Submitted by By LAUREN MENNEN
OAKLAND – It’s about a month and a half away from Election Day in Oakland, New Jersey, and the change in seasons isn’t the only shift coming to Oakland. That is, if Nov. 2 and the events that follow go smoothly for one of the candidates for Town Council.
Charlie McCormick, the publisher for TheOaklandJournal.com and web designer for Cicero Designs, is running for Town Council, and he hopes to make the most out of the next few weeks focusing on his campaign. He currently updates the campaign journal section of his website, charlieforoakland.com. The website also lists many of Oakland’s issues and what he plans to change. Some of the problems McCormick addresses are Oakland’s budget and increased interest, school budgets and the need for the Town Council to get involved, how there should be more volunteers for charities and non-profits in the area, and many more.
If elected, McCormick hopes to accomplish a few things:
“I hope to bring Oakland into a 21st century in terms of communication, transparency, and accountability; really focusing on getting citizens engaged because I think unless they’re engaged, unless they’re informed, there’s no way to hold people accountable for change in government or hold spending down, and to make Oakland a greater community.”
[AUDIO: listen to the interview]
This is McCormick’s first run for office. He is eager to run in this election because he has seen many of the problems and issues in the town from publishing TheOaklandJournal.com, and also from going to numerous meetings in both Oakland and other towns around the area. He has decided it is time for him to make a change.
Charlie McCormick/PHOTO Lauren Mennen
McCormick, 46, was sure he wanted to run for Town Council when he saw the candidates that were announced. He saw there were two open seats, and saw a need for more quality choices. From there he decided to take the initiative to run. McCormick is a firm believer that no change will occur until people take responsibility, and that’s just what he’s doing.
The town is currently run by Mayor John Szabo and six council members. They meet once every two weeks discussing plans for Oakland, and special announcements and events going on. Their meeting agendas can be found on the website www.oakland-nj.org.
This town, which has a population of 12,466 people, is in need of exceptional leaders. There is a significant majority of Whites, with Hispanics and Indians in second and third. Oakland has a median income is $86,629, which is why McCormick believes the residents’ tax dollars should be spent responsibly, and for residents to be informed about spending.
McCormick, a New Jersey native from New Milford, studied at Fairfield University where he received a bachelor’s degree in English and communications. After graduating he went on to succeed in a number of different fields. He served as a social worker in New York City for 6 years, where he counseled and taught students from various backgrounds.
In the years that followed, he worked in a completely different side of NYC – the private banking industry at the Bank of New York. Although he has never worked in politics, his wide ranging of work experience has taught him how to work with and help others. His different set of skills might be just what Oakland needs.
For the last two years, he has published Oakland’s online newspaper TheOaklandJournal.com, which has made him become immensely active with the town by leading him to different activities and issues. Not only does he run Oakland’s paper, but he publishes the TheFranklinlakesJournal.com and TheWyckoffJournal.com as well. Writing for these online newspapers has familiarized him with Oakland and its surrounding towns, and kept him up-to-date of the news and problems going on there.
It is from researching and writing numerous stories about Oakland that he has realized the town is in need of change. Some examples of the change McCormick hopes for are for the people in the town to be more informed of the governmental actions, and the town’s spending because of its debt and increased interest rates.
McCormick believes the change Oakland needs the most is reducing taxes.
“The spending can’t be justified. It [change] means being realistic and making decisions for the people of Oakland,” said McCormick.
Oakland Borough Sign/PHOTO Lauren Mennen
Oakland Police officer and Ramapo College alum, Keith Sanzari, also feels strongly that tax spending needs to be changed, especially because of budget cuts from Governor Chris Christie.
“A big issue now is the budget, and right now everyone’s trying to save money with the cuts. That’s probably one of Oakland’s top issues,” said Sanzari.
What might have motivated this candidate the most was reading about the famous John Dewey and Walter Lippmann debate over the pros and cons of democracy in America. Although this debate dates back to the 1920s, it has relevance today, and more importantly, it relates to what McCormick believes in. For example, McCormick agrees with Dewey that the public should play a larger role in public policy, rather than have a small group of people run the government. That way, the public can be more informed and engaged in decision-making. McCormick believes this philosophy would benefit the residents of Oakland.
One other thing that motivated McCormick to run was when he was able to see politics up close with his involvement in the last governor election.
He worked closely with the Chris Daggett campaign for New Jersey governor, which familiarized him with politics and some of New Jersey’s problems. These problems are mainly concerned with accountability for how tax money is spent, McCormick believes.
With his work running the news websites and for his web design company, it might seem as though McCormick doesn’t have much free time. However, whenever he has the chance, he loves relaxing with his wife and his daughter and son, ages seven and four. He also loves taking his black Labrador retriever mix out for a run at Skyline Drive in Oakland.
McCormick has attended numerous meetings and events around the Oakland area, which have led him to conclude that Oakland is in need of change. This candidate will keep fighting until he’s happy with the consequences, because after all, “it is the people who need to take responsibility,” and he’s taking charge of bringing change to Oakland.
Article originally published in the RamapoRecord.org