Fire Commissioners Ballot

Michele Holder is currently the Vice Chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners and is running for reelection in November. Michele moved to Plainsboro in 1996, settling in the village area with her husband, Darrin and their two children. Both her son and daughter graduated from WWPHS North. Michele and her husband Darrin joined the Plainsboro volunteer fire company in 2000. She has been a Plainsboro volunteer firefighter for 22+ years. Michele has held leadership positions within the fire company. In addition to her current 3 year term as Fire Commissioner, Michele served as Fire Commissioner in 2006 through 2009.
During her current term, Michele took the lead successfully negotiating a multi-year union contract with the Plainsboro fire districts’ employees. She was also instrumental in recognizing the need to expand with supporting the hiring of 2 additional employees with onboarding in 2021 and early 2022. This expansion increased coverage for the businesses and residents of Plainsboro from 5 days to 7 days a week. Volunteer firefighters is a nationwide issue, Plainsboro is certainly not an exception and as the decline continued with Plainsboro volunteers, Michele recognized the need to continue to grow the employees in 2022, with the promotion of 2 captains and the recent hire of 4 additional firefighters, which now provides the fire house with staffing 24 hours per day 7 days a week.
Michele has held senior level executive positions for both IBM and AT&T and now with Microsoft where she is currently employed. Michele has 29 years’ experience working in corporate and has received various awards for her outstanding leadership and delivery performance.
Michele brings a well balanced perspective to the Fire District both as an experienced corporate executive and volunteer. She is a devoted advocate of fiscal budgetary responsibility. She understands the importance of providing quality fire protection services to the businesses and residents of Plainsboro.

Former Plainsboro Fire Chief James “Jim” Pedley became active in the Plainsboro Fire Company within a year of moving to Plainsboro in 1997. He served as Fire Chief from January 2012 through December 2014 and led the multi-day department response for Superstorm Sandy. He has also served as Training Officer, Safety Officer, Lieutenant, Captain, Assistant Chief, and Deputy Chief. He also served on numerous committees during his 24 years in the Company. Jim also served as an EMT in the Plainsboro Rescue Squad from 2004 until 2011 and remains a state-certified EMT and fire instructor.
When describing his thoughts on the fire district, Jim stated, “The Plainsboro Fire District and the community of Plainsboro have benefitted from a well-equipped and trained department, as well as from the working relationship between the volunteer and career firefighters. I intend to balance the recruitment and retention of the District’s volunteer firefighter base with the hiring and professional growth of its career firefighter base. I also plan to work on the appropriate retirement/procurement of apparatus and facility maintenance. These initiatives require a responsible fiscal plan that balances tax revenue with available grants and donations as well as an individual who has experience in the fire service and the perspective of a homeowner who pays taxes.”
Jim works as a professional services consultant for Seattle-based F5, Inc, working with several Fortune 100 companies to architect, implement, secure and maintain their IT infrastructure. He holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Polytechnic University in Farmingdale, NY. He lives full-time in Plainsboro with his wife Katie and three daughters.

Ted Wagner is a lifelong, full-time resident and homeowner in Plainsboro. He has served as a fire commissioner in Plainsboro for 21 years and is a Life Member of the Plainsboro Volunteer Fire Company who has served as a firefighter for 54 years. He served as Plainsboro Fire Chief and in a number of line officer and leadership positions in the fire company.

“As a lifelong Plainsboro resident and homeowner, I share the same interests and concerns of other Plainsboro residents who want and need first-rate fire protection for their homes and businesses that is also responsive to their needs as taxpayers, especially in these challenging times,” he said.

Wagner, who watched the construction of Plainsboro’s first firehouse in the 1960s, said he has watched the township grow and change and has led efforts to build a fire protection response to it.

“As a Commissioner, I have led a number of efforts to support high quality, affordable fire protection in Plainsboro,” he said. “These include apparatus replacement and building enhancement programs that have kept us a top firefighting organization, but we have also maintained tax stability by smart budget planning. I have also led efforts to support the attraction and retention of volunteer members of the Plainsboro Fire Company and to expand our career staff to ensure that our residential and business communities are protected 24 hours a day. I’ve also worked to unify the career and volunteer firefighters in a single organization that offers tremendous fire protection and rescue services to Plainsboro and is the envy of many other communities.”

Ted lives on Linden Lane with his wife Judy. Their sons, Jeff and Brian, also have also been volunteer firefighters for many years.