Caldwell Republican Candidate for Council Douglas Piazza Promises 'Accountability'

Caldwell resident Douglas Piazza may be a bit surprised to find himself serving as an interim councilman and now running for political office in a special election this November.

But the Republican candidate, who was appointed to the Caldwell Council in August to fill the unexpired term of former councilman Gordon Lawshe, is certain he is doing the right thing.

"I have learned a tremendous amount in the two months that I've been there," said Piazza. "and mostly what I've learned so far is that there's a lot of work that needs to be done to fix a lot of holes and a lot of problems that we still have in town."

The running theme in Piazza's campaign is "accounting and accountability."

"I don't think I had ever seriously considered running for office previously," said Piazza. "Knowing what I know now, I would almost feel irresponsible to not continue to be a councilman."

Piazza specifically cited how he was surprised to learn early on as a councilman that the town had not kept a general ledger in recent years and that there was no asset tracking system in place. Although he acknowledged that these issues are on the road to being corrected, he said his background and areas of expertise could prove valuable were he to be elected to the council.

As a councilman, Piazza said he could help bring up to date all of the accounting systems and bring more current technology systems to the borough. He would also like to improve the borough's website. It's what he does, after all, for his clients.

Piazza is self-employed and has been running his own home-based company, PCCS Group, for more than 10 years. Piazza has also worked as a network engineer and as a professional financial planner.

"I am a managed service provider and I focus on small- and mid-sized businesses," he said. "Generally in my business I build very strong relationships with my clients and it's become kind of a jack-of-all-trades that my company fulfills whatever the needs of another business are that they can't do themselves."

Piazza pointed to his work launching and managing the Caldwell Farmers' Market over the last two years to demonstrate his ability to commit himself to the community.

"The commitment I've put forth in running the farmers' market is just the tip of the iceberg of the type of commitment I could put into the town," Piazza said.

Managing the market entails everything from helping with set up and breakdown, assisting the vendors while the market is in operation and making sure there is no infighting, organizing special events and handling the finances. All in all, it adds up to more than 200 hours a year of his time.

"It's its own small business and we run it like a small business," Piazza said.

Piazza said that if he were to be elected councilman he would see no issue with continuing to serve as the farmers' market manager, a question residents have been asking him. He said he would "absolutely" continue with the market, which he hopes will be even "bigger and better" next year.

Piazza, 42, has lived in Caldwell for eight years with his wife, Amy, who is also actively involved with the farmers' market. The couple is proud of their 650-square-foot organic garden behind their Erwin Place home. They have been married for seven years and have become familiar faces at volunteer events, particularly those that involve the downtown.

Piazza has volunteered most recently with both Project Main Street's Caldwell Beautification Day and the Caldwell Merchants Association's recent Fall Festival.

"We have such a wonderful downtown and you know it's part of the charm of Caldwell," Piazza said about why he is committed to the downtown. "It kind of is the immediate representation of who we are and it's important to make our downtown the best it possibly could be."

Piazza is originally from Paramus and his parents, now separated, both still reside there. He has a younger brother who lives in Virginia who works in law enforcement.

"My mom is thrilled that I am taking this kind of venture on," Piazza said.

Piazza said many residents are voicing their concerns about taxes and the borough's budget, concerns he said the current administration has been taking seriously.

"We've already started reducing our budget," he said. "I think we had one of the lowest tax increases in the entire state."

As for how he distinguishes himself from his opponent, Frank Rodgers, Piazza said, "I am a business man and I teach other businessmen how to run businesses. That's what our town needs. I know my competition is a teacher, which is a very well-respected position, but I honestly don't know what business aspects he can bring to our town."

He also said that working 90 percent of the time from home allows him the time and flexibility to serve.

"That's kind of hard to do with a 9-to-5 job and a commute," Piazza said.

Piazza also said he was surprised to learn that Rodgers, a former Republican, was running as a Democrat.

When asked if Council President Ann Dassing, the Republican mayoral candidate, knew his party affiliation when she asked him to consider being appointed to the council, Piazza said. "Had she checked my registration card, she would have found that I was undeclared."

He added that he has always considered himself "fiscally conservative."

On the topic of shared services in regards to the recreation department and the police department, Piazza said, "That needs to be fully reviewed and looked at from all angles and that's something that I'm looking forward to doing."

He added, "I am certainly going to be looking at every one of these [opportunities] very close to see what is in the best interest of the town and the people of this town to be able to continue with the same level of services that we are accustomed to."

He concluded, "My goals as a councilman is to basically see that proper accounting and accountability are implemented in this town. I want to see more transparency implemented.

Alex Canonaco, who lives across the street from Piazza on Erwin Place, is supporting his neighbor in his run for office.

"I can't say anything bad about him, all good things," Canonaco said. "He's well knowledgeable [in business] and will be a great asset to the town."

As the father of four daughters, Canonaco said he takes who is running for local office seriously, even more so than state or local politics, "because it affects us so much," he said.