the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ,
Four years ago, HyunJu Kwak stepped up to serve Ridgewood through her role as a trustee on the Ridgewood Board of Education. Her dedication to improving the school system and ensuring fiscal efficiency has made a significant impact, and now, Kwak is setting her sights on the Ridgewood Village Council to continue her service to the community.
A Legacy of Leadership in Ridgewood Education
During her tenure on the Ridgewood Board of Education, Kwak championed fiscal responsibility while prioritizing high-quality education services. She worked diligently to make the administration at Cottage Place more open to parental input and more adaptable to the community’s needs. Despite facing challenges, she remained steadfast in her pursuit of positive change for Ridgewood’s schools.
Kwak held key leadership roles, including President and Vice President of the Board, and earned the distinction of Master Board Member by the New Jersey State School Boards Association. As Chair of the Negotiations Committee, she achieved a significant milestone by settling a teacher union contract before its expiration—something that hadn’t been done in 18 years. Under her leadership, Ridgewood schools improved their rankings, implemented updated math curricula, and introduced later start times at Ridgewood High School. All of these accomplishments were achieved while maintaining budgetary constraints, ensuring that programs were expanded without overburdening taxpayers.
A Vision for Open and Responsible Governance
Now, HyunJu Kwak is bringing her wealth of experience to the Ridgewood Village Council. If elected, she plans to prioritize open governance by ensuring that resident voices are heard and considered in every decision. Her commitment to fiscal responsibility remains central, and she aims to preserve the unique charm of Ridgewood while addressing pressing environmental and safety concerns.
Kwak envisions herself as an independent, results-driven representative, ready to tackle the challenges facing the village. She wants to continue building on her track record of success by focusing on practical solutions that benefit all Ridgewood residents.
A Diverse Background of Expertise
Kwak’s extensive career in management consulting, media, and Wall Street provides her with the skills necessary to navigate the complexities of the Village Council. Her background gives her a unique perspective on problem-solving, financial management, and strategic decision-making—qualities that are needed to guide Ridgewood through its current challenges.
Academically, Kwak is equally accomplished. She graduated magna cum laude from Brown University and earned her MBA from the prestigious Wharton School of Business. As a Visiting Scholar at Pembroke College, Oxford University, she represents Pembroke as a Global Alumni Ambassador, bringing an international viewpoint to her local work.
Committed to Celebrating Ridgewood’s Diversity
In addition to her professional and educational accomplishments, Kwak has demonstrated her dedication to fostering community unity and celebrating diversity. She co-founded the Ridgewood Lunar Festival and the Ridgewood Asian-American Pacific Islander Alliance, two initiatives that highlight and promote Ridgewood’s rich cultural heritage.
At this time the Ridgewood blog feels there is no better and deserving person suited to serve the Village of Ridgewood , on the Village Council than HyunJu Kwak . She is by far the best ,most prepared candidate the Ridgewood blog has ever endorsed.
HyunJu Kwak brings her leadership, expertise, and community spirit to the Village of Ridgewood Council. Her focus on open governance, fiscal responsibility, and inclusivity make her the strongest candidate by far and she is committed to preserving and enhancing the Village of Ridgewood for generations to come.
HyunJu is the best candidate by far and will be great for the village! She has my vote. Kwak and Roll!!!
Bullet vote…
Great so she can interfere with our Village staff the way she did with school staff and we can lose all of our professionals who don’t want to deal with her meddling.
yes no parking meter thief’s under her watch
Hopefully Rutishauser is the first to ho
Most of the superintendents moved on so they could double dip the retirement system. Dont be stupid and do NOT listen to Rurik Halaby and Jeff “douche-bag” Voight who both have axes to grind. I’d also ignore Kwak’s husband, Steve Kim as he seems to do his best to embarrass her.
Uh, here is a newsflash. Right now, under Vagianos and Kazmark, there is the WORST MORALE in village history. They get them a beer truck and some food and almost furloughed last year. Have you NOT been paying attention. You think they will be happy if Bee Man gives out his honey as a holiday gift and call it a day? Think again.
Bee man is planning a take over in the parks. Putting bees in Habernickel to help Healthbarn get more clients and he gets $$$ too. All bullsh**
Meddling?!?! It’s not meddling it’s making sure your job is being done and being done right. Ridgewood deserves that. And if most have to go…which they do then good bye!!!! There are plenty of people who need jobs and are willing to do them correctly #parks department #engineering
If the school staff had done their job without issue, there would be no oversight. Let’s not go down the road of misinformation. There was a lot going on that was spun and you should be informed prior to commenting.
