Raymond Bonker for Byram Council
On November 7th the voters of Byram will decide who to elect as the next 3 members of our Town Council. I am honored to apply for this position, and thankful to all of the town residents who signed petitions placing my name on the ballot.
As a life-long resident of Byram, I have deep roots in our community and a long record of contributions to its continuous improvement. My family has lived in this area for 8 generations. That doesn't give me any special privileges, but it does give me a long term perspective when making decisions about our shared future.
This website describes my qualifications for the job of Council Member. I am not offering promises, I am offering my record. The greatest predictor of future behavior as a Council Member is past behavior in the community. Once you have reviewed my personal, professional, and community experiences, I hope you will be able to make an informed decision about how I would participate in our shared public life together as a Council Member.
By definition, a Council Member is a team member, one of five citizens charged with the legislative and policy power of the municipality. No individual Council Member can unilaterally create change, and any candidate for this office who promises specific outcomes lacks an understanding of what this job requires. An effective Council Member offers Leadership, Experience, Teamwork and a record of Results.
As a candidate, I will only make two promises, because they are both completely within my control. First, I promise to accept no financial contributions to my campaign. I will run as a free man, unencumbered by any interests other than the taxpayer. Second, if I am successful, I will refuse the salary provided to Council Members. That will save $14,000 over the 4 year term of service. Compared to Byram's $11 million annual budget, it is not much, but it sets a tone for fiscal responsibility, so let it begin with me.
As a life-long resident of Byram, I have deep roots in our community and a long record of contributions to its continuous improvement. My family has lived in this area for 8 generations. That doesn't give me any special privileges, but it does give me a long term perspective when making decisions about our shared future.
This website describes my qualifications for the job of Council Member. I am not offering promises, I am offering my record. The greatest predictor of future behavior as a Council Member is past behavior in the community. Once you have reviewed my personal, professional, and community experiences, I hope you will be able to make an informed decision about how I would participate in our shared public life together as a Council Member.
By definition, a Council Member is a team member, one of five citizens charged with the legislative and policy power of the municipality. No individual Council Member can unilaterally create change, and any candidate for this office who promises specific outcomes lacks an understanding of what this job requires. An effective Council Member offers Leadership, Experience, Teamwork and a record of Results.
As a candidate, I will only make two promises, because they are both completely within my control. First, I promise to accept no financial contributions to my campaign. I will run as a free man, unencumbered by any interests other than the taxpayer. Second, if I am successful, I will refuse the salary provided to Council Members. That will save $14,000 over the 4 year term of service. Compared to Byram's $11 million annual budget, it is not much, but it sets a tone for fiscal responsibility, so let it begin with me.
Community Life
Deputy Mayor/Councilman, 4 years
Byram Township Open Space Committee
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Sussex County Open Space CommitteeServed for 3 years at County level to specifically advocate for active recreation projects along with acquisitions for passive recreation, ecological preservation, wildlife habitat, view-shed, trails connectivity, etc. |
Lenape Valley Soccer Club
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Christ Episcopal Church Stanhope/Budd Lake
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Boy Scouts of AmericaEagle Scout |
St. Kateri Parish Blood Drive Ministry150+ Blood and Platelet Donations, Sparta, NJ |
Education
Harvard UniversityDegree in Computer Science and Economics Managing Editor, Harvard Salient |
Lenape Valley Regional High SchoolSchool Board President, 4 years:
Student Council President Proudly attended Byram Intermediate and Consolidated School |
Work Experience
Wall Street Technology Manager
- 11 years, Salomon Brothers, Vice President: Digital Trading Floor Research, Development and Deployment at 7WTC, Manager of 65 Technology Professionals
- 4 years, Merrill Lynch, Director: University Partnership Program with MIT, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania
In the News
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As the ancient Greeks extolled us to do, [this park] will help our citizens maintain a sound mind in a sound body. |
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It's how you play the game, and who you choose to play it with, and what you give them, and what you give up for them, that determines what you get in return. |
Donate Blood and Platelets at St. Kateri Church - You Can Save A Life!
