West Orange Town Hall Mayoral Conversation

October 20, 2026
Scheduled time: 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Location: Council Chambers, West Orange Town Hall, 66 Main Street
Hosted by: Men Make a Difference (M²AD)
Moderator: Richard J. Groves

On October 20, 2026, Men Make a Difference hosted a conversation with West Orange’s seven mayoral candidates at Town Hall. Candidates discussed development, infrastructure, middle-school sports, leadership, taxes, community relationships, and legal costs. The event included opening statements, four community questions, candidate-specific clarification questions with rebuttals, a yes-or-no lightning round, two additional community questions, and closing statements.

Men Make a Difference does not endorse any candidate as an organization.

These are independently compiled, paraphrased summaries of each candidate’s remarks, organized to make the answers easier to read and compare. Financial figures, accomplishments, criticisms, and descriptions of government authority reflect what the candidates said, rather than independently verified findings. Questions have been lightly edited for clarity, and candidates appear in speaking order. Please feel free to contact me with questions, comments, or concerns.

Contents

• Opening statements
• Issue round
• 1. Development and affordable housing
• 2. Infrastructure and stormwater
• 3. Middle-school sports
• 4. Experience and leadership
• Candidate clarification questions and rebuttals
• Joe Krakoviak — debt reduction and tax relief
• Tammy Williams — budgeting and planning
• Susan McCartney — borrowing and debt
• Susan Scarpa — management reviews and savings
• Joyce L. Rudin — budget cuts
• Phillip A. Orphanidis — a four-year spending freeze
• Brian Rock — tax increases and an earlier budget
• Lightning round
• 5. Community unity and cooperation
• 6. Litigation and legal costs
• Closing statements
• Works Cited

Opening statements

Candidates delivered their opening statements in ballot order.

Joe Krakoviak

• Experience: A former financial journalist covering municipal finance and commercial real estate, with work for The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and a municipal bond insurer. Said he is finishing his 12th year on council, having first served from 2010–2020 and returned in 2025. Also said he had participated in Men Make a Difference programming for many years.
• Debt and affordability: Said he warned against decisions that continue to add millions to property taxes. Criticized a roughly $57-million, or 50%, increase in debt to nearly $171 million during his four years away from council, naming McCartney, Williams, and Scarpa among the council members who approved borrowing. Said debt service reached approximately $13.5 million in 2025, more than 12% of the operating budget.
• Debt reduction: Cited his leadership as council president in developing a unanimously approved 12-year debt-elimination plan. Said debt fell for the first time since 2011 and projected eventual annual savings of at least $12 million. Also began discussing his role in negotiating settlement of the mayor’s lawsuit against the previous council before his time expired.

Tammy Williams

• Experience and community ties: Said she raised her family and built her business in West Orange. Cited more than 20 years as a real-estate broker and an understanding of how taxes, property values, and development decisions affect households.
• Budget record: Said that as council president in 2023, she worked with colleagues to review the budget line by line and reduce a proposed 16.2% municipal tax increase to just over 5%.
• Leadership: Emphasized bringing people together, building consensus, and remaining accountable for results. Described the town’s people, diversity, neighborhoods, businesses, and schools as the “West Orange advantage.”

Susan McCartney

• Experience and community ties: Described living in West Orange since 1981, raising three children, and now enjoying grandchildren. Cited founding First Mountain Preschool in 1997 and teaching at Montclair State and Seton Hall universities.
• Partnerships: Highlighted Chamber of Commerce work supporting businesses and council liaison work with the Planning Board, senior housing, arts, and environmental bodies, along with service on the Community Emergency Response Team. Said those relationships continue to benefit residents during her mayoral term.
• Administration record: Emphasized work with township employees, administrators, and residents on public safety, open space, and infrastructure. Said her administration secured more than $19 million in grants to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Susan Scarpa

• Experience: Identified herself as council president and a speech-language pathologist in West Orange schools. Previously owned a Manhattan telecommunications consulting firm serving Wall Street banks and other financial institutions.
• Community ties: Said she returned to West Orange after her son was born so he could experience the family and community connections she knew growing up. Wants to remain in town as she ages.
• Priorities: Responsible leadership, better management of township resources and the budget, an affordable community, strong schools, opportunities for seniors to age in place, and respectful public discussion. Began describing her refusal of campaign contributions before her time expired.

