May 9, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 3 Franklin Lakes William Smith returns to borough attorney’s post by Frank J. McMahon At the last public meeting of the Franklin Lakes Borough Council, the governing body accepted the resignation of Councilman William Smith. Mayor Frank Bivona then appointed Smith as the borough attorney, and the council gave its unanimous consent. Smith’s appointment became effective on May 1. Bivona explained his reason for appointing Smith, saying he has had a long experience in the borough and has been supportive of the borough in many ways. “It has been a pleasure serving with Bill and, if approved, I look forward to working with him,” the mayor said. Smith thanked the mayor for appointing him and the council for consenting to the appointment, saying, “Thank you for putting your faith and trust in me, and I look forward to working with the mayor and the council.” Smith replaces Richard Lustgarten who had served as the borough’s attorney since February 2010. Lustgarten submitted his letter of resignation on March 20, and Bivona accepted it with regret, stating that he had a great appreciation for the work Lustgarten had done for the borough. “Your experienced and calm approach to problem solv- ing will be remembered,” Bivona told Lustgarten at the last council meeting the attorney attended. Lustgarten cited unanticipated circumstances as the reason for leaving the borough attorney’s position. He later explained that he is planning to move to Indiana and could not commit to attending all of the council’s meetings. He stated in his letter that it had been a great honor and pleasure to work with the council on behalf of the (continued on page 23) Franklin Lakes resident Anthony Rottino announced last week that he is running for chairman of the Bergen County Republican Organization. He will be challenging Wyckoff resident Robert Yudin, who has held the position since 2008. The chairmanship election will be in June. Rottino, 45, a self-made successful business owner and entrepreneur, said he has been encouraged to run for chairman by many rank and file Republicans who want a change in party leadership and an end to the infighting among GOP officials that has spilled out into the media. “I am humbled to have received so much encouragement from people who are seeking to change the direction our party is headed,” said Rottino. Rottino to run for BCRO chairman “For too long a culture of divisiveness and bickering has been allowed to fester within our organization. When I look around at our hard working county committee members, it is obvious to me that they all want to move our party forward and not be mired in disagreements of the past…We can’t be very effective at beating the Democrats when we are beating up on each other,” he said. Rottino, a former Bergen County freeholder candidate, said his experience as a businessman has given him the skills to bring people together to create a new organizational framework for the BCRO that allows the party to meet the challenges it faces today and will face tomorrow. (continued on page 23)