting people, listening to what they have to say, telling them what we’d like to do.” – joseph j. perry

If elected for city council, Pasqualone plans to stabilize taxes.

“We don’t want to promise that we’re going to decrease taxes, because that would be a false promise,” said Pasqualone, who is also a 2011 Rowan graduate. “We also want to bring new businesses into the town. Over the last couple of years, as you look around the town businesses have been leaving. We’re not a very business-friendly town.”

Perry said the campaign for city council is “exciting” but a lot of “hard work.”

“We walked to probably about 12,000 homes in the last month and a half, meeting people, listening to what they have to say, telling them what we’d like to do,” he said.

Their opponents on the Democratic ticket are Joann Gattinelli, 51, for mayor, who is a licensed realtor; Shawnequa Carvalho, 37, for council, who is the Chief Academic Officer of the West Deptford School District; and Thomas Sparacio, 57, for council, who is a labor representative in the construction industry.

On the Libertarian ticket is political science student Joe Rafferty, 19, for council. On the Township United ticket, Giancarlo D’Orazio, 65, who is a retired computer programmer/IT manager, is running for mayor.

Rowan students who live in Washington Township can vote for the GOP or Democratic tickets, or the Libertarian or Township United candidates on Nov. 8.

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