Spring 2005 Edition

Council Candidate: Jeanne Baratta   I have great respect for the office of Mayor and Council. We have elected them to these positions, we should respect that. In turn, they should respect the residents of the town they govern, after all it was the residents who put them in these seats. It was not big business or special interest groups that pulled the levers in the voting booths, nor was it bosses at the county level, it was you and I. So why do I not feel represented by my current Council? Why do I sense things going on behind the scenes? Why are tricks played with our budget during an election year to show “stable” increase only to be hammered the next with a huge increase when there is no election? Reading between the lines, we find our surplus has been pillaged to accomplish these feats. I do not want a Council that plays games with my money nor do I want a Council that is just concerned with winning the next election. I want a Council that has my interests in mind at all times and works hard for me every day. The people of Fair Lawn deserve a Council they can respect.   I have always been involved in the town, as a Girl Scout leader for many years, as a volunteer at the local cable station and of course in the schools, but I started to become actively involved in our town’s politics a little over 5 years ago. I came across a website called Fair Lawn News and was immediately drawn to it. The information contained on the pages of Fair Lawn News was unique; it was unlike anything I had read in our local papers, as it was all written by concerned residents. I began writing, then a monthly, column for Fair Lawn News. My association brought me many new friends along with a desire to help make this town better.   I am a life long resident of Fair Lawn and a 1982 Fair Lawn High School Graduate. I make my living as an elementary school teacher, and I have a strong business and computer background. My parents came to Fair Lawn from New York City (like many have) and chose Fair Lawn as the place they wanted to raise their family. They started out humbly, living in the Knollcroft apartments for many years, they worked hard, saved their money and bought a house on Elliott Terrace, where they still live today. When our New York relatives came to visit we would all laugh because they would say they were going to the “country”. When I married, I too chose Fair Lawn as the place I wanted to raise my family, as so many of my Fair Lawn High School friends have. Sadly, I have been hearing the same story over and over; seniors, whose homes are paid for in full, struggling to pay their astronomical tax bills, young families, just starting out in Fair Lawn, like my parents many years ago, just not being able to make ends meet. Life long residents dismayed that so much of our history and open space has disappeared. Where is the lawn in Fair Lawn?   I am not a politician; I am a mom, a teacher and a concerned resident of this town. I am not interested in advancing up the political ladder. I am passionate about the future of this town. I am dismayed when my taxes go up and the services I receive go down. I am saddened when historical sites are torn down, in the name of progress, but I do not see the progress. I see the same business establishments all over town, but I do not see a food market in Radburn for seniors to conveniently shop. As a Council member, I would work hard promoting this town, touting the reasons why fine business establishments should make Fair Lawn their home; providing incentives for these businesses to want to be in Fair Lawn.   This election year should be a very exciting one for the people of Fair Lawn. They have a choice! I believe the people are not happy with the status quo and they will make their voices heard come November. I know that I am looking forward to the months ahead. Howard Hyde and I have been working hard and we share a common goal, to put Fair Lawn back in the hands of the good people of Fair Lawn and to get it off the auction block. We need to remember that this race is about the people of Fair Lawn, the residents, and the business owners. It is not about political posturing, or who has the biggest checkbook! I will prove to the people of this town, that I can make a difference. Our present council has one voice, the same single-minded voice; we need some new voices, some new ideas. We will listen to the people, we are in touch with them, we are in sync with them, we are thrilled that they have confidence in us and are supporting us. We will not disappoint them, we will make the people proud!