Exclusive Interview: Westfield’s Mayor-Elect
There’s a couple things we are doing even before I jump into office, including one we are working on now. There are many political appointments that have to be made to local boards and commissions that serve the town, things like the Westfield Downtown Corporation. Those need to be up and in place before the first Town Council meeting, according to the town charter.
But what we are doing that really hasn’t been done before is opening up the application process to the entire community. In the past, it’s been more of a closed process based on specific appointments by the mayor.
That really speaks to my goal to tap into the talent of everybody in Westfield. In my campaign, I learned how much talent exists in this community, and you really have to reach out into the community to bring that in, rather than hoping somebody will find it.
We are going to have a community-wide call for volunteers. What we’re hoping is that we not only have appointees for these boards, but that we can use that database of volunteers to fill positions going forward, like events committees and technology committees.
There will be opportunities to participate beyond these specific political appointments, but that is first and foremost, casting a wide net for people to participate.
The second thing is enhancing the way the town communicates with the public and making it as transparent as possible, from live-streaming meetings and using new communication tools that you are used to and bringing it into the government for people to interact and engage and have their voices heard.
Those are the two things I am going to do immediately, and then after swearing in, when we have the planning board and everything in place, then we are going to embark on creating a new master plan for Westfield, which is really about creating a vision for our future.
What do you see as the benefits of being a full-time mayor, and how will that change the dynamic of the town government?
Being able to be present … to be able to walk around town during the day and stop in on employees of the town and businesses, because sometimes —and a business owner I was with last week, we sat down and had a cup of coffee on a Wednesday afternoon—you know, sometimes that’s when you hear about things that people wouldn’t normally reach out about.
You learn about challenges a business might have, or opportunities, that you don’t even realize until you have these informal interactions. Part of it is just being able to be present and keep my finger on the pulse for what is going on and being able to make proactive things happen because of that.
The other thing is being able to really be present, like I really want to have a strong coalition with neighboring towns in terms of being able to meet with other mayors on a regular basis, as well as being an effective advocate for our town with Trenton lawmakers. That’s something that oftentimes, you need the power of the mayor’s seat to make things happen and be the best advocate for our town.
How do you plan to work with the Town Council as mayor?
Actually, very inclusively and collaboratively. Clearly, we had all four Town Council members that ran with me win, which was fantastic, because right off of the bat, I have four out of the eight members very much aligned with the vision.
But, as I have always said, I didn’t want to campaign along partisan lines, so I have already met with three of the four incumbent Town Council folks, and I am meeting the other one next week. At the end of the day, after the bruises of the election are over, I think we really are all in it for the best interest of our town. I am not going to operate in a partisan way. We are all going to have a seat at the table and help drive the vision for this town, and I think if we can all agree on where we are going to go, I plan on managing in that way as well.
What was your reaction to the bipartisanship in the election?
There are a couple things from the election that I am the most proud of. First and most importantly was voter turnout. Voter turnout in Westfield was 54 percent versus a statewide average of 35 percent.
One of the reasons I ran is because I wanted to get people engaged and feeling like things matter, and I think the voter turnout speaks volumes about having accomplished that. The second thing was that we got [689] more votes than Phil Murphy, the governor. What that means is that I got a lot of Republicans to vote for me, because people voted for the Republican governor candidate and then moved over and voted for me.
I made it a point that I wasn’t just going to be the mayor of the Democratic party, I was going to be the mayor for all the people. I made a very specific point of speaking to as many Republicans as possible, because when they heard our collective message, there is not one partisan thing about it.
It is about the economic growth and vitality of our town. What it said to me when I saw so much voter crossover is that that message resonated. And the third thing, and this may be redundant, that I am so proud of, is our early voting and absentee ballot voting.
We set a record in our town for absentee ballots and early voting. And do you know who did that? Our high school interns. The kids who are now fresh-
men in college, the AP Gov interns, before they went to college, they had a whole texting program with all their friends who were going to college, and went three years up to know all the kids through seniors in college who had graduated from Westfield High.
They were texting all of them with links to the absentee ballots. Then the high school kids were going and putting absentee ballots in the mailboxes of every person that they knew was going to college, and then we promoted the heck out of early voting. So what was great was being able to see those numbers and being able to tell them, “You did that.”
What is your favorite thing about Westfield, and how do you plan to maintain it?
I would tell you what my favorite thing is, but it’s not how I am going to maintain it, it’s how I am going to enhance it. My favorite thing is this innate sense of community that reveals itself not always, but at really critical times. You see what is so amazing about the community in both good and really tragic events.
