Meet the candidates running for 4 Council seats

By MEGAN BURROW, Managing Editor

Teaneck Suburbanite, May 1, 2014, p. 3.

On May 13, Voters will have a choice of eight candidates for four open seats on the Teaneck Township Council, Residents will have an opportunity to vote for incombents Adam Gussen, Elie Y. Katz, Lizette Parker and Yitz Stern, and challengers Eric Brauer, Jason Castle, Alexander Rashin and Alan Sohn. Polls will be open May 13 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Each candidate was asked questions about their background and past public service, why they are running for township council, what they believe is the most important issue facing Teaneck and how they would work to address it.

(Only the relevant candidate is shown here)

Alan Sohn

How long have you been a Teaneck resident?

20 years.

Educational and professional background:

While attending Baruch College, a paid internship required as part of a combined BBA/MS degree program in Computer Methodology and Operations Research led to a career as a system consultant. In more than 30 years, I have advised the national's largest banks, financial firms and leading industrial companies in the design and development of complex financial accounting systems, handling millions of transactions each day and billions of dollars every year, and providing senior management with the information they need to better manage their businesses.

Family:

Married to Barbara, a senior manager at Verisk Analytics in Jersey City, with four children: Andrew (25), an Internet entrepreneur based in the Boston area; Michael (25), an educator who lived in Queens together with his wife, Shuli, and our grandson Shai; Zachary (21), a vice president of a national real estate and advertising firm based in New York City; and our daughter, Shira (18), a high school senior who will spending a gap year in Israel before matriculating at Princeton University.

Public service, including elected office:

Member of Advisory Board on Community Relations, Member of Financial Advisory Board; Pathway to the Future/Visioning Process as lead co-author/presenter for Teaneck Taxes task force and lead co-author/presenter for Representation and Responsive Government task force.

Why are you running for township council? What do you believe is the most important issue facing Teaneck and how would you work to address it?

Jason Castle and I have met with over a thousand residents during our campaign and they consistently cite soaring property taxes as their most important issue. Over the past four years, Teaneck's municipal tax rate has soared by nearly 15 percent, including almost 6 percent in 2013, more than triple Gov. Christie's 2 percent cap. In addition to bringing in new revenue, ending rampant wasteful spending and over-budgeted capital projects is critically needed to provide residents with a tax relief they deserve. The township council must be far more open and transparent in the way it conducts its business, providing complete details as to how decisions are made and how every penny in the budget is spent.