“There are still too many things going on, too many things we’re in the middle of accomplishing, I have to continue!” said an enthusiastic Highlands Mayor Carolyn Broullon after announcing she will run for a third term as Mayor in November. Hat Trick
The Mayor had also served four years on the Borough Council before leaving that position to which she had been elected twice to win her first three year term as mayor in 2019.
Nor did the Mayor lose any time in outlining all her initiatives for her next term, first assuring that all ongoing initiatives still under completion will be continued and completed within the scheduled time frame.
In the upcoming years, Broullon assured residents she will negotiate developer agreements, continue the process of entering the CRS program for lower flood insurance, validate all Borough-owned property, seek forestry grants to stabilize the slope with native flora and remove unused phone and cable lines throughout the Borough.
Broullon, who hails from California and lived in New York before discovering Highlands and deciding to settle permanently in the borough with her wife, Danica, cited only some of the accomplishments the borough has achieved during her tenure. Among those she cited are completed infrastructure projects including the North St pump electric mitigation improvements, the Kerry E. McEntee Gowan Off-Leash Dog Run at Popamora Point, a new platform to Marine Place on the Snug Harbor side, upgrades to Huddy and Veteran’s Parks playground areas, reconstruction of South Bay Avenue, King and Matthews Streets, the Area of Redevelopment process for Bay Avenue and the Municipal Building completion and dedication ten years after the borough offices and much of the lower section of Highlands were destroyed during Hurricane Sandy.
Once the new borough hall was completed, dedicated and open for routine business, the Mayor also reinstated the building and housing departments as well as the Municipal Court in the Navesink Avenue facility as well as the updated police headquarters and modern facilities on the entire lower level of the building.
The current governing body under Broullon also were notified of a more than $12 million pre-award for the grant to enable the borough to move forward with mitigation to correct runoff issues from Monmouth Hills, a problem the borough has faced for more than a century.
Also completed with the last three years are the Waterwitch pump upgrades and a generator to ensure operations, storm water projects from the 2021 flood mitigation Resiliency Plan, an Landscape Architect’s design for resilient flora on all borough properties as well as the Snug Harbor skate park, Gertrude Ederle Park upgrade and the first phase of sanitary sewers and paving along Bay Avenue.
Curbs and sidewalks along Linden Avenue were replaced after a half century lifetime, and there were further updates on Marie Avenue and Bayside Drive. Planning the way for major updates and renovations for the James T. White Clam Deputation plant was the result of an Asset Activation Planning grant also secured by the Broullon administration.
Broullon has kept the borough aware through resources including Facebook and the borough webpage of progress, improvements and changes in the borough throughout her tenure, and is always open to residents who stop in her local Bay Avenue business with personal concerns or suggestions.
While she did not mention it among her accomplishments, the Mayor has also brought a renewed interest and appreciation for the borough’s place in national history as well as the role its seafood industry has played in the past century or more. The Borough was one of the first municipalities in Monmouth County to pass a resolution supporting 250America, the Monmouth County -wide program of celebration and respect that will continue throughout 2026 as the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Although first seeking a vacation home in Highlands while living in her New York apartment, Broullon discovered she would rather live her full time along the Shrewsbury River, got to know her neighbors, then began streaming borough meetings, before responding to a move to switch the borough from partisan to non-partisan government, which it had practiced once before. After researching the subject, Broullon said “We met as strangers with different ideas and party affiliations but banded together to make our town more than just Democrats and Republicans,” and the new form of government was approved by voters. The process works well, she pointed out, because “political party leaders do not choose who is on the ballot, Highlanders do.”
A graduate of Notre Dame Academy in New York, Broullon she earned a degree in business with a concentration in marketing from the City University of New York, Sunnyside, working full time while attending nighttime and weekend classes fulltime and maintaining a position on the Dean’s List o a regular basis.
She began working in market research in 1992, coordinating international fieldwork, conducting focus groups, and managing staff. She worked in research at Data Development, now Radius Global Market Research, one of the largest independent market research firms in the US, then Research International, a part of TNS in the WPP Group, a worldwide recognized market research firms . She then ran her own research business for seven years before becoming Vice President at Gazelle Global.
In 2016, with her wife Danica, the couple embarked on a new venture, purchasing the former A&P building at Miller Street and Bay Avenue, renovating the building and opening Feed & Seed, a pet food, supply, and general store in operation since 2017. Two years later, she left Gazelle and started her own research consulting company.
For more information on Mayor Broullon, her accomplishments and plans for the future, visit her site at www.carolynbroullon.com
