Friday, February 22, 2013
Dan Dunay and Amy Lefkowitz will run on the Republican ticket for borough council in 2013.
The Fair Lawn Republican Club's hopes for retaining a council majority in 2014 officially rest on Dan Dunay and Amy Lefkowitz. The organization announced Thursday that its members had chosen the two young Republicans as their 2013 borough council nominees. Dunay and Lefkowitz will run in lieu of Deputy Mayors Jeanne Baratta and Ed Trawinski, who intend to retire from public office after their terms expire at the end of the year. Dunay, a third generation Fair Lawn resident and principal at New York financial services firm Centerview Partners, said he was honored to receive the group's endorsement. "It means so much to me that we work together to keep Fair Lawn strong," Dunay said in a statement. "I want to do whatever I can to help Fair …
Sunday, January 13, 2013
A Patch analysis of three years of election data teases out how often different parts of town go to the polls on election day.
Nearly 72 percent of registered Fair Lawn voters cast ballots in the presidential election last November, down from 77.6 percent in 2008. Of those who voted, a majority put their trust in Barack Obama, who received 54.1 percent of Fair Lawn's vote in 2012 and 53.2 percent in 2008. Elections held in non-presidential years show predictably lower turnout. Only 39 percent of registered voters participated in the 2011 borough council election, for example. In any election, however, there are pockets of Fair Lawn that get out the vote and others that stay home. Analysis of voting data from the 2008, 2011 and 2012 elections has revealed four "high turnout districts" and four "low turnout districts" in town. Where does your neighborhood fall …
Monday, January 7, 2013
A Patch analysis of three years of election data teases out how different parts of town vote.
The borough's current Republican council majority aside, Fair Lawn is a Democratic town. A majority of borough residents voted for Barack Obama in 2008 (53.2%) and 2012 (54.1%), and Democrats won two of three open borough council seats in 2011, and had held a majority on council for much of the past decade. There are, however, enclaves that vote Republican in Fair Lawn. Three of the borough's 23 voting districts went for John McCain in 2008, and five went for Mitt Romney in 2012. Eight districts cast more votes for Republican than Democratic candidates in the 2011 borough council election, and Republican John Cosgrove was the top vote-getter in 10 districts (Lisa Swain captured 11 districts, Kurt Peluso grabbed one and Swain and Peluso …
Friday, November 2, 2012
Three of Fair Lawn's normal polling stations have been disrupted by power outages and will be relocated for Tuesday's election.
Voters from Fair Lawn's 4th, 5th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 20th districts will vote at alternate locations on Election Day Tuesday due to power outages at three of the borough's normal polling places. Residents who normally vote at Edison School (Districts 4 and 5) or Radburn School (Districts 13 and 14) will instead vote at the Fair Lawn Community Center, located at 10-10 20th Street, while those who normally vote at Fair Lawn Public Library (Districts 15 and 20) will vote across the street at the Municipal Building, in council chambers on the second floor. All other polling locations remain the same. If you'd rather vote early, the Bergen County Clerk's Office will remain open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through the weekend and on Monday, …
Saturday, October 27, 2012
The Fair Lawn Board of Education candidates debate, which involved six candidates running for three open seats, was held Thursday, Oct. 25
The League of Women Voters and the PTA Council of Fair Lawn sponsored a Candidates Forum for the Fair Lawn Board of Education on Thursday, Oct. 25. All six of the candidates vying for three three-year terms participated in the forum, which was well attended by residents. The incumbents running for re-election are Eugene Banta, Ron Barbarulo and Josh Gillenson. The challengers are Vladimir Itkin, Jeffrey Klein and Mark Spindel. During the candidates forum, audience members directed questions at candidates, who were then given 90 seconds to respond. Following the question and answer portion, each candidate was given five minutes to make a closing statement. Below is a transcript of the event, taken while it was occurring. It's not a verbatim…
Monday, October 22, 2012
Challenger Jeff Klein said he wants to see more transparency and fewer excuses from the board of education.
Compared to the municipal governing body, Fair Lawn’s board of education has traditionally flown under the radar. Despite the fact that school taxes account for a majority of the residential tax burden, board of education candidates rarely campaign, elections are only sometimes contested and voters generally skip the polls. This year, one school board candidate is hoping to change that. “The foundation of your country’s future, your community’s future lies in the hands of the people who are sitting in those meetings, yet it doesn’t get any attention,” said Jeff Klein, a first-time challenger for a seat on the board. “I hope to change that. To grab some attention from people, and at the very least, I hope that people are engaging in …
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
The Fair Lawn League of Women Voters and politically-engaged Fair Lawn High School students have created displays around town to emphasize the importance of voting in this November's election.
The Fair Lawn League of Women Voters and students from the high school are working in collaboration this election cycle to encourage residents to vote in the Nov. 6 election, now less than three weeks away. You may have seen their handiwork around town in the form of cardboard cut-out silhouettes affixed with essays about the importance of voting. Students from the high school's Political Institute elective and AP United States History II classes compiled the essays, informed by interviews with citizens who shared personal anecdotes, recollections and opinions on why voting matters to them. The 20 "Why I Vote" silhouettes are displayed throughout the borough at some of its most prominent public institutions — the library, community center…
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Retired principal Mark Spindel believes the board of education needs some fresh blood and out-of-the-box thinking.
Challenger Mark Spindel is loath to criticize the schools board’s stewardship of the district; he just feels its members could use an infusion of fresh ideas. Ideas that Spindel believes, as a retired educator with extensive experience crafting school budgets, negotiating contracts and developing curriculum, he has both the knowledge and the insight to ably introduce and implement. If elected, the N. Plaza Road resident, who retired in 2010 after 40 years as a public school teacher and administrator, hopes to boost parental involvement in the education process, increase academic rigor and make the board’s actions more transparent to the public. “It’s time for a change,” Spindel said during his closing statement at the candidate debate …
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Jeanne Baratta was first elected to council in 2005
(Updated on Dec. 23 with comments from Councilman Ed Trawinski) Jeanne Baratta will be sworn in as Fair Lawn's 36th mayor on Jan. 3 at borough council's reorganization meeting, multiple Fair Lawn Republican Party sources have confirmed. Councilman-elect John Cosgrove is expected to serve as Deputy Mayor and Ed Trawinski is expected to serve as Deputy Mayor of Community Affairs. In Fair Lawn, the mayor is not elected, but instead selected by the council at a reorganization meeting following each election. For the first time in more than a decade, Republicans hold a majority on council, and therefore can pick the town's next mayor. Baratta, the chief of staff for Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan, will be their choice, Republican …
Monday, November 14, 2011
Vote in the poll or tell us in the comments below
After months of campaigning, debating and plenty of mudslinging, Democrats Lisa Swain, Kurt Peluso and Republican John Cosgrove won seats on Fair Lawn's Borough Council. Next year, the winners will join Republicans Ed Trawinski and Jeanne Baratta on council, which for the first time in over a decade will have a Republican majority. Were you generally pleased with the results of the election? Were you disappointed? Surprised? It's unlikely that all three of the candidates you voted for (if you voted) got in, but going forward, do you feel confident in the new Republican majority? Do you think it'll be able to steer Fair Lawn in the right direction? Given the recent suggestion by councilman-elect Peluso that the sitting Republican …
Deleted because of harassment
6:47 pm on Sunday, March 3, 2013
Let me make it clear - I know Dan and have no idea why someone is implying with this name in a post to claim I have a problem with his education, or with him. This is also the one and only screen name I use here, and have made it clear to anyone offline who asks me what name I use here. I have no idea who I will vote for in this election since I don't yet know who else is running and don't belong… more ›