2 Progressive Groups Back West Orange Candidates: 2020 Election – West Orange, NJ Patch
WEST ORANGE, NJ — A pair of progressive advocacy groups have backed candidates for the West Orange Town Council race: Essex Rising and the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club.
There are three, four-year terms available on the council during this year’s election, which will take place mostly via mail due to the coronavirus crisis. Incumbents Michelle Casalino and Jerry Guarino face challenges from Monica Perkowski, Bill Rutherford, Susan Scarpa, Brent Scott, and Tammy Williams.
Learn more about each candidate via the links below.
“All three have impressive records in finance and management,” the group stated. “They all are focused on easing our tax burden through smart development and planning.”
“One of our principles for local government is accountability, meaning these candidates all believe in listening to the community to represent it,” Essex Rising members wrote. “Most importantly, these candidates are independent, critical thinkers who will do the town councilor’s work of making sure that our local government is working in the interest of all people who live here.”
Essex Rising also endorsed a candidate for the West Orange Board of Education, Melinda Huerta.
“Melinda also grew up in West Orange,” the group stated. “She went through our West Orange school system as a Latinx student, and now is a mother of young children in our system, so she brings to bear a wealth of experience and the perspectives of an underrepresented demographic that will improve our BOE.”
The group added:
“[Huerta] is eager to use her experience to help us improve our school system so that it is more inclusive, representative, and sensitive to discrimination and prejudice, particularly by enabling the voices of minority parents, while promoting fiscally responsible decisions and creative policies for the betterment of our community at large.”
NJ SIERRA CLUB
Meanwhile, the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club has endorsed Perkowski, Scarpa and Scott.
“Given the immediate threats to our environment from climate change, it is important to enact meaningful policies at all levels of government, especially the local level,” said Bill Beren, political chair for the Sierra Club’s Gateway (Essex County) Group.
“We are pleased to announce that the Sierra Club officially endorses these three candidates,” Beren said last week.
Beren said Perkowski, Scarpa and Scott were chosen because each back several key positions:
- “Preservation of West Orange’s tree canopy, particularly mature street trees, and purchase of remaining open space such as the 12-acre Mt. Pleasant Forest”
- “Smart development policies that emphasize energy conservation and the creation of walkable downtowns”
- “Opposition to further expansion of the Turtle Back Zoo into South Mountain Reservation especially the proposed amphitheater”
- “Expansion of the town’s jitney service to additional neighborhoods”
- “Installation of a network of electric vehicle charging stations in public parking lots and new construction (this is now mandated by law for all new construction)”
- “Construction of additional affordable housing units in the Township without destroying open space”
- “Rejection of tax abatements for non-blighted redevelopment to developers”
“The most important environmental action you can do is vote for change at the local level by embracing candidates who will actively fight against climate change,” Beren added.
Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com
Don’t forget to visit the Patch West Orange Facebook page. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Sign up for Patch email newsletters.