Long-Time Mahwah Resident Frank Pallotta Running For Mayor

MAHWAH, NJ — Another long-time resident has thrown his hat into the political ring.

Frank Pallotta, a 30-year township resident and former Goldman Sachs staffer, has announced he is running for mayor. Pallotta announced Thursday morning he is running for mayor.

"It is time for Mahwah to be represented by someone with one agenda and one vision, singularly focused on improving our town and the lives of all its residents," Pallotta said. "I look not only to restore trust and confidence to the mayor’s office, but to help move our town forward again."

Pallotta and his wife of 27 years, Patty, who is a life-long Mahwah resident, have two children.

A financier and mortgage broker, Pallotta began his career with Goldman Sachs and moved to Morgan Stanley and led a team of 120 people based across the United States. He helped launch a specialty finance company and founded a mortgage advisory and consumer marketing firm.

Throughout his career, Pallotta said he, "learned one irrefutable fact: The longterm viability and success of a company, a family, or even a town in Bergen County rests in the hands of its leaders. Leadership however, is much more than a title. Leadership is about how one’s actions and principles influence others for the better."

Pallotta said if elected he would "lead a tireless effort to help restore this town's reputation as one of the warmest, most accepting and inclusive places to live in New Jersey while seeking to re-establish the people's faith in the office of mayor."

Mike Devine, a longtime township resident and Bergen County Sheriff's officer, announced earlier this week his intention to run for mayor.

Devine and Pallotta running for the township's highest elected office after a recall effort was successfully brought against incumbent Mayor William Laforet. Laforet said he would not challenge the results of the recall in court. It was the second such recall campaign launched against Laforet during his seven years as mayor.

Township Clerk Katherine Coviello certified in July that at least 4,150, the minimum number needed, of the more than 5,000 signatures collected in the second recall effort launched against Laforet are from registered Mahwah voters.

"I intend to run a campaign based on truth, and I intend to expose those who would dupe people into signing a recall petition, which was fraudulently gathered," Laforet said.

Laforet and the council locked horns regarding a controversial ordinance banning non-New Jersey residents from using township parks. Laforet came under fire for criticizing the Town Council over the ordinance and its alleged discrimination against Orthodox Jews.

Another ordinance required peddlers to get permits before they went to residents' homes soliciting. The ordinances were proposed during a controversy regarding a Jewish religious boundary in town commonly called an eruv.

The state Attorney General's Office filed a civil rights lawsuit against the town.

Related:

• Long-Time Resident Mike Devine To Run For Mahwah Mayor
• Mahwah Mayor Not Fighting Recall In Court, Will Proceed With Vote
• Mahwah Council President: 'It's Time For Laforet To Finally Go'
• Mahwah Council President: We Had Nothing To Do With Recall
• Ed Sinclair, Mahwah DPW Director Found Dead In His Home
• Deceased Mahwah DPW Director's Estate Files Lawsuit Against Mayor And Police Chief: Report

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photo: Frank Pallotta (Courtesy of Frank Pallotta)