Mayor Laforet Calls 2nd Recall Effort 'Spiteful' And 'Irrational'

MAHWAH, NJ — Mayor William Laforet called the second recall effort brought against him "spiteful" and "irrational."

The embattled Laforet will have to weather the recall, and possible special election, if he wants to stay in office. The Committee to Recall Mayor William Laforet will circulate a petition asking residents to support its recall effort. The group needs 4,150 of Mahwah registered voters to sign the petition in order for a special election to be held Nov. 6.

Laforet issued a statement on the committee's efforts recently.

"This is nothing more than a spiteful and irrational lashing out at a mayor, police chief and New Jersey's attorney general. We warned the entire council that their illegal and barely disguised bias restrictions against the religious practices by some would end up with the state charges that they have, and will cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in cover-their-tracks legal fees. Never mind that political shenanigans like this that have brought ridicule upon the town."

The legal fees Laforet is referring to stem from two lawsuits. One was filed by the state Attorney General's Office. That lawsuit alleges the town discriminated against Orthodox Jews from New York by banning non-New Jersey residents from visiting the town's parks and by introducing an ordinance that would have essentially outlawed a Jewish religious boundary called an eruv.

Laforet backed, and then distanced himself, from the ordinance. He claimed in a statement in October that he "repeatedly warned the council of these consequences for months."

An Orthodox Jewish group from Rockland County, New York filed the other lawsuit. The group sued the town in August to block officials from removing an eruv that had been constructed on utility poles in town.

The Town Council appropriated $175,000 to fight the lawsuits. The council cast a vote of no confidence in Laforet in September — the second such vote cast against him in his seven years as mayor.

Related: Mahwah Council Casts Vote Of No Confidence In Mayor Laforet
Related: Mahwah Resident Announces Mayoral Recall Effort
Related: Mahwah Residents Launch 2nd Recall Effort Against Mayor Laforet

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Image: Mayor William Laforet/Patch file photo