Page 16 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • October 31, 2012 Mahwah candidates (continued from page 5) Laforet said, “As your mayor, my priority is to make sure your family and your business can be proud to call Mahwah home. Mahwah has given me the opportunity to operate a successful business and raise my family. Younger families should have the same experience. Let’s do it together. I’ll lead the way.” Laforet emphasized that, a few years ago, the state took away $1 million in state aid from Mahwah and imposed a two percent tax levy cap on all municipal governments. In January 2012, he delivered a budget with the lowest tax rate increase in 11 years. “We have proven we can take measures that satisfy and beat the cap,” Laforet said. “Once we delivered the tax rate, we focused on our bond rating and Mahwah was awarded a (Triple A) Bond Rating from Standard & Poor’s,” Laforet continued. “As a result, we saved nearly $500,000 on the term of our debt. Because of this excellent rating, we pay banks the lowest interest on debt because we are the lowest risk due to our finical condition. Now that’s good business sense.” Sinclair is a 31-year volunteer firefighter and former chief at Fire Company #2. He has been the superintendent of public works for 25 years, and has held managerial positions in the township’s DPW for 17 years. As DPW superintendent, he is responsible for preparing and controlling annual budgets, setting capital budgets, hiring and managing all personnel, and directing the daily operations of the department. He said he is in favor of saving taxpayers’ dollars and in long-term stability for the township’s tax rate. He opposed the recent effort to privatize recycling in the township, claiming that privatization is not a “fix-all” and should only be used after careful analysis of all factors. Sinclair said he is committed to keeping the township’s high quality of services, an enviable volunteer system, and low taxes. He opposes using consultants to help govern the township, and said he would rely on the experience of the council members, build a solid relationship with the council, respect their points of view, and work collaboratively with them to find acceptable solutions to serve the township’s taxpayers. He supports the township’s volunteer emergency services and said he will continue to support the township’s senior citizens. “I have a passion for my hometown, an insider’s perspective, and a record of proven performance as a manager, township employee, and volunteer,” Sinclair said. “We need to lead Mahwah in the right direction, and I don’t think Mahwah is heading in the right direction right now.” DiGiulio has been a resident for 31 years and has been on the council for 20 years. She is currently serving her sixth term in office. She has been the council’s president three times and vice president five times. She has also been the chair of the council’s ad-hoc Beautification Subcommittee, and a member of the Ordinance/Codification Committee and the Transportation Subcommittee. She has been the council’s appointed liaison to the Northwest Bergen Community Development Commission and is a former member of the ambulance corps. DiGiulio said the biggest issue for the township’s elected officials next year will be taxes. She said she thinks the contract negotiations with the township’s unions and the budget process for 2013 will provide an opportunity to consider the restructuring of township departments and the elimination of scaled bonuses in the department of public works and police contracts. Roth has been a Mahwah resident for 19 years and is a retired marketing executive and former executive vice president/managing director of Lowe Worldwide/Interpublic Group. He served as the council’s vice president and president, liaison to the Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce, and chairman of the Cable TV Franchise Negotiating Committee that brought two community TV channels to the township. He is currently the council’s liaison to the Community Cable TV Committee, where he founded the township’s TV Bulletin Board Channel 78/33 Cablevision/Verizon and hosts the “MCN Meets” TV series. Roth previously served the council as chairman of both the Finance Committee and the water rates advisory panel. For five years, he served on the Mahwah Board of Education, where he was first and second vice president and member of the Executive Committee. He was a member of the township’s planning board from 2002 to 2003, and was elected to the council in 2004 and reelected in 2008. Roth said he was opposed to the recent proposal by Mayor Laforet to privatize the township’s collection of recyclables because he was not convinced of the projected cost savings of the proposal, which would have required the layoff of several township employees. He also said he opposed the ordinance proposed by the township’s administration to prohibit the posting of political signs in the township’s rights of way because it is every citizen’s right of free speech to do so. Marcus, a corporate attorney for an accounting firm, has lived in the township for more than 10 years and has two young daughters who are about to start school in Mahwah. He is a graduate of Ramapo College and Seton Hall Law School, and was a member of Mayor Laforet’s “Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel” on last year’s township budget. Marcus is actively involved with Ramapo College, where he sits on the Ramapo College Board of Governors and is currently serving on the college’s President’s Strategic Plan Task Force. He is past president of the Ramapo College Alumni Association. The candidate is a member of the Grace United Methodist Church in Wyckoff, where he is a Confirmation teacher, and he is a Girl Scout Daisy Dad for his daughter. Marcus said he believes in small government and in making sure the taxpayers get value for their tax dollars. He said he would like to increase the township’s partnership with Ramapo College. He said he would bring a young family perspective to the council, and he believes in planning so that his young daughters will be proud to live in the township when they grow up. Sbarra has lived in the township for 20 years and is the owner of Sport Clips in Wyckoff, which opened last year. He previously was the senior manager of FedEx in Fairfield and a manager at Commerce Bank and at Wachovia Bank. He has volunteered in the township for the DARE street and roller hockey program and for the Mahwah Sports Boosters as a basketball and softball coach. He is a founding trustee of the Mahwah Ice Hockey Association, a volunteer ice hockey coach at Mahwah High School, and a fundraiser for the United Way in Fairfield. Sbarra said the township council should act as a check and balance system within the township’s government. He said he wants to develop a good and honest working relationship among the mayor’s office, the township’s administration, and the council. “With my human resources experience, I hope to be able to bring everyone together to openly discuss issues professionally and make the right decisions for our township,” Sbarra said. Van Duren is one of the owners of the Ramsey Auto Group of local car dealerships. He has been a Mahwah resident for 37 years and has three children, two of whom are in the Mahwah school system. A member of the Mahwah Municipal Alliance for two years, he has been a member of the township’s planning board since the beginning of this year. Van Duren said he has also been involved in sports and the schools in the township. His wife is currently the president of the township’s Ambulance Corps Company #4.