To the Editor: The generosity of Madison never stops – a huge thank you to all of you who donated their coats – for the annual Jersey Cares Coat Drive. Madison High School sophomore Elena Haralampoudis and her friends were able to collect and sort over 1,200 coats during the months of November and December. The YMCA generously offered their lobby as the drop off point for the collection bin that was full on a daily basis.  The culmination of the coat drive was the sorting of the coats to enable quick distribution to many agencies across the state trying to help keep some of our less fortunate…

Dear Editor, The generosity and kindness of the members of the Madison Chamber of Commerce reached new heights at the Chamber’s scholarship fundraiser on Thursday, November 3 at Rocco’s Tuscany Bar & Grill, which drew more than one-hundred Chamber members. The Chamber annually awards scholarships to worthy Madison High School seniors who plan on pursuing business careers. In June 2011 the Chamber awarded $3,000.00 in scholarships to five worthy students. At our recent “Bartender Showdown” at Rocco’s, our celebrity bartenders earned $1,100.00 in tips that will help fund Chamber’s 2012 …

Robert Landrigan exemplifies the best of the best in volunteerism. Over the past 15 years, he has quietly donated over 25,000 hours of his time serving Madison in a variety of volunteer positions. A certified EMT with the Madison Volunteer Ambulance Corps, he actively works two or three 12-hour night shifts every week, responding with a calm and caring disposition to medical emergencies. We appreciated him coming to our family members’ aid in the middle of the night on two separate occasions. He also frequently stands by with the ambulance on the sidelines at both home and away sporting …

Madison is my home. I have demonstrated my commitment to Madison through volunteer services over the past 15 years, and will continue to do so.  I intend to combine the years of experience and insight I have gained working closely with the Borough government with my extensive corporate experience and knowledge and, most importantly, what I have learned working with the residents.  While currently employed as a corporate real estate and internal compliance executive at JPMorgan Chase, Bob Landrigan also serves as President of the Madison Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Madison Office of Emergency …

Madison Council candidate Robert Landrigan, a corporate real estate and compliance executive with JPMorgan Chase, maps his approach to tackle the challenges Madison faces. Madison has great schools, a vibrant downtown, a library, arts, culture, and sports. We have are exceptional services in our police, fire, public works and electric department.  Madison faces the challenge of not only maintaining but improving these services that have set it apart from other towns – doing this in the face of a weak national economy and doing this with as minimal a financial impact on the residents as …

I have had the honor and privilege of not only serving the Borough of Madison as your mayor for these past four years, but can proudly point to completing every initiative pledged when I sought the post in 2007. We can’t stop there. Madison needs to hold its course moving forward with managed contracts for purchasing power thereby lowering electric costs; expanding partnerships with the Board of Education to realize better goods and services costs; continuing outreach to surrounding towns to complete agreements for shared services in equipment and personnel; and stepping up its marketing plan…

In her Oct. 7 press release, Democratic candidate for Borough Council Carmela Vitale states, “Unfortunately, the current council majority chose not to renew the Madison 2020 Committee, and ... are not taking advantage of our accreditation with Sustainable Jersey” and available grants.  As a current member of the Borough Council, I can say with confidence that Madison 2020 has never been discussed nor voted on during my council tenure. In October of 2010, when the ordinance to retain the committee was moved and voted down, it was neither the current council nor a majority council decision.  If…

Mayor Mary-Anna Holden has completely transformed the way Madison does business and has done so in the face of unprecedented financial challenges. Mary-Anna gets things done. Over the course of the last decade I have watched Mary-Anna emerge as a strong political leader. Her focus on doing what is right for Madison is unwavering. She is a true renaissance woman. Conversant in everything from the arts and historic preservation to public utilities, emergency management and every aspect of municipal government, I have been amazed at the breadth of her knowledge and intelligence. In her time as …

As the political season in Madison heats up, candidates for mayor and council are publicly stating their positions and, unfortunately, misrepresenting and in some cases wrongly criticizing the outstanding volunteer efforts happening in our community.  In a letter to The Madison Eagle on Oct. 6, mayoral candidate Bob Conley stated, “We have no evidence that any significant amount of contribution or sponsorship money has been raised.”  As chairman of the Madison Athletic Foundation (MAF), the volunteer organization that has partnered with the Borough to raise $3.5 million to pay for the Madison…

Editor, As we approach another critical election, the question voters in the towns that make up the new 27th Legislative District (Caldwell, Chatham Twp., East Hanover, Essex Fells, Florham Park, Hanover, Harding Twp., Livingston, Madison, Maplewood, Millburn, Roseland, South Orange and West Orange) should be asking our current state Senator Richard Codey, as well as his Assembly colleagues, John McKeon and Mila Jasey, "Where's the Money for Our Kids and Property Tax Relief?" It's nice that in a fit of "bipartisan" spirit several Morris and Essex county Republicans recently endorsed Sen. …