For example, the football team, winning a state championship. That state championship has been a big deal in my house even without any specific ties to the football team. That’s when you see a great sense of community in times that are great. But you also see it in times of tragedy, when we have been struck by tragedy … that’s when you see this community come out and you see really, to me, what is best about this town.
My goal is, how do we take what is best about our town in those fleeting moments, and how can we enhance that sense of community and create opportunities for it on a common basis? I think people are yearning for it, in a way.
What is your least favorite thing about Westfield, and how do you plan to change it?
There are two ways I would answer that. One is more about community and one is more about pragmatic things. People’s default can be on the negative, when there is not an opportunity for their voices to be heard.
So what I hope to do is to create those opportunities for people to engage in the government through some of the tools we talked about, and just being very, very transparent, and having the town government more proactively communicate with people about what is going on and where we are going, and why.
I am hoping that the default to criticize will be turned into positive contributions to the community because I am going to create lots of opportunities for that to happen.
Pragmatically speaking, I think what people are frustrated with is that our taxes continue to go up and our services seem to diminish, and that is because we need creative and innovative ways to grow our tax base outside of property taxes, which is why I am focused on this new master plan for downtown.
One of the primary objectives is to figure out what needs to happen in order for us to attract more businesses to town, whether they be consulting firms or tech firms, what needs to change both culturally and physically to make it a more business-friendly climate.
It’s about how we can do this in a way that increases our tax base so that we can improve services for people from sources of revenue other than property taxes.
People have been talking a lot about parking. Do you have a plan to address this?
What people need to realize is that a parking solution is [not about] you [being] able to find a parking spot in front of your favorite store. The parking need is about us being able to attract some of those businesses I mentioned.
Because in absence of real parking, you are not going to attract those major consulting or technology firms. So the parking is about being able to attract new businesses to town and increase revenue, so that you can get your street paved. I try to make a connection for people.
Can you describe what Election Night was like for you, especially the moment that you found out you won?
The whole experience was very surreal. I was actually very calm. The last five days of the campaign I was so calm, and it’s not because I had any sense of confidence that I was going to win.
I just felt like we had done everything we could, and I saw how engaged and ecstatic everyone was. I felt like I had already won before the results came in. What I had set out to accomplish, we had already accomplished.
That night, it was raining, and it was gross outside, so we were worried because they always tell you the majority of the votes come in between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., and it was raining, so we were worried that people wouldn’t show up to the polls.
I was at the train station, looking like a drowned rat, with all my sisters, and my high school interns, and when the train doors would open we would shout “Go to the polls! Don’t forget to vote!” I was Facebook-Living it.
So I rushed home, and my house was Grand Central Station. It was packed, and there were tables everywhere, it was chaos, it was muddy, my house was a wreck. So I had to go up and shower, and people were gathering in the living room, where we had this huge whiteboard on my couch.
We also had the Ferraro’s party, so there were people at Ferraro’s with a board that were calling out results, … It was when Mike Dardia won Ward 2 [traditionally a Republican stronghold] that we realized. But even then, I was still in disbelief. Before they had declared that I won, someone yelled out “The Leader just declared a Democratic sweep!” That was crazy, yeah, that was crazy. Andy [Skibitsky], to his credit, was so gracious.
He learned about the results before we did, and I am at home and I get this text that says, “Andy is at Ferraro’s looking for you!” I jumped in the car and ran over there. It was great, and when I look back on it, the whole thing is a big blur.
Has anything changed so far since the election for you in terms of being a resident?
It’s kind of weird for me to think that I am, I guess, a public figure now, because I don’t ever see myself that way, so it doesn’t really occur to me when I’m out that people may know who I am.
I hope it stays that way, because at the end of the day the thing that made me most qualified to be mayor is that I am a 23-year resident of this town, nothing more, and I don’t want anyone to ever forget that.
Is there anything you want to add?
I am most excited about my vision for town hall. Right now, I think of town hall as being kind of cold. People go there to pay their taxes, go to court, pay a ticket, get a dog license. … I want to create a town hall that is a place of joy and community. I want to have my swearing-in on the lawn of town hall, and I want to have festivals on the lawn, and we are going to have a beautification community to paint it and put artwork on the walls.
I want people to feel like when they come in, it’s not like “What are you doing here?” It’s gonna be like, “Oh my gosh, it’s so great to see you!” So that is going to be one of the first things. Kids and puppies welcome.