This is my "stump speech" which I have delivered to several organizations here in Byram:
Thank you for the opportunity to speak before you tonight.
My son’s name is Charles Raymond Bonker. My name is Raymond Charles Bonker. My father’s name is Charles Raymond Bonker. His father’s name is Raymond Charles Bonker. His father’s name is Charles Raymond Bonker. You will denote a pattern.
8 generations of my family have had the privilege to call this area home. My great-grandfather Charles Bonker lived at the end of Roseville Road, in a one room "shack" with no running water, no electricity, and a pot-bellied stove for heat and cooking. My grandfather Raymond Bonker only graduated from 8th grade, at the Amity Road one-room schoolhouse here in Byram. My father Charles Bonker graduated from high school, and bought a home by Tomahawk Lake. I had a fantastic childhood here in Byram, playing outside, fishing and swimming and living the American Dream of a better life for each generation. As a Council Member, I want to promote the American Dream for every boy and girl who calls Byram home, just like my family.
I’m proud to have graduated from the Consolidated and Intermediate schools. When I turned 14 I got my first job, scrubbing pots and potatoes and mopping the floor at Hudson Guild Farms for $1.75 per hour. I worked hard and I have never forgotten it. You need to understand how I spend money, or more accurately how much I hate to spend money, to understand what real fiscal responsibility looks like. In my personal life, in my church life as a treasurer, as the Byram Open Space Chair, and now perhaps as a Council member, I don’t spend money unless it is absolutely necessary, and even then only begrudgingly. Why? $1.75 per hour.
I graduated as the Valedictorian of the LVR Class of 1981. I was accepted at Harvard. I was awarded several scholarships, I took out loans, and my grandmother literally sold her family jewelry to help me pay tuition. On the first day of college they handed me a mop for my work-study job, and I mopped the dining room floors. Yes, I am a Harvard man, but long before that, I was a Byram boy, and I always will be.
Four years later I graduated with a degree in Computer Science and Economics. I went to Wall Street, designing the first all digital trading floor for Salomon Brothers. When I was 28 years old we moved into 7WTC and that design became a reality. I had 65 technology professionals reporting to me, with an annual budget of $11 million just for my department (that is the annual budget of Byram today.) After Salomon I went to Merrill Lynch, where I managed a University Liaison Program with Stanford, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania.
By this time my wife and I had 3 children. When my son Charles Raymond Bonker was 3 and my daughter Elizabeth was 2, they were both diagnosed with autism on the same day. And everything changed.
I left my career to stay home with my children, and I have been “Mr. Mom” ever since. One year after leaving work, I watched my building, 7WTC, fall to the ground at 5PM on September 11th.
For the full story on my kids fight against autism go to bonker4byram.com. All I will say is that my son Charles and my daughter Elizabeth are now both in college. Miracles happen, but it takes hard work.
Over the past 30 years I have been extensively involved in the continuous improvement of my home town. I will highlight a few of these activities. I want you to know what I have done for Byram because I am not running on promises. I am running on my record of Leadership, Experience, Teamwork and Results. Talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than any words. The best predictor of future behavior as a Council member is past behavior in the community
4 years as President of Lenape Valley Regional High School, increasing the number of AP classes and infusing technology throughout the curriculum
17 years as Chair of Byram Open Space Committee
28 years as Treasurer and Vestry Member Christ Church Stanhope/Budd Lake, Founder of special needs service in Budd Lake and 6 other churches
3 years as member of Sussex County Open Space Committee
22 years as LVSC Adult Division Founder, Manager and Player + 4 years youth coach
22 years as member of Blood and Platelet Drive, over 150+ donations
Eagle Scout
I have the Leadership, Experience, Teamwork and a long record of Results required to be an effective Council member. I have negotiated with public sector unions. I have produced and managed multi-million dollar budgets in the private and public sector. As treasurer of my church, I managed a $450,000 debt down to zero. As Byram Open Space Chair, I worked as the manager of a team that attracted $9 of outside money for every $1 of Byram tax money we spent creating Tamarack Park (the first new athletic fields in Byram in 20 years), trails, and dozens of other acquisitions. I have hired (and sometimes fired) employees, Superintendents, priests, professionals and consultants. Like any good Eagle Scout, I am prepared. When it comes to being a taxpayer, my family has a keen interest in the topic, because we own 5 homes in this town, and we intend to keep them for a long time. Paying 5 tax bills every quarter keeps my attention on taxes, big time.
