Barbato Eyeing Return to Borough Council

The GOP municipal primary election June 7 has officially become a contest as former two-term member Martin Barbato declared his candidacy for nomination to two available seats on the Madison Borough Council in the November election.

Barbato, assistant general counsel with international engineering and construction corporation Foster Wheeler AG in Clifton, served from 1994-99, and also served as council finance chairman.

He joins first-time candidate Robert Landrigan, president of the , and incumbent Sam Cerciello, whose special two-year term ends this year, on the GOP ballot.

The other seat up for vote is held by two-term Democrat Robert Conley, who has not declared whether he will stand for reelection.

"The current economic environment continues to put pressure on Madison residents, and the severe pressure on the state budget is having a significant impact on local governments, including Madison," Barbato said in a release. "Controlling the costs of government services will be a continuing challenge. The state cap on local property taxes will not allow these costs to be simply passed along to the taxpayer. So, the hopeful news is that taxpayers have some protection from escalating property taxes. The challenge is determining how to continue delivering the level of services that the residents expect.”

Barbato served as the council's finance chair during three of his six years in office, backing a 'pay as you go' policy for spending, as well as unsuccesful reforms now in vogue, shared services and contributions to benefits. "With financial approaches such as these, along with new approaches to addressing and anticipating our future challenges, we can achieve our shared goal of expected services for an acceptable property tax,” he said. 

Barbato is a resident of Arlena Court and has lived in Madison for 28 years, and has extensive community involvement as a member of the Madison Electric Utility Study Committee; the Board of Trustees for the Museum of Early Trades and Crafts, where he served three years as board chair; past member of the board of the YMCA, and a past coach for Madison Little League. His sons attended the borough school system.

“My professional background and prior experience on the Council equip me well to address the challenges that Madison faces,” he said in the release. “I welcome the opportunity to again serve Madison on council at this critical time. Madison is one of the premiere towns in New Jersey, in one of the top counties in the nation.  Working together, we can maintain and build on this great asset.”