Mahwah September 21, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 7 Candidates line up for first fall municipal election by Frank J. McMahon Five candidates have filed nominating petitions in Mahwah, and will be on the ballot in the township’s first municipal election to be held in November. Three candidates have filed petitions seeking election to the mayor’s seat, and two candidates have filed seeking election to one available seat on the township council. Current Mayor John DaPuzzo, Councilwoman Lisa DiGiulio, and local businessman and board of adjustment member William “Bill” Laforet have filed the nominating petitions for the mayor’s position. Incumbent Councilman Chuck Jandris and resident Steven Sbarra have filed nominating petitions seeking election to the council position. Each candidate had to obtain the signatures of 152 residents (one percent of the township’s registered voters) in order to be on the ballot in November. The position of mayor in the township is open because of the March 7 death of former Mayor Richard J. Martel. Martel’s term expires in 2012. John DaPuzzo was selected by the council to temporarily serve as the township’s mayor until the election in November, at which time a candidate will be elected to serve out the last year of Martel’s term. When DaPuzzo was selected by the council to serve as mayor, Jandris was appointed to replace DaPuzzo on the council until the election in November. The candidate elected to the council in November will serve out the balance of DaPuzzo’s term, which expires at the end of 2014. DaPuzzo and his wife Dawn have lived in Mahwah for over 21 years and have raised two children who both graduated from the Mahwah school system and have gone on to professional careers. Spanning almost two decades, DaPuzzo has been a volunteer coach and a Cub Scout troop leader and has been involved with many aspects of the township through a variety of civic and social organizations and the municipal government. DaPuzzo is running under the slogan “Experienced Leadership for Mahwah.” DiGiulio, who has been a resident for 31 years, is a payroll corporate collection specialist. She has been on the council for 20 years and is serving her sixth term in office. She has been the council’s vice president five times and president three times. During her time on the council, a new library and municipal building were built in the township along with a new school. She claims to have obtained $2 to $3 million in grant money for the township. She has served as chair of the Senior Advisory Board and as a Girl Scout leader for 20 years, a member of Mahwah Ambulance Corps #1, a member of the council’s Recreation Facilities Committee and Cable TV Committee, the Mahwah Woman’s Club, and the Valley Hospital Auxiliary. She is running under the slogan “For All the People.” Laforet has been the owner of the Sunoco Gas Station at the corner of Franklin Turnpike and Miller Road for 34 years. He is a current member of the township’s board of adjustment and the Mahwah Municipal Alliance. Married for 38 years, Laforet and his wife Maureen have lived in Mahwah since a very early age and they were childhood sweethearts. They raised two children who both attended the Mahwah public schools. Laforet is running under the slogan “Time for a Change.” Jandris lives on Stone Fence Road and is currently a member of the township’s planning board and captain of the Mahwah Ambulance Company #4. He received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Beaver College in Glenside, Pennsylvania in 1987. He owns and operates the Children’s Learning Center in the township where he has been the director of finance since 1990. Prior to that, he was a marketing coordinator at CDA Investment Technologies in Rockville, Maryland. In the community, he has been a planning board member since 2000, a little league coach, and a member of the ambulance corps since 2008. Jandris is running under the slogan “Your Voice in Mahwah.” Sbarra resides on Deerfield Terrace in Mahwah and is a 19-year resident who has been active in the township in numerous capacities as a volunteer basketball and softball coach and as a 15-year volunteer for Mahwah’s street and roller hockey programs. He was also a founding trustee of the Mahwah Ice Hockey Association, which was instrumental in bringing ice hockey to Mahwah High School. Sbarra started his professional career in 1981 working at Federal Express in New York City. He eventually became a senior operations manager in Fairfield. Seeking a career change, Sbarra became a human resource professional in 1999 and has held human resource management positions for Pinkerton Security, Commerce Bank, and Wachovia Bank. He is in the process of opening his own business in Wyckoff. Sbarra is running under the slogan “Honesty, Integrity, Transparency.”