A look at the issues and candidates ahead of Tuesday's Montclair municipal elections

One result of Tuesday's municipal election in Montclair is already known: After four years of tumult, the dais will be wiped nearly clean come June and usher in at least six new members to the seven-seat council.

Among the sitting officials, only Councilor-At-Large Robert Russo is running for re-election to what would be his seventh non-consecutive term on the governing body, having also served as mayor and 1st Ward councilor in the past.

Mayor Sean Spiller, Councilor-At-Large Roger Terry, 1st Ward Councilor Bill Hurlock, 2nd Ward Councilor Robin Schlager, 3rd Ward Councilor Lori Price-Abrams and 4th Ward Councilor David Cummings have opted not to enter Tuesday's race following four years of in-fighting, litigation and public rebuke.

Only Russo and former 4th Ward Councilor Renée Baskerville of 15 candidates are veterans of the dais. The rest: a mix of would-be newcomers with big ideas and a variety of backgrounds but no track record as elected officials.

Some candidates, like Ilmar Vanderer ― a former member of the township's library board ― threw their hats in the ring as early as last year amid consistent claims of duplicity and last-minute agenda items that appeared a fait accompli to Russo and Cummings in the face of Spiller's four-member voting bloc.

Here is a look at some of the issues that were among the most common in the candidates' policy goals, based on published statements and interviews.

Housing costs

"We need to move beyond what we’ve done historically," said Baskerville, who is vying for the mayor's seat once more after losing to Spiller in 2020. The three-term veteran, who served the 4th Ward from 2008-20, still supports her long-time cause celebre of increasing the township's affordable housing stock. But believes development of other residences could provide cheaper housing, that may not be statutorily "affordable."

Her potential programs would include furnished apartments that utilize shared bathrooms, similar to those found at the Montclair Inn, resident-first and veteran preferences to new units and work force housing. "People say it didn’t work," Baskerville said of her prior attempts to bolster work force housing, "but we never marketed [it]."

Zina Floyd (one of three 4th Ward candidates) also believes in reducing rents through shared housing and accessory dwelling units, as well as voucher programs and tax incentives to landlords who convert their properties to affordable units.

More: Here's who's running for office in Montclair, Nutley and Belleville

At a recent 4th Ward candidate forum, Patricia Hurt ― the former Essex County prosecutor who was forced by then-Gov. Christie Whitman to stepdown after only a year over a litany of controversies, according to prior reports by The New York Times ― extolled the virtues of a resident preference for new units.

Addressing the unceremonious end of her tenure as prosecutor, Hurt said at the same event, that she "refuses to be bought or bossed," and claimed "the Republicans came after" her.

First Ward Candidate Erik D'Amato suggests empowering the deputy township manager as an "affordable housing czar," and establishing a three-councilor committee charged with tempering the tax levy and other means of reducing the local cost of living.

Form of government

A five-person slate ostensibly led by Russo ― one of only two tickets on this year's ballot ― states on its website that the lone incumbent, along with Carmel Loughman (a former Planning Board member running for one of two at-large seats,) Vanderer (running for 2nd Ward,) Roddy Moore (running for 3rd Ward,) and Aminah Toler (running for 4th Ward) suggest a move away from the township's Faulkner form of government, which offers all governing members an equal vote on council business and shifts executive power to the township manager.

But according to Vanderer, the slate has no dedicated changes in mind: “We are not advocating for one form [of governance] over another. We’re simply saying, if we are elected we are open to having that discussion.”

Chrissy Thomas, who's facing Baskerville in a two-candidate mayoral election after losing a challenge to incumbent Robin Schlager for the 2nd Ward seat in 2020, suggested trading off the mayor's charge as chair of council meetings among others members.

Another of Thomas' visions that would shake-up the longstanding format of Montclair's council meetings would be to break-off significant votes into special hearings with no other items on the agenda.

Conversely, D'Amato's policy "wish list" enumerated on his website champions a switch to staggered terms beginning with the 2028 election, and a revolving 1-year mayoral term that would moved around the dais by council vote.

Both D'Amato and Russo's slate have suggested expanding the council to nine members, While Rahum Williams (the 3rd Ward candidate on Baskerville's slate,) and all five candidates on Russo's ticket (including Toler, Vanderer, Moore and Loughman,) vow to hold regular ward meetings, a practice that slowly dissipated during Robert Jackson's administration from 2016-20, before being reduced to a near seldom occurrence over the past four years.

Voting blocs

Russo, Moore and Vanderer stated if they and any other members of their slate are elected, the tight-knit consensus among them would stop with the campaign trail, and all would be independent councilors free to vote with their passions.

However, Toler bucked that narrative, with the latter stating, "Working discreetly [sic] is not in our plans, as it would undermine the effectiveness of our mission statement." But, she added, "We aim to respect each other's opinions and collaborate to reach mutual agreements on various issues."

Baskerville poses herself as a bridge builder, who's learned a lot during her four years on the other side of the dais. Despite previous blow-ups between her and others on the dais during past administrations, she maintains she was never prone to divisive infighting: "I know [ex-Mayor] Jerry fried and I didn’t agree on things, and we had passion about those things. But we didn’t have friction where people came to the council meetings just to point fingers."

Finances

Thomas called herself "the fiscally responsible one," who aims to cut pork barrel spending on new positions, claiming too many new municipal jobs have served the purpose of cronyism.

D'Amato, Thomas, Russo's slate and 3rd Ward candidate Wendy Tiburcio have all expressed their intentions to either halt offering further so-called "payment in lieu of tax" agreements, or review existing contracts with land owners to offer a greater cut of revenue to the school districts.

However, any reassessment of the district's cut of PILOT funds would have to follow a review of the township budget and the needs of any new capital projects, according to Tiburcio.

"I will work to pass policies that strengthen the First Ward business district, help them to benefit our local economy, and bring more jobs to Montclair," stated Shivaun Gaines, who is running for the 1st Ward seat with Baskerville's slate.

Spiller's spillover

Susan Shin Andersen (running on Baskerville's ticket for one of two at-large seats) named transparency as one of her top three issues including the budget process, which Thomas aims to move to the township's fourth financial quarter, placing it farther away from the election.

D'Amato and Thomas have both vowed to repeal an "Indemnity Ordinance" passed by the council last year, which permits the township to fund private counsel for municipal employees using its own coffers, and therefore taxpayer monies.

"In my opinion, a new Council with a majority in favor of good government can quickly end some abuses, but it will still take a little time to set the ship right and make the government able to handle new tasks," D'Amato stated, referring to ongoing complaints of misconduct and subterfuge by current elected officials.

Second Ward Candidate Eileen Birmingham weighed in on the matter promising "timely and accurate data from our municipal departments to make informed decisions ― to know what is working, inform stakeholders, and learn what needs to change," as well as a more transparent budget process.

Who is running?

Mayor

• Chrissy Thomas

• Renee E. Baskerville

Council - At-Large (two elected)

• Susan Shin Anderson

• Carmel Loughman

• Robert J. Russo

Council - 1st Ward

• Erik D'Amato

• Shivaun Gaines

Council - 2nd Ward

• Ilmar Vanderer

• Eileen Birmingham

Council - 3rd Ward

• Rahum Williams

• Roddy Moore

• Wendy A. Tiburcio

Council - 4th Ward

• Zina Floyd

• Patricia A. Hurt

• Aminah Toler

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Montclair NJ elections 2024: A look at the issues, candidates