Fraenkel Mounts Independent Campaign

November's election is months away, but the ballot is already crowded and out of the ordinary. Five candidates are vying for two seats on the Township Committee. One is a familiar name running on a new ticket.

Former Springfield Mayor Bart Fraenkel is running as an independent, mounting a campaign on his newly formed Springfield Party. Running as an unaffiliated candiated is a bold move, but it's in character for a politician who's made a habit of crossing party lines.

Elected as a Democrat in 2006 to replace outgoing Committee member Mark Hurwitz, Fraenkel broke from Springfield's party over appointments to Township boards. In the most recent election, Fraenkel distanced himself further from the Democrats when he endorsed the two Republican Committee candidates, Jerry Fernandez and Marc Krauss. When the Republicans won control of the Committee, Fraenkel—who, as a Democrat, was in the minority party—was appointed deputy Mayor by Republican Mayor Ziad Shehady.

Fraenkel contends that on the level of town government, party affiliation loses importance. As an illustration, he pointed to the sometimes heated but overall harmonious relationship he has with the current committee.

"Ziad said to me 'we're both passionate about our opinions,'" Fraenkel said.

Fraenkel faces a full slate of challengers supported by two parties, several of whom are veteran campaigners.  Shehady is up for reelection, and is running with Police Auxiliary member Bobby Abraham. Richard Huber, who ran for the Committee as a Democrat in '09, is running with David Amlen.

While he doesn't have party support, Fraenkel said a number of prominent members of the community have said they would help in his campaign. He is encouraging people to cross party lines with their votes.

"There are two openings," Fraenkel said. "If you like Ziad, you can vote for Ziad. If you like me, you can also vote for me."

Ultimately, he hopes that voters will see his independence as strength as he would not be beholden to a party's agenda.

"I've seen the Republicans and I've seen the Democrats," Fraenkel said. "It's not that they don't act in the best interest of Springfield. But if something comes up, they will have to ask 'what does this mean for the Democratic Party' or 'what does this mean for the Republican Party.'"

Editor's note: the original version of this article mispelled former Committee member Hurwitz's name and misstated the year Rich Huber ran for office. Both have been corrected. We regret the error.