Mahwah Residents Launch 2nd Recall Effort Against Mayor Laforet

MAHWAH, NJ — A second grassroots effort to recall Mayor William Laforet is underway in town.

Laforet has been openly critical of the Town Council recently regarding ordinances that allegedly discriminate against Orthodox Jews.

The Committee to Recall Mayor William Laforet, composed entirely of Mahwah voters, submitted its letter of intent to circulate a recall petition in town to town clerk Kathrine Coviello Jan. 8. Coviello approved the letter Jan. 9 and Laforet was served with the letter Jan. 11.

The committee must next submit its petition for approval before it can begin collecting signatures.

"Our committee represents a large group of Mahwah residents that believe Mayor William Laforet should not be allowed to remain in office," said committee Chairman Vincent Maiello. "We are confident that this recall effort will succeed."

The committee has 180 days to collect 4,150 signatures, 25 percent of the registered voters in town, to recall Laforet. Then a special election can be held, at taxpayers' expense, on Nov. 6. A recall "yes or no" question asking residents whether Laforet should be recalled would be placed on the ballot.

Laforet has been mayor for seven years. He found himself at the center of controversy for his backing and then distancing himself from an ordinance banning non-New Jersey residents from using township parks. Many people said the ordinance was an attempt to prohibit Orthodox Jews from neighboring Rockland County in New York, from using the parks.

Laforet claimed in a statement in October that he "repeatedly warned the council of these consequences for months."

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 has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the town. The Town Council effectively rescinded the ordinances. Hundreds of residents packed council meetings when the ordinances were introduced and approved.

The Town Council cast a vote of no confidence in Laforet in September — the second such vote cast against him as mayor.

The first recall effort against Laforet was held in 2015, but the group in charge of it stopped its campaign because there was not enough time to get the required number of signatures.

The group claimed that Laforet allegedly did not abide by municipal statutes regarding the opening of an ice rink on town property, circumvented the Town Council's authority and accused him of using emergency communications equipment for political gain.

Officials and residents were also at odds with Laforet then regarding his decision to terminate DPW Director Ed Sinclair in 2015 over allegations of inappropriate material being watched on DPW computers.

"I am glad these residents are continuing the work we started," Annette Freund, chair of the previous recall committee.

Laforet did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

For more information regarding the recall campaign, visit the committee's website and Facebook pages.

Related: Mahwah Council Casts Vote Of No Confidence In Mayor Laforet
Related: Mahwah Resident Announces Mayoral Recall Effort

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Image: Mayor William Laforet/Patch file photo