Verdone Sworn In to Ramsey Council Seat

After winning the November election for a borough council seat he was appointed to in August, longtime Ramsey resident and volunteer Joe Verdone was officially sworn in to the post at a council meeting Wednesday night.

Verdone, a Republican, was appointed to serve the remainder of the term originally held by Bruce Vozeh, who was appointed borough administrator earlier this year.

Verdone, 71, will serve two years in the post. Because of the special election for the seat, Mayor Chris Botta explained Wednesday Verdone was sworn in as soon as election results were certified by the borough and county clerks offices.

According to the official county election results, Verdone received 4,076 votes.

Though his opponent, resident Scott Stahlmann's name appeared on the ballot, Stahlmann sent a notice to the borough clerk in September withdrawing from the race due to the “nature of my position and employer.” County officials said the Democrat missed the deadline to have his name removed from the ballot.

Still, Stahlmann received 2,339 votes.

Verdone has lived in Ramsey with his wife Dorothy, for 34 years. The couple raised two children in the borough.

He worked at IBM for 41 years. He was serving as the International Director of Global Promotions when he retired in 2008.

Verdone said he believes his long history of volunteering in Ramsey has helped make him a good candidate for the job. He is a co-founder of the Greater Ramsey Chapter of UNICO, an Italian-American organization that raises funds, completes and promotes community service projects and gives scholarships to local students.

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