BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield registered voters will have the opportunity to vote for the three ward seats on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Two Democrat incumbents and four challengers, three Republicans and a Democrat, are running.
The incumbents are 1st Ward Councilwoman Jenny Mundell and 2nd Ward Councilman Nicholas Joanow. The challengers are Republicans Dave Tucker, 1st Ward; Ciro Spina, 2nd Ward; and Pedro Taveras, 3rd Ward. Also running is Democrat Sarah Cruz, 3rd Ward. All candidates were invited to sit down with The Independent Press for interviews. All accepted but Tucker. The following story is taken from those interviews.
Democrat incumbent Jenny Mundell, the 1st Ward councilwoman, said she helped to build the Citizens of Bloomfield webpage, attending council meetings when the issues interested to her. Mundell was appointed to replace Elias Chalet. She said she is concerned about the impact development projects will have on rents, population densities, parking, noise and water quality. Currently the liaison for the council to the Bloomfield Public Library, she is working to have more library programming.
She said the council has a collegial atmosphere because it is provided with “lots of information” about the agenda. She said there is good communications between the police and residents and cited the use of social media by the police.
She believes Broad Street could be a little more pedestrian-friendly and a crosswalk would help and more trees.
Democrat Nicholas Joanow, the 2nd Ward incumbent, said, “As a councilman of nine years, I bring my legislative experience to network with the council.”
He said he is concerned with residents from neighboring municipalities parking their cars on streets in his ward. He prefers to work with the mayor in a collegial manner and not be confrontational in public. Joanow credits Matthew Watkins, the township administrator, with keeping taxes from increasing too much.
He cited his “Good Neighbor Policy,” which is an effort to maintain property code enforcement, and his efforts to secure the Lion Gate tract for open spaces, recreation, and flood waters mitigation as accomplishments. He said the flooding mitigation within the tract would be unique in that it will create an area where Third River runoff will be collected in manmade lowlands.
Ciro Spina, the 2nd Ward Republican challenger, said he was a criminal, administrative and family-law attorney who makes 15 to 25 court appearances a week. He prefers the GOP candidates running independently so he can make his own platform.
“The 2nd Ward needs a change,” he said.
He said burglaries were up almost 20 percent in his ward and he would like to see more police on the street.
“I’ve never seen a cop on my street,” he said.
But Spina added the police were doing a fine job.
He said there should be a “no-knock” register so that salesman do not solicit.
He has had attorneys speak at United Park Methodist Church about immigration rights.
Spina said the recent takeover of the Bloomfield Parking Authority by the township which boasted an annual savings of $200,000 was nothing to boast about. Spina said a forensic audit would have saved the money sooner.
Taveras, the Republican running for the 3rd Ward seat, said he’s tired of negative information about Bloomfield. He saiincluded increasing taxes and racial profiling in the 3rd Ward, as documented by a Seton Hall study.
He said the 3rd Ward is not represented by its current councilman who has missed a number of council meetings. Taveras said he would not have any difficulty attending meetings except if he has the night shift at his job. He said this has happened only a couple of times over the past year.
He would like to see residents get a property tax credit for purchases they make at Bloomfield businesses. He would also like to see more police foot patrols. He said he has volunteered with the Neighbor-to-Neighbor Network and said is using the council seat as a political beginning.
“But Bloomfield will always come first,” he said.
He thinks a mental-health professional should meet with first responders on a regular basis. He acknowledged that his chances of winning are slim.
Editor’s note: The Seton Hall study was criticized by Mayor Michael Venezia and Public Safety Director Sam DeMaio as being uninformed.
Cruz, the Democrat challenger running for the 3rd Ward seat, said after Donald Trump was elected president, she opened her home to friends to voice their concerns.
And after the Women’s March on Washington after the election, she said she felt energized. Mayor Michael Venezia, then reached out for her to run for the council. She was Facebook friends with Venezia and accepted his offer because it seemed like the right thing to do.
She said parking is always an issue in the township. She wants to see parking lines painted on the street to prevent one car from taking two spaces. If a car parked across the line, she said they would probably get a ticket.
As a councilwoman, she would become involved with the recreation commission.
She runs the Newark School District after-school and summer programs and feels that she has the skill set to be an effective councilwoman.
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