Assembly Candidate Hopefuls Present Themselves to Republicans

Three of the four District 39 Assembly candidate hopefuls introduced themselves to members of the Bergen County Republican Organization Thursday in a special candidates night at BCRO headquarters in Hackensack.

The opening comes after Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk announced last week that she would not be seeking reelection in November.

Washington Township Council President Fred Goetz, Emerson Borough Attorney and Washington Township Planning Board Attorney Scott Mooney and River Vale Township Attorney Holly Schepisi spoke before the county committee members. Michael Cino of Demarest declared his interest in running Thursday but was not in attendance.

Goetz, who grew up in Closter, touted his legislative experience to the county committee members Thursday, saying as a member of the township's governing body he has worked with others in surrounding communities for shared services projects and "to get things done" for the benefit of all residents.

He said he would enjoy working on bills in Trenton and fight to get more money returned to municipalities in the 39th District.

"I think that I am the most qualified candidate for the position. I think that I'm the one that knows this entire district the best," Goetz said. "I know that I'm the one that you want there fighting because I'm going to give it everything I got."

Mooney, an Emerson resident who grew up in Oakland and has his own law practice in Hackensack, said he has a wealth of local government experience He said he has helped with many local elections, including reelection bids for Vandervalk and Assemblyman Robert Schroeder, and has done pro bono work for area Republicans as well.

Bringing financial resources to District 39 is one area Mooney said will be a focus should he be elected as an assemblyman. He also said he would like to emphasize candidate recruitment.

"Dumont, Demarest, Haworth and Park Ridge all have the opportunity to win back the governing body this year," Mooney said. "I would like to be able to help them, by getting them financial resources or whatever they need, to be competitive and to win."

Mooney said he also agrees with changing the school funding formula to make it per pupil instead of per income.

"I think I'm ready to hit the ground running here in terms of what we need for the district in the next decade and I want to be one of the leaders going forward into the next decade and beyond," Mooney said.

River Vale resident Schepisi, who has her own law practice, said she has worked behind the scenes in government, including for Vandervalk. She also wants to help the municipalities in District 39.

"We're all here because we love the state, but we're all here as well because we understand that under Democratic mismanagement in Trenton over the past years, our state needs a lot of help," Schepisi said. "[Governor Christie] needs people down there advocating for your viewpoints and helping facilitate some of the reforms that need to take place to make the state great again. That is one of the reasons that I'm doing this."

She said she would "actively pursue" fair funding in schools and work on pension reform, especially in the area of payouts for sick and vacation time. She said she wants to be able to live in the district and wants her children to be able to afford to live in those communities as well.

Members of the county committee will vote Sept. 12 to select a candidate who will be placed on the November ballot. According to BCRO Chairman Robert Yudin, other Republicans can enter the race prior to Sept. 12.

Rob Hermansen of Mahwah and Mike Ghassali of Montvale had previously asked to be considered but later pulled out of the running.