November 16, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES II & IV • Page 11 Democrat tops tally in township committee race by John Koster Democratic Wyckoff Township Committeeman Brian Scanlan, who ran as the lone representative of his party against the Republican team of Thomas Madigan and Douglas Christie, emerged as the top votegetter in last week’s election. Scanlan was handily re-elected with 2,580 votes. Christie received 2,170 ballots to win the other available seat on the governing body. Incumbent Thomas Madigan received 1,913 ballots. Voters also approved the renewal of the township’s open space fund, which will allow for the continuation of the half-cent per $100 tax set-aside used to purchase open space for recreational and conservation purposes. The tally was 2,779 votes in favor and 874 opposed. Wyckoff voters first approved the open space fund in 2006. This year, they were required to decide if the fund should be continued. Scanlan, the first Democrat elected in Wyckoff since the Great Depression of the 1930s, is a graduate of Rutgers and the president of a medical and technical publishing company. He is fluent in German. Scanlan is the former president of Friends of Wyckoff, a group that advocates for environmental issues and acquisition of open space land through grant applications. He resigned as president of the Friends of Wyckoff on his inauguration as the township committeeman three years ago, but continues to take part in volunteer environmental activities. Scanlan has served on the Wyckoff Board of Health and as a member of the Community Emergency Response Team and he and his family have taken part in humanity-related construction projects in Latin America. Christie is a lifelong resident of Wyckoff. An independent contractor, Christie has coached recreational sports, volunteered for Habitant for Humanity, and has been a member of the Wyckoff Volunteer Fire Department for 25 years. He currently serves as the department’s chaplain. He is an elder of the Wyckoff Reformed Church, and serves as chairman of the Wyckoff Zoning Board of Adjustment. He also attends most meetings of the Wyckoff Township Committee as a member of the audience. Madigan, appointed to fill an unexpired term, is a 12-year veteran of the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional Board of Education and has also been active in many sports and charitable activities. He is a graduate of Stonehill College in Massachusetts and a sales executive of a paper container company. Madigan and his family have hosted a number of youngsters who came to the United States in search of special medical treatment, and the family operates a scholarship program for Ramapo graduates headed for college. Madigan has been active in local environmental issues and has also been active in the WOLF group, exploring shared services between Wyckoff, Oakland, and Franklin Lakes as a cost-saving measure. He and the other township committee members, Republicans and Democrats alike, have lined up grants that should make it possible for Wyckoff to purchase and preserve the Russell Farms tract near Sicomac and Russell avenues once the Department of Environmental Protection certifies that the site is free of pesticide contamination. Madigan and Scanlan both waived their stipends as members of the township committee, as did the other three members, in a cost-cutting gesture. Madigan had faced a charge of simple assault in Franklin Lakes Municipal Court for an incident in which a high school student reportedly struck him and broke his glasses before being escorted away from a football game by police while Madigan was helping with crowd control. The student was later suspended from school. The teenager’s family signed the complaint against Madigan and the story resurfaced during the last phase of the campaign. The case has been heard, but judgment was suspended at the end of the hearing. A verdict is expected shortly. The Wyckoff Chamber of Commerce’s Santa Comes to Wyckoff and Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony will be held Dec. 2. Santa and Mrs. Claus will arrive by fire truck to meet and greet children and their families at the following locations: Cedar Hill Plaza, 4 p.m.; Wyckoff Shop- Santa will return to Wyckoff ping Center, 5 p.m.; Main Street, 5:45 p.m.; Mayflower Shopping Center, 6 p.m.; Wyckoff Square Shopping Center, 6:45 p.m.; Boulder Run Shopping Center, 7 p.m.; and Wyckoff Town Hall for the tree lighting at 7:45 p.m. Visit www.wyckoffchamber.com.