Mayor and Council meeting on Monday, January 3, 2011

Please plan to attend the Leonia Mayor and Council meeting on Monday, January 3 at 7:30 pm in the Borough Annex. At this time, we can all express our thanks to Ingrid Brennan and Karl Norgaard for their service as exemplary council members.

We can also celebrate the swearing in of John DeSimone and Darryl Whitter as our newest members of the Leonia Council. After a brief reorganization meeting, refreshments will be served.

Hope to see you all on Monday as we celebrate the sustainability of Leonia governance.

Bob Leap
Chairman
Leonia DMC
201 Oratam Terrace

LDMC Meeting November 16, 2010

Building the Democratic Slate for 2011

The LDMC met on Tuesday, November 16 and spent the first part of the meeting debriefing the recent election. We were pleased that our efforts were successful in electing John DeSimone and Darryl Whitter to the Leonia Town Council. We were also proud that we were able to deliver a complete Democratic victory in all contests at the national and county level in Leonia. However, only Representative Steve Rothman was successful in his race to return to the U.S. Congress from District 37, while all the county contests were lost to the Republican slate

Most of the meeting was focused on the process for selecting a Democratic slate of local candidates to run for Mayor and two Council seats for the 2011 primary election. To be included on the ballot for the June primary, candidates must have their petitions (with 40 signatures) submitted to the County Board of Elections by March 2, 2011. The LDMC decided on an initial list of Leonians to contact to determine their interest in running for local office. We will continue this process until we have a “short list” of interested candidates. These people, along with the current incumbents, will be asked to interview with the entire LDMC, sometime in January. The LDMC will use the interviews to determine the final slate of candidates.

The LDMC also spent time at the November meeting discussing what role we want to play in trying to bring about reforms in the Bergen County Democratic Organization. We asked a sub-committee to give this topic further attention and to come back to the entire committee with a suggested plan for moving forward.

Unofficial Election Results for Leonia Council

1582  John DeSimone
1304  Darryl Whitter
 880  John Stendor

For details by district, see "Unofficial Results by District"

A Message from Bob Leap

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I’m writing to my fellow Democrats to once again thank you for your overwhelming support this past June in electing an entirely new Municipal Committee and in selecting our two Council candidates, John DeSimone and Darryl Whitter, to run as the Democratic candidates in the November General Election. I also want you to know that your Municipal Committee has been hard at work fulfilling the pledges we made during the campaign. We’ve created two new blogs: “LeoniaToday” (http://leoniatoday.blogspot.com), which provides current information on topics and issues that impact Leonia; and “LDMC” (http://leoniadmc.blogspot.com), where you can keep up-to-date on the activities of your Democratic Municipal Committee. Please visit both of these sites to see what your fellow Democrats and otherLeonians are up to.

We Leonians are being bombarded from every direction. We’re faced with rising taxes, fewer services, overdevelopment, and the impact of light rail. Although the changing times are creating new problems, John and Darryl are ready to be two strong voices on the Leonia Council in meeting the challenges head on. That is why it is so important for you to come out and vote for John and Darryl on Tuesday, November 2nd.

I also am asking that you support our fellow Democrats in Column 2 who share our same basic values. Steve Rothman, who heads our ticket, has been a super-effective Congressman. And our team in Hackensack, led by County Executive Dennis McNerney, has produced many benefits for Leonians, including:

• Completion of the “new” Overpeck Park 
• Refurbishing the (North) Soccer Field and building six new tennis courts for use by our High School sports teams 
• Serving thousands of Meals-on-Wheels to our seniors 
• Paving Fort Lee Road 
• Providing more than $1 million in open space and community block grants 

The entire Democratic Team stands ready to support our local officials to build a better Leonia. So when you go to the polls on Tuesday, November 2nd, vote for John DeSimone and Darryl Whitter for Leonia Council, and for the entire Column 2 team.

Sincerely,
Bob Leap
Chairman, Leonia Democratic Municipal Committee

VOTE DEMOCRATIC
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 2
COLUMN 2 

LDMC meeting September 13, 2010

State Legislators Visit September LDMC Meeting

We were pleased to welcome State Senator Loretta Weinberg and Assemblymen Valerie Huttle and Gordon Johnson to our September meeting of the Leonia Democratic Municipal Committee. Each of our guests spoke about the current state of the Democratic Party in Bergen County and all of New Jersey. They all pointed out the importance for us to get behind and work to support the entire Democratic Slate in the upcoming election. They also spoke with us on how we can have a positive influence on the future of the Bergen County Democratic Organization. They concluded their visit by taking questions from the group.

The remainder of the meeting was spent discussing the campaign for Leonia council candidates John DeSimone and Darryl Whitter. Jean Arbeiter was present to bring the DMC up-to-date on the Democratic Rally planned for September 19 at the Leonia American Legion. DMC members were asked to provide baskets and goods for the silent auction, and to volunteer for set up and clean up on the day of the event. There was great support and excitement expressed by DMC members for the event.

The Democratic Rally was a great success!

