>My name is Steve Wellinghorst and I’m running for Ridgewood Council in
November. I am writing to the Ridgewood Blog to introduce myself, set forth some of my positions and address inaccuracies recently posted. A little about myself.
I am a lawyer.I realize that due to past local experiences lawyers are viewed with certain skepticism in town. Understood and seemingly warranted. However, neither my veracity nor my character are shaped by my chosen profession or my colleagues. I make my own decisions based upon experience, common sense and also benefit from good counsel of my wife. Those that know me will understand my discomfort in extolling my virtues to convince my neighbors to vote for me, however I placed myself into this race and therefore I have an obligation to get my message to the electorate. I am a former prosecutor and municipal court judge. As such, I was vetted and deemed qualified for those public trust positions.
Those that know me understand that if I say I am going to do something I do it. No waffling or “bait and switch”. However talk is cheap, especially in these times. When you see me engage me in conversation, look me in the eye and draw your own conclusion. I try to live my life with common sense and lead by example.
As some of you may know, it was reported last week that my wife Liz, lists
Valley Hospital as a client on her website. Liz is a freelance Public Relations consultant. The listing has been on her website since she last freelanced for Valley four years ago in 2006. She wrote four articles for
the in-house newsmagazine. She is proud of her work product. Those articles were pre-expansion plans. She has had no further contact with Valley since then, and for clarity, I have never represented Valley.
When the election takes place on November 2nd, I believe I have the obligation of making sure each voter has a full understanding of my positions and what my agenda will be if I am privileged to be selected to
represent them. Therefore I would like to share with you some of my concerns and ideas.
Valley Expansion:
I have been reviewing the three years of meetings and filings for the Valley “renewal”. While I’m not quite an expert yet (although I was the Planning Board Attorney for West Paterson and I did serve on the Zoning Board of Adjustment here in town), I do believe that I have read enough to conclude that the project should be called a “major expansion” as opposed to a “renewal”. When Giants Stadium was torn down for a new one, it wasn’t called a “renewal”. I am concerned that the project will potentially affect the residential character of the neighborhood, which will, in turn, affect the entire town. Don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of the hospital as currently constituted. My children were born there. However this Village has a long history of protecting its residential character – and its residents.
Preserving Graydon:
Next, I can unequivocally state that I am a firm and committed supporter of preserving Graydon. Graydon is a treasure. If elected I will fight to preserve it’s charm. We can and will improve it, but not at the expense of
losing it’s identity. This past summer proved Graydon is not only recreationally and aesthetically viable, but economically as well. It must be preserved.
Downtown:
As a former downtown business owner (my firm was at the corner of Broad and Franklin from 2006-2010), I am aware of the parking problems. We need to increase available downtown parking and make downtown more attractive to the business owners and shoppers. I am an ardent supporter of business and understand what it’s like to run a small business – I do it every day.
Also of great concern is the crosswalk situation. Too many incidents.As a judge, I was particularly interested in this issue.It doesn’t only effect downtown either. I was my daughters to school every day and we have to
cross East Glen. Drivers disregard the signs. Police need a regular presence and the fines need to be taken seriously. Imposition of maximum fines and penalties will get the word out.
Property Taxes/BOE:
The taxes we pay to live in this town are out of control. Simply put, wepay too much. The largest municipal expense is by far education. If we can’t educate our children with $89,000,000 a year, perhaps we should
encourage the electorate to let someone else try. We all know that health care is a major driving factor in the budget. I pay for my own family health care insurance which just went up 37%. I know many of you share my frustrations because you’ve related similar stories to me and the results of last years’ BOE budget rejection confirms it.
These are serious, tough issues that affect us all. I know not all of you will agree with everything I suggest. I never had any intention of seeking public office, but the time for complaining has evolved into a need for
serving. I would be humbled to serve you all.
Steve Wellinghorst
