Who Wants to Be an Elected Official?

With Ridgewood's nonpartisan government setup, elections for both the Board of Education and Village Council are within in a month of each other.

Registered voters will hit the polls twice this spring: April 20 and May 11 for the BOE and council, respectively.

In the interim, deadlines for candidacy applications are due in March. The Education Center has already assembled candidate kits as has Village Hall.

Each kit details specifics for each office and enumerates all necessary deadlines. To gain entry to the ballot, prospective candidates must turn in petitions by March 1 for the BOE and March 18 for council.

School board members serve three-year terms, with elections annually. Council members are elected to four-year terms, with elections in even years. 

In the upcoming elections, each body will have two seats open for contest. Both Board of Education President Joseph Vallerini and member Michele Lenhard's terms expire this year. Neither have announced whether they will stand for reelection.

For the Village Council, Mayor David Pfund and Councilman Patrick Mancuso will also see their terms expire this spring. Similarly, neither have announced their intentions for reelection.

Based on Ridgewood's governmental structure, candidates run to be council members, not necessarily for mayor. At the body's reorganization meeting July 1, the council will chose a mayor and deputy mayor among its five members. Conceivably, Pfund could be reelected and not retain his mayoral title.

Each candidate must provide 165 signed, valid petitions of registered voters in Ridgewood. Village Clerk Heather Mailander recommends 200 signatures as certain discrepancies could jeopardize a petition's validity, including lapsed registration and duplications. Each voter can only sign petitions for candidates corresponding to the number of contested seats—in this case, two.

"Often candidates get signatures downtown, and people sometimes forget if they've signed two or three times," Mailander said.

To be a Village Council member, individuals must be registered Ridgewood voters. No set residency period exists.

Each candidate is required to disclose past convictions and other violations involving "moral turpitude," Mailander said.

Often Mailander won't know who candidates are until 4 p.m. deadline day. People sometimes pick up packets, and decided not to run. In her 19th year with the village, Mailander said once a candidate opted against running even after securing the necessary petitions.

Potential school board members must meet similar requirements. As detailed in the New Jersey School Board Association's election guide, there are additional restrictions. For one, board members can't simultaneously hold office in Ridgewood. Additionally, school board nominees only need 10 signatures (including their own), and must be able to read and write.

Candidates are not permitted to have existing contracts with the district, as well.

 "One of the most meaningful contributions that a citizen can make to their community is serving on their local board of education," said Harry J. Delgado, NJSBA president. "I encourage all interested citizens to consider school board membership. It doesn't require a degree in education, or a background in politics. However, it does require a sincere interest in the community, its children, and their education." 

Council could be changing election protocol soon in two regards. Mailander said council might negate runoffs for this election cycle. Currently, if no candidate receives a majority of votes, a runoff election is held. If the runoff were eliminated, the two highest vote getters would assume office.

Additionally, this could be Ridgewood's last May election. Former Gov. Jon Corzine signed a law to allow nonpartisan elections to occur with the general election in November. Although not affecting the 2010 election cycle, council could move future elections to save money and potentially increase turnout, Mailander said.

Gov. Chris Christie has also expressed interest in moving school board elections to November, according to the NJSBA.

If interested in a council seat, prospective candidates must receive packets from the Village Clerk's office. School board candidates can acquire their packs from the NJSBA Web site or at the Education Center.