There are only 2 promises I can make, because they are completely within my control. I will not accept any financial donations to my campaign, so I can run as a free man unencumbered by any interests except the taxpayer. Second, if I become a Council member I will refuse the salary. That will save $14,000. Compared to Byram’s $11 million budget that may not sound like a lot, but it sets a tone for fiscal responsibility, so let it begin with me.
We live in a representative democracy, where Council members vote for what they consider the best choices for all 9000 Byram residents. We have a representative democracy, we have the rule of law, we have peace, we have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, because of the men and women who fought and died for this country, our veterans. I want to close with one last family story, and I am sure every family here has a similar one. My great uncle, also named Ray Bonker, was born right outside of Newton on September 11th, 1925, long before THAT other September 11th. When he was 18 years old he went into WWII, and on his nineteenth birthday he was in the middle of France, three months after D-Day, pushing the Germans back towards Germany. Given the circumstances, I doubt he celebrated his 19th birthday at all. Two days later, he was killed. Private Ray Bonker is lying today in a field in France, with a US Government cross six feet above him, waiting for Judgement Day. He died so we could have meetings like this, for democracy and freedom and peace and prosperity, for America. He and millions of other veterans fought for us, so we can have a candidate’s debate. As citizens in a republic, we enjoy our way of life, but it came at the price of sacrifice, blood, and death. As citizens in a republic, our first responsibility must be to honor those sacrifices, and to exercise our most sacred responsibility, our sacred duty, to be active participants in this democracy by making sure we VOTE. Don’t listen to what candidates promise, because talk is cheap. Vote based on what they have already done. Actions speak louder than words. I am offering Leadership, Experience, Teamwork and a long record of Results. Vote for Byram. Vote Bonker for Byram. Thank you.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak before you tonight.
My son’s name is Charles Raymond Bonker. My name is Raymond Charles Bonker. My father’s name is Charles Raymond Bonker. His father’s name is Raymond Charles Bonker. His father’s name is Charles Raymond Bonker. You will denote a pattern.
8 generations of my family have had the privilege to call this area home. My great-grandfather Charles Bonker lived at the end of Roseville Road, in a one room "shack" with no running water, no electricity, and a pot-bellied stove for heat and cooking. My grandfather Raymond Bonker only graduated from 8th grade, at the Amity Road one-room schoolhouse here in Byram. My father Charles Bonker graduated from high school, and bought a home by Tomahawk Lake. I had a fantastic childhood here in Byram, playing outside, fishing and swimming and living the American Dream of a better life for each generation. As a Council Member, I want to promote the American Dream for every boy and girl who calls Byram home, just like my family.
I’m proud to have graduated from the Consolidated and Intermediate schools. When I turned 14 I got my first job, scrubbing pots and potatoes and mopping the floor at Hudson Guild Farms for $1.75 per hour. I worked hard and I have never forgotten it. You need to understand how I spend money, or more accurately how much I hate to spend money, to understand what real fiscal responsibility looks like. In my personal life, in my church life as a treasurer, as the Byram Open Space Chair, and now perhaps as a Council member, I don’t spend money unless it is absolutely necessary, and even then only begrudgingly. Why? $1.75 per hour.
I graduated as the Valedictorian of the LVR Class of 1981. I was accepted at Harvard. I was awarded several scholarships, I took out loans, and my grandmother literally sold her family jewelry to help me pay tuition. On the first day of college they handed me a mop for my work-study job, and I mopped the dining room floors. Yes, I am a Harvard man, but long before that, I was a Byram boy, and I always will be.
Four years later I graduated with a degree in Computer Science and Economics. I went to Wall Street, designing the first all digital trading floor for Salomon Brothers. When I was 28 years old we moved into 7WTC and that design became a reality. I had 65 technology professionals reporting to me, with an annual budget of $11 million just for my department (that is the annual budget of Byram today.) After Salomon I went to Merrill Lynch, where I managed a University Liaison Program with Stanford, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania.
