Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES
Mahwah
IV • September 26, 2012
Township’s seven candidates draw ballot spaces
by Frank J. McMahon Last week, the seven candidates who are seeking elected office in Mahwah participated in a drawing for position on the general election ballot. The drawing was conducted by Mahwah Township Clerk Kathy Coletta in the conference room at the municipal building. The session was attended by Mayor William Laforet, his challenger Edward Sinclair, incumbent Councilman John Roth, council candidates Jonathan Marcus and Steven Sbarra, and several campaign supporters. Laforet drew the first column position and Sinclair drew the second column position on the ballot. Incumbent Councilwoman Lisa DiGiulio, one of five candidates for a seat on the township council, drew the first column position on the ballot for council candidates. Roth drew the second column position, and Marcus drew the third column position. Todd Van Duren will be in the fourth column, and Steven Sbarra in the fifth. The Mahwah Township Council is nonpartisan, and none of the candidates seek election under any political party. However, last year’s ballot placed the municipal candidates under the state and county candidates who were affiliated with political parties and, therefore, those voters who voted in a straight party line manner may have inadvertently voted for a township council candidate they did not intend to support. To avoid that situation this year, Marlene Verrastro, the supervisor in the election division of the Bergen County Clerk’s office, advised that Bergen County Clerk John Hogan decided that the columns of the federal, state, and county candidates on this year’s ballot will be separated from the municipal non-partisan candidates by the public questions. This positioning will interrupt a down the line vote. The board of education candidates will be listed on the ballot after the council candidates. This year’s municipal election will be the second one held in November. Previously, the township’s non-partisan municipal elections were held in May. Any runoff in a November general election that may be required would be held in December, with the elected official then taking office on Jan. 1 along with the other elected officials. In September 2010, the township council adopted an ordinance to move the municipal elections which are held every two years from May to November to coincide with the county, state, and federal elec-
tions. That action was based on a new law that was passed in 2009 by the state legislature that permits towns operating under the 1981 Non-partisan Elections Law to pass an ordinance to change the date of the municipal election. The new law provides that, once a municipality has chosen to change the date of its regular municipal election to the date of the general election, it is not permitted to change the date back to the month of May for at least 10 years. A new ordinance would then have to be adopted to change the date from November to May.
Sunday performances announced
The Mahwah Public Library provides free programs on Sundays at 2 p.m. during the month of October. Tickets are not necessary, and seating available on a “first come” basis. On Oct 7, tenor Salvatore Chiarelli and pianist William Glazier will offer “From Italy with Love.” Chiarelli will perform Italian/Neapolitan favorites, such as “O Sole Mio,” “Mamma,” “Dicitencello Vuje,” “Parlami d’amore,” “Chitarra Romana,” “Ritorna Me,” “Innamorata,” “Con te partiro,” “Anima e core,” “O marenariello/ Vicino mare,” and more. Pianist Itay Goren and violinist Evelyn Estava will perform works by Mozart, Brahms, and Debussy on Oct. 14. This concert is a part of the library’s Chamber Music Series. On Oct. 21, the 17 North Band will present a program of blues, classic country, swing, Latin, klezmer, and familiar ballads. The band’s six musicians previously played at the Military Gala in West Point, New York, and at the Puffin Cultural Forum in Teaneck. The East Lynne Theater Company production, “Emma Goldman: My Life,” will be presented on Oct. 28. Written and performed by Lorna Lable and directed by Karen Case Cook, this program is set in the early 1900s and features the outspoken immigrant Emma Goldman. Goldman always spoke her mind, whether it was on women’s rights or the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Funding for this program has been made possible by the Puffin Foundation. The library is located at 100 Ridge Road. For details, call (201) 529-READ.