Meet the 2012 Council Candidates

[Editor's note: Patch asked each of the seven council candidates competing for three township council seats in this year's municipal election to submit a 250-word biography. The candidates are listed in alphabetical order. Do you have questions for the candidates? Email your questions to karen.yi@patch.com.]

Sal Anderton, Council Member

Sal M. Anderton was born in Orange, New Jersey on September 26, 1972. He was raised in West Orange and graduated from West Orange public schools. He received degrees in Political Science and Philosophy from Montclair State University as a student in the University’s Honors Program. Anderton earned his law degree from Seton Hall Law School in 1998.

Professionally, Anderton is of counsel to the Law Firm of Tobia & Sorger in Harrison, New Jersey, focusing his practice on real estate and personal injury matters. Additionally, he serves as Legislative Counsel to Porzio Governmental Affairs, a public affairs and public relations firm in Trenton. There, he advises a diverse clientele of financial institutions, insurance companies, trade associations and health-care organizations on legislative and regulatory developments impacting their business. He also serves as an adjunct professor of Political Science and Law at Montclair State University.

Active in his community since childhood, Anderton is a member of the Orange/West Orange Chapter of Unico National, an Italian-American Service Organization. He has served the township in numerous capacities as the former Chair of the Environmental Commission and the Open Space and Recreation Commission, a board member of the John Renna Senior Citizen Residence and as a coach and umpire for the West Orange Police Athletic League. He was twice appointed as the attorney for the West Orange Planning Board. A member of St. Joseph Parish in West Orange, Anderton is married to Rose Bernal and is the father of two young sons, Christian and Justin.

Jake Freivald, Council Candidate

Jake Freivald and his wife, Sue, moved to the Gregory section of West Orange almost 15 years ago. They have nine children aged 17 years to three months. Freivald has been a trustee, web developer and active member of Parents Advocating for Special Services in Education (PASSE) — an organization of which his wife is co-president — for four years.

He is also active in his church and a variety of his children's activities. In 2011, he was appointed to the West Orange Public Relations Commission.

Professionally, Freivald is the Vice President of Corporate Marketing for a major Manhattan-based software company, where he is responsible for strategy, branding, collateral development, editorial, web marketing, social media and event planning; he manages a staff of 24 people and a multi-million-dollar budget. He joined his current company 12 years ago as an assistant product manager.

Freivald holds a BS in electrical engineering from Cornell University. Upon graduation, he served as a Signals Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, working in tactical and strategic liaison roles and leading 18 seasoned intelligence staff in Hawaii, Saudi Arabia and Korea. Afterwards, he held technical and management positions at Andersen Consulting and the Prudential Life Insurance Company of America.

He is known for his independent thinking and civil discourse on difficult topics. As a member of the Krakoviak Team, he will bring moderate, thoughtful debate and well-considered action to critical issues, such as how to hold the line on taxes while balancing spending priorities.

Jerry Guarino, Council Candidate

I am a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University. A resident of West Orange for over 30 years, I have been dedicated to preserving our township's traditional high quality of life. Whether it has been through my leadership role in the Mountain Top League, the Community House, and the West Orange High School Scholarship Committee and involvement in the PTA at Gregory, or as the first chairperson of the Main Street Development Corporation, I have been an advocate for our children and active in promoting everything great about West Orange.

Together as a community, we face many challenges. It's time to take a collaborative approach and consider realistic solutions. We must continue to look at the way the township operates and work to eliminate operational inefficiencies. This is what I do every day as a senior financial executive for one of America’s premier retailers. I make tough budget decisions and implement them. I am evaluated on my ability to develop solutions to complex problems, a skill that can surely benefit our council.

I have the passion, courage and experience needed to bring people together in order to make tough decisions. I am not afraid to stand up for what I believe is right, even if I am the only voice in the room. I take my role as a citizen in this great community very seriously and I welcome the opportunity to enhance my role as an advocate for the children and families of our community.

Joe Krakoviak, Council Member

Following his impressive election win to the West Orange Town Council in November 2010, Joe Krakoviak is seeking a full four-year term leading a three-person slate.

As councilman, Krakoviak has repeatedly questioned proposed contracts and spending, frequently voting against what he considered wasteful or unnecessary.

He fought to introduce legislation that sets requirements for publishing council meeting agendas and proposed legislation on the website. He’s also served on the committee for redevelopment and helped form a Downtown West Orange Alliance committee to boost the business-friendly nature of local government.