Joyce L. Rudin

• Budget scrutiny: Said she identified $3.4 million in wasteful spending, including unused cellphone lines, lines for deceased employees, and $20,000 for reposting content to the mayor’s Facebook page. Credited that scrutiny with approximately $200 in savings per household.
• Legal costs: Compared approximately $50,000 per month for the township’s part-time attorney with approximately $16,000 per month for Essex County’s full-time attorney. Proposed an in-house legal department whose only client would be West Orange.
• Planning and infrastructure: Would hire a full-time planner, protect neighborhoods and green space, address affordable housing, improve sidewalks and crossings, and pursue a downtown parking structure. Asked voters to examine records of results.

Phillip A. Orphanidis

• Experience and affordability: A 25-year resident who said he progressed from unpaid municipal intern to deputy chief of staff in New Jersey’s second-largest city. Described an affordability crisis affecting homeowners, renters, and young people.
• Spending and rents: Proposed freezing municipal spending and municipal property taxes for four years while addressing debt and protecting essential services. Would cap annual rent increases at 1% generally and 0% for seniors, also for four years.
• Youth and development: Would expand summer sports, arts, and enrichment programs after school-program cuts. Opposed development he said would remove 6,000 trees for approximately 500 apartments. Presented himself as the only candidate on stage who is not an elected official, while emphasizing his government experience.

Brian Rock

• Experience and community ties: Said he and his wife moved to West Orange in 2018 because it was affordable for two teachers, convenient to work, and welcoming to their family. Cited experience as a teacher, negotiator, data analyst, and five-year school-board member.
• Cooperation and school record: Criticized conflict between the mayor and council and delays involving budgets and affordable housing. Cited preschool expansion bringing a cumulative $35 million in state funding, free preschool for more than 500 children that year, elementary-school air conditioning, and a new preschool location, without new debt.
• Five priorities: Hire a full-time planner; introduce a budget in February; improve pedestrian safety and walkability; make government responsive to every neighborhood; and address everyday quality-of-life problems.

Issue Round

1. Development and affordable housing

What is the status of incoming development, and which projects or approaches do you support or oppose?

• Joe Krakoviak: Said the missed June 30, 2025 affordable-housing-plan deadline exposed the township to six builders’ remedy lawsuits and potentially more than 3,000 residential units. Said two cases had been settled and four remained, and argued that rejecting settlements could produce further litigation and more development. Distinguished those cases from commercial development, which he supports when it makes sense for residents and increases commercial tax revenue.
• Tammy Williams: Cited her real-estate and land-use experience, including reading plans, identifying risks, and negotiating. Said the township missed the affordable-housing deadline while she was off council in 2025, leaving residents vulnerable to litigation costs and development controlled by others. Would settle the lawsuits and use professional planning and informed negotiation to address the remaining housing obligation.
• Susan McCartney: Disputed the account of how the deadline was missed. Said an earlier planner’s contract was not renewed by council, a replacement firm was unanimously approved in November 2024, and council later rejected a resolution needed to continue the planning work before the June 2025 deadline. Also said residentially zoned golf courses limited the township’s ability to challenge its state housing allocation.
• Susan Scarpa: Disagreed that the township could not challenge its housing allocation, saying professionals had advised that a challenge could reduce the requirement. Acknowledged the obligation to provide affordable housing but said it should be integrated into a broader plan protecting infrastructure, neighborhoods, and quality of life. Cited her Planning Board vote against West Essex Highlands and the proposed forest clearing.
• Joyce L. Rudin: Welcomed responsible development but opposed projects she said force neighborhoods to organize against inappropriate proposals. Cited the proposed Mavis business near the apartments across from ShopRite, an apartment building replacing Essex House at the St. Cloud entrance, and West Essex Highlands as examples of poor planning.
• Phillip A. Orphanidis: Said the missed deadline gave developers the upper hand. Would support projects that protect neighborhoods and the environment and oppose those that overcrowd schools or worsen congestion. Opposed long-term PILOT tax agreements and proposed substantially higher sewer-connection fees so developers pay more toward infrastructure.
• Brian Rock: Favored balanced development that prioritizes commercial corridors, residential projects with limited school-enrollment effects and access to transit, improvements to already-developed land, protection of green space, and projects without PILOTs. Said both mayor and council share responsibility for the missed deadline. Would settle the builders’ remedy cases, meet the state housing mandate, and use a full-time planner to guide a coordinated approach.

2. Infrastructure and stormwater

With aging roads and infrastructure, how would you fund and carry out stormwater, sewer, and road repairs?