Bullet vote for her. Somebody needs to keep an eye on Paulie’s group of puppets.
She will unseat Vagianos. Bullet vote KWAK
Residents are fed up. Time to make RW great again! Vote for Kwak!
Winograd getting her followers to put the Vags/Peron/Mortimer signs up . Majority of these followers couldn’t speak to any of the 3 candidates positions other than a full size turf field in place of 700 trees that will never be built while their kids are in school..if at all.
Kwak on the council is the best thing for this town. She will keep the council in check, fight for the basic needs of our town vs self serving vanity projects. She is tough and won’t bow to the likes of Pee Wee or Winograd or KK .
Whinograd is one of the biggest losers in the village. I don’t need a time machine to tell me anything about how or why she is the way she is. She needs intensive therapy. Manipulative schemer. Praises the other liar and loser Vagianos. She is gross.
Re : campaign signs V.P,M. Big placard signs, were put in the public right of way grass strip curb area, for all to see in neighborhood, (not permitted by ordinance), by a don’t care attitude VOR recreation “Senior Club “committee member, RHS grew up here “club” mentality knows all, questions where her property line is, always concerned about others lines, and had a survey and marker done, wanted more property? Entitled and with the “in” club for vanity, popularity, photos, and gets special entitlements & treatments.
Next day, signs were put on her front lawn where they belong! It’s time for the “in” crowd, V/P/M / SW to grow up!!
I’m BULLET VOTING FOR KWAK – HONESTY, NO STRINGS ATTACHED!!!
Friendly reminder that Kwak voted in favor a turf field at the high school
So ??? High School is one thing after the Maple field the sports groups was the first raised money & with VOR matching money, with the hopes to show and to do the H.S. field.
see this is what you are missing, people who might have been pro turf have agency to change their minds. maybe because they’ve seen or heard some research. I think Kwak is smart enough to do that. Vagianos told people he was an attorney general in environmental law and Mortimer wants you to buy that he is a no mow may fan of bees, natural habitats and the environment and is towing the line on turf. Why should you trust anything they say? That is dishonest.
Men…need a haircut?
Council working hard to fill empty storefronts
West Side Barber Shop – 5 Godwin Ave
Gold Cut Barber Shop – 35 Godwin Ave
Godwin Barbershop – 88 Godwin Ave
Patchi Alotchi Barber Shop – 5 N Broad Street
Sam’s Barber Shop – 26 prospect street
City Image Barber Shop – 52 Chestnut Street
Salon Doujour – 19 Oak Street
Aaron’s Ridgewood – 10 Van Neste Square
The Ridgewood Man – 66 E Ridgewood Ave
Maincrew – Cuts & Shaves -136 E Ridgewood Ave
Montana – 136 E Ridgewood Ave
Maple Barber Shop – 6 S Maple Ave
Time to amend the village code to permit resale of cannabis. And can we get at least one lesbian bar, please?
I think we have our Post of the Day !
No, you need a decadent luxury eyelash salon like Glen Rock just got.
If your eyelashes are not bespoke, don’t be speaking to me!
not to mention all of the vacancies because of landlords like Vagianos. Hard to keep up with the high rents and parking tickets.
one more for a total of 13….come to Ridgewood with your family!!
Hammer and Nails
381 NJ-17
Where is the president of the chamber of commerce?? He should have a view and say on the number of Barber Shops that open in a one mile section of the CBD. But he owns a restaurant so no competition is a good thing for his business…
time for a moratorium on Barber Shops
You can barely call that a restaurant, as what they serve there can hardly be called food, but point well taken.
Barber shops make for a great walking town right JJ, lol
She is smart that is why everyone is afraid of her. Has Bob Lynch apologized yet. Inquiriing minds want to know.
smarter by a mile than anyone on the council plus KK
she will run circles around them….
That’s what they are afraid of. She can’t UNsee what they did to destroy the town
From what I have seen, Hyun Ju has the fiscally responsible credit and analytical skills to do what is needed. Plus, she is in no way anti sports, as a matter of fact, she has children that play sports, so she supports most of the initiatives. She is allowed to ask questions and that is to be expected. Vagianos wants to be the popular kid and unfortunately he was not able to deliver a field. Kwak will do things the right way following the rules. Vagianos did not give the residents of Ridgewood a fair shake and thought he was going to slide this project through. Unfortunately, that is no longer possible and there are way too many eyes on things at this point forward.
