Ridgewood Village Council Election Profiles: Mayor Paul Vagianos

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — Besides the presidential election on Nov. 5, many Bergen County towns are seeing heated local races as well. In Ridgewood, four people are running for three seats in a non-partisan election for the five-member Village Council.

Every two years, the council chooses a mayor from among themselves.

The candidates for a four-year term are:

• HyunJu Kwak
• Francis "Frank" Mortimer Jr.
• Pamela R. Perron
• Paul Vagianos (incumbent mayor)

Patch is running profiles of all four candidates (look at Ridgewood Patch for the others).

Here is incumbent Mayor Paul Vagianos' profile.

Name Paul Vagianos

Age 67

Education Rutgers Newark 1979
Seton Hall Law School. 1982

Occupation Restaurant Business

Past Volunteer Jobs and Government Service

President Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce 2014-2018
Adjunct Professor Manhattan College 2009-2014
Deputy Attorney General-New Jersey’s Environmental Prosecutions Task Force 1988-1991
Deputy Attorney General-NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement 1985-1988
Fort Lee Board of Education Trustee 1977-1983
Coach Ridgewood Softball and Basketball 1997-2007
Ridgewood News Columnist "She's Got Game" 2005-2010
Ridgewood Pedestrian Plaza Operator 2020-2021
Feed the Frontlines Operator 2020-2021

Other Experience Relevant to the Position

President/Owner Community Restaurants Corp. 1996-present
General Counsel National Waste Disposal 1991-1995

I have no relatives in town government or the schools or working on town boards or schools.

I grew up in Fort Lee and have lived in Ridgewood for 28 years.

1. What are the most important issues facing your constituents and what will you do to address them?

A. The loss of our beloved Warner Theater has left a gaping hole in our central business district and our community. And while there is much work to do, we must turn this into a performing arts center that will be a centerpiece of the Village.

B. Flooding has impacted our community like no other outside force has. It is a problem that gets worse every year, impacting both residents and infrastructure, which is why we have brought in the Army Corps. of Engineers to begin to address it.

C. We live in a school age community that doesn’t have enough fields to service our community. Building a multi-purpose field on the Schedler property, as was the original intent when it was purchased in 2009, is critical to that effort.

2. Why should someone choose you over your opponent(s)?

Government works best when we work together. This administration has worked very hard to restore respect and civility to the Village Council. It is my number one priority at every Council meeting and the reason I ran for a Council seat in the first place. When we can work together, without Council members being disruptive or engaging in personal attacks, it is astounding how much can be accomplished. Personal attacks completely stop the process of serving the community. The focus is taken away from the greater good of what is best for the community and shifted to discussion of the personal attacks.

That being said, I have grave concerns that our opponent and a member of her family have a long history of engaging in personal attacks on members of the community, Council members and candidates for Council. Recently, a member of our opponent’s family reached out to the employer of a current candidate for Council, falsely claiming that the candidate had misrepresented his position with the employer. This behavior has a chilling effect on government. Such action is unnecessary, uncalled for and beneath the dignity and integrity of members of this community. It takes us back to a place we have left behind in our community and do not ever wish to re-visit.

Respect for those you disagree with is paramount to getting things done. We are all neighbors in the same community. We need to act like it.

3. Should you win, how would you get people more involved in the issues who either aren’t involved, or who supported your critics?
How can town politics become more inclusive instead of divisive?

There are three distinct parts to this question.

First, getting more people involved who aren’t currently involved. This is a thorny conundrum. I’ve often said that we need to get everyone off the bench and in the game. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. People have incredibly busy lives between work, kids, school, soccer games—well, you get the idea. And we have to be mindful of that. I’ve been at that point in my life. I get it. So for those people, we have to be proactive and do our best to anticipate their needs so they can continue to focus on their daily lives and routines until such time as they are prepared and available to get more involved.

Next, what about those who supported our critics? This one is a layup. The door is always open. And regardless of whether people were critical of us or not, they are residents of our community. They must be treated with the same respect and dignity as our staunchest supporters. And if they raise an issue, it must be addressed in exactly the same fashion as we would address it if it were raised by those closest to us. We are one community and we need to act like it.

Finally, how can town politics become more inclusive instead of divisive? Another layup.
One word: respect. Our harshest critics and our staunchest supporters must be treated with the same dignity and respect.

4. What is the one local issue that no one really talks about, or has spoke publicly about, that you think should be addressed while you’re in office?

Ending the divisiveness that has plagued our country and local communities across the nation.Ending the divisiveness that has plagued our country and local communities across the nation. As I said earlier, we are all neighbors living in the same community. We need to act like it. Every disagreement evolves into a personal attack. We can do better. Our community needs to address the issues facing our community, not go after the people who support the side of the issue we disagree with. In this administration, we have focused on that more than anything else.

I have spoken to mayors in other towns whose town councils spend more time fighting than addressing the needs of their communities. It is astounding how much can be done if we spend most of our time dealing with issues than with personalities. Perhaps my favorite example of this, which is illustrative of this administration, is that in an average year Ridgewood paves 5-6 miles of road per year. In the first year of this administration, this Village paved over 32 miles of roads. That’s not an accident, that’s what happens when people work together.

Too many people are discouraged from running for local public office because of the personal attacks that they and their families must endure. We lose out on so many talented people who have so much to give to the community.

We can do so much better.

5. To what political party do you belong? Who did you vote for in the last presidential election (if you’re willing to say), and do you think it should matter in terms of your candidacy?

The Village of Ridgewood is a non-partisan town. We do not deal with any of the issues that are discussed on a national level. Who we support for president, and what party we are affiliated with, has absolutely no bearing on this election. I honestly do not know the party affiliation of all of the current members of the Village Council. And I do not care.

6. What else would you like people to know?

In the last two years, the Village has changed the way it does business. We’ve brought in new management and, having been in business for a very long time, I can tell you that management is everything. The current Village Manager, Keith Kazmark, is perhaps the best town manager in New Jersey. He is a dynamic leader whose focus on communication to the residents through weekly e-newsletters, social media postings and just plain accessibility, has opened the doors of Village Hall for the first time. When residents homes were flooded, he was in their basements assessing the damage. When residents at The View had problems with vandalism, he was in their backyards so he could begin to understand the problems they are facing. He is a hands-on guy that has a wealth of experience that our community can now tap into.

Our new Police Chief, Forest Lyons, is the same kind of guy. He is hands-on and in the community. If every police department had a police chief like him, many of the problems police departments across the country are facing wouldn’t have those issues.

And while there is more work to do, we are off to a very good start.