Ridgewood Village Council Candidate Profile: Siobhan Winograd

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — Candidates are set for the Ridgewood Village Council race on the Nov. 8 ballot.

In anticipation, Patch sent questionnaires to each of the four candidates vying for the two open seats on the Village Council, asking them to share facts about themselves and why voters should choose them to represent the village.

Running under the slogan "An Independent Voice For Ridgewood,"Siobhan Winograd is seeking a four-year term against two other newcomers and incumbent Mayor Susan Knudsen. Former Deputy Mayor Mike Sedon resigned from council in September and is not seeking re-election.

Here are Winograd's responses:

Name:

Siobhan Crann Winograd

Age:

49

Town of residence:

Ridgewood, NJ

Position sought:

Ridgewood Village Council

Party affiliation:

None

Family:

Married (since 2001) with two children, ages 18 and 16.

Education:

B.A. in Engineering from Lafayette College (’95); MBA from Fordham University School of Business (’02)

Occupation:

In addition to being involved in numerous key community initiatives, I am currently employed part time at Borobabi, a sustainable clothing company headquartered here in Ridgewood. Previously, I was Director of New Product Development & Engineering at Tiffany & Co. and founded Womily LLC, a boutique company that specialized in custom design jewelry.

Why are you running for this office?

I am running for Ridgewood Village Council to be an engaged and independent voice for the residents of this great village. Like so many, I want our community to move forward on vital issues that have lingered for too long, such as the downtown pedestrian plaza program, our maintenance and shortage of parks and fields, the Schedler property, improvements to Franklin Avenue (including the abandoned Town Garage site), our lack of transparency about the Village budget, and our antiquated approach to communications in general. I was born in Ridgewood, have lived here most of my life, and want what is best for our community. I will always put the interests of this community first, and with my proven track record of initiative, collaboration, and accomplishment in our village’s civic arena, I am confident I will be able to hit the ground running.

What do you feel is the most important issue facing constituents, and what do you intend to do to repair or resolve it?

My campaign, Winograd2022.com, focuses on three critical challenges: overdue improvements to the Central Business District (e.g., restoring the pedestrian plaza, removing deadhead parking meters, and simplifying parking and signage); expanding and improving our parks system (e.g., moving forward with and opening Schedler, and developing a flood mitigation system for our fields); and revamping our antiquated communications systems (e.g., restoring hybrid access for Council meetings, creating a more informative and user-friendly website, and producing prompt agendas and minutes for the public). While there are other issues and opportunities for improvement within Ridgewood, I believe these three are the most critical.

I intend to solve these issues in the same way I have helped successfully implement so many other important initiatives and projects in Ridgewood: ideas, initiative, collaboration, and follow through. I will listen and be responsive to the residents of Ridgewood, and will ensure their mandates are followed.

What differentiates you from other candidates?

My strong educational and professional background, years of meaningful and successful involvement in this community, and effective interpersonal skills make me the ideal candidate for Village Council. I have a proven track record of initiative, collaboration, and accomplishment in our village’s civic arena, which has prepared me to hit the ground running.

I was born in Ridgewood, have lived most of my life here, and 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 went on to earn an MBA from Fordham University School of Business while working as Director of New Product Development and Engineering at Tiffany & Co. I later founded my own custom jewelry company, Womily LLC, and currently work part-time with a sustainable clothing company headquartered here in Ridgewood.

At the same time, I have always been active in this great community and have played meaningful roles in numerous successful initiatives that have benefited Ridgewood — from my years as a student council representative at GWMS and RHS and role as RHS class reunion chair since 1991 to, most recently, helping conceptualize and found the RHS Alumni Association, which has raised over $1 million for our high school, and playing a leadership role in the successful One Village One Vote initiative, which allowed Ridgewood residents to vote and decide for themselves when they wanted local elections to take place and has since saved our village $65,000 per year, increased voter turnout for local elections by a multiple, and made our schools safer by decreasing the number of days they need to host public voting during school hours. I am also proud to have started Toiletry Tuesday for our neighbors at Ridgecrest; successfully run an Orchard school auction and RHS reunions; co-moderated Ridgewood Mom and Dad’s Facebook site; and persuaded the county to clean up and put in lights in the Ackerman underpass that so many of us and our children walk through each day. I have served meaningful roles in numerous other successful Ridgewood initiatives or organizations as well, including, for example, Ridgewood League of Women Voters, Ridgewood Guild, Feed the Front Lines, 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, and Project Graduation (Congratulations Class of 2022!). I will always put the interests of this wonderful community first and have a proven ability to ensure those interests are served.

