Tom Madigan - A Lifetime of Service Putting Wyckoff First

I am running for re-election to the Wyckoff Township Committee and I am focused on keeping Wyckoff the special town we all love! I believe in efficient government, the value of volunteerism, our diversity, and respecting the Township’s traditions and values which helped to make our town what it is today.

My wife Mary and I have been fortunate to live in this beautiful town for 35 years and raise our 7 children here. (The Madigans proudly hold the record for having 21 consecutive years with children at Washington School). We are parishioners at St. Elizabeth Church and have been blessed with faith when sadly we lost 2 children. It was at these difficult times that we felt the love and compassion of neighbors in Wyckoff and are still grateful for the outpouring of prayers and immeasurable support.

Our children each learned the importance of community service and reaching out to help others and were the beneficiaries of our excellent school system and recreation programs. We opened our home to many children from overseas who received lifesaving open heart surgery as part of the Rotary “Gift of Life” program. It was an invaluable learning experience for our children with sharing their bedrooms and our dinner table with people from a different culture. Likewise, as a regular volunteer at St Martin’s soup kitchen in Jersey City, and when our children were young, they too experienced firsthand helping those less fortunate.

As a proud member of Rotary club for close to 25 years, I take personal pride in the many charities and outreach programs we support and recognize some of our area high school students with leadership and financial scholarships. Our signature project came to fruition only last year when we were able to bring water to a village in Nigeria. Many hands and generous efforts from numerous folks helped Father Felix Ugwuozor achieve a well and generator so all the villagers could have clean fresh water that is disease free!

I have devoted a lifetime to serving our community both as a volunteer and as an elected official focused on helping children and families. As a current member of our Township Committee, I serve as chairman of our Finance Committee and am laser focused on the burden of high NJ taxes and keeping taxes low and was fortunate in crafting this year’s budget that held taxes to less than 4/10 of 1 percent. I also serve as Liaison on our Environmental Commission and initiated our ‘green team’ and the junior commissioner program for high school students.

Working collegially for 14 years as a Ramapo Indian Hills school board member, I served diligently as board president for two of those years. During my tenure, I helped implement drug, alcohol, opioid abuse, and suicide prevention programs. I championed the hiring of a Director of Security to provide additional security measures for our students. As Deputy Police Commissioner in Wyckoff, we implemented enhanced police patrols in ALL our schools in town to keep our children safe. Additionally, working with our PBA to implement revised patrol scheduling, there is increased police coverage throughout town while saving taxpayers money.

This year in the interest of safety, and alarmed by Gov. Murphy’s pledge, Tim Shanley and I introduced and passed a resolution to ensure Wyckoff will NOT be a sanctuary town despite opposition from the local liberal left, who now maliciously call us racists for taking this position.

I was also a founding member of the Wyckoff Parks and Recreation Foundation that raised funds in town to install turf, lights, a playground, and walking paths for our seniors at the Pulis Field Recreation Complex. Tim Shanley and I fully support the volunteer efforts to bring the same improvements to the Memorial athletic fields.

We are fortunate to have the dedication of our members of our volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance Corps. I pledge to continue to serve all in Wyckoff with the same proven dedication to our community. Thank you for your support and the many words of encouragement especially in the last few days.

Both Tim and I, and many Wyckoff residents, are appalled at the hurtful and despicable smear campaign with false claims that is being waged against us. While our opponent chose to go low, we pledge to continue doing the hard work for all Wyckoff residents with results and not defamatory rhetoric. We need to remember that whatever the results of this election, we are all neighbors desiring the betterment for all Wyckoff residents. We urge you to Vote for Decency in Wyckoff politics.

You have my promise to continue to LEAD and not mislead!

Thomas J. Madigan