April 11, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 7 Ramsey On April 17, registered voters in the Borough of Ramsey will be asked to elect their representatives to the board of education. They will also be asked to decide on the $47,541,824 tax levy associated with the school district’s proposed $56,472,755 budget for 2012-13. Polls will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Voters are reminded that the borough now has two new voting districts, and many residents will be casting their ballots in new locations for the first time. All are urged to check their sample ballots to ensure that they will report to the correct polling location. Voters to select candidates, decide on tax levy Four candidates have filed for the three available seats on the Ramsey Board of Education. Incumbents Richard Muti and Richard Snyder have filed for re-election as have Mary-Ellen “Mae” Fine and David Rockefeller. John Nunziata is not seeking a new term. Fine grew up in Paramus and moved to Ramsey nine years ago. She is an active volunteer in the community, and has served as PTO co-president at Dater/Hubbard schools for six years. She is also a room parent at Hubbard and Dater. Fine has been a DARE Committee Chair for one year, a Teen Canteen Committee chair at Smith School for two years, a member of the Ramsey Drug Alliance for two years, a Cub Scout Pack 175 Committee chair for two years, and a Girl Scout Brunch Committee co-chair. The candidate is also a Eucharistic Minister at Saint Paul R.C. Church. She is employed by Valley National Bank. Muti was born and raised in Ramsey, where his family has lived for 100 years. He attended the public schools, and later graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. After serving as a Navy pilot, he accepted a fellowship to Harvard Business School, where he received his MBA. He later earned a law degree from Rutgers Law School. He was a prosecutor for many years, rising to the level of deputy first assistant prosecutor of Bergen County. He was fired from his prosecutorial position in 2000 when he publicly objected to what he believed was a wasted expenditure of more than $5 million if public funds. Muti later taught English, history, American government and politics, and criminal justice at three New Jersey universities. In 2002, he was elected mayor of Ramsey, where he instituted cost-saving reforms. He lost a subsequent bid for reelection by 189 votes, and later won election to the school board in 2009. He said he is seeking reelection to continue Ramsey’s new focus on the long-term financial health of the school district. Muti has written nearly 100 articles about public policy issues. He is also the author of three books. Rockefeller has lived in Ramsey for 12 years. He and his wife, Martyne, have two children who attend the public schools. Alexandra, 15, is a sophomore at Ramsey High School, and Zachary, 13, is an eighth grader at Smith School. The candidate grew up in Bogota and graduated from Bogota High School. He attended Rutgers University and graduated with a BS in accounting. He has spent 25 years working in financial and managerial positions at media and publishing companies, and is currently general manager, group finance director at Hearst Magazines in New York City. Over the years, he has volunteered for various coaching positions with Ramsey Recreation for baseball, softball, soccer, and basketball. He is also the former treasurer for Ramsey Cub Scout Pack 306. He is a parishioner at Saint Paul’s and a (continued on page 29)