George DeSanctis (R)

Montgomery Township Committee 2026 Candidates

George DeSanctis (R) is running against incumbent Patricia Taylor-Todd (D) for a 3-year-term on Montgomery Township Committee.

Q: How many years have you lived in Montgomery?

A:   25 years. 

Q:  Where do you work/job title?

A:  I am retired after a career that spanned academic medicine, scientific research, and the pharmaceutical industry. I began my career in academic medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital before moving into the pharmaceutical industry, where I held senior leadership positions in research & development and business development at Aventis, Sanofi Aventis, and Sanofi.Throughout my career, my work required analyzing complex problems, leading multidisciplinary teams, managing significant budgets and making decisions based on evidence rather than assumptions.

Q:  Education

A:  I earned my BSc and MSc from McGill University and a PhD in Medical Sciences from the University of Calgary. I subsequently completed a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where I advanced to assistant professor of medicine. During my academic career, I received numerous awards and published more than 60 peer-reviewed scientific papers.

Q: :Family/Personal

A:  My wife, Julia, and I met while I was completing my fellowship in Boston. Julia is a Harvard Medical School graduate and recently retired from her job as a radiologist at Princeton Radiology. We chose Montgomery to raise our family and have lived here for 25 years.

Our four children grew up here: Tucker is an orthodontics resident; Camden is a third-year medical student at the University of Pennsylvania; Devon is studying physics at Rutgers and intends to pursue graduate studies in engineering; and Arden will attend the University of Tennessee in the new year and hopes to pursue a law degree.

After raising four children here and watching Montgomery evolve over a quarter century, I care deeply about preserving what has made this community such a special place to live while preparing responsibly for its future.

Q:  What is your top priority if elected?

A:   My top priority is restoring trust between residents and their local government through greater transparency, accountability, and meaningful public participation. Good government should not be about political labels. Once an election is over, Township Committee members represent every resident of Montgomery. I want residents to understand not only what decisions are being made, but why they are being made, what alternatives were considered and what the financial and long-term consequences will be.

I also believe Montgomery should have a serious public discussion about its form of government. Residents currently elect five Township Committee members, but the Committee itself selects one of those members to serve as mayor each year. I believe residents should have an opportunity to examine whether the current system provides the accountability they want or whether an alternative form of government, including a directly elected mayor, deserves consideration.

Q:  What differentiates you from the other candidates? 

A:  I bring a combination of scientific training, executive leadership and 25 years of experience as a Montgomery resident. Science taught me never to begin with the answer I want and then search for facts to support it. You define the problem, gather reliable information, challenge your assumptions, listen to people with expertise and then make the best decision the evidence supports. My leadership roles in academic medicine and the pharmaceutical industry required exactly that approach. I led teams of people with different expertise and perspectives who nevertheless had to work toward common goals. Decisions had to be carefully analyzed, executed effectively and made within real financial constraints. That is the approach I would bring to Township Committee.

Residents don’t expect their elected officials to know everything. They should expect them to ask difficult questions, seek qualified advice, listen to residents, spend taxpayer money responsibly and explain their decisions openly.

Q: :What would you like to see on the former J&J/Kenvue campus? 

A:  The former J&J/Kenvue campus represents one of the most consequential land-use decisions Montgomery will face, and I don’t believe we should approach it with a predetermined answer. It is a large, already-developed commercial property. Something is ultimately likely to happen there, and every realistic alternative will have benefits, costs and consequences for Montgomery.

I would support an independent feasibility study examining the potential uses for the property, including whether a carefully regulated data center could provide a net benefit to Montgomery. That study should quantify the issues rather than argue them rhetorically: projected tax revenue, permanent employment, electricity requirements, water consumption, noise, traffic, emergency-service demands, environmental impacts, infrastructure costs, and effects on neighboring properties.

It should also compare a data center with the realistic alternatives for the site, including light manufacturing, research and development, other commercial uses and potential residential development.

Other communities have experienced significant tax benefits from data-center development, while data centers can also create substantial infrastructure and environmental concerns. Neither fact tells us what is right for Montgomery.

My position is simple: let’s obtain Montgomery-specific facts, make them public, listen to residents and then decide whether the benefits outweigh the costs.

Q:  What is your position on allowing Flock automated license plate reader cameras in the township? 

A:   I support giving our police department technology that can help solve serious crimes and protect residents, including appropriately deployed automated license plate readers. However, supporting public safety does not require dismissing legitimate privacy concerns. I would want clear policies governing where cameras are placed, what information is collected, how long that information is retained, who can access it and under what circumstances it can be shared with other agencies. The appropriate approach is to establish safeguards and oversight while allowing law enforcement to use technology that can help locate stolen vehicles, identify vehicles associated with serious crimes and potentially locate missing or endangered individuals. Public safety and civil liberties should not automatically be treated as competing objectives. Good policy should protect both.

Q:  What are your three main issues? 

A:    Trust, transparency and accountability in local government. Residents should be brought into important discussions early enough for their input to matter. Major decisions should be accompanied by understandable information explaining the costs, benefits, alternatives and long-term consequences. I also support examining whether Montgomery’s current form of government provides residents with the level of direct accountability they want.

A responsible long-term plan for the former J&J/Kenvue property. We should conduct a rigorous analysis of realistic uses for this property and determine which offers the greatest long-term benefit with the least burden on taxpayers, infrastructure and Montgomery’s quality of life. Decisions of this magnitude should be driven by evidence rather than fear, politics or preconceived conclusions.

Preserving Montgomery’s character while planning responsibly for its future. One of Montgomery’s greatest assets is its open space and rural character. After living here for 25 years, I have watched the community grow and change. We need to continue preserving open space while addressing housing, development, infrastructure and affordability responsibly. Large projects with significant community impact should involve extensive public discussion, and where legally appropriate, residents should have a meaningful role in determining Montgomery’s future.

Q:  What would somebody be surprised to know about you?

A:   I was born in Guatemala and lived in several parts of the world before settling in the United States. I’m multilingual, with proficiency in Italian and French and some ability in Spanish and German. Despite spending much of my professional life in laboratories, hospitals and the pharmaceutical industry, one of my favorite places is outdoors. I’m an avid gardener, enjoy landscaping, and exercise regularly. After living in Montgomery for 25 years, putting down roots here has a very literal meaning for me.