Council Candidates Answer Questions on Mahwah Politics, Future

This November, Mahwah residents will be choosing one of four candidates to fill an unexpired term on the township council. Wednesday night, about 100 residents gathered at the Mahwah Public Library to ‘Meet the Candidates.’

The event, sponsored by the library Board of Trustees, allowed candidates to address the crowd during introductions and closing statements. Each candidate also answered four questions posed by a moderator, Patch Editor Jessica Mazzola. Candidates were asked to:

• Comment on a recent council decision they disagreed with
• Comment on their feelings about balancing future development in Mahwah with land preservation, including their feelings on how the Crossroads Town Center will impact the township
• Talk about what their personalities will bring to the council, and how they will be able to work with other political leaders in Mahwah
• Say what they feel the biggest issue facing Mahwah today is, and what the biggest issue facing Mahwah in five years will be

All four candidates – Former Councilman and Bergen County Freeholder Rob Hermansen, Planning Board member Jonathan Marcus, Environmental Commission member Gregg Sgambati, and political newcomer Jonathan Wong – attended the forum, answered the posed questions, and chatted with residents at the close of the event.

The four are competing to finish out the one-year left in a term cut short when former Councilman John Spiech retired earlier this year.

A group of township residents known as “Mahwah1” streamed the entire event online. If you missed it, check out the streamed footage, posted in two parts, on the group’s UStream channel.