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Education
I earned a law degree (Juris Doctorate) from the Emory University School of Law and a B.A from Rutgers University with a double major in Music and History.
Qualifications/Experience
When I finished law school, I turned down offers from big law firms to start my career in public service. I spent 14 years as a State (Manhattan D.A. ) and Federal (US Dept. of Justice) Prosecutor handling violent crimes such as domestic violence and crimes against children, as well as money laundering and other white-collar crimes. I then entered the private sector where I rose to be a Managing Director of one of the largest banks in the world. I bring the unique experience of being able to deliver results within both government and the private sector. I will bring that same level of experience to the Council.
Involvement in Community
In addition to my service as a Prosecutor, I served as a Trustee and Treasurer of Temple Israel in Ridgewood, Chair of Ridgewood's Financial Advisory Committee, as a volunteer for Feed the Frontlines and the Development Partnership Council for the Mason Gross School of the Arts. As a Council Member, I have served on several Committees including the Library Committee, the Fourth of July Committee, and the Historical Preservation Committee.
Employment
Banking Compliance Executive
We first need to keep taxes low and be fiscally responsible. However, we also need to continue reinvesting in the Village. Using grant money, public/private partnerships and by finding efficiencies in government we have continued to invest in the Village including hiring school safety officers, hiring more police and firefighters, and improving our infrastructure. Better services and accountability are also critically important. That is why we hired a new Village Manager, Police Chief, Village Engineer, Head of Communications, and Head of the Building Department. Finally, for too long Ridgewood suffered from the same vitriol and pettiness that you often see in Washington. We have brought back civility and decency to Village Hall.
I bring the unique experience of being able to deliver results within both government and the private sector. However, while I am proud of my accomplishments in government and business, I am most proud of being a husband and father. I have been married for over 20 years, and my wife and I have two kids in the Ridgewood Schools. I am also the only person running who commutes into Manhattan on a regular basis. I think it is critically important that we have someone with those experiences sitting on the Council. It gives me a greater perspective on what many families in Ridgewood contend with on a daily basis and why it’s important to deliver the very best in resources and services for our community.
The operating budget must be appropriately managed to ensure the needs of the Village are being met and that we are spending the taxpayer’s money wisely. While I am committed to investing in the Village through a capital budget, we also need to keep our debt and interest payments as low as possible. This is why I am proud of the over $5M of grant money we have brought in over the past 4 years and the public/private partnerships that have helped us fund the stadium lights at Vet’s field and the new Senior Center while reducing the burden on our taxpayers for these projects. We also found efficiencies in government such as switching to a high-deductible health care plan, saving us well over $1M while still looking after our employees.
While it is imperative that we maintain the level of services provided by the Village, we need to take a hard look at our expenditures. With my background in finance, I have taken the lead every budget season that I have been in office to ensure we are spending our money wisely. Through that effort we have kept tax increases low while still investing in our Village by bringing in more grant money, utilizing public/private partnerships, shared services with other municipalities and finding ways to just spend our money better. I treat the municipal budget the way I treat my own household budget because it’s not other people’s money the Council is spending – it's our money.
We need to continue to work with our State and Federal partners to look at better flood management as any real improvement needs to account for more than just Ridgewood. On the local level, we have taken the lead on planting more trees and we need to continue to preserve green space. We have worked closely with the School Board to make Village owned fields available to our kids when school fields flood. Finally, we have received approval to finally develop Schedler Field into the field that was promised to the Village almost twenty years ago when that land was saved from development. An additional field, especially one not in a flood zone, is a critical improvement for our kids.
Education
I am a proud graduate of the Ridgewood public school system (Orchard, GWMS, and RHS ’91). I earned a BA in engineering from Lafayette College and an MBA from Fordham University School of Business
Qualifications/Experience
In addition to my educational background, I worked at Tiffany & Co. for almost ten years, where I was Director of New Product Development & Engineering. I later founded Womily LLC, a boutique company that specialized in custom design jewelry, and I am currently employed part time at Borobabi, a sustainable clothing company headquartered here in Ridgewood. As described below, I also have a proven track record over many years of serving this community and playing instrumental roles in successful community initiatives.
Involvement in Community
I have always endeavored to serve our wonderful community in meaningful ways, including through key roles with, e.g.: RHSAA, OVOV, Ridgecrest Toiletry Tuesday, HSAs, Ridgewood League of Women Voters, Ridgewood Guild, Feed the Front Lines, Ridgewood Mom & Dads Facebook Forum, Ridgewood Community Relations Advisory Board, Ridgewood Pride Committee, Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee of Ridgewood and Glen Rock, Women for Progress, 2020 Complete Count Census Committee, RHS Reunion Committee, Lafayette College Reunion Committee, Project Graduation
Employment
Councilmember Ridgewood, N.J.
My campaign focuses on several challenges and opportunities for Ridgewood. 1) improvements to the CBD, such as the future use of the Town Garage site on Franklin Ave and upgrading the train pedestrian tunnel, as well as enhanced beautification through tree planting, flowers, and holiday lights and also working to convert Warner Theater into a performing arts center through a NJEDA grant; 2) improving our parks system, including moving forward with and opening Schedler, implementing an inclusive playground (now that Ridgewood is eligible for Jake's Law grants). 3) continuing to address flood mitigation for low-lying areas impacting residential homes and Village assets along with a flood response team to standardize our safety protocols.
My strong educational and professional background, years of meaningful involvement in this community, and unique set of interpersonal skills make me the ideal candidate for Village Council. After earning a BA in engineering and an MBA, I was Director of New Product Development & Engineering at Tiffany & Co., founded my own jewelry company, Womily LLC, and was involved with start-up Borobabi here in Ridgewood. I was born in Ridgewood, lived most of my life here, raised my children here, and have always been active in this great community. For the past four years, it has been my honor to serve on the Ridgewood Village Council, where I am the Council Representative on six working committees.
Every year Ridgewood spends $7.5M on capital while our operating budget runs approximately $67M. With respect to capital, I will continue to invest in infrastructure project such as sidewalks, park development and first responder equipment, to name a few. I will leverage the use of sinking funds for large-scale purchases such as trucks, thereby distributing the impact over a longer period of time as we have done over the past four years. As for operating, I will continue to work with our departments to ensure that the budget is updated and efficient. I will continue to work with the state to address the impact of health care costs locally. I will work to ensure that that our CBD is economically vibrant and we are receiving numerous grants.
I have taken and will continue to take several steps. The first is to promote a vibrant business district, which, among other things, will help offset our taxes (and raise our property values). Second, I will actively explore shared services with the BOE and neighboring towns. Ridgewood should be a leader in shared services. Third, I will continue to seek grants to offset costs in Ridgewood. Over the last four years, I have brought in over $5M in grants and worked with the county to make sure that Ridgewood is a part of their plans. The most recent paving of Maple Avenue (county road) is a great example. I will work to ensure that seniors, who are often the hardest hit when property taxes go up, receive benefits such senior parking passes.
Local efforts can have a huge impact in combating climate change. I will continue to take meaningful steps to promote tree plantings. To reduce flooding, which has gotten progressively worse over the last decade (to the detriment of our community), I will continue to explore blue acres, expand our open space, and reduce impervious land through zoning and planning. I will encourage more walking and cycling to help reduce emissions. I have addressed and will continue to address soil contamination through remediation in areas such as the defunct Town Garage site on Franklin Avenue and the Schedler property, insuring that contaminated land gets a clean bill of health from the NJDEP. I will continue to promote rain barrels to reduce run off.
