BOE Hopefuls Face the Public at Candidates Night

Seven candidates faced an audience of potential voters at the Par-Troy Council PTA's Candidates Night Wednesday at .

Two of the nine candidates were missing, however: Richard Gerstl, who told organizers he was in the process of moving to a new home and couldn't make it, and John Harrison, who had to care for his elderly mother.

Those that did show up faced questions from the audience that centered largely on three topics: the controversial , transparency and the board's openness to feedback from the public.

They are vying for three seats on the board.

Incumbent Andrew Choffo and Carol Trapp were the only two candidates that voiced support for the five-year contract negotiated with Seitz in November, which was repeatedly denounced by Gov. Chris Christie, who threatened to withhold state aid and approval of the budget.

Last week, Christie's office announced that the . 

"The idea of pushing up the date was done as a maneuver to protect the salary of a man who was hired at a certain level," Trapp said. "The fear was that we'd hire a a competent superintendent and we would lose him. It wasn't illegal. It was done in many places in New Jersey. The governor was making a scapegoat of our situation.''

Choffo said he preferred the word "strategy'' to "maneuver'' because "maneuver sounds underhanded.''

"This was a strategic decision to retain an outstanding a superintendent,'' he said, adding that the Wayne school district had gone more than a year without a superintendent, and he didn't want Parsippany to be in the same boat. "In Wayne, they would love to hire Dr. Seitz.''

The remark drew some sniggers from the audience, but at other moments during the event, Choffo drew applause.

The candidates also shared their views on the board's level of transparency and their willingness to listen to the public.

"I don't feel they're transparent at all, not to the public, not to the citizens of Parsippany, and not even to current members of the board,'' said candidate Joseph Raich, a former teacher in Paterson. "[Board President] Mr. [Anthony] Mancuso does things unilaterally without having the full approval of the board.''

"I would like to see more of a link between the board and the community,'' said candidate Alison Cogan, a CPA with five children. "I think that would open up communications a little better.''

"Rather than stifle people, give them an opportunity to speak,'' said Gary Martin, a retired police officer. "If someone wants to take a half-hour, let people speak. Do nothing behind closed doors, let the American people know what's going on.''

Susy Golderer, a PTA mom who works in human resources added, "I think it's a lot about perception. I believe the board thinks they're being transparent and many members of the public believe they're not. It's an opportunity for the board to say, 'What are we not communicating properly? Why are they not getting the messages?' Set up a few extra sessions so that we can listen to the voters. ... The best way to run the district is to have the community input.''

Another topic that surfaced more than once was whether the board's handling of the Seitz contract had given Parsippany a bad reputation, or "black eye,'' as resident Pat Petaccia phrased it in her question to candidates.

"Not only was there a black eye, there was a bloody nose and a broken leg,'' said Sharif Shamsudin, a mortgage broker and wrestling coach. "Had we complied [with the governor's $175,000 cap] we wouldn't' be going through all this litigation.

Tomorrow afternoon, we'll post more quotes from the candidates' night.