MADISON – In a prepared announcement, Democratic candidates for Madison Borough Council, Council President Carmela Vitale of Myrtle Avenue and John Hoover of Overhill Drive, encourage all Madison residents to vote on November 7. The candidates stated:

“We encourage all voters – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents – to make their voices heard this Election Day by exercising their right and obligation to vote. This is a very important election for the State of New Jersey and for Madison. At the state level, we will be voting for a new governor, and our current representatives in the state legislature are all running for re-election. We will also elect a county freeholder this year and at the local level, two borough council seats and three board of education seats are up for election.”

Council President Vitale, who is completing her fourth term as a councilmember and her second as council president, has stated, “I am pleased to be a part of one of the best, most effective councils that I have ever been privileged to serve on. Municipal budgets are now well under control; borough services have improved; and we continue to invest in our roads, sewers, and utility infrastructures. We have expanded shared services and preserved Madison’s AAA credit rating, while maintaining a stable municipal tax rate. This year we will be returning $1.5 million from our electric utility surplus as a dividend to our ratepayers – making our net residential electric rates very competitive with those of quality investor-owned utilities such as Atlantic City Electric, PSE&G and Rockland Electric.”

John Hoover continued, “Moving forward, we want to identify new opportunities for controlling municipal costs and increasing revenues. Adding additional shared services, introducing technology innovations like the new utility billing system, the planned introduction of “smart” electrical metering and LED outdoor lighting, as well as attracting desirable high-end companies like Allergan and Atlantic Health Systems to the Giralda property are but a few examples.

One of our highest priorities, if elected, will be the implementation of a solution-driven revitalization plan for Madison’s commercial districts. We believe that the Madison Borough Council did the right thing in supporting the hiring of an outside consulting firm to guide us in this endeavor – an effort I participated in as a member of the steering committee. Although we are not in agreement with everything in the firm’s report, they have provided us with useful and actionable recommendations, some of which Council has already acted on.”

Vitale and Hoover stated: “Madison voters know us and our records, and they know that they can trust us to do what is right for Madison.”

In her role as a member of the Madison Borough Council, Carmela Vitale is chairperson for the Public Works and Engineering Standing Committee and is a member of the Finance and Borough Clerk Standing Committee. She is also Council liaison to the Environmental Commission, the Historic Preservation Commission, the Parks Advisory Committee, and has been a proud liaison to the Patriotic Celebrations Committee for six years. Vitale is also the Council liaison to the Shade Tree Management Board and the Sustainable Madison Advisory Board.

Carmela Vitale has also served as Chairperson of the borough’s Senior Citizens Advisory Committee and served two terms as president of the Madison Board of Health. She is Madison’s representative on the Morris County Community Development Revenue Sharing Committee and has served as membership chairperson for the Whippany River Watershed Action Committee. Carmela Vitale is also a long-time member of Madison’s Thursday Morning Club.

John Hoover serves as a Downtown Development Commission (DDC) commissioner and is its secretary as well as chair of the DDC Sign and Façade Committee. He also serves as the volunteer Logistics and Onsite Market Manager at the DDC-sponsored Madison Farmer’s Market during the summer months.

John is the Chair of Madison’s Senior Citizens Advisory Committee, a member of the borough’s Economic Revitalization Committee, the Madison Board of Education’s Budget Advisory Committee, and is a Member of the Board of the Madison Alliance Addressing Substance Abuse (MAASA). He serves as Vice President of the Board of Trustees of the TriTown 55+ Coalition, is chair of the Madison Democratic committee and is a member of the Rotary Club of Madison. He is also the chair of the Madison Elks Drug Awareness Committee and previously served as President of the Madison Board of Health and on the borough’s Strategic Planning Operations Committee.

Vitale and Hoover concluded, “If elected, we will give Madison residents the kind of good government that they have come to expect – government that is sensitive to the needs of the community, listens to its constituents and delivers dependable public services in a fiscally responsible manner. We also ask Madison voters to consider the records of State Senator Richard Codey, Assemblyman John McKeon and Assemblywoman Mila Jasey when they cast their ballots. Working together as a team, they have been very good friends in Trenton for Madison.”