A bigger reason may point to the overall involvement of people who live at Seabrook. “We have people who volunteer in the local schools and community, a lively current events discussion group, and over a hundred other activities,” says Engelstad. “People at Seabrook are engaged in living, and so, naturally, they come out and vote.”
Engelstad’s bi-weekly Current Events Discussion, held in the auditorium and broadcast on Seabrook’s own in-house cable television station, is one of the most popular events. An old political hand himself, Engelstad involves people in national, international, financial, state, and local news. Though some people say his style of delivery draws the crowd of over 200 people, Engelstad attributes the group’s popularity to the high level of interest and engagement within the community.
Then there are the efforts of Robert Helburn, Lee Forrest, and Jack Cunningham. Helburn, who first moved to Seabrook three years ago, started the Republican club. The group arranges for Republican candidates or elected officials to visit the community.
Forrest, a long-time member of the League of Women Voters, not only conducts voter registration at Seabrook, but she is also responsible for Seabrook’s voting precincts. “When I first moved here we had to go off campus to vote, and not many people participated. I talked to the mayor to create our own polling district,” she says.
In addition, Forrest has been working with Cunningham, former president of the Resident Advisory Committee (RAC) and a member of the Tinton from VOTER page 3 Falls planning board, to create a committee that would help educate newcomers on upcoming elections and area politics.
“We had talked about setting up some sort of organization that would help people get to know the issues,” Cunningham says. “Its development languished a bit over the summer, but we hope to pick it up again soon.”
Voter Registration
Forrest’s registration event already targets newcomers. Held before each registration deadline, which is 21 days prior to any election, the event is posted on the community calendar to help attract more potential voters.
“People don’t realize they have to re-register to vote when they move, so I hold a registration event in each clubhouse,” Forrest says.
Political Party Give and Take
In addition to Forrest’s voter registration events, visiting politicians also play a large part in involving voters.
Republican Thomas Kean, Jr., a state senator running for the U.S. Senate this year, has already visited Seabrook. His incumbent Democratic opponent—U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, who was appointed to the seat when former Senator Jon Corzine became governor—also visited this fall.
Although New Jersey usually skews Democratic, the U.S. Senate race ran closer than expected through most of the months leading up to the election. Kean benefited from his father’s name—beloved former Governor Tom Kean— which boosted his ratings against Menendez.
By comparison to the rest of the state, voting at Seabrook is more evenly split. “We’re fairly equally divided between Democratic and Republican voters,” says Helburn. “There is no animosity between the two parties. We all understand you can vote the way you want, and we don’t belittle the other party,” Helburn says.