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BLOOMINGDALE - Vroom edges Pituch after absentee ballot count
(by Deborah Walsh - Staff Writer - November 05, 2008)
BLOOMINGDALE - The absentee ballots have been counted and have moved Democratic Councilman Bernard Vroom in front of Republican Jo-Ann Pituch by a total of four or five votes depending on whose numbers are used.
When the polls closed Tuesday, the official Borough Council election results had Republicans Linda Huntley, an incumbent, and her running mate, Pituch, narrowly defeating Democratic Councilman Vroom and his running mate Michael Mascitello. Huntley garnered 1,743 votes, Pituch, 1,714, Vroom, 1,713 and Mascitello, 1,556.
Since last night, Vroom has picked up around 74 votes and Pituch around 69 to take a slender four or five vote lead. Borough Clerk Jane McCarthy says they have Vroom ahead by four and the county has him ahead by five votes.
McCarthy also added that approximately 49 provisional ballots were taken out, but it may take another week or so to get them counted.
“That’s an unusually high number for us,” McCarthy said adding that due to turnout other municipalities may have similar experiences with provisional ballots.
Voters also leaned Republican in the presidential election. In Bloomingdale, without absentee ballots, Obama received 1,643 votes and McCain 1,940.
Huntley is finishing up her first term on the council. A former chair of the council’s budget committee, Huntley currently serves as chair of the council’s grant-writing committee and is a member of the council’s ratables and revenues committee. Huntley also serves as the council liaison to the school board and the Bloomingdale Youth Organization (BYO). Huntley said she is a big fan of Tri-Boro Little League and BYO football.
Huntley also formerly served as liaison to the health and library boards and is a prior member of the Flood Mitigation Committee. She is a member of the Pequannock River Coalition and is a parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi R.C. Church in Wanaque where she chairs the Home & School Association’s food certificate program. A resident of the borough for 10 years, Huntley is a certified public accountant in New Jersey and New York and received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from Pace University in New York.
Pituch currently is a member of the council’s grant writing committee. She was a board member for the Bloomingdale Youth Organization from 1988 to 1991. She is a past PTA member and a past vice president of the borough’s Board of Health. She was a member of the Board of Directors for the Morris County Association for the Young American Bowling Alliance, which locally ran a youth bowling program at Butler Bowl from 1988 to 1996.
Pituch is a past delegate to represent the Passaic County Board of Agriculture at both the NJ Farm Bureau Convention and NJ Department of Agriculture Convention. Pituch attended Passaic County Community College. She has been a certified Master Gardener for the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Passaic County since 2000. She serves as co-first vice president of the Master Gardener’s Association. Since 1995, she has been employed as a secretary assistant to the Agricultural Department of Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Passaic County. She and her husband, John, who has been a member of the school board for roughly 12 years, where he currently serves as president, have lived in the borough for 25 years. They have two adult children and two grandchildren.
Vroom began on the council in 2001. He currently serves as Council President Pro-Tem, an appointment traditionally awarded to the council member with the most years experience. He is chairman of the council’s ordinance review committee and is a member of the council’s governmental operations committee and public health and safety committee. He has served on the Bloomingdale Environmental Commission and Bloomingdale Drug Alliance.
Vroom is a member of the borough’s Office of Emergency Management and a founder of the Bloomingdale CERT and Bloomingdale Search and Rescue teams. He is an honorary member of the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department and a member of the board of trustees of the Passaic County 2020 Board. Vroom is a diesel mechanic. He and his wife, Maryann, have lived in the borough for 28 years and have a son, Bernie, 22.
Mascitello is the mayoral liaison to the recreation commission. He served on the Zoning Board from 2004 to 2007. He is a member of St. Anthony’s R.C. Church in Butler. He was a CCD teacher. He is a founder and organizer of the "Halloween on Bailey Avenue" event. He has been an electrical mechanic and has been the owner of an entertainment company. He has also been an instrument repair technician. He and his wife, Meredith, have lived in the borough since 2000 and have an 18-month-old daughter, Margaret.
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