Election Preview: Municipal Candidates for Mayor and Council

Mayor candidates

Dragan Blanusa (Independent)
Rose Heck* (Republican)

BIOS

Name:
Political affiliation: Member of Constitution Party, running as an Independent
Hometown: Originally from Serbia, been a resident of Hasbrouck Heights for 5 years
Experience: This is his first run for public office.
Top issues/concerns:

• Blanusa says he when he asks people in town what his concerns are their main answer is “taxes.”
• Says he was first inspired to run for public office when he suggested pedestrian signs be put in areas around town as a safety precaution and claims the governing body did not follow through.

Name:
Political affiliation: Republican
Hometown: Originally from Hoboken, been a resident of Hasbrouck Heights for nearly 50 years.
Experience: Current mayor; was elected mayor three times; served in the assembly for 13 years in District 38; was the first woman ever elected to the council in Hasbrouck Heights.
Top issues/concerns:

• Heck says the borough faced many challenges this year such as reduced state aid and revenue and had to make many tough decisions which included layoffs and additional cuts to department budgets in order to keep the tax increase in check.
• Says the borough continuously looks for ways to save by applying for grants which have enabled the borough to upgrade parks, the library and the downtown Boulevard area and continues to seek out more ways to share services.

COUNCIL CANDIDATES

Mary K. Blanusa (Democrat)
Doris Tousto (Democrat)

Justin DiPisa* (Republican)
Pamela Link* (Republican)

Carol K. Skiba (Independent)

BIOS

Name:
Political affiliation: Democrat
Hometown: Hasbrouck Heights born and raised
Experience: This is her first run for a public office, grew up in a political family as her father ran for council several times.
Top issues/concerns:

• Blanusa says there needs to be more exploration of shared services. She knows steps have been made but believes more needs to be done to cut costs.
• Blanusa believes there needs to be another voice in addition to Republican members on the council.

Name: Doris Tousto
Political affiliation: Democrat
Hometown: Has been a resident of Hasbrouck Heights for 19 years
Experience: This is her second run for publice office. She ran previously about 10 years ago.
Top issues/concerns:

• Tousto says there should be representatives of both parties on the council working together, adding that it has been just one party for a long time.
• Wants to help taxpayers by helping the government keep spending down.

Name:
Political affiliation: Republican
Hometown: Hasbrouck Heights, born and raised
Experience: Current councilman; been elected to the council five times.
Top issues/concerns:

• DiPisa said the finance committee worked to bring the budget down, keeping tax increase in check despite many challenging factors.
• Despite the current state of the economy, the borough continues to move forward with projects funded by grants. He says they also work to help seniors as he does not want them to leave the borough due to rough economic times.

Name:
Political affiliation: Republican
Hometown: Hasbrouck Heights born and raised
Experience: Current councilwoman, past-president of Board of Health, active member of various committees
Top issues/concerns:

• Link helped lead efforts to keep taxes in check during a tough budget year in which the borough faced many challenges from loss of state aid, decreased investments and no new ratables.
• Link says the borough is always seeking out new ways to save such as shared services, something the borough has already been doing for years by supplying fire services to Teterboro, sharing the police department’s 9/11 dispatch system and the most recent shared service agreement with Lodi.

Name:
Political affiliation: Independent
Hometown: Has lived in Hasbrouck Heights since she was 2 years old.
Experience: Former councilwoman (as a Democrat)
Top issues/concerns:

• Skiba says she is concerned about taxing and overspending and believes that shared services are the solution to this problem. She says shared services should be not be feared as it won’t make the town lose its identity but rather help reduce tax burden.
• Skiba is concerned about the Westmont Station development in Wood-Ridge on the border of Heights and she claims that it is not being watched and believes traffic on Passiac Avenue will become a major problem for the borough.

*asterik denotes incumbent