And we still have NO idea about feed the frontlines 4 million that he was a huge part of with Ramon and Healthbarn lady. Where’s the cash????
What is the greenwashing bee boy going to accomplish. He does not have financial experience and the jury is out on what he actually knows but it is who he knows. Paul Vagianos, worst mayor ever, wants a puppet show so he can control everyone and everything. Still won’t bring him a field at Schedler anytime soon. But he will lie and scheme with his merry band of nitwits and the village needs Hyun Ju’s knowledge and expertise to course correct and steer the ship properly. We deserve a mayor who will put his agenda aside in order to do what is right for Ridgewood.
Bee boy made it a point to throw his hat into the ring. He got up to the podium to say how he was very impressed with the application sent to the state and congratulated the council on the Schedler park plan. Thorough and accurate I believe were his exact words. Only problem is that thorough and accurate were not how the state agents overseeing the project viewed things when they rejected the application. They in fact, told Ridgewood that the submission was sub par and “not professional or technically complete”. If that is bee man’s assesssment, then what does that tell you? what an embarrasment and I certainly hope that he doesn’t help his kids with their homework. he will teach hiss children that he is a sell out and a puppet for the puppetmaster. It is really a perfect example of what you can expect if he is elected. Realy shoddy workmanship , bee man, plain and simple, you just don’t measure up to the kind of person we need on this council.
bee boy is a clone of Weitz…do nothing and agree with Vags on everything…..its an attempt to block Kwak
do not fall for it…bullet vote Kwak…they are terrified of her on the council….especially SW
He will bring bees to Habernickel to scare people away and let the Healthbarn take over even more
is he planning to put beehives on park property and sell the honey? Does he pay taxes. What is up with this? Where are all of the beehives anyway.
It is very important to note that HyunJu Kwak is not accepting any donations to her campaign. She is purchasing the lawn signs and mailers with her own money. This is a critical piece of information. Word is that Vagianos has accumulated a huge war chest of donations. if you accept donations, then those who donated may expect something in return. HyunJu Kwak won’t owe a thing to the sports groups, the business groups, the environmental groups, the Parks group, no one. She will be truly independent.
It is probably pay to play in Ridgewood. Vagianos is in tight with the sports crowd who got him elected. This is not a well guarded secret by any stretch. There is so much nepotism. Just like Kazmark lied and said he didn’t know Vagianos. it is really an inbred bunch and the clicky HS crowd mentality is really offpputting and will cost Ridgewood taxpayers a bundle because Vagianos thinks he can fool people into believing that he is a good person.
We needd someone with the smarts that Kwak has so that she can turn the ship around and get people rowing in the right direction not the same wrong direction as things are way off course and only getting worse.
Wait the VM lied???? Hahahaha. Old news😂
Bullet vote for Kwak. We need to get her elected and that is the best way. Seriously, who would even want to vote for any of the other 3? And God forbid they all get in. There would be a block of 5 and they could ignore every citizen who has an idea or a request.
If you think Vagianos is out of control now, just wait. Taxes will go up and up and up with this new coalition of people because Vagianos is banking on getting anything he wants through. Stack the board, baby! Under this kind of an administration it will be anything goes and all of Vagianos pals will be lining up with their lists.
Vote No for Vagianos
Vote No for Mortimer
There is no amount of sugar water that will help us if they win because we will lose.
We need someone like Hyun Ju. I think everyone know the chubby little bee boy is a dumb dumb and will not add any value to the council or the village delivering what we need. Everyone says Frank is a nice guy but does not have what it takes to go the distance for Ridgewood.
If the Bee Man Mortimer is in support of an artifcial plastic turf surface for games, then how can he bee supporting Green Ridgewood and the environment and our planet. It has to start somewhere or is this just another play for popularity in our commuity. What does he stand for? The environment? Is the honey really real or artificial that he is selling? I have never bought it but I am curious because I would be very surprised that a person involved in making an all natural honey products could support an artificial product that harms the climate? For this reason, I could not in good conscience vote for Frank Mortimer it just doesn’t seem ethical.
Mortimer bills himself as a marketing guy. I am not impressed and seems to be a liberal greenwashing phony.
But you can’t expect a marketing guy to help provide the necessary skills to work towards a balanced village tax plan and spending benefiting residents.
Kwak’s has the finance and business skills that we need.
Bee Guy Mortimer, doesn’t want public comments at beginning of council meetings, not till later. Council members are there to SERVE the public and need to hear opinions from them, not squash put off the public comments. He just jumped on the Vagianos band wagon , agreeing to everything V says.
