Verga: A Democrat in a GOP Stronghold

Beachwood Mayor Bonnie M. Verga promises to have an open door policy as she begins the tricky task of stepping in for a polarizing figure in , while presiding over a .

Verga, a Democrat, was already seeking the mayor’s office in the upcoming November election when Jones abruptly resigned his post on June 10.

She was sworn in on July 15 after being selected by the Beachwood municipal Democratic Committee to fill Jones' unexpired term, which ends Dec. 31. The Democratic club submitted three candidates to the governing body. But the all-Republican Borough Council left the decision up to the Democrats.

Verga and her husband, Tom, moved to Beachwood in February 1974. The couple has been married for 41 years and has two grown children.
Verga, a retired chief financial officer, said she can devote full-time attention to her mayoral duties. She also cares for her husband since he had a stroke.

Verga is no stranger to Beachwood politics. She was elected to the council on two previous occasions - once in 1979 and then again nearly 30 years later, in 2007. She most recently served on the borough's Land Use Board, a position Jones appointed her to.

Verga doesn't think her appointment by Jones should be a factor in the impending November campaign. She faces Republican Councilman Richard Roma in the race for the mayor's seat.

“I was appointed as his alternate to replace him on the land use board," she said.

Verga noted she was already running for the mayor’s office prior to Jones' resignation and her appointment to the post.

Why does she want to run for mayor?

“When the former mayor decided not to run [for re-election], I thought I could bring people together," Verga said. "I want to clean up Beachwood Beach. It is a sore spot in our history. I want to make sure the roads are finished and properly done.”

“I love this community,” she added. “I moved here when I was 24 years old. I raised my children here. I want this community to be a wonderful community, which it is now, but I want to maintain it.”

Verga said she would not speak ill of Jones when asked if it was difficult to step in for the sometimes controversial former mayor. Instead she used the question to expound on her own open door policy as mayor.

“The mayor’s door is always open," she said. "I work with people, not against them.”

As for the task of being a Democrat who chairs the meetings on an all-Republican council, Verga felt that working together will not be a problem.

“I think it will be fine," she said. "We are all there for the same reason: for the citizens of Beachwood. "There are things I’d like to get done, and I am willing to work with the Republicans to get them done."

Verga said her top priority is to clean up Beachwood Beach and its drainage system. She would like to see drainage installed that is similar to the one used by Ocean Gate. Any run-off from the beach ends up in the Toms River and eventually the Barnegat Bay, she said.

“By time it reaches the drain pipe it should be 99 percent clean," she said. "We should not pollute the river or bay anymore. That is my big project right now.”

Verga said she intends to work with the council, the state’s Department of Environmental Protection and Save Barnegat Bay to achieve her goals for the beach.

“We have to work together to get this done,” Verga said.

In the meantime, she's "honored and thrilled" to be mayor, she said.

“I look forward to continuing to work with everyone for betterment of everyone in Beachwood," Verga said.

The controversial Jones, who began his term in 2007, cited increased "business and personal commitments" as his reason for leaving office in June in a brief letter to Borough Clerk Elizabeth Mastropasqua.

He also announced his resignation publicly via Facebook.

"It's official," Jones wrote in a message to his Facebook friends. "King Edward VIII abdicated the throne for his Mrs. Simpson and I resigned as Mayor of Beachwood effective Friday for my Simpson gal."