January 21,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Mahwah NJ, Recently, a group of Mahwah residents announced an initiative to recall Mayor Bill Laforet. The group now needs to acquire approximately 4,200 Mahwah resident signatures within 160 days in order to have the recall placed on the November election ballot. All petition signers must be registered voters and time is of the essence.
The Recall Committee seeks to end to the mayor’s “Incompetent management, poor judgement, abuse of power, lying and promoting divisiveness”. More information is available on their website at www.RecallMayorLaforet.com.
A previous effort to recall Mayor Bill Laforet in Mahwah, New Jersey, from his position was launched in March 2015.The recall did not go to a vote after supporters ended the recall attempt on August 3, 2015.Laforet is targeted for recall due to allegedly overstepping his authority by firing the town’s Public Works Director after pornography was found on the director’s computer. On May 13, 2015, supporters purported to have gathered “hundreds” of signatures.[4] Recall supporters ended the recall effort on August 3, 2015.
The Recall Group reached out to MahwahStrong seeking support for their initiative. Mahwah Strong is a group of local residents who have come together for the purpose of preserving the welcoming, inclusionary lifestyle of Mahwah Township.
The Board has concluded that the Mayor’s actions, statements and representation of our community have been largely inconsistent with the goals of MahwahStrong and contrary to the best interests of our Township and its taxpayers. His inability to coexist with the Town Council is disruptive and compromising important work and the future of our community.
The Board of MahwahStrong has determined that change is in order. It is our goal to reclaim Mahwah and remove what divides us. Accordingly, we are endorsing and lending the support of our organization to the recall effort.