Watch: Meet Mahwah's Mayoral Candidates

Wednesday night, the library board hosted the second half of its second annual ‘Meet the Candidates’ Night. Both candidates running for mayor introduced themselves and answered the following questions:

• What difficult choices are you expecting to have to face in 2013, and what skills and experiences do you feel make you better equipped to handle them?
• This election is for a 4-year term as mayor. You’re both relatively new to municipal politics. How have you prepared yourself to lead such a large, diverse community?
• Considering the 2% tax cap, putting together the 2013 municipal budget will be difficult. Please list some specific departments or areas of the budget you will look to, to cut costs. Do you have any specific ideas for increasing revenue to the township?
• What roles do you feel privatization and shared services play in municipal governments today? Do you have any ideas for applying these tactics to Mahwah?
• Outside of municipal finances, what other roles do you think a successful mayor plays?
• The mayor of Mahwah is not only a voting member of the township’s planning board, but also is responsible for appointing members to the planning and zoning boards. What feelings about development in Mahwah will you bring to this role?
• Many issues over the past few years have divided the town. What role should the mayor play in repairing the fractures of the community, among residents, officials and township employees?
• If elected, what would you want your legacy as mayor to be? What imprint do you want to leave on Mahwah?

Continue to check Patch this week for continuing coverage and video highlights of the event.