• Susan McCartney: Said her administration secured more than $8 million for infrastructure. Cited the township-wide designation as an area in need of rehabilitation because infrastructure is more than 50 years old, and Planning Board checklists requiring developers to address stormwater and sanitary-sewer capacity.
• Susan Scarpa: Recalled raising drainage concerns about a Gregory School driveway project approximately a decade earlier. Said she worked with a planner and a Watershed Institute expert to strengthen the stormwater-management ordinance. Would enforce those protections and integrate them into the township’s broader development strategy.
• Joyce L. Rudin: Described repeated emergency requests to repair failed sewers and said the township engineer had called for mapping the system and identifying capacity before further building. Would require developers to pay for infrastructure needs instead of passing the cost to residents.
• Phillip A. Orphanidis: Would remove personnel costs from sewer-fee revenue and dedicate that money to sewer capacity and improvements. Said current collections help support the general budget. Proposed charging developers sewer-connection fees four, five, or six times current levels rather than placing additional costs on residents.
• Brian Rock: First inventory needs, including roads, sewers, missing sidewalks, inaccessible bus stops, and needed crosswalks, then rank projects by urgency. Match grants to specific needs, seek developer contributions, and establish a multiyear capital budget based on affordable borrowing. Said debt can be appropriate for long-term improvements if its cost is planned responsibly.
• Joe Krakoviak: Said sewer mapping is underway to identify potential failures, reduce emergency repairs, and prioritize work. Distinguished township-owned roads from major roads controlled by others. Said past borrowing limits current capacity and the debt-elimination plan’s $5.5-million annual borrowing limit must guide priorities.
• Tammy Williams: Proposed partnerships with neighboring municipalities facing similar problems to pursue regional infrastructure projects and grants. Would also strengthen relationships with county, state, and federal government and seek funding opportunities beyond what West Orange can obtain alone.

3. Middle-school sports

What is the status of middle-school sports, and how should the township respond to the loss of those programs?

• Joyce L. Rudin: Said the school board cut middle-school sports that year. Called the loss unfortunate because the programs are an important feeder to high-school athletics, while noting existing township recreation offerings.
• Phillip A. Orphanidis: Criticized cuts to sports and arts and the outsourcing of paraprofessionals. Would expand summer youth programs and place greater priority on children’s opportunities. Connected those priorities to his opposition to developer tax breaks and his demand that development contribute more to the town.
• Brian Rock: Said rising healthcare and other costs, constrained tax revenue, and flat state aid created the school-budget pressure. Described an earlier restructuring intended to preserve middle-school sports at lower cost, followed by elimination during another deficit. Said Superintendent Moore hoped to arrange alternatives through the Recreation Department but the partnership had not materialized. Would establish that cooperation as mayor so middle-school students have opportunities even if the district does not run the programs.
• Joe Krakoviak: Said township officials were already working with concerned parents to replace the lost programming. Pointed to an established Recreation Department structure and expected replacement opportunities to be announced soon.
• Tammy Williams: Said sports develop character, community, confidence, and preparation for higher-level athletics. Would pursue community organizations and public-private partnerships, including providers beyond West Orange, rather than accepting the district’s cuts as the end of the discussion.
• Susan McCartney: Highlighted existing township-school cooperation, including maintaining shared fields, working with school athletic coaches, supporting intramural programming, and helping secure basketball hoops at Washington School. Also cited engineering and facility work involving school driveways, athletic areas, and high-school tennis courts.
• Susan Scarpa: Said her work in the schools gives her insight into areas where savings could be found and called middle-school sports the wrong place to cut. Would help the township fill the gap and seek a forensic audit of the school board, economies of scale, and alternative reductions.

4. Experience and leadership

What qualifies you to be mayor, and what experience demonstrates the benefit you could bring to West Orange?

