CLIFTON — Nineteen city residents are running for seven open Council seats on Nov. 3, as rising property taxes, a controversial citywide revaluation and persistent infighting on the governing body loom over the election.
The candidates entered the race before the Aug. 20 deadline for the seven at-large seats, all of which are up for grabs under the city’s council-manager form of government.
Despite widespread calls for change, the election could return much of the current governing body to office. Outgoing Councilman Chris D’Amato, the only incumbent not seeking reelection, said the large field may split the anti-incumbent vote, giving current council members an advantage because of their name recognition. As a result, voters unhappy with City Hall could see many of the same faces back on the dais come January.
There are five incumbents seeking reelection for the seven seats. As for the other two seats, one is held by D’Amato, and the other was held by Councilman Bill Gibson, who died in May. No one was appointed to fill Gibson’s seat, which has been vacant as the six remaining members remained deadlocked and could not agree on a candidate.
The municipal election in the city is held every four years.
The 19 candidates are Tarek Alnatur, Tafari Anderson, Fred Barnes, current Mayor Ray Grabowski, Avraham Eisenman, Councilman Joe Kolodziej, Councilman Tony Latona, Richard Mejia, Assad Mujtaba, Matthew Mullins, Councilwoman Rosemary Pino, Rajnikant Rana, Iris Reyes, Councilwoman Mary Sadrakula, George Sikora, Norman Tahan, John Thomas, Thomas Whittles and Matthew Ward…
Six other municipalities in New Jersey use this form, including Garfield and Hackensack, although Clifton is the only one with seven council members, said Marc Pfeiffer, senior policy fellow and faculty researcher at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
To provide meaningful changes to the city’s form of government would likely involve a charter study, in which a panel of citizens examines the current form and potential changes, Pfeiffer said.
“I am sure in the 1920s, it worked well,” Pfeiffer said, “but it is clearly a challenge today.”