What other issues or ideas do you feel deserve attention?

In addition to the three key initiatives noted above, a few additional important issues deserving attention come to mind. First, avoiding increases to our local taxes is always a priority of residents. Last year, three Councilmembers approved an unprecedented 4.3% increase to our budget during the height of COVID. The two Councilmembers who voted against the budget cited a lack of public information as a critical reason. When budgets increase wantonly, so do taxes. I will reduce inexplicable overspending (and delays that have lost years of tax revenue) on purchases and projects such as Schedler and the Elks Lodge. I will also bring back the Financial Advisory Committee, which members of the current Council disbanded. We need to tap our talent pool in Ridgewood and encourage (not exclude) those trained in finance to participate in the process. I will actively explore shared services with the BOE and neighboring towns. Ridgewood should be a leader in shared services. And I will promote -- rather than obstruct -- a vibrant central business district, which, among other things, will help offset our taxes (and raise our property values).

Second, local efforts can have a huge impact in combatting climate change. As a Councilmember, I will take meaningful steps to promote tree plantings not only by the municipality, but also by residents and businesses. I will explore blue acres, expand our open space, and reduce impervious land through zoning and planning to reduce flooding, which has gotten progressively worse over the last decade to the significant detriment of our community. I will encourage more walking and cycling, including by bringing back the beloved pedestrian mall, to help reduce emissions. And I will address the abandoned Town Garage site on Franklin Ave, including through site mitigation. Together, we can make sure we do our part to fight climate change.

Third, improving Ridgewood Water deserves prompt attention. In 2018, following a heated 3-2 vote, our Council agreed to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to purchase, renovate, and move Ridgewood Water’s headquarters into the Elks Lodge on Maple Avenue and then renovate the space vacated by Ridgewood Water at Village Hall. I will work to partner with Ridgewood Water to ensure that taxpayer money is spent on improving our antiquated infrastructure and wells and ensuring the safety of our water, rather than on upgrading office space. We can and will do better with Ridgewood Water.

What accomplishments in your past demonstrates that you are the best candidate for this job?

As noted above, I have long and proven track record over many years of successfully implementing important initiatives and projects that benefit this community. I have achieved those accomplishments through ideas, initiative, collaboration, and follow through.

Most recently, I helped conceptualize and found the RHS Alumni Association, which has raised over $1 million for our high school, and played a leadership role in the successful One Village One Vote initiative, which allowed Ridgewood residents to vote and decide for themselves when they wanted local elections to take place and has since saved our village $65,000 per year, increased voter turnout for local elections by a multiple, and made our schools safer by decreasing the number of days they need to host public voting during school hours. I am also proud to have started Toiletry Tuesday for our neighbors at Ridgecrest; successfully run an Orchard school auction and RHS reunions; and co-moderated Ridgewood Mom and Dad’s Facebook site. I even managed to get the county to clean up and put in lights in the Ackerman underpass that so many of us and our children walk through each day. I have served meaningful roles in numerous other successful Ridgewood initiatives or organizations as well, including, for example, Ridgewood League of Women Voters, Ridgewood Guild, Feed the Front Lines, 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, and Project Graduation (Congratulations Class of 2022!). I will always put the interests of this wonderful community first and have a proven ability to ensure those interests are served.

Do you want to tell voters anything else about you or your positions?

Ridgewood is a wonderful community. Having spent most of my life living in Ridgewood, it is difficult to choose just one favorite aspect of it – from its charming downtown to its parks and historic neighborhoods. But what comes to mind first is how wonderful a community it is to live in. In fact, one of the best parts of this campaign has been connecting with our vibrant community and hearing about what other people love about being here (and what they think needs to be improved). I look forward not only to continuing to listen to, but also to responding to, those ideas and concerns.