• Joe Krakoviak: Cited nearly 12 years on council and a demonstrated understanding of how a roughly $100-million municipality should operate. Emphasized achievement, experience, integrity, independence, and public explanations of township issues through council meetings and Facebook posts.
• Tammy Williams: Emphasized daily experience negotiating real-estate transactions, meeting deadlines, communicating with opposing parties, and reaching agreements. Said development will remain a long-term obligation and the township needs someone who understands it. Repeated her account of reducing the proposed 2023 municipal tax increase through cooperation with council colleagues.
• Susan McCartney: Said she inherited the approximately 16% proposed increase in 2023 and worked with directors and department heads to review fees that had not been updated for many years. Said council refused to introduce resolutions intended to address the budget and passed a no-confidence resolution involving her attorney. Defended her lawsuit as necessary for day-to-day governing and said a judge ruled in her favor.
• Susan Scarpa: Cited 24 years advocating for students, recognition from special-needs parents, an MBA in international marketing, graduate-level teaching in organizational behavior, and ownership of a consulting business. Said her work involved reorganizing businesses, finding efficiencies, listening, and bringing people with different views together to reach sound decisions.
• Joyce L. Rudin: Said her council record fulfills promises of transparency, fiscal responsibility, and community protection. Cited investigative-reporting experience with PBS, NPR, and Consumer Reports and an approach of asking questions and following the money. Said she identified taxpayer savings and has become a resource for residents with noise, oil-spill, traffic, and parking problems.
• Phillip A. Orphanidis: Said he managed 4,500 employees, 18 directors, and a $750-million budget. Cited reductions in crime and pedestrian deaths and expansion of summer programming for Black and Hispanic children. Said his experience would help the township negotiate stronger development terms and require developers to contribute more through sewer fees.
• Brian Rock: Cited perseverance in obtaining state preschool funding despite opposition, including what he said was the state’s highest-rated application, approximately $10 million that year, and $35 million cumulatively. Also cited successfully pressing for a one-way drop-off arrangement on Gilbert Place outside Roosevelt after township resistance. Emphasized his ability to work with others as a negotiator and teacher.

Candidate clarification questions and rebuttals

This segment asked each candidate a different question about their record or platform. The organizers allowed up to two rebuttals per candidate and announced a 45-second limit for rebuttals. The summaries below keep those responses with the relevant question.

Joe Krakoviak — debt reduction and tax relief

You led a 12-year debt-elimination plan. When would a typical homeowner first see a lower municipal tax bill because of it?

• Joe Krakoviak: Said debt began falling the previous year and the plan reduces borrowing from nearly $15 million annually during his absence to $5.5 million per year. Said the benefit would build over time, eventually freeing at least $12 million annually that previously went to debt service. Those savings could support capital improvements, operations, more police, or taxes lower than they otherwise would have been. Did not promise a specific year when an individual homeowner’s bill would fall.
• Joyce L. Rudin — rebuttal: Said every council member on stage except her had voted at the previous meeting for what she described as $10 million in additional bonding, approximately twice the annual borrowing limit Krakoviak cited. Acknowledged the ordinances still required a second reading.
• Joe Krakoviak — response: Disputed Rudin’s reading of the ordinances, saying three ordinances together proposed less than $9 million in borrowing. Emphasized that the vote was only on first reading and final approval would require a second vote at the next council meeting.

Tammy Williams — budgeting and planning

What would you have done differently as council president, and why should voters expect different results from you as mayor?

• Tammy Williams: Said she would not present council with a municipal tax increase of roughly 16%. Would start budget preparation with departments earlier, assess infrastructure and departmental needs, and build priorities around a capital plan. Said the township had not had a capital budget since she was council president in 2023. Said the township had relied on costly emergency repairs instead of preventive planning and described recent engineer-requested bonding as an example. Would conduct a comprehensive assessment and prioritize future work.
• Joyce L. Rudin — rebuttal: Said the large increase Williams described had been shifted into bedroom-based sewer charges rather than eliminated. Called that method unfair and said approximately $9 million collected annually goes into the general fund rather than directly into sewer improvements.
• Susan McCartney — rebuttal: Said council’s reluctance to borrow required her administration to pursue grants, citing more than $19 million for public safety, infrastructure, open space, and environmental needs. Also said council would not introduce borrowing for exterior library work, leaving the administration to seek other ways to carry out projects.

Susan McCartney — borrowing and debt

Other candidates say debt rose by approximately $57 million to nearly $171 million while you served as mayor and on council. Which borrowing would you not repeat, and why?

• Susan McCartney: Defended investments rather than identifying borrowing she would reverse. Cited entering the 138-acre Rock Spring Golf Course into Green Acres to protect it from residential development and obtain reimbursement for 50% of its acquisition cost. Also discussed township land behind the Edison historic site, brownfield grants for remediation, and a potential $200-million film-production investment. Said selling that land for the project could help reduce debt.

Susan Scarpa — management reviews and savings

You listed areas to review, from contracts to overtime. Which reviews have already produced savings this year, and how much?