Let’s correct some false claims made by my mayoral opponent, Bob Conley. The distortions have to stop. Let’s look at the facts and I certainly stand behind my track record of more than 14 years of working collegially as an elected official with both sides of the aisle at the county, state, federal and fellow-local levels, specifically for the benefit of Madison residents. The Brooklake-Durwood-Fletcher-Delbarton-Pine Tree-Niles Avenue neighborhood suspicions were raised when people, who they knew were not PSE&G employees, were seen walking and measuring, under the power lines. That’s how that…

Bob Conley, a two-term Council member, is running for Madison mayor this fall.  In a prepared statement, Conley discussed the value of partnerships for funding projects and reducing costs. Conley stated: “The days of going it alone and not working with partners are long over. There are many factors feeding the property tax challenge in New Jersey, two major ones are the many towns working independently, the other is spending more than you can afford. Both can be attacked through the development of partnerships. There has been a great buzz around the new facility on Shunpike Road in Chatham …

We would openly like to declare our support of Bob Conley for the position of Madison’s next mayor.  We’ve known Bob for the past 14 years, not only as friend, but as a person who loves to give back to his community, demonstrated by being a two-term councilman for the Borough along with all of his numerous volunteer civic activities.  Bob is a true leader, well-respected by his peers and someone who you can always count on to participate when called upon. Its time for a change in government within Madison and Bob Conley is the candidate that will make that change for all of us. Please come …

At the League of Women Voters Forum, Martin Barbato, candidate for Madison Borough Council, discussed an issue of concern to the residents – waste collection.  "As we all know, waste collection frequency has been changed to one time per week.  Although we understand that a cost savings was the reason behind the change, it would be better if we could find the savings elsewhere. While this year’s added ability to recycle more plastics adds income to the Borough and reduces the tonnage going to county transfer stations, Barbato went on to explain how the savings could be found in the way we pay …

Madison Mayor Mary-Anna Holden today announced her endorsement for her fellow Republican running mates, Bob Landrigan and Martin Barbato, for Borough Council. (Her statement follows below.) Madison needs a Council that is running on all six cylinders. Out of the six officials elected to the Borough Council, there are only four who fulfill their prescribed duties and in addition, Robert Catalanello and Jeannie Tsukamoto, fill in consistently for Sam Cerciello and Bob Conley, who are quick to identify perceived “problems” and either have no departmental reports nor offer solutions to the …

Robert (Bob) Landrigan a dedicated Madison volunteer, who has been serving Madison as an EMT, auxiliary police officer,  Madison’s Office of Emergency Management Coordinator and Board of Health member, is seeking a three-year term on the Madison Council on Nov. 8. He is the only political newcomer in the race this year. Extensive Volunteerism and Corporate ExperienceSettling in Madison 20 years ago, Bob has served its residents as a volunteer in many capacities for 15 of those years. He has learned much from the citizens of Madison as he has worked closely with them - hands on experience in …

In these difficult economic times, Madison government is going to be forced to make some very hard decisions regarding spending priorities.  Consequently, we are going to have to do a much better job of managing our finances.  We are running out of the money we need to maintain our roads and sewers.  The Borough government is already cutting back on vital services like garbage collection and its support for our Library.  The elimination of fall leaf pickups has even been discussed.   One member of the current Council majority even proposed that members of the Madison Community Pool be …

Some people say you can’t protect both the economy and the environment.  I know they are wrong because I know that Madison has already done both.  From its Tree City USA Designation to the beginnings of May Day, Madison residents have demonstrated their keen interest in keeping the town “green.”  Since 1985, Madison has been recognized throughout the state for its tree program. And yet, even in these tough economic times, Madison has also managed to maintain its property values. We must continue to protect the things that make Madison so special.  As a member of the Planning Board, my job is …

This spring, Councilman and mayoral candidate Bob Conley held a series of town hall meetings to learn what Madison residents value most about their community.  Overwhelmingly, the participants named Madison Public Library, followed closely by the fire and police departments. Conley states:  “At the March 14th Council meeting, I asked the Mayor and Council to sponsor a town hall meeting.  After the majority of Council members rebuffed my proposal, I decided the issues were important enough to set up a series of meetings on my own.” Conley began the meetings with a review of the sources and …

There will be more at stake than wins and losses when Madison opens the 2011 football season hosting Hackettstown at 1 p.m. Saturday at Madison High School. Both school districts are combining on a “Superintendents' Challenge” to raise money for the TJ Martell Foundation, which funds research to fight leukemia, cancer and AIDS. The foundation was founded by former Madison resident Tony Martell. On Friday each school in both districts will have a container to collect donations. Before and during the first half of the game on Saturday, there will be tables set up to collect donations. One table…