No Public Question On Wyckoff Mayorship Is 'Missed Opportunity'

WYCKOFF, NJ — Not putting a question on the Nov. 7 ballot about how the public thinks the mayor should be selected is a "lost opportunity," according to Committeeman Brian Scanlan.

Longtime township resident Steve Joern submitted a petition with more than 900 signatures to the Township Committee in July. The petition requested town officials formally investigate alternatives into selecting who holds the town's highest office after the election.

The five-member Township Committee currently chooses the mayor annually. Scanlan is an eight-year committeeman who has never been mayor — an "egregious" error, one resident said, because it ignored his strong bipartisan support.

“This public question was a chance to take the temperature of the voters on what has become an important issue,” said Scanlan, whose motion Aug. 8 to put the public question on the ballot did not proceed for a full vote due to a lack of a second affirmative vote. Dozens of people attended the meeting and 10 spoke about it.

"I found the petition quite clear,” said Scanlan, responding to a complaint the petition was “confusing.” “Only one speaker of the 10 said the public question proposed was confusing, and she also readily stated she was opposed to discussing the issue.”

Instead of placing the matter on the November ballot, a two-person, bipartisan subcommittee was formed that will study alternative means of choosing the mayor.

RELATED: Wyckoff Committee's Vote On Mayoral Selection Was Correct, Mayor Says

Mayor Rudolph Boonstra previously said that taking the matter out of the public's hands was the "sober, in-depth examination it deserves without the politicization that can occur during campaigns."

Scanlan disagreed with Boonstra.

“Having the examination of how Wyckoff selects its mayor during the election season does not ‘take it out of the political arena,'" Scanlan said. "In fact, I would be concerned it does the opposite."

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