• Susan Scarpa: Said council continually reviews matters appearing on meeting agendas, but does not have the access to administrators and department directors that the mayor has. Said mayoral authority is needed for the substantive reviews she proposes. Did not identify a specific completed review or savings total in her response.
• Susan McCartney — rebuttal: Said she arranged closed-session presentations when contracts, promotions, and projects came before council so members could hear directly from the people involved at the same time, rather than receive differing interpretations.

Joyce L. Rudin — budget cuts

For 2025, the mayor proposed a 6.2% municipal tax increase, while the adopted budget increased the average homeowner’s municipal taxes by approximately $49. Which cuts you identified saved the most?

• Joyce L. Rudin: Said she examined the budget line by line and found both large and small savings without affecting services or personnel. Cited $50,000 in automotive-parts savings recommended by the citizens’ budget advisory body. Said many lines had cushions that could be reduced, but she could not recall the largest individual savings during her answer.
• Tammy Williams — rebuttal: Emphasized that budget decisions are made by council, the mayor, and administration together. Said the state restored millions of dollars after excessive cuts and criticized a process that extended into December, delayed tax bills, consumed more than 20 meetings, and cost revenue.
• Brian Rock — rebuttal: Cited an $11,000 Health Department request to address rats that he said Rudin sought to cut. Said residents in the Valley and Heights report a real rat problem and argued that basic services costing relatively little per household should be assessed in proportion to the savings.
• Joe Krakoviak — rebuttal: Said other council members rejected many of Rudin’s proposals because they considered them poor choices. Said attempts to follow her approach prolonged the budget process for months and that the township needs to complete budgets earlier.

Phillip A. Orphanidis — a four-year spending freeze

You propose keeping spending at 2026 levels and holding municipal taxes flat for four years while contracts and healthcare costs rise. Which services or positions would you cut?

• Phillip A. Orphanidis: Said West Orange held property-tax increases at zero in 2010, 2011, and 2012, and could do so again. Discussed negotiating with unions, hiring freezes, and reviewing healthcare packages, which he described as unusually expensive. Cited other municipal budgets with growth of about $40,000. Would deliver a budget with no increase on day one, but did not identify particular positions or services for elimination.
• Susan Scarpa — rebuttal: Challenged the comparison with 2010, saying the township’s current debt and other financial conditions make a freeze substantially harder now.
• Phillip A. Orphanidis — response: Cited an earlier reduction from approximately 360 employees to 292 while garbage collection and emergency services continued. Acknowledged that controlling spending would be difficult but said it is necessary for affordability. Argued that candidates unwilling to pledge limits on taxes, spending, and borrowing should be expected to increase them.

Brian Rock — tax increases and an earlier budget

What annual tax increase would you consider acceptable, and how would you deliver an early budget with a council on which you have not served?

• Brian Rock: Called a zero increase unrealistic and proposed using the previous year’s Consumer Price Index as a starting target, illustrating that with 2% or 3%. Would work with the CFO and departments to fit spending within the target or present council with defined alternatives. Said agreement on goals and options would narrow negotiations and reduce repetitive work sessions and legal costs. Proposed preliminary conversations before the public council debate, including discussions behind closed doors, with final choices argued publicly.
• Tammy Williams — rebuttal: Opposed behind-closed-doors discussions and said residents are entitled to understand how decisions are made. Connected her concern to school-program and personnel cuts and promised transparent assessments and public discussion of township priorities.
• Phillip A. Orphanidis — rebuttal: Said the previous budget used roughly half the township’s savings to hold down the tax increase and warned that continued reliance on reserves could lead to a large future increase. Said core services should be protected while serious cuts are made elsewhere.
• Brian Rock — response: Said transparency alone does not resolve the arithmetic. Reaffirmed putting options before the public, while arguing that officials need a defined set of choices and a common target to make difficult decisions and reach agreement.

Lightning round

Candidates answered by holding up yes-or-no cards. The entries below follow the moderator’s spoken descriptions.

1. Budget by February 28

If elected, will you present your first township budget to council by February 28?

• All seven candidates: Yes.

2. Holding spending flat

In your first budget, will you keep township-government spending at or below this year’s level?

• Joe Krakoviak, Tammy Williams, Susan McCartney, Susan Scarpa, Joyce L. Rudin, and Phillip A. Orphanidis: Yes.
• Brian Rock: No.

