YAMPAGLIA, BRADLEY LAUNCH “SMALL, SAFE AND SUBURBAN” CAMPAIGN!
North Arlington – Democratic challengers for Borough Council John Yampaglia and Tom Bradley launched their bid to unseat Republican incumbents Mario Karcic and Donna Bocchino Saturday morning at the post office located at Ridge Park Drive and Ridge Road.
Surrounded by volunteers and supporters, Yampaglia and Bradley listened to voter concerns, handed out brochures and practiced the appropriate social distancing guidelines.
“It was great to speak with our residents who feel left out and quite frankly ignored. Karcic and Bocchino are transforming Ridge Road at warp’s speed with the kind of overdevelopment, density and urbanization most voters reject. Adding hundreds of apartment dwellers on Ridge Road is not progress or a renaissance. It is a decimation of what North Arlington is all about and that’s being a quiet community that is best described as small, safe and suburban,” noted the two life-long community advocates.
The two candidates listened and learned from those residents who will most impacted by the easing of height restrictions along Ridge Road from three to six stories.
“Most residents want to know why this is happening, but the incumbents are more concerned about painted rocks. The lack of communication is a great concern. Karcic and Bocchino are creating a tale of two communities, one that wants to remain suburban and another that will be a “revolving door” residency along Ridge Road and homeowners are afraid of this new future that is being created with little resident input in the middle of this impact,” offered the candidates.
The current governing body is a monopoly of seven Republicans despite the fact there are more Democrats than Republicans and with no Democrats watching the store, Karcic and Bocchino are taking political advantage of this void and political vacuum.
“Does anyone believe Karcic or Bocchino would award themselves a generous raise and a pay hike for their favored patronage employees? Would these two incumbents voted to hire relatives like a nephew and father and then award the father a 23% pay hike after being employed by the borough for less than a year? The fact is because of the pandemic, people are not attending council meetings and do not know what they’re up to. How do you justify awarding another employee a $43,000 raise? This is exactly why we need responsible, two-party government and if this continues, municipal spending, debt and borrowing will cause property taxes to rise and increase they will,” said Yampaglia and Bradley.
The North Arlington Democrats will continue to greet voters throughout the campaign every Saturday and if you would like a law sign or donate, contact Democratic Municipal Chairman Nick Antonicello at (201) 937-4277 or via email at [email protected]. The Democrats will install the sign and remove it in lieu of COVID-19.
ABOUT THE CANDIDATES:
John Yampaglia is a life-long resident and former member of the Planning Board and owner/operator of his own hair salon in Essex County. He is the younger brother of former four-term councilman Mark Yampaglia and the son of retired Municipal Judge Emil Yampaglia. He is a graduate of NAHS and earned a BA and MA in Religious Studies.
Tommy Bradley is a life-long resident and is employed in a management role in the telecommunications industry with Mondelez International and former master foreman with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, local 164 (IBEW, AFL-CIO). A 1,000 point scorer at Queen of Peace HS, Tommy went on the play collegiate baseball at Virginia Commonwealth (VCU). A homeowner, husband and father of two sons, Bradley has been a recreation volunteer and coach for North Arlington’s children for over a decade.