Sunday, April 29, 2007
By JAN BARRY
STAFF WRITER
RINGWOOD -- Mayor Joanne Atlas' decision to not seek reelection creates a potential opportunity for both parties as fellow Democrats prepare to again battle Republicans for control of the Borough Council.
With four of the council's seven seats open in November, Republicans have a big shot at overturning the Democrats 4-3 majority, which they won four years ago in a bitter election struggle.
If party voters agree in the June 5 primary, the Republican slate will be headed by former mayors Walter Davison and Theodore Taukus, running with newcomers John Speer and Scott Conley. They seek to unseat Democratic incumbents Wenke Taule, William O'Hearn and Thomas Mac Allen. The Democrats' slate also includes Susan Griffin, a former school board president, who is seeking Atlas' seat.
Atlas was selected mayor this year and in 2006, with a combination of Republican votes and her own, over the opposition of her Democratic colleagues.
With her husband about to retire, Atlas said she feels it's time to wind down her involvement in local government.
"I feel like four years is plenty to give to the town," she said of her tumultuous term on a politically divided council where her initiatives were challenged by members of both parties.
"It's been very difficult and painful," she said of public disputes with council colleagues. "It's also been rewarding."
Atlas worked for bipartisan council support for open space buyouts and, recently, a pay-to-play ordinance that regulates campaign donations from businesses that work with the municipal government. She also takes credit for lobbying state officials to provide Ringwood nearly $1 million in grants last year to help pay for expenses due to the toxic waste cleanup and sinkhole problems in the Upper Ringwood section.
E-mail: barry@northjersey.com
Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.