A special thanks to the almost 200 people who attended the "Jazz in the Afternoon" Democratic Rally yesterday afternoon at the Leonia American Legion. The Harlem Blues and Jazz Band was superlative and the energetic support of our Democratic candidates was tremendous. This truly was a special event that united the Democrats of Leonia and promoted respect and appreciation for all the residents of the town. Let's continue to support John DeSimone and Darryl Whitter for Leonia Town Council.

Bob Leap
Leonia DMC Chair

Representative Steve Rothman

 The Harlem Blues and Jazz Band

Senator Loretta Weinberg

Invitation from Democrats For a Better Leonia

The Leonia Democrats invite you to 

a Campaign Kick-Off Event in support of 
John DeSimone and Darryl Whitter
for Leonia Council

JAZZ IN THE AFTERNOON

Sunday, September 19, 4 to 6 

at the American Legion Hall on Broad Avenue

Featuring wonderful music from 

the Harlem Jazz & Blues Band

And special guests:  

Steve Rothman

Loretta Weinberg

Dennis McNerney

National Night Out

The LDMC participated in the "National Night Out" program in Leonia on Monday evening, August 2nd.
A table, complete with a banner (announcing the Leonia Democratic Municipal Committee), balloons, and complimentary popped corn attracted a number of Leonians (both Democrat and Republican) who engaged in conversations with many of the committee members in attendance. In the spirt of the evening, the committee distributed materials on home safety.

Bob Leap

LDMC meeting July 26, 2010

The DMC met on July 26th and engaged in a committee discussion where we all articulated what we think the Democrats in Leonia are looking for from the LDMC, and what some of our personal goals are for the LDMC. The outcomes from the discussion will be incorporated into a new LDMC Mission Statement and Goals, which is in development.

The Committee also met with Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney and Freeholder Candidate John Hogan. The challenges of the upcoming election were discussed, and the committee expressed their concerns about issues that have been raised in connection with the New Overpeck Park. The DMC also raised concerns about the proposed new bridge, ongoing maintenance of the park, and light rail issues.

Bob Leap

LDMC Update

The Leonia DMC met on June 28 to complete the election of officers and to begin to plan for the future. The following were elected: Melinda Dean Aranda - Vice Chair; Anne Bonadies - Recording Secretary; and John Zeaman - Corresponding Secretary. In addition, the following subcommittees were established: Mission Statement, Campaign, Get Out the Vote and Communication. Our by-laws were reviewed and accepted by acclamation. To increase communication from the LDMC to the community, we will complete the development of two blogs which will launch in July. The committee reaffirmed their interest in attending Mayor & Council, Planning Board, and Adjustment Board meetings to keep current on initiatives and key topics of interest to Leonia.

The committee also met with District 37 Chairman candidates Dave Lorenzo of Palisades Park and Ilan Plawker of Englewood Cliffs. Each candidate provided a brief explanation of why they were running for district chair and fielded questions from committee members.

On June 29th, 11 of the 12 LDMC members participated in the District 37 meeting and elections. Dave Lorenzo was elected Chairman by a vote of 97 to 55.  The Bergen County Democratic Organization also voted for Northvale Mayor John Hogan to fill the unexpired term of former county Freeholder Tomas Padilla in an uncontested election.

Bob Leap
Chairman, LDMC
Leonia, New Jersey

LDMC Officers

At the reorganization meeting on June 14, Bob Leap was elected to serve as Chair of the Committee.
The following officers were elected at the meeting on June 28:

• Vice Chair - Melinda Dean Aranda
• Recording Secretary  - Anne Bonadies
• Corresponding Secretary - John Zeaman

Democratic Municipal Committee Update

On Monday, June 14 the newly elected Leonia Democratic Municipal Committee held its reorganization meeting. Outgoing DMC Chair, Robert Pacicco, facilitated the smooth transition at this meeting. We express our many thanks to Robert for his years of service as chair of the DMC.

Our first order of business was to elect a new DMC Chair. I was pleased to accept this role that was decided by unanimous vote of the committee. The only other business conducted on Monday was completing a number of forms to be submitted to the County Democratic Organization.

The next night, Tuesday, June 15, the DMC attended the Bergen County Democratic Organization meeting in Hackensack. At this meeting, we participated in the election of the county officers, all of whom ran unopposed. We also had an opportunity to meet Michael Kasparian, the BCDO Chair, and several other Democratic county officials.

We will be meeting over the summer to formulate our plans moving forward. We understand the trust that Leonia Democrats have placed in us, and will do everything possible to meet and exceed your expectations.

Stay tuned.

Bob Leap
Leonia DMC Chair 

Thank You Leonia!

On behalf of the Democrats for a Better Leonia we want to thank the hundreds of voters who supported our Campaign and voted for us. Today you proved what we believed to be the case, that Leonians yearned for a new era in local politics. An era in which we citizens were fully informed on issues and were given significant opportunities to effect policy decisions.
We pledge to inform you and engage you in the decisions that lie ahead, to serve you to the best of our abilities and to deserve the trust you have placed in us.

John DeSimone & Darryl Whitter
On behalf of all of our Municipal Committee Candidates
335 Broad Avenue

The Results are In!

We have the unofficial returns from the June 8 Primary Election.
Here are the totals for the race for the Council

John DeSimone 741
Darryl Whitter 629
Ingrid Brennan 371
Karl Norgaard 316
Marcia Wilson 64

See the full report