3. New PILOT agreements

Would you support any new PILOT agreements for apartment or housing projects?

The moderator described a PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes, as an arrangement in which a developer pays the township a set annual amount instead of regular property taxes.

• Susan McCartney: Yes.
• Joe Krakoviak, Tammy Williams, Susan Scarpa, Joyce L. Rudin, Phillip A. Orphanidis, and Brian Rock: No.

4. Changing law firms

Should West Orange hire a different law firm from the one it currently uses?

• Tammy Williams, Susan Scarpa, Phillip A. Orphanidis: Yes.
• Joe Krakoviak, Susan McCartney, Joyce L. Rudin, and Brian Rock: No.

5. Full-time township lawyers

Should West Orange hire its own full-time lawyers on staff instead of paying outside law firms?

• Joe Krakoviak: No.
• Susan McCartney, Tammy Williams, Susan Scarpa, Joyce L. Rudin, Phillip A. Orphanidis, and Brian Rock: Yes.

6. Neighborhood advisory board

Would you support a neighborhood advisory board with members from every neighborhood, reporting to the mayor and council every three months?

• All seven candidates: Yes.

5. Community unity and cooperation

The campaign has produced division and vitriol. How would you bring a sense of community and unity to the town?

• Joyce L. Rudin: Would immediately reach out to council members and build a collaborative team, saying she had never been invited to meet with the mayor during her council service. Proposed opening town hall so residents can learn about boards, commissions, and other ways to participate, along with more events celebrating diversity. Criticized online hostility and campaign-sign theft but said the community is not at war and can come together after the election.
• Phillip A. Orphanidis: Said the next mayor and council must mend relationships, put personalities and petty politics aside, and focus on residents’ affordability concerns. Described people struggling with everyday costs or moving because of taxes. Suggested officials try different ways of getting to know one another, including sharing a meal, while keeping residents’ needs central at council meetings.
• Brian Rock: Would lead by example, focus criticism on policy, and address disruptive conduct rather than allowing it to dominate meetings. Would meet with the council president about priorities and efficient meetings and speak individually with council members before January to identify common goals. Favored community gatherings and more face-to-face interaction, saying social media encourages hostility that is harder to sustain in person.
• Joe Krakoviak: Urged residents and officials to treat others as they want to be treated, respect differences, and focus on the reasons they value West Orange. Would expand communication from the mayor’s office and increase personal interaction. Recalled a 2014 program that brought approximately 25 residents from different parts of town together for several months to identify ways to improve community life, and supported doing something similar again.
• Tammy Williams: Said she would contact the other candidates on election night, thank them, and invite those not holding office to contribute to her transition or leadership effort. Would reach out to council members and other people who ran, appoint qualified residents beyond her friends, and hold listening sessions in neighborhoods, schools, and homes. Said the town is diverse but segmented and needs stronger connections around shared goals for safe homes and families.
• Susan McCartney: Said she brought council members together for closed-session presentations about promotions, appointments, and development so they could hear the same information directly. Emphasized diversity as a strength and cited Hispanic, Haitian, and Nigerian events, along with a developing LGBTQIA+ task force, as ways to recognize communities and address their concerns.
• Susan Scarpa: Proposed more enjoyable community events and closer cooperation between the Human Relations Commission and schools on cultural celebrations. Cited a successful repair café involving seniors and other residents. Would organize working groups with council members taking responsibility for areas matching their strengths, such as finance, safe streets, and development, to make cooperation more productive.

6. Litigation and legal costs

West Orange has spent heavily on litigation and budgeted for more. Are those costs legitimate, and what would you do to limit them?

