Candidate Profiles: Town voters have choices to make

By Howard Prosnitz, Staff Writer

Teaneck Suburbanite, April 26, 2006, p. 4

Township voters have a choice among 14 candidates running for 4 three-year terms and three candidates running for a two-year unexpired term.

Long term Councilman Paul Ostrow is not seeking reelection, nor is Councilman Emil "Yitz" Stern.

Councilman Randall Day, who was appointed in January to fill the remainder of former Councilman Michael Gallucci's term following Gallucci's resignation, is not seeking reelection. But Councilman David Langford, appointed in January following the resignation of former Councilwomen Deborah Veach, is seeking reelection to fill the two unexpired years of Veach's term.

The Teaneck Suburbanite is publishing interviews with candidates in two alphabetical parts. The interviews will continue next week.

(Only the relevant candidate is shown here)

Michael Kevie Felt

Michael Kevie Feit is a clinical trial manager for a pharmaceutical company. The West Englewood Avenue resident has lived in the township for 30 of his 32 years.

Feit has been a member of the Teaneck Ambulance Corps for 17 year and has served three terms as its president. He also serves on the coordinating committee of the Teaneck Visioning Process. In 2005 Feit was honored by the Teaneck Chamber of Commerce for his community service.

Feit seeks to stabilize residential property taxes by maximizing commercial development.

"To start we have to look at commercially zones properties on Cedar Lane, North Teaneck Road or Glenpointe to find any that are underutilized," said Feit.

He wants to forge closer relationship among the diverse population groups of Teaneck.

"One of the great things about Teaneck is the varied people who live here, but there is a communication gap. When people get together they find they have much in common."

To facilitate better communication, Feit would set up informal meetings in different areas of town at which at least one council member would be present.

"People are sometimes intimidated from speaking at a council meeting. We could bring the council meeting to them."

He would save money by sharing services, especially between the municipal government and the Board of Education. Feit observes that currently each department has its own budget for supplies and maintenance and its own fleet of trucks and snow ploughs.

These services and others could be shared, said Feit.