In 1992, my wife, Christina, and I chose to make Madison our home. Five children, two dogs and a lovely home with great neighbors later, we are sure we made the right decision. Madison continues to offer us so much as a community. It is close enough to NYC to commute to work, has a vibrant downtown, cultural options for entertainment, highly accredited schools, nice outdoor recreation activities, and a diverse population. We were not at all surprised when Madison was selected as the “#1 Best Place to Live in New Jersey.”
In the 30 years since we moved to Madison, I have dedicated myself to being active in the community and volunteering to make Madison an even better place to live and work. To me, it’s an honor to have opportunities to serve the community and participate with residents and borough government. I know that keeping Madison moving forward with well thought out changes while continuing to maintain its unique identity and quality of life is a top priority.
I am someone who believes that it’s not enough to just live in a town, but that we all should be active contributors to the life of the community. I have volunteered throughout my entire life – scouting, working with outreach groups like the Morristown community soup kitchen, Interfaith food pantry and numerous functions with our Greek Church – to put others first. My first active volunteer group in Madison was and remains the Madison Rotary Club.
Presently, I am member of the Madison Public Library Board of Trustees, the Madison Board of Health, a board member for HQM, Inc. (formerly the Madison Housing Corporation), and am president and founder of the Madison Junior School Sports Program. Together with my children, I also organize and support the annual Jersey Cares coat drive in town. We collect and sort over 1,000 coats that Jersey Cares distributes to shelters and soup kitchens around the state.
I am a past chairman of the Madison Environmental Commission and a former member of the Madison Recreation Committee. I also served four years on the Madison Board of Education and was a co-founder of the Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee.
I have a BA in economics and an MBA in Marketing/Business management. Together with my brother, I run a family business, Lanca Sales, an export company that sells primarily U.S. manufactured foodservice disposables and janitorial products to 70 countries. We are proud that our efforts have created jobs and brought revenues back to the U.S. with our global supply business. I would also point out that our company’s warehouse and offices are 100% solar powered.
In addition to my extensive volunteer and work experience, I also have special qualities that I believe make me uniquely suited to a role on the borough council. I am amicable, approachable, and I pride myself on being a good listener. I am open minded and want to hear different perspectives and welcome any opportunity to learn from others. As well-run as Madison is, there are always challenges to face and I am ready to take them on.
I have many ideas to make Madison even better going forward. For example, I have been a long-time supporter of improving our open spaces and recreation facilities as way to enhance our quality of life and the physical and mental health of our residents. Madison has become a walking town and residents want options for activities around their home – for themselves and their children.
As a member of the HQM, I see first-hand how important it is to have affordable housing in Madison. We see the variety of residents that need housing assistance for multitudes of different reasons. Madison has long been an affordable housing role model for New Jersey with over 190 affordable housing units around town and concrete plans to expand more through 2025.
I fully support and have participated – as a member of our Environmental Commission – in the Borough’s on-going efforts to improve our treatment of the environment. We know climate change is real and that every positive modification, no matter small, that we make in our lifestyle and business management will bring the community that much closer to real sustainability.
I look forward to meeting more members of the community, as I want to earn their vote for a seat on council. Anyone with questions or ideas can reach out to me by email anytime. I’m grateful for this opportunity to serve Madison and give back to a community that has done so much for me and my family.
You can read more about the Tom Haralampoudis and Rachel Ehrlich campaign in our announcement press release.