An award-winning financial journalist, Krakoviak extensively covered municipal finance and real estate development for over a decade. As a marketing and public relations executive, he worked six years for a municipal-finance company.

After seven years with a leading management consulting firm, he is now an independent marketing and public relations consultant.

A nine-year town resident, Krakoviak is married to West Orange native Clare Silvestri, who is part of the Krakoviak Team for Council. They have three children.

Krakoviak's activities include youth coaching, church ministries, Habitat for Humanity and school organizations. He is a founder and primary publisher of WestOrangeGrassroots.org, created in 2009 to provide non-partisan transparency to town financial issues. His efforts before election led The Star-Ledger to call him "Taxpayer Watchdog."

Krakoviak is leading a slate to deliver even further on his campaign promise to help make West Orange a more attractive and affordable community, with partners to help him cut wasteful spending and hold the line on property taxes.

Rodolfo Rodriguez, Council Candidate

Rodolfo Rodriguez was born in the Dominican Republic and has lived in West Orange for 15 years. He's been married to his wife, Mercedes, for 25 years. Together they have a daughter, Jessica, who went to school in West Orange and is a college graduate from the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Rodriguez has been a member of the West Orange leadership forum WOLF. The program was created by West Orange residents who fight for fiscal responsibility and a more affordable West Orange. He has helped groups in the community such as Men Make a Difference.

He has an educational degree from the Dominican Republic and taught high school for nine years. Rodriguez also received a Nutrition and management degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey.

He was a dietary director for more than 20 years. He first worked for Lincoln Park Care Center and then for Omni Health Care. In that time, Rodriguez has managed more than 100 employees and handled a budget of more than 20 million dollars every year.

While working in the food Industry, he learned that every penny counts. Rodriguez has the experience to manage money and personnel. In addition to his work history, Rodriguez owns a business in town that shows his commitment to the West Orange community.

Rodriguez says the main concern in town are high property taxes and proposes cuts to spending and opposing the Edison redevelopment project.

With more than 600 homes in foreclosure, Rodriguez opposes building more than 350 apartments with six million dollars of tax payer money.

Clare Silvestri, Council Candidate

Clare Silvestri was born and raised in West Orange, blocks from Our Lady of Lourdes Church. After living in Boston and White Plains, NY, Silvestri moved back in 2003 with her husband, West Orange Councilman Joe Krakoviak, to raise their three children.
 
A Seton Hall University graduate with a BA in Communication, she had a 15-year career in journalism, publishing and corporate communications. For a major telecommunications company, Silvestri managed multi-million-dollar advertising campaigns, served as a lead company spokesperson and adviser to CEOs at subsidiaries, and was managing editor of an award-winning corporate magazine.

Today she spends time volunteering for various groups. Silvestri is a "Local Voice" contributor on West Orange Patch, blogging on people and places that contribute to the rich fabric of our community. 

A Girl Scout leader for seven years, she is a past co-president of the parent-teacher group for both Blessed Pope John XXIII Academy and its predecessor, Saint Joseph’s School, where she raised nearly $64,000 over four years as the school’s "Basket Bonanza" tricky tray co-chair. She is active in numerous church ministries, including Eighth Grade Catechist and Lector at St. Joseph’s Church.
 
Silvestri has attended nearly all council meetings in the past 18 months and spoken publicly on issues of redevelopment, the mayor’s marketing initiative and the Ridgeway Avenue property. Running as a member of the Krakoviak Team, she promises to bring greater fiscal responsibility and transparency to town government and make all decisions in the best interest of the community.

Patricia Spango, Council President

It is hard to believe that almost four years ago I was elected to the West Orange Township Council. The economic climate of our nation over the past four years has affected every way of life, whether you are a professional, business owner or a worker. We have all experienced some degree of economic hardship and our township has as well.

There have been many tough decisions that needed to be made to reduce costs and maintain our quality of life. I am proud to say that as hard as it may have been, I have taken a stand and my votes reflect that. I voted yes for 0% Municipal Budgets in 2010 and 2011. I voted yes to a $543,000 savings of taxpayer dollars in healthcare costs for municipal employees. I voted no to increase fees on building construction permits for residents. I voted yes to reduce council salaries by 10%.There is still work to be done and I pledge to continue with the taxpayer and citizens in the forefront.

As a life long resident, educated in the West Orange school systems, a local business owner, a mother and a grandmother, I have a vested interest in West Orange. I love this town and know in my heart that together we will get through these tough times.

I pledge to be your representative and voice on the West Orange Township Council. I will vote based on the merits of each issue and on what's best for the residents and taxpayers of our community.