Glen Rock November 14, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 3 Borough council’s makeup now solidly Republican by John Koster The Glen Rock Council will return to solid Republican status as a result of last week’s general election, which returned incumbents Joan Orseck and Carmine Nogara to their council seats. These two GOP candidates had been challenged by Democrat Howard Fox, who received 2,110 votes. Orseck, who was a registered Democrat until a few months before the election, was the top vote-getter, with 3,145 ballots, according to the Glen Rock Borough Clerk’s office. “I’m grateful to the voters who returned Carmine and returned me to office,” Orseck said the day after the election, while she was covering a desk at the emergency center at Glen Rock Borough Hall. “It’s an honor to be of service to this community.” Orseck is a nurse and nurse instructor with a high profile in community activities. She has been PTA president at the Byrd School; a leader for Cub Scouts, Brownies, and Girl Scouts; and a member of the Glen Rock Library Board. Nogara, who received 2,946 votes, is a long-standing member of the Glen Rock Volunteer Fire Department. He is the current council president. He has lived in Glen Rock for 14 years, coaches sports, and conducts chess tournaments at the Glen Rock Public Library. Nogara is a full-time professor of accounting at St. Francis College, and holds a doctorate in accounting from Pace University and an MBA from St. John’s University. He is also a CPA. Fox has lived in Glen Rock for about seven years, operates two electronic businesses, and is a literacy volunteer. He had previously run with Mark McCullough, a Democrat who was elected to the council some years ago, and served a full term, but failed to win reelection. The overall vote in Glen Rock supported the incumbents by a handy margin, but in the presidential race, Barack Obama trumped Mitt Romney 2,976 to 2,647 -- an indication that the Democrats are still demographically strong in Glen Rock. Democrat Robert Menendez also did better than Republican Joe Kyrillos in the U.S. Senate race, with 2,563 votes for Menendez and 2,388 for Kyrillos. GOP incumbent Scott Garrett retained his seat in the House of Representatives with 2,646 votes; Adam Gussen received 2,353. Glen Rock had been solidly Republican for many years until Democrat Howard Bookbinder won a single term in the 1980s. The political tide turned following a controversial revaluation in 1995-96 led to more than 800 tax appeals, most of which were successful. Thomas Ludlum, a local attorney, was the first Democrat to broach the council and, at one point, the council was split 3-3 with Republican John van Keuren as mayor. The trend began to reverse to the point where Democrats lost seats until they had just one seat left on the council -- until Orseck switched affiliations to run with Nogara. The Senior Citizen Advisory Committee of Glen Rock will meet on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 1:30 p.m. in the municipal building located at Harding Plaza. The meeting will be Senior Citizen Advisory Committee to meet chaired by Doris Ciaramella. All are invited. For information concerning transportation for senior residents, call Paula Fleming at (201) 670-3956.