Get To Know Chatham Borough Council Candidate Leonard Resto

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Name

Leonard "Len" Resto

Age (as of Election Day)

66

Position Sought

Council Member

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Family

Single

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

B.A. History, Secondary Education, New Jersey City University, 1975; MPA (Master of Public Administration), Fairleigh Dickinson University, 2017

Occupation

Retired from a 43-year career in the insurance & risk management industry

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Council Member, 2010-2013, 2016-2018, and appointed 2020

Campaign website

None yet established

Why are you seeking elective office?

I have always been someone who has volunteered to make things better and have been civically active since I was in High School. Giving back to the community is one of the most rewarding activities I can think of. I enjoy what I do, it gives me a sense of accomplishment and purpose.
The single most pressing issue facing our community is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

I was appointed to the Chatham Borough Council to complete the term of newly-elected Mayor Thaddeus Kobylarz, who had a year left to serve in his Council term. I accepted the position because I saw a need for Chatham to better engage the senior community. Census figures show that the percentage of the population made up of those age 65 and over is 10.6% where the national average is 17%. There are many reasons for this disparity. The major ones are affordable housing, transportation, and walkability. I intend to keep my focus on this important issue by expanding the Senior Citizens Advisory Committee to identify initiatives we can engage in to keep our seniors in Chatham. I will also assist our Mayor in his vision of making Chatham Borough an innovation technology ecosystem working with the Morris County Development Authority. Mayor Kobylarz’s desire to make Chatham a technology business destination will revive our commercial district, turn an industrial district into a charming, residential, commercial, and retail mecca. That extra economic activity inures to the benefit of our seniors by keeping taxes stable, creating greater opportunity for affordable housing, allowing developers to make civic improvements as part of the plan to redevelop in Chatham while being ever mindful of its past and keeping Chatham the charming town that drew us all here. Despite the pandemic, I am excited about making seniors a more engaged part of the community because no community can exist without the knowledge and wisdom of its senior citizens.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am running unopposed in the July primary. I expect my Republican opponent in the fall will have different views; but I want to focus on what I want to do for Chatham rather than engage in criticizing an opponent. All those running for office love Chatham; I believe my priorities are the right ones at the right time.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

I am the incumbent

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

My strength is in “social service” issues. I am working with several organizations during the pandemic to ensure that even in affluent Chatham, no one is suffering from food insecurity. We have 70 students in our schools who qualify for a free lunch under the federal lunch program and they have been obtaining same during the shutdown of our schools. I am working towards making food available not only to these students but to their families as well. I am also working at establishing a concept which I can best describe as “Habitat for Chatham” which will bring together volunteer handy persons and contractors to help those in need with home repairs which they cannot do themselves or cannot afford to have a professional perform. I would like to make transportation a linchpin of my campaign as the transit available to Chatham residents can be greatly improved and is needed to keep our seniors in town. Finally, I want to be a bridge to our business community in our downtown to make sure they are achieving their full potential in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

• Grew up in Bayonne, NJ (Hudson County)
• Son of Leonard Resto, Sr. and Angela Resto who emigrated to New Jersey from Puerto Rico in 1946 and 1947 respectively with limited education
• First in the extended Resto family to have been awarded a college degree
• Retired from a distinguished 43-year career in the insurance industry

• Bayonne Volunteer Activities:
o Board member Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation
o Parish Council President- St. Henry’s Roman Catholic Church
o Founder, Bayonne East Side Transitway (BESTway) which convinced NJ Transit to bring Hudson-Bergen Light Rail into Bayonne
o Board member, New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers (NJ-ARP)

• Chatham resident 25 years
o Appointed as Chatham’s representative to the Lackawanna Coalition, a banding of municipalities along the Morris & Essex Rail Line seeking implementation of MidTown Direct service to NY Penn Station
o Chair of Chatham Borough’s Green Initiatives Committee
o Chair of Chatham Borough’s Environmental Commission
o Member of Chatham Borough’s Historic Preservation Commission
o Chair of Chatham Train Station’s Centennial Committee- 2014
o Current member of the Chatham Borough Council having served two previous terms- 2009-2013 and 2015-2018
 Chair, Personnel Committee
 Member, Public Works & Community Services Committee
 Board Member of the Chatham-Madison Joint Meeting (Sewer Authority)
 Liaison, Environmental Commission
 Liaison, Historic Preservation Commission
 Liaison, Chatham Community Gardens Advisory Committee
 Liaison, Senior Citizens Advisory Committee
 Liaison, Senior Center of the Chathams
 Co-liaison, Historic Riverside Trail Advisory Committee
 Co-liaison, Undergrounding Advisory Committee
 Chair, Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC)
 Co-Chair, Municipal Pilgrim Pipeline Group
 Liaison, Municipal Alliance of the Chathams (MACC)
 Member, TriTown 55 Transportation Sub-Committee
 Member, TriTown Cares Mental Health initiative
 Liaison, Resident’s Traffic & Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee.

• Other volunteer activities:
o Member, Cultural Committee of the Chathams
o President, New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers (NJ-ARP)
o Former member of the New Jersey City University Foundation
o Frequent presenter for the Gen Y Job Networking Group, Careers in Transition, and the Jewish Vocational Services.
o Board Trustee- Gay Activist Alliance in Morris County (GAAMC)
o Member, Morris County Board of Transportation
o Leader, Morris County Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
o Former Board Member of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Association on Mental Illness (NAMI)
o Board Member and Membership Director of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Historical Society (DL&WRRHS)
o Co-leader of the weekly Food Drive at Chatham United Methodist Church
o Former member of the Morris County Strategic Planning Commission
o Candidate for Board Appointment to the NJ Transit Board of Directors, representing the rail rider

The best advice ever shared with me was:

The best advice given to me came from my late Dad who always drilled into me “never do the most expedient thing, do the right thing, even if it’s a lot more work. Work is called work for a reason.” I’ve always followed that.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

People describe me as being too practical. However, as a moderate, I must be practical because I listen to both sides and try to find a solution that most can live with. I may want a loaf of bread; but if getting half a loaf is all I can get, I will take that and come back for the rest another day. I am persistent, which is not being a pest, it is being committed to my values and trying to get things done through the dint of hard work.

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