NA DEMOCRATS OFFICIALLY NOMINATED, WILL CHALLENGE INCUMBENTS FITZHENRY & SHEEDY COME THE FALL
Balwierczak & Yampaglia commit to canvassing the community this summer in their efforts to bring responsible two-party government back to North Arlington.
NORTH ARLINGTON – Democrats John Balwierczak and John Yampaglia were officially nominated by Democratic Primary voters yesterday and will offer residents a clear choice come the fall campaign.
The two challengers have been going door-to-door for nearly a year and were able to secure over 300 signatures to appear on yesterday’s ballot.
Candidate John Balwierczak can be seen here going to vote with his Mom Tuesday afternoon.
This is Balwierczak’s first attempt at public office. A graduate of North Arlington HS, Balwierczak played basketball for the varsity Vikings.
Committed to offering residents a better choice, Balwierczak is a full-time candidate for council.
“It’s a part-time position, but I will give it a full-time effort,” offered the former Republican turned Democrat.
Local Democrats have not served on the council since 2019 and have not won locally since 2016 when Mark Yampaglia and Jean Williams defeated Mario Karcic and Richard Hughes.
Since announcing they would run in the summer of 2023, the two life-long residents have been pounding the pavement for votes as they believe democracy is served best with a healthy mix of Democrats and Republicans. Currently, Republicans control every aspect of local municipal government with a 7-0 majority. If Democrats were to prevail, Republicans would still control the community by a 4-2 margin with a Republican Mayor.
“One-party government is not a dialogue, but a monologue. Seven people voting the exact same way with no discussion or debate thousands of times is not a democracy,” offered both challengers.
John Yampaglia is making his second run for council. He is the son of retired Municipal Judge Emil Yampaglia and brother of former four-term council member Mark Yampaglia, an attorney with offices in Rutherford. A graduate of NAHS as well as a small business owner, Yampaglia has a BA in Political Science and M.A. in Religious Studies. A former planning board member, Yampaglia has taught as a substitute teacher and has his teaching certification. Yampaglia owns and operates a salon in Essex County.
The two Democrats are optimistic in this bid to retain North Arlington’s small town character as the gateway to Bergen County and are committed to the proposition of the community remaining small, safe and suburban.
Balwierczak, a first-time candidate and former Republican received 440 votes while Yampaglia received 453 according to the Office of the Bergen County Clerk.
There are 3,806 registered Democrats and yesterday’s turnout was just 16.3%. In contrast, there are 2,604 registered Republicans and they had a slightly higher turnout of 22.6% since they had a statewide primary for the GOP nomination for the US Senate against US Rep. Andy Kim who received 433 votes. North Arlington Republicans selected the Trump-backed candidate who lost by a wide margin.
In the presidential contest, Joseph R Biden received 471 votes while Donald J Trump received 555. Fitzhenry and Sheedy received 527 and 515 votes respectively.
“This was an extremely low turnout for both parties as the only contested race on the Democratic side was a nominal challenge of longtime Rep. William “Bill” Pascrell who still received 554 votes, leading all Democrats. Now the race shifts to the general election and local issues such as the proliferation of apartments along Ridge Road and other concerns will be on the minds of the voters,” offered one local political observer who was asked not to be identified.
Balwierczak and Yampaglia are looking forward to a “serious discussion of the issues facing residents and the future of North Arlington.”
“We want to thank those in both parties that took the time to cast a vote and we look forward to a spirited, issue-oriented campaign. Local democracy is best served by competitive elections. Voters deserve a choice and we look forward to ensuring that there are two-sides to every issue and that no party should have a monopoly of local government. We will continue to walk, listen and learn what residents really care about and address those concerns in the weeks and months ahead,” offered the candidates.
The Democrats will be hosting their June monthly meeting on Wednesday, June 19th at the Arlington Diner located at the Belleville Pike and River Road beginning at 7:00 PM and all interested residents in supporting the ticket are urged to attend and light refreshments will be served.
For more information about the campaign, call (201) 655-8497.