By this time my wife and I had 3 children. When my son Charles Raymond Bonker was 3 and my daughter Elizabeth was 2, they were both diagnosed with autism on the same day. And everything changed.
I left my career to stay home with my children, and I have been “Mr. Mom” ever since. One year after leaving work, I watched my building, 7WTC, fall to the ground at 5PM on September 11th.
For the full story on my kids fight against autism go to bonker4byram.com. All I will say is that my son Charles and my daughter Elizabeth are now both in college. Miracles happen, but it takes hard work.
Over the past 30 years I have been extensively involved in the continuous improvement of my home town. I will highlight a few of these activities. I want you to know what I have done for Byram because I am not running on promises. I am running on my record of Leadership, Experience, Teamwork and Results. Talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than any words. The best predictor of future behavior as a Council member is past behavior in the community
4 years as President of Lenape Valley Regional High School, increasing the number of AP classes and infusing technology throughout the curriculum
17 years as Chair of Byram Open Space Committee
28 years as Treasurer and Vestry Member Christ Church Stanhope/Budd Lake, Founder of special needs service in Budd Lake and 6 other churches
3 years as member of Sussex County Open Space Committee
22 years as LVSC Adult Division Founder, Manager and Player + 4 years youth coach
22 years as member of Blood and Platelet Drive, over 150+ donations
Eagle Scout
I have the Leadership, Experience, Teamwork and a long record of Results required to be an effective Council member. I have negotiated with public sector unions. I have produced and managed multi-million dollar budgets in the private and public sector. As treasurer of my church, I managed a $450,000 debt down to zero. As Byram Open Space Chair, I worked as the manager of a team that attracted $9 of outside money for every $1 of Byram tax money we spent creating Tamarack Park (the first new athletic fields in Byram in 20 years), trails, and dozens of other acquisitions. I have hired (and sometimes fired) employees, Superintendents, priests, professionals and consultants. Like any good Eagle Scout, I am prepared. When it comes to being a taxpayer, my family has a keen interest in the topic, because we own 5 homes in this town, and we intend to keep them for a long time. Paying 5 tax bills every quarter keeps my attention on taxes, big time.
There are only 2 promises I can make, because they are completely within my control. I will not accept any financial donations to my campaign, so I can run as a free man unencumbered by any interests except the taxpayer. Second, if I become a Council member I will refuse the salary. That will save $14,000. Compared to Byram’s $11 million budget that may not sound like a lot, but it sets a tone for fiscal responsibility, so let it begin with me.
We live in a representative democracy, where Council members vote for what they consider the best choices for all 9000 Byram residents. We have a representative democracy, we have the rule of law, we have peace, we have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, because of the men and women who fought and died for this country, our veterans. I want to close with one last family story, and I am sure every family here has a similar one. My great uncle, also named Ray Bonker, was born right outside of Newton on September 11th, 1925, long before THAT other September 11th. When he was 18 years old he went into WWII, and on his nineteenth birthday he was in the middle of France, three months after D-Day, pushing the Germans back towards Germany. Given the circumstances, I doubt he celebrated his 19th birthday at all. Two days later, he was killed. Private Ray Bonker is lying today in a field in France, with a US Government cross six feet above him, waiting for Judgement Day. He died so we could have meetings like this, for democracy and freedom and peace and prosperity, for America. He and millions of other veterans fought for us, so we can have a candidate’s debate. As citizens in a republic, we enjoy our way of life, but it came at the price of sacrifice, blood, and death. As citizens in a republic, our first responsibility must be to honor those sacrifices, and to exercise our most sacred responsibility, our sacred duty, to be active participants in this democracy by making sure we VOTE. Don’t listen to what candidates promise, because talk is cheap. Vote based on what they have already done. Actions speak louder than words. I am offering Leadership, Experience, Teamwork and a long record of Results. Vote for Byram. Vote Bonker for Byram. Thank you.