• Susan McCartney: Defended her lawsuit against council as necessary in the dispute over her attorney and day-to-day governing. Again blamed council’s failure to approve the planning contract before the affordable-housing deadline for subsequent costs. Said officials had received legal advice and needed to understand the consequences of their decisions.
• Susan Scarpa: Said some litigation is unavoidable and part of conducting township business. Would use an in-house attorney to handle routine work and reduce fees, while retaining outside specialists for labor and other matters that cannot all be covered by one township lawyer.
• Joyce L. Rudin: Said the mayor chose to sue after council declined to renew her chosen law firm, and argued that council’s advice-and-consent role should have been respected. Said the conflict cost more than $300,000 over approximately a year and a half. Proposed an in-house team of one or two lawyers and possibly a paralegal instead of paying approximately $50,000 monthly to outside counsel serving other municipalities. Also called for avoiding litigation she characterized as frivolous, including cases involving council and herself.
• Phillip A. Orphanidis: Described much of the expense as self-inflicted by conflict between the mayor and council. Said development problems and personnel-payout disputes should have been addressed before they became expensive lawsuits. Supported in-house legal services while acknowledging the need for some outside expertise. Would identify risks earlier and redirect avoidable legal spending toward infrastructure, youth, and senior programs.
• Brian Rock: Said existing cases must be handled and specialized litigation, particularly affordable housing, requires experienced counsel. Supported in-house help for simpler work but emphasized listening to legal advice and making realistic choices about which disputes to pursue. Criticized officials for disregarding warnings about the planning contract and compared the decision to his union-representation work, where he said he pursued arbitration only when a case had a strong prospect of success.
• Joe Krakoviak: Said serious legal and financial problems require lawyers whose advice officials should follow. Cited four remaining builders’ remedy cases, the mayor-council dispute, the police-chief lawsuit, and terminal-leave payouts. Said he led settlement negotiations after returning as council president in 2025 but it took almost a year to secure three council votes. Supported lower-cost legal help for routine work while saying the township cannot replace all outside specialists.
• Tammy Williams: Said the costs are legitimate obligations resulting from inaction and failures to cooperate. Cited warnings from officials about the affordable-housing planning contract and criticized both council’s failure to approve it and the mayor’s failure to communicate its urgency effectively. Would work more closely with council, communicate regularly with residents, and improve access to information, including an application-status dashboard.

Closing statements

• Joe Krakoviak: Asked voters to continue the financial turnaround and debt-elimination plan. Said debt service equals more than 16% of the municipal tax levy and eliminating it would create substantial relief. Proposed more police for enforcement and traffic safety; fixing Rock Spring Golf Club’s losses or selling it; jitney fares and bus advertising to reduce its approximately $1.2-million annual cost; realistic settlements of the four remaining builders’ remedy cases; a decision on the costly 10 Rooney Circle library building; a planner with economic-development expertise; market analysis and marketing for Main Street and Valley Road; and faster budgets.
• Tammy Williams: Repeated four commitments: protect township finances, public safety, infrastructure, and responsible development; strengthen transparency, engagement, and partnerships; promote downtown, small businesses, arts, and culture; and expand economic opportunities, recreation, youth and senior services, and grant funding. Cited two decades of commission, Planning Board, and council service and said the town needs results rather than lawsuits and rising legal fees.
• Susan McCartney: Asked to build on her administration’s accomplishments, including more than $19 million in grants for public safety, infrastructure, open space, the environment, and senior services. Emphasized taxpayer protection, safe neighborhoods, preserved open space, and support for businesses. Cited Target, Trader Joe’s, the former Manor property, Chelsea Senior Living, and the Essex Equestrian Center as investments that strengthen the tax base, create jobs, and expand services.
• Susan Scarpa: Said she prefers results to speeches and needs mayoral authority to carry out the changes she wants. Highlighted conversations and relationships developed during the campaign, residents’ engagement after earlier debates, and efforts to encourage township participation. Asked more residents to serve on committees and invited further conversations about West Orange’s future.
• Joyce L. Rudin: Asked voters to judge records of budget cuts, solving residents’ problems, finding revenue, and accountability. Reaffirmed her pledge not to accept contributions from developers or contractors doing business with the township. Said she welcomes responsible development while protecting residents, the environment, seniors, and immigrants. Emphasized listening, planning, asking difficult questions, and following the money.
• Phillip A. Orphanidis: Emphasized youth opportunities and the ability of future generations to afford West Orange. Repeated his four-year municipal spending and property-tax freeze, rent-increase caps of 1% generally and 0% for seniors, and opposition to further irresponsible borrowing, citing approximately $176 million in debt. Said the township can protect essential services, expand youth programs, preserve neighborhoods and the environment, oppose discrimination, and put residents ahead of developers and special interests.
• Brian Rock: Framed the election as a choice between continued conflict and a new direction. Cited lawsuits, the missed housing-plan deadline, and late budgets, saying the five opponents who served in municipal government share responsibility. Promised to use his teaching and negotiating experience to restore cooperation, hire a full-time planner, complete budgets on time, improve walkability, address everyday problems, and make every neighborhood feel safe, seen, and included while keeping the town affordable for working families.

Works Cited

Info

Madthew PL
Young West Orange
[email protected]