Don Nelson
Mark Gunderson
Today, we had the second half of our ‘meet the candidates’ program. Our speakers were the Republican candidates for City Council, Don Nelson, ward one, and Mark Gunderson, ward two.
Don led off with a brief introduction of himself – born, raised, and educated in Summit. Don joined the fire department in 1986 and rose to deputy chief before retiring in 2022. He has been deeply involved in many of the City’s activities including coaching athletics, serving on the parking commission and for six years as the City’s coordinator of emergency management. Don and his wife Rose raised five children in Summit.
Don’s agenda as a member of council is to first maintain the general character of Summit. He favors adding, modestly, to both the police force and fire department to keep these units able to meet their increasing demands, enforcing traffic and parking ordinances, getting more assistance from the County with our unhoused population, and realistic and responsible property development.
Mark was raised in Bernardsville. He and his wife, Lucy, and son John are now Summit residents with strong ties to the community. He currently serves on the City’s Economic Development Advisory Committee, is a member of the Summit Downtowners’ Association, and has served as a volunteer head coach in the Summit Softball & Baseball League.
His background is in finance. Mark began his career in investment banking and is currently co-owner of a financial firm focused on funding small and mid-sized businesses.
Mark believes he can use his financial background to promote fiscal responsibility and assist Summit’s local businesses. Like Don, he wants to emphasis safety and security and ensure responsible development.
Summit is fortunate to have four outstanding candidates running for two seats. The Rotary greatly appreciates their willingness to serve as our representatives and to share their thoughts with us.