Mayor says he will move for better communication

BY LARRY HLAVENKA JR.
Staff Writer

Joe DiBella HOWELL - Mayor Joseph DiBella wants to take government to the people.

Speaking shortly after a recall effort that sought to remove him from office failed to gain a spot on the Nov. 7 general election ballot, DiBella said he wants to improve communication with residents.

"We have to take the [Township Council] meetings on the road," he said. "To schools. The silent majority doesn't always come out. That's the way to get our message out and make it convenient."

The mayor also suggested a series of informal meetings with residents.

"I want to meet with every area of the town for community meetings," the mayor said. "Anyone that wants to do it, let's formulate a schedule in every neighborhood."

DiBella said that in an effort to better communicate with residents, he would make himself available by "sitting in my office on Saturdays. I'll make coffee and bring doughnuts."

He said the envisioned community meetings and enhanced communication started with a recent gathering with residents of Ford Road, who requested to speak with him. He said the informal meeting was "very refreshing to see people on an unfiltered basis respond."

DiBella called those residents part of a "silent majority."

"I'm excited about gathering the dialogue of the silent majority that does not get to come to these [council] meetings," he said.

The mayor said some residents of Ford Road asked to have their names taken off the recall petition after they met with him.

As for the recall organizers, John Pearson, Joseph Parente and Howard Malsbury, once again, the mayor offered to meet with them as well. Despite denouncing the recall effort, the mayor offered to "extend an olive branch."

"I invite the three individuals to come to these chambers on a special night," DiBella said. "We can ask (Monmouth County Freeholder) Ted Narozanick to host a forum for them to come forward with their concerns. If they are legitimate, we have an obligation to."

As to the effort that sought to remove him from office, DiBella said, "The truth of the matter is we don't know if they had 10, 50, 100 signatures, and it's irrelevant. The process had no real mission other than to cause me and my family personal embarrassment. This is politics at is worst."

The organizers of the recall effort said they secured more than 7,200 names of registered Howell voters. The deadline to file the petition with the township clerk's office was Aug. 7. The signatures of 25 percent of Howell's registered voters (approximately 7,773 signatures) were required to get the question on the ballot.

If the required number of signatures had been certified, voters would have been asked on Nov. 7 if they wanted to recall DiBella, end his term immediately and select a new mayor.

"It is a shame the community had to go through it," the mayor said of the recall attempt. He said supportive residents told him "to fight back, do something about it. But I felt that would be detrimental to the community. You can't respond with negative anger."

Instead, the mayor hoped for better tolerance, "to resolve our disputes [in a way] that doesn't cost the taxpayers money."

Township Manager Thomas Czerniecki said $80,000 that had been budgeted for certified letters to be sent to Howell residents in the event of a recall election would not be spent.

For that reason and others, the entire council voiced a sigh of relief.

"I was not happy with the whole situation," Councilman Robert Walsh said.

"I'm happy to see the recall petition is behind us," Councilwoman Cynthia Schomaker said. "I'm glad for the mayor and I want to move forward in a positive way."

DiBella concluded with similar sentiment.

"I hope this ends the political bitterness," he said. "We need to put an end to it. Hopefully I can demonstrate that we can all disagree and still get along."