Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • September 12, 2012 Mahwah Fall races for mayor and council seats begin by Frank J. McMahon The campaigns of several Mahwah candidates began in earnest last week when the Sept. 4 deadline for filing nominating petitions passed. Two candidates will vie for the position of mayor and five candidates will compete for the three available seats on the township council. Incumbent Mayor William Laforet is seeking his first full term as mayor of the township. He was elected in November 2011 to fill out the final year of former Mayor Richard J. Martel’s term. Edward Sinclair, the superintendent of the department of public works, is challenging Laforet and will be seeking his first term as mayor. Councilman Samuel Alderisio is not seeking reelection to the township council, but incumbent Councilwoman Lisa DiGiulio and incumbent Councilman John Roth will be seeking new terms. Residents Jonathan Marcus, Steven Sbarra, and Todd Van Duren will join them in seeking election to the council. Laforet has been the operator of the Sunoco Gas Station at the corner of Franklin Turnpike and Miller Road in Mahwah for the past 35 years. He is a current member of the Mahwah Municipal Alliance. Prior to his election as mayor last year he was a member of the Mahwah Beautification Committee and a member of the board of adjustment. A former member of the Mahwah Youth Sports Boosters and coach for Mahwah football, Laforet has been a member of the Mahwah Chamber of Commerce for 35 years. He has been named the Mahwah Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year twice, and was the Bergen County Man of the Year in 1991. He received the Mahwah Pride Award in 2003. Laforet also was the co-organizer of the first Mahwah Day and has helped raise money for various charities. Sinclair is a volunteer firefighter and former fire chief and a life-long resident of the township. He grew up on First Street and attended Immaculate Conception School. He is a 1975 graduate of Mahwah High. He and his wife, Jackie Borish Sinclair, have two children, Benjamin and Melissa, who graduated from Mahwah public schools. Prior to being named DPW superintendent, he was superintendent of water and sewers for Ramsey. As DPW superintendent, he is responsible for preparing and controlling annual budgets, setting capital budgets, hiring and managing personnel, and directing daily operations. In addition to being a volunteer firefighter at Company #2, he was a volunteer EMT driver for Company #1 Ambulance for five years. He coached Mahwah DARE street hockey, youth baseball, football, T-ball, and softball, and coordinated dozens of badge projects for Eagle Scouts. Sinclair received his public works manager’s certification from Rutgers University and received a certification in public service administration from Fairleigh Dickinson. He is a New Jersey licensed fire official and a nationally certified municipal pool operator. He holds state licenses in public water distribution, water treatment, and waste water collection. DiGiulio has been a Mahwah resident for 31 years. She has been on the council for 20 years, and is serving her sixth term. She has been the council’s vice president five times and its president three times. She chaired the council’s Beautification Subcommittee, and served as a member of the council’s Ordinance/Codification Committee and of the Transportation Subcommittee. She has been the council’s liaison to the Northwest Bergen Community Development Commission and was a former member of the township’s ambulance corps. Roth has been a Mahwah resident for 19 years. He is a retired marketing executive and former executive vice president and managing director of Lowe Worldwide/Interpublic Group. He served as the council’s vice president and president, liaison to the Mahwah Chamber of Commerce, and chair 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. He founded the township’s TV Bulletin Board Channel 78/33 Cablevision/Verizon and hosts the “MCN Meets” series on the Mahwah TV channel. Roth previously served the council as chair of the Finance Committee and chair of the township’s water rates advisory panel. He also served on the Mahwah Board of Education for five years, where he served as first and second vice president and as a member of the Executive Committee. He was a member of the township’s planning board from 2002 to 2003. He was elected to the council in 2004 and reelected in 2008. Marcus is a corporate attorney for an accounting firm. He has lived in the township for more than 10 years and has two young daughters. He is a graduate of Ramapo College and of Seton Hall Law School. He was a member of Mayor Laforet’s Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on the budget. Marcus is actively involved with Ramapo College, (continued on page 6)