At volunteer committee meetings that he moderates, prefers to ignore public comments, cuts off , try’s to dismiss people. Rude, reluctantly watches his watch count for the 3 min. times up. That’s not how to treat people. Period. He is rude, not respectful at all, has a self interest stake with the pollinator garden at Habernickle. He’s not for the people of Ridgewood.
Vote only HyunJu Kwak. We are lucky and grateful she stepped up to run for council.
Wow that is so rude that he can treat people like that and doesn’t want the public to have a say during the comment period. it seems like it is getting more and more restrictive instead of more lenient. Is Vagianos feeding his head with this silly nonsense? Doesn’t sound like he has a backbone and is mean spirited and unwelcoming. If I am ever in a meeting and the guy is clocking me, he is getting an earful. Unbelievable!
Is he a legit Beezinus man?
don’t we vote for 2 candidates?
There are three open seats. You do not have to vote for three. You can just vote for one if you like
There are 3 seats and 4 people running.
HyunJu is the only person that can fix what is broken in terms of the financial picture which is overblown spending right now.
The Village Manager needs to be reined in.
Weitz, Winograd and Perron are all Vagianos puppets and Mortimer will be too if elected.
If you want real positive change, you can bullet vote for Kwak and not vote for the others. They don’t deserve to be re-elected based on the failures and disappointments since they took office.
Vagianos is promising to unite the village. Has anyone asked how exactly?
He almost furloughed employees last year-meaning no pay and then there was drama. I would be upset too if someome said that we were not going to get paid and residents would forego services that they depend on.
Is this the kind of mayor you want? He isn’t uniting anything or anyone, it is all a bunch of baloney He is a mayor that has failed at almost everything he has done. It is time to vote him out.
He is promising a lot and has caused so many issues. He cannot promise to deliver anything and can’t guarantee a sports field today and perhaps not tomorrow either. No one knows how long this will take to fix all of the problems. There are steps in the process to clean up the Schedler property. Maybe he got away with it the first time but time will tell if he is able to accomplish anything that doesn’t benefit him as a business owner.
Vote NO to Vagianos!
He wont tell you what his plan is right? I guess he is the “tell the people what they want to hear” and do what you want anyway, Mayor of Ridgewood, in his Member’s Only jacket.
The residents of Ridgewood do not elect the mayor, that is done by the council. I don’t see anything about what Vagianos has done to provide any clear cut examples of what he has done that has worked and and appears that he has taken credit for many things that are the job of others, like the village manager who is also no rocket scientist and seems to be very ego driven individual. As a senior, what is he doing for us? Oh I guess we just pay taxes and have no say about anything. Ridgewood has become more divided and drama filled with this council then ever and it would seem that residents want change in leadership.
We can only do this through voting and we need someone who does not have such a stake as a business owner and landlord who can impartially drive change for the beetter for everyone.
I am voting for Ms. Kwak who may be able to drive a hard line on our spending, reel people in, drive respect which is lacking and truly bring about the change that is needed.
how many are we allowed to vote for
To be clear….you need to bullet vote for Kwak.
Only one vote, don’t give the others any votes at all.
Clever marketing Frank. Get us to believe you are a bee loving climate guy and then get behind a plan to cut 200 trees on a major state highway where kids would play on a synthetic plastic surface capable of heating up to over 150 degrees. You must really be great at marketing but when the smoke machine gets turned off, where will you bee?
Can’t trust a spin doctor. who would choose to align himself with an untrustworthy mayor that many people see as a failure. Like for like. If this guy is not really an environmental guy but promotes that he is selling honey and loving bees and nature, then he is a great marketing guy. Then what is all the hoopla over no mow may if you want to put artificial turf down and cut trees? There seems to be a huge lack of connecting the dots.
There will come a time in the not so distant future, where people like Vagianos and Mortimer who claimed they are concerned with the environment, look like morons because they are voting yes on turf. It is a public health issue across town by down all throughout the Garden State. Wonder what the Columbia students would say about these so called environmentalists?
Someone needs to clean their crystal ball. Here’s another prediction. Everyone will forget and move on, and Columbia students will say what they’re told to say.
Maybe Mortimer should read this article about a bee keeper fighting against turf and PFAS.
https://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/for-longtime-beekeeper-turf-field-project-a-cause-for-concern/article_ea0adc86-7528-11ef-a647-136145992bb4.html
#stuckonstupid
Do not understand how Mortimer says he’s for environment yet he’s all in for turf. He’s lying to himself